As many of you know, Brandon Harami, former chair of the San Francisco Berniecrats, was the victim of a homophobic trope on Twitter. Read more about it in the BAR here and judge for yourself.
The troll in this case is The Marina Times editor emeritus Susan Dyer Reynolds, who regularly levels attacks on progressive elected officials and activists in her columns and on social media.
Lately, her main target has been SF District Attorney Chesa Boudin. But Reynolds has also attacked SB 145, legislation passed by CA State Senator Scott Wiener. Which was the subject of her latest social media abuse.
The Milk Club responded to these attacks with a letter to Brian Calle, CEO and publisher of Street Media, co-signed by several other Democratic and Progressive Clubs. (Feel free to read our letter below.)
We hope and expect that The Marina Times will remove Reynolds from her position, and that this Twitter troll (with too much time on her hands, apparently) has learned her lesson about not playing into thoughtless homophobic and transphobic tropes. Especially in this day and age.
Dear Mr. Calle,
The executive boards of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, Alice B Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club, San Francisco Latinx Democratic Club, Latinx Young Democrats of San Francisco, San Francisco Berniecrats, Richmond District Democratic Club, and San Francisco Young Democrats hereby request that you revoke Susan Dyer Reynolds’ status as Editor Emeritus of the Marina Times, as well as her access to the Marina Times Twitter account.
On March 10, Ms. Reynolds publicly accused a gay man of being “fine with adult men dating underage boys.” In doing so, without any evidence to support the claim, she perpetuated one of the oldest tropes against gay men that has been invoked for centuries to smear, incarcerate, and kill members of the LGBTQ community.
When the Milk Club responded to Ms. Reynolds Tweet, asking her to retract the statement and publicly apologize, she doubled down, claiming that Senator Scott Wiener’s SB-145 legalized pedophilia, an assertion that has been declared categorically false by Reuters and other respected news outlets.
In light of the blatant homophobia Ms. Reynolds displayed, in conjunction with her unwillingness to apologize, we feel it is inappropriate for her to continue to retain the title of Editor Emeritus and control over the Twitter account of a local news outlet in our City.
When you purchased the Marina Times, you said that San Francisco is “special” to you. We also feel this is a special City, in no small part because it has been the center of LGBTQ activism in the US for decades, and a place where many queer people feel safe. When someone like Ms. Reynolds displays such blatant bigotry on behalf of a respected local institution, it detracts from what makes San Francisco unique, and hurts our community.
Therefore, we respectfully request a response to this letter detailing the actions you have taken to eliminate any association between Ms. Reynolds and the Marina Times.
Signed,
Alice B Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club
Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club
San Francisco Latinx Democratic Club
San Francisco Latinx Young Democrats
San Francisco Young Democrats
San Francisco Berniecrats
Richmond District Democratic Club
Thank you to everyone who attended last night's General Membership Meeting. (If you missed it, you can watch it here.)
The Membership voted unanimously for the following motions:
1) A motion to cosponsor the Harvey Milk Annual Celebration Day of Service — a pandemic relief/ recovery center with DPH and UCSF led by Stephen Torres of the Harvey Milk Day Planning Coalition — and to support the closure petition for Castro Street between 18th and 17th/ Market) from 9am - 5pm, both on May 22nd.
2) A motion to support the efforts and goals of CART SF, a community-based alternative to a police-driven response to homelessness in the City.
3) A motion to support the elimination of the filibuster in the US Senate, to collaborate with Fix Our Senate to advocate for the elimination of the filibuster, and to send a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein asking her to advocate for ending the filibuster.
4) A motion to support AB 1400, "Guaranteed Health Care for All."
5) A motion to support AB 20, "Corporate-Free Elections Act."
6) A motion to support Assemblymember Alex Lee's (D-San Jose) proposal to impose a 1% annual tax on net household wealth of more than $50 million and an additional 0.5% on household wealth of more than $1 billion. (Read more about it in 48 Hills.)
7) A motion to support SB 331, "The Silence No More Act," which would protect workers against nondisclosure agreements and empower them to speak out about alleged acts of discrimination.
8) A motion to support the federal Protecting the Right to Organize Act," or PRO Act.
Also, the Membership elected Jupiter Peraza and Zahra Hajee to our Club's final two At-Large Executive Board Seats.
We need more seats at the table in public office.
This Saturday, join Janice Li, Alex Lee, and James Coleman as they share their experiences and advice on running — and winning — as young, queer progressives.
Buy your tickets through Act Blue here.