Tomorrow's WSJ has an interesting piece on the late Harry Aleo, Noe Valley's most outspoken Republican. It's a good read, if for no other reason than it shows how tolerant Noe Valley isn't. But what caught our eye was this:
So, in hopes of some day founding a museum about San Francisco's Noe Valley neighborhood, resident Joel Panzer has set out to archive the signs and other remnants of Mr. Aleo's office. In addition to the salty, handwritten placards, these include a phonograph, posters of Ronald Reagan and an Uncle Sam lamp.[WSJ: In Left-Leaning San Francisco, There Was Something About Harry ]
[Photo: Bill Yenne]
12 comments:
Yes, a good read in the Wall Street Journal about Harry. For anyone interested, the documentary on Harry and his famous horse - LOST IN THE FOG - is available for sale at Video Wave on Castro. If you want to see it for free, however, I'm going to have a free outdoor screening on October 24th at 8PM (in conjunction with the Harvest Festival) in the parking lot next to the B of A. Come celebrate Harry on the 24th.
John Corey
LOST IN THE FOG
I am in awe of the chutzpah of Aleo and his cronies. Aleo used his shop window to say in furious detail how much he hated his neighbors, calling us all sorts of names, and interspersing this with outright bigotry and support for the LA Dodgers.
Then, in the other window, "Buy our video! Give us money! Wasn't Harry Aleo great!"
Well, sorry, mate, I choose not to patronize or condescend to Harry Aleo on your terms. I'll judge him on his. He knew exactly what he was saying, and he meant it. He was a vicious, bitter, unstable misanthrope with odious opinions and you can keep your hero-worship of him and his damn horse.
"He was a vicious, bitter, unstable misanthrope with odious opinions and you can keep your hero-worship of him and his damn horse." That's exactly right. Only thing separating him from hundreds of other old, bitter men displaying their grumpiness without shame in this town is that he made a lot of money flipping real estate. Selling to the same people he calls "loonies" - how's that for gratefulness. For that we honor him like some kind of a hero? If we start honoring crackpots, we'll never stop in this city. Good riddance to him and his trash-filled window front.
C'mon! He was a harmless character, and the street is certainly less interesting without him.
Harry Aleo LOVED Noe Valley!
He just didn't like those who felt "entitled".
And Harry was the best landlord - fair and honest.
Too bad you never got to know him.
I fundamentally disagreed with the message that each one of those signs delivered, yet my Saturday morning walk to coffee with my kids will not be the same without him. Stopping at that window for a chuckle was a treat EVERY time. That's the end of an era, on 24th at least...
>>He just didn't like those who felt "entitled"
It would be ironic if he actually felt that way. Considering it came from someone who could afford to make his entire shop window a self-adulation of his own beliefs. Sure, there are plenty of entitled people in NV. But who else's felt entitled or self-indulgent enough to do that?
Feh. Good riddance to a complete moron. I'd prefer another nail salon to having to walk yet again past that display of hatred, narrow-mindedness, and living in the past. Screw Harry. They can't get that crap out of the window fast enough for me. Just what made him think I cared what his opinion of his neighbors was I don't know.
Happily I have had absolutely nothing to do with the SOB in all the 20-odd years I've lived here.
Horray for homogeneity and pleasantville. Let's not have any alternate opinions. I'm sure Harry was as one dimensional as everybody would like to paint him.
Celebrate diversity, except diversity of opinion...
Yeah, what's up with the lack of hate mongers, Nazis and KKK in Noe Valley. How about meth and crack heads? We don't have enough of those living here, either. Sure glad to see other people bemoaning the lack of diversity here.
What else would you like to support under the generic umbrella of "diversity"? Celebrating "diversity" qua "diversity" is utterly pointless. Try celebrating values instead.
"Hate" is not an opinion, it is a sickness. "Hate" is not the way to start a conversation but a way to prevent them.
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