Barney Frank: “Norm Mineta, in a very uncharacteristic act, not for Norm, who was a great, generous man, Norm Mineta, in an act…”

“Norm Mineta, in a very uncharacteristic act, not for Norm, who was a great, generous man, Norm Mineta, in an act uncharacteristic for a Member of Congress, involved himself in that debate to make the point--not simply about me; I was incidental to the broader point he was making--that human rights ought to be treated as indivisible, that it is not for this group and that group, and that people should, yes, fight for themselves, but having fought for themselves, they should not stint from fighting for others. That was a lesson that Norm taught a whole lot of people in, as has been said, not an obnoxious way, a loud way, but with a genuine warmth and sincerity. As I look back at some point on my congressional career, having had the opportunity to work with Norm Mineta on that bill and having watched the way in which he dealt with it, the way in which he turned what could have been a source of anger into a lesson for all of us about the indivisibility of the fight for justice, will be one of the highlights.”