{"id":28979,"date":"2023-10-10T12:28:52","date_gmt":"2023-10-10T19:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=28979"},"modified":"2023-10-10T12:28:53","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T19:28:53","slug":"blue-skies-blue-angels-and-not-many-members-of-the-public-at-feinstein-memorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/10\/10\/blue-skies-blue-angels-and-not-many-members-of-the-public-at-feinstein-memorial\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue skies, Blue Angels\u2014and not many members of the public\u2014at Feinstein memorial"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

More cops than mourners as the late mayor and senator is remembered fondly by her friends.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By JJ LANSING<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

OCTOBER 8, 2023 (48hills.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday afternoon, under blue skies and Blue Angels, San Francisco celebrated the life and legacy of Senator Dianne Feinstein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the steps of the City Hall Feinstein walked as mayor, Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Mayor London Breed accompanied Eileen Mariano, Feinstein\u2019s granddaughter. Many members of congress made the six-hour flight from DC, alongside dozens of staffers of the late Senator. Pelosi acknowledged both groups in her remarks, the section of staffers laughing with each other when she referenced their infamous office t-shirts: \u201cI survived Feinstein\u2019s staff meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Blue Angels, the controversial flying team that Feinstein brought to SF,<\/a> makes a \u2018D\u2019 in her honor while interrupting her memorial.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sweltering heat and direct sunlight resulted in about half the chairs allotted for the public remaining empty \u2014 there were more cops working at the memorial than there were people for them to monitor. Among the press, there were shared knowing glances and raised eyebrows at some things not mentioned about Feinstein\u2019s career and impact on San Francisco<\/a>. There was, of course, a silent understanding that critical analysis of a political legacy was not the objective of this event, but vague amusement lingered in its place, and in the rows of empty seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a somber occasion, there was joy found everywhere. Many who attended chose to forego wearing black. Each of the brief speakers had a laugh or two \u2014 Schumer at himself when he had to chase his speech across the dais after a gust of wind picked it up, Breed at the sky when the jets overhead interrupted a speech for the seventh time (\u201cI told the Blue Angels [they could fly over] twice!\u201d) Pelosi when recounting how, after Feinstein\u2019s ten years as mayor, local children were flabbergasted by the new nominees: \u201cCan a man<\/em> be mayor of San Francisco?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breed recalled being a young teenager in San Francisco during the years Feinstein served as mayor, and having the chance to play at her events with her school band. \u201cShe showed us a world where women lead, where we lift each other up, so that girls like me could follow in her footsteps,\u201d she said of her predecessor, with palpable reverence. \u201cDianne Feinstein did it right. She was our mayor, our champion \u2014 she was the leader of our band.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Biden contributed pre-recorded remarks: \u201cOn this day of remembrance, we reflect on the many ways such a pioneer made history, and built a legacy that will benefit Americans for generations to come \u2014 and that\u2019s not an exaggeration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surely it\u2019s not, as her accomplishments are listed and begin to pile up \u2014 the creation of Pier 39, standing by cable cars and conservation efforts of Lake Tahoe, establishing Death Valley and Joshua Tree as National Parks, efforts to ban torture and assault weapons, the AMBER alert system\u2014even the Blue Angels roaring by disruptively, preparing for Fleet Week, are here because Feinstein brought them here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pelosi smiled up at the jets as they passed again and again. \u201cThis is just the beginning! All weekend, Fleet Week [is] dedicated to Dianne. Flyovers all weekend. She would like it like that.\u201d After dedicating 2023\u2019s Fleet Week to Feinstein, Pelosi announced the jets would be in \u201cmissing woman\u201d formation to honor her memory. One Blue Angel broke away from the pack, skywriting a giant \u201cD\u201d over the memorial. Pelosi and Schumer grinned and whispered to each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schumer remembered her as one-of-a-kind, professionally and personally. \u201cHer integrity made her sparkle like a diamond in the senate,\u201d he said with awe. \u201cWhat a loving, caring friend she was. When my daughter moved to San Francisco out of college, I got a call from Dianne. She asked me, \u2018does your daughter have anywhere to go for the high holy services?\u2019 I said, no. So she said, \u2018she\u2019s going to services with me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harris could attest firsthand to walking the path Feinstein carved, making her own ascension from San Francisco politics to serving as California\u2019s junior senator under Feinstein. She also warmly remembers a no-nonsense woman. \u201cWhen I was sworn into the senate in 2017, it was Dianne who welcomed me. She invited me to her senate hideaway. There, with one hand, she presented me with a glass of California chardonnay; and with the other hand, a binder full of her draft bills.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For all her colleagues\u2019 remembrances of a fierce political force, Feinstein\u2019s granddaughter remembers her family matriarch and mentor. \u201cI would spend nights at my Grandmother\u2019s house whenever she was home in San Francisco. She taught me to play chess, although she hated losing. We would pick flowers from her garden and draw them together, although only her drawings were worth making into prints. She would give me haircuts at home in the kitchen, much to my parents\u2019 dismay, because my hair always turned out crooked. And she loved teaching me about San Francisco history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a nation, when we gather to remember a monumental figure of politics, their track record is naturally scrutinized to quantify if the good outweighed the bad. Feinstein has been no exception, and she of all people would welcome the dialogue \u2014 though it seems the most incredible thing about her life and career was that she got to have both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the end of the day,\u201d said Mariano, \u201cWe would curl up close on the couch, and watch a movie or our favorite TV show. And when it was time to go to sleep, she would say goodnight, and she would always sing me the song, \u2018You Are My Sunshine.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More cops than mourners as the late mayor and senator is remembered fondly by her friends. By JJ LANSING OCTOBER 8, 2023 (48hills.org) On Thursday afternoon, under blue skies and Blue Angels, San Francisco celebrated the life and legacy of Senator Dianne Feinstein. On the steps of the City Hall… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[96],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28979"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28979"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28981,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28979\/revisions\/28981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}