If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Milk argues that his death should force society to acknowledge the existence of closeted gay people rather than let their identities remain hidden.
- In plain terms
- If I die, make sure people know gay people exist.
- What can you take from it?
- Visibility is crucial for social change even at great personal risk.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is visibility worth the ultimate sacrifice?
- How does death impact a movement?
Another view
This perspective prioritizes visibility over personal safety which can be controversial.
More from Harvey Milk
You gotta give them hope.
Permalink to quote #2 Somewhere in Des Moines or San Antonio there is a young gay person who all the sudden realizes that he or she is gay; knows that if their parents find out they…
Permalink to quote #3 All over the country, they're reading about me, and the story doesn't center on me being gay. It's just about a gay person who is doing his job.
Permalink to quote #4
Related quotes
My chief request is that anyone who is a servant of God be ready and willing, to carry this letter forward; may it never be hidden or stolen by anyone, but rat…
Saint PatrickSaint Patrick quote #11 Toll for the brave - The brave! that are no more; All sunk beneath the wave, Fast by their native shore!
William CowperWilliam Cowper quote #13 Germans...we do not know how to live: but we know how to die...yes, and fabulously!
Joseph GoebbelsJoseph Goebbels quote #25