-Caveat Lector-
The Bubble Bursts: Dan White Verdict
By Soledad
from "Black Sheets" magazine
http://www.shapingsf.org/gay/files/bubble.html
On May 21, 1979, the Dan White "Twinkie Verdict" was handed
down. White received only a voluntary manslaughter conviction for
the deaths of mayor George Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk.
That night, hundreds of citizens (gays, angry straights, punks,
and others) rioted at City Hall, smashing windows, looting nearby
stores, and burning over a dozen police cars.
Police retaliated later that night with their own riot. They
stormed a bar in the Castro, brutally beating customers and
passersby. Some individuals were placed under arrest and a
defense fund was formed. Punk bands like the Offs and the
Blowdriers played benefits. Later a photo of the burning police
cars would grace the cover of the Dead Kennedys' first album.
It is important to remember that two men were killed --one
of them straight and the mayor, no less-- and that there were
underlying pressures contributing to that outburst of violence.
The Dan White verdict may have sparked the White Night, but
other factors fanned its flames.
In his book, "Gayslayer!," Warren Hinckle said, "1978 and
1979 were the most emotionally devastating years in San
Francisco's fabulously spotted history."
Social and economic pressures arose in a city of 700,000
which had seen the influx of 100,000 homosexuals over a decade.
Violence against gays (underreported in the mainstream
media) increased throughout the '70s. Many gay men carried
whistles to blow loudly in case of attack. According to Hinckle,
"In an average month 30 to 40 muggings and stabbings by gangs of
street toughs preying on gays are reported."
There were also occasional unsolved murders stemming from
the South of Market pick-up scene. No one knew whether the
killers were queer or straight. Many folks regard 1978 or 1979 as
the point where the San Francisco gay party of
the '70s peaked and started sliding downhill.
"It started crashing down with Anita Bryant," says Jack
Fertig. "And people said, 'We've got to get serious, and we can't
be a bunch of whackos, we've got to be responsible.' And that
basically, Anita Bryant really pushed a lot of people out of the
closet. We developed a political machinery."
The San Francisco gay world was going through its adolescent
phase. One of the less charming characteristics of adolescents is
their tendency toward cliquishness as a means to define their
world. There was also massive gay population growth, and perhaps
due to the sheer overwhelming numbers, many people retreated a
bit. Gay life became more factionalized and fragmented.
As San Francisco lurched into the '80s, the sense of
community that had defined gay life in the early '70s seemed to
get buried under a pile of [corporate] special interests ...
_________________________________________________
DAN WHITE'S CONFESSION
from "Uncle Donald's Castro Street"
I wonder what Dan White thought of the riots triggered by
his light sentence. Did he feel good for having pissed-off the
gay community? Was he pissed-off that the gay community got away
with rioting? Did he even care?
After his trial and sentencing on May 21, 1979, Dan White
was taken to Soledad Prison, some 150 miles south of San
Francisco. He was paroled on January 6, 1984 after serving 5
years and 1 month in prison for murdering two men.
Several rallies were held in San Francisco the day of
White's release. People were requested to remain home from work
that day in a show of solidarity. Scott Smith called for a
noise-making rally at noon in the Castro to protest White's
release. Hundreds gathered in the intersection of 18th and
Castro, blocking traffic. Wooden spoons, garbage can lids, and
similar noise makers were used to create a roar of protest that
could be heard for blocks.
At a rally in Union Square, some speakers called for the
public to punish White themselves in various ways. One speaker
hoped that someone would kill White, an act that many gays feared
would happen, and most feared would greatly damage the images of
the gay community and the City of San Francisco.
White's release was carried out with great secrecy. The
afternoon before his scheduled release, he was transferred 200
miles south to a facility in the Tehachapi mountains north of Los
Angeles. The next morning, he was handed over to the Los Angeles
Parole Department which had arranged for an apartment for him
somewhere in LA. He was given $200 in cash, the standard amount
given to released prisoners.
The press was given no information other than that White had
been secretly released. His parole was not to exceed one year.
He remained in hiding for a period of nine months
During that period, he contacted his old friend, San
Francisco Detective Frank Falzon, whom he had not talked to since
the trial. White invited Falzon to join him in L.A., saying that
he wanted to explain things.
The following dialogue is quoted from
http://www.diablopubs.com/focus/aRCHIVES/SF9810/SF9810White.html
DAN WHITE'S LAST CONFESSION
by Mike Weiss
"I really lost it that day," White said.
"You can say that again," Falzon answered.
"No. I really lost it. I was on a mission. I wanted four of
them."
"Four?" Falzon said.
"Carol Ruth Silver--she was the biggest snake of the bunch.
And Willie Brown," White continued. "He was masterminding the
whole thing."
The truth finally came out of Dan White.
IT WAS PREMEDITATED MURDER.
He went to City Hall that Monday morning in 1978 for the
purpose of murdering Mayor Moscone, Supervisor Harvey Milk, and
two other liberals, Supervisor Carol Ruth Silver, and California
State Assemblyman Willie Brown. White also confessed that he had
intended to kill himself, but was unable to do it.
Falzon believed what he was told, but saw no sense in
revealing the confession at the time. However, I think this new
information tends to refute the popular opinion that homophobia
was a motive in Milk's murder.
In 1998, Falzon decided to expose the shocking truth that he
had kept secret for thirteen years. He contacted reporter Mike
Weiss who had closely followed the story since the beginning.
Weiss and Falzon had spent numerous hours discussing and arguing
the details of the story which Weiss published in a book, "DOUBLE
PLAY" in 1984. So it made sense that Falzon would choose to
share his secret with Weiss so many years later.
After serving his year of parole time in Los Angeles, White
was allowed to return to San Francisco. Mayor Diane Feinstein
publicly asked him not to return to The City, but he did.
Although he chose not to live with his wife, Mary Ann, he lived
quietly and without incident until he committed suicide by
asphyxiation in the garage of her home on October 21, 1985.
There was no celebrating in the gay community when the news
was announced. White's death was essentially ignored.
Copyright (c) 1996-1999 UD Graphics, San Francisco
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