Talk:Bess Myerson/Archive 1

Untitled
The "Vote for Cuomo..." quote probably deserves no place in the Edward Koch article. It certainly does not belong here. Wikismile 21:30, 9 February 2006 (UTC)


 * It's barely pertinent here, unless someone can demonstrate that Meyerson created it, or, I suppose, that her hanging out with Mister Ed was her idea. &hearts; «Charles A. L.» 02:58, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

How many Jewish Miss Americas have there been? Google can only find Meyerson, at least with my search terms. Wikipedia is not paper; I don't think it's unreasonable to say she's the only Jew ever to be crowned Miss America until there's another one. Certainly it's less misleading. I just don't want to make the change without being certain. &amp;hearts; «Charles A. L.» 03:04, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

I saw somewhere that she was the only Jewish Miss America. And it happened in 1945. Please... Talk about a sentimental/fixed win... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.33.65.138 (talk • contribs) 13:39, 17 July 2007

--Irrelevant. Keep your anti-semitic conspiracy theories off of the discussion board. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.3.244.182 (talk) 04:23, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

Speech
The full text of the 1970 speech is inappropriate. An external link would be much more appropriate if one could be found. Khatru2 01:44, 25 November 2006 (UTC)

I was the one who typed and contributed Bess Meyerson's speech. I looked for a link but could find one that contained the speech. I had kept the handout since 1970 when I heard her speak in San Francisco.

For one thing I find it fascinating that Meyerson --who had been a beauty queen-- gave an anti-war speech. How courageous! That's shocking in and of itself--

More importantly, we find ourselves entering the final stages of another unpopular war. There are many comparisons in Bess Meyerson's speech to today's political environment.

The speech is also a window into the style of the anti-war movement in 1970. Quite fascinating. The feeling is there in her words.

User:Samitami.

Discrimination Claim Overstated
I think the discrimination claim by Bess Myerson is overstated. She was elected Miss New York, and thereafter became Miss America. If there had been any serious opposition to a "Miss America" who was Jewish, there was plenty of opportunity to derail her candidacy at an earlier stage of the proceedings, and to do it in a way that would not readily lend itself to a charge of religious discrimination. The conversation with Lenora Slaughter, regarding the proposal to change Myerson's name to something "less Jewish sounding," may be more a reflection of Myerson's perception of it than Slaughter's intention. First of all, I presume that, by the time they had conversation, Myerson already had been elected (it would have made no sense to have the conversation earlier than that). Slaughter may have wished to diffuse any controversy over Myerson's religious beliefs and give Myerson the opportunity to be judged by the public on the merits, without having to constantly refer to the religious issue. Many famous personalities changed their names, including Bert Parks, who was Jewish, and whose name originally was Bert Jacobson.

I am not sure, but I seem to recall that Tawny Godin, the Miss America of 1976, was Jewish.

John Paul Parks (talk) 18:44, 12 April 2008 (UTC)