Lorenzo Hoopes, the 96-year-old former Mormon temple president, is losing his seat on the board of Oakland, California’s Paramount Theatre, a post he’s held for over three deacdes. Why now? Oh, just a little thing called “supporting Prop 8,” both financially and verbally, which Mayor Ron Dellums doesn’t think is a quality that best represents the Bay Area’s arts community.
How Donating to Prop 8 Got This Mormon Nonagenarian Kicked Off Oakland’s Theater Board
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Attmay
Good fucking riddance.
These “people” need to be ostracized from all levels of society. If you know anyone who happens to be a Mormon, do not talk to him, do not let him in your house. If you are a business owner and discover one of your employees is a Mormon, fire him. If those missionaries come to your door, do not be polite to them.
Mormons are to us as Muslims are to Jews.
Cam
Good, you wouldn’t want somebody on the board of the United Negro College fund if they were also a Klan member.
B
No. 1 · Cam wrote, “Good, you wouldn’t want somebody on the board of the United Negro College fund if they were also a Klan member.”
Oh, I’d give Lorenzo Hoopes a little slack in view of his age (96) but then an age-related excuse – senility – would itself be a good reason for him to leave the board.
The serious answer is that it is a political decision on the part of Oakland’s (rather liberal) mayor. Otherwise it would depend on to what extent the board determines what is performed in the theater. If the board’s primary function is to make sure there is enough income/donations to keep the theater going and adequately maintained, his personal views about Proposition Eight would be less of an issue than if his personal beliefs would impact the performances that are allowed there. BTW, it’s a beautiful theater.
Fitz
Dellums didn’t kick him off.. He punted into the next meeting. He is hoping that the annoying GLBT people drop it.
Paramount is a GORGEOUS space, with amazing acoustics. Real art deco too.
Lorenzo’s political activism is not his personal life, and it creates a distraction which the Board doesn’t need.
TommyOC
@B: Your metaphor falls grossly short of its intended mark. The NAACP is in no way similar to a theatre advisory board, both in composition and in purpose.
To modify your words and give them some level of appropriate scale, this situation is more akin to a Klan member belonging to the board of your local basketball league. Whereas theatres are stereotyped to attract an over-represented presence of gays, a basketball league would do the same for blacks.
See what I did there?
TommyOC
That said, I have to wonder if my pro-gay views would prevent me from serving on a sports board, or a charity board just because my views may not represent those of the majority of people I serve – a portion of people who would most likely see an under-representation of people who share my views.
And I wonder if that would be right. What would my defense be? Could I say that my personal views on homosexuality are kept completely separate from the other causes I advocate and donate services for? Would that be an adequate defense for me to keep a (hypothetical) position I have justly served for (hypothetically) a number of years?
And if you say “yes, that would be an adequate defense,” then one wonders why this old guy is being kicked off his theatre board.
TommyOC
@Cam: I need to make a correction. I misattributed the metaphor to another poster. It was yours.
I also will correct my opening paragraph:
“Your metaphor falls grossly short of its intended mark. The United Negro College Fund is in no way similar to a theatre advisory board, both in composition and in purpose.”