FOF #892 – The Real Life Cleve Jones

Dec 5, 2008 · 1985 views

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How far have we come in the fight for gay, lesbian, bisexual ans transgendered rights since the 1970s? Gus Van Sant’s new biographic film MILK brings forth a chilling timeliness with parallels to the anti-gay measures […]

    Comments

  1. Jamie says:

    GREAT SHOW guys!

    Very inspiring.

  2. DCRyan says:

    I am humbled and speechless; so incredibly inspiring. I have been listening to FOF for several years now and this is in my opinion the best show. I only wish I could spend an hour or two talking with this living legend.

    I completely echo his sentiments about Prop. 8 being a blessing in disguise. I have never been so inspired as when I saw just about every friend I know in DC marching from the Capitol to the White House. It proved to me that we can unite as a community. Several of us are not trying to figure out what the next step is, how we can continue to use the momentum of the protests, the inauguration, the new Congress to finally make a substantive change. I have a feeling until this financial crisis is over that nothing will be going to the floor of such sweeping effect as mentioned in the show, but it doesn’t mean that we cannot be the birdie in the ear of every congressperson until the day when there is the political will on the Hill to pass legislation.

    P.S. – Kudos to Marc and Fausto for continuing to bring us these amazing interviews. It is a brick in the wall archiving our gay history and I am very grateful for it.

  3. Jimmy says:

    Great show thx for posting. Big thanks to John for coming on the show.

  4. Jimmy says:

    Cleve I mean 😀

  5. Cliff Dix says:

    Feast of Fools I love you. You guys always have great interviews with interesting guest that mean something to me as a gay man. This is one of the best. It is nice to see the people who started this fight for us honored and talked about. Nobody does it like FOF.
    I have to agree about how we had it as gay kids back in the day compared to gay kids today. I was never called a faggot until I was out of college and living in Atlanta. I think the reason I flew under the radar at school was because the kids in my small town had no idea what a gay person was. There is a large gay community in Atlanta so people around here knows one when they see one. Still I would rather be happy and out and have a few people call me names then live in the closet. We need to live our lives out in the open so people will know that there are actual gay people in their lives. We are going to need straight people to help us receive our equal rights.

  6. Dickie says:

    Great episode! I’ve always loved Fausto’s political edge, and when you all get a chance to speak with tenured activists it brings a whole new level of wow to the show.

    Cleve, thank for all you do and have done and will do. I think we’re all in debt to your efforts.

  7. CharlesVer33 says:

    Cleve and Peaches both need Oscars for their cameos in the film Milk! Thank you guys again for such a wonderful interview, it’s easy to see why Feast of Fools wins year after year the Best GLBT podcast People’s Choice Award.

    If I ever run into Cleve Jones at a charity fundraiser again, or bump into him at a demonstration, I’ll run out and grab him a bouquet of flowers for his lifetime of work and sacrifice.

  8. DavidMcD says:

    Glad you are still with us Cleve, what a great interview! I love Cleve’s honesty, boldness and vision. Thank you for the podcast!!!!

  9. Ohmygod, I fucking LOVE Cleve Jones. I’m so glad he was on the show. What a great interview. I’m going to listen to it again.

  10. Teddy says:

    Thanks for bringing him on guys! Cleve is an extraordinary human being and I’m so glad I got to listen to him on the show!

  11. Rhea says:

    Thank you FOF, for having Cleve Jones on the show. I was moved and inspired by his words.

  12. Kieran says:

    This show is part of my gay archive of great materials. I sent it to most of my younger family who are in their 30s. My best friend Pedro/Peter Pastrano worked in Harvey’s shop with his lover Robert while they were students with no money. He has great memories of Harvey.

  13. Shaunessy says:

    Nobody does it like you guys do. All the other interviews I’ve seen of Cleve don’t really show as well the warm, kind, funny, sassy person that you guys solidly manage to bring out time and time again.

    Thank you Cleve for all that you do, and all that you will do. Thank you for helping to keep Harvey Milk’s voice alive for all of us to hear. I hear that voice ringing loud and true in this podcast, and in all the great content being created by a whole new generation of queers on the internet. THANK YOU!!!!!

    Harvey Milk would be smiling, would own an iPod, and it would be loaded with FOF shows.

  14. RcktMan says:

    I listened to the show a couple days ago but my comment never made it up – been having browser issues (a/k/a user error!) Anyway, just wanted to tell you guys that I loved this show. It was inspiring, funny, moving and interesting, and that was just in the first few minutes. I’m consistently in awe of how you do what you do.

    To Cleve Jones, thank you so much for your hard work for the GLBT community over the years, and for the fact that you are STILL fighting for us, even when we, as a community, didn’t seem to care about fighting anymore. What you and Harvey Milk and all the others did so long ago still resonates today and will continue to resonate for many years to come.

    I first heard of Harvey Milk a long time ago… maybe 10-15 years ago, when I, myself was still coming out and struggling with my own identity as a gay man. I remember thinking that Harvey Milk was to gays what Martin Luther King, Jr. was to African-Americans. I still think that way today. That’s not a bad thing for either of their legacies.

    I agree with Shaunessy… Harvey Milk would have been on FoF a few times already if he were still alive today.

  15. kieran says:

    can we have Sean Penn on next

  16. What a good idea- anyone know how to get a hold of the guy?

  17. Great interview guys. There is so much history to be learned from the people on the front lines fighting for Gay rights.

    Well done.

  18. Jonas says:

    Fantastic show, I loved it too. Like a gay Gandhi

  19. corey says:

    Great interview!

    I would have to agree that we shouldn’t be holding Cinemark the corporation responsible for the actions of one of its employees, regardless if it is the CEO. His right to support any cause is protected by the Constitution, even if it is based in bigotry.

    Unfortunately, the same can be said for the Mormom church. The church itself didn’t actually donate any funds, it just (highly) suggested that its members do so, which they are allowed to do.

    I think in the case of Prop 8, education will end up being a far greater tool than protesting. Protesting churches is just going to scare/piss off the religious right and provide them with more kindling for their fire of hatred. Whereas communication, education and diplomacy (for a lack of a better word) will probably have a greater success rate of bringing both sides to a consensus.

    It’s all very a Kirk vs. Picard approach. 😛

  20. It was so great and affirming to hear a bit of our history. Fascinating to hear Cleve’s thoughts on political action (boycotts and such). Thank you! This episode is no doubt a valuable and rare primary source historical document.

  21. Yes Corey, everyone is able to voice their opinion. My opinion is that we need to send a message to Cinemark especially by not seeing the Movie “MILK in there Theaters. The CEO made a bad decision to name the Cinemark Corporation in his donation if it was his private donation. The Cinemark Corporation should release a press release that it was an individual statement and not there policy, and state what there policy is if they want to garner respect in the Gay community. Equally a donation in the same amount to support Marriage would show good faith.

    As a general rule we can choose not to support the companies that do not support us. Until we have equal rights in this country, we have to fight for them with any method possible.

  22. Joe says:

    amazing interview. thank you so much for having Cleve on your show!

  23. Will says:

    Guys I have to say you continually make me proud. Yall really knocked it out of the park with Cleve Jones. I listened to this episode just before I saw the movie. I happen to be in SF this weekend and actually saw it at the Castro theater on Sunday. I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering and thinking about how I have pulled out of the fight and why…complacency. I need to change that.

  24. Watusicat says:

    Hey Guys!
    I have been listening to you for about a year now. I remember the first on I heard was the one around the holidays last year where you took the tour of Steamworks.
    I have continually enjoyed all your shows and sometimes they are the only thing that gets me through my soul sucking job.However, this is the first time I have been moved to comment on a show. Your show with Cleve was intelligent and quite moving. There is so much to be learned. It was a humbling reminder that we have come a long way, but cannot become complacent. As we are often want to do! Keep up the good work!
    Your show is a great mix off all the wierd and wonderful things our community has to offer!

  25. Kendall says:

    Very inspiring! Thanks Cleve for the dedication and the example you have set before us!

  26. Jim says:

    You guys, this was an amazing show. Truly. What a great interview, and a great guest. Thank you.

  27. detnyre says:

    What a great show.

    You would think that the gay community could rally together to purchase and preserve Harvey’s camera shop – it seems like too important part of our history to be a gift shop.

    Derek

  28. I cannot wait to watch “Milk” after this interview. Thanks for the great interview!

  29. Xavi says:

    you’ve set a new standard! wonderful interview!

  30. renner says:

    input your comment here… Great show Fausto! It brought back a lot of memories, like when I met Cleve at the Names Project headquarters prior to the 1987 March on Washington. Should have left him my calling card! I have linked the show to my blog and recommended it over several LGBTTIQ listservs out here in them middle of nowhere.

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