forum Anyone want a British friend? https://www.notebook.ai/forum/general-chat/did-you-know-lostboy2

Started July 06, 2018 by Deleted user

tune

Okay so I just learned about Eisenhower's Lavender Scare and I'm really fucking pissed right now okay

OOF I HATE THE LAVENDAR SCARE IT WAS ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE

Educate me I have not heard of this

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay. I'll try to remember all of that and be a good 3rd-in-command.

RAD TY
but you'll catch on pretty quickly lol
ALSO COLUCK IS ADOPTING TWO KITTENS THEIR NAMES ARE THOR AND LOKI AND WE'RE ALL SO EXCITED pics are on like… p 87-89? somewhere around there

OKAY SO
we're in the cold war
and like
we are going through the Red Scare and McCarthyism
Red Scare is like… communists!! out to destroy america!!! gotta stop them!! being communist makes you a traitor to your country!!! and like you have all these celebrities and government workers and EVEN RANDOM PPL being accused of being Communist without any real evidence, in most cases
McCarthy was the guy in the gov that promoted this practice of calling out "communists"

so it became known as mccarthyism

So what's the lavender scare?

AND THEN LIKE
Even though the government had been a pretty safe space for all these LGBTQ+ people… people started to get scared of the homo/bisexuals and kinda associated them with Communists
so the red scare began to spread to gay people
and they were getting persecuted
(I'll grab my notes in a minute to be more specific)
and it was just really freaking terrible (I would use stronger language but I don't cuss. But uh.. yeah it was terrible.) And like…. in some court cases
they're essentially like
same-sex attraction/being gay is equivalent to being a pervert/sex offender/pedophile
so uh
yeah
it was absolutely terrible
and they're like
sex perverts can't/shouldn't be serving in the government
so the LGBTQ+ community lost a safe space
bc Americans were SO homophobic and SO paranoid and SO dumb

I believe lavender is one of the colors that was associated with being gay…. maybe it was one of the flowers they exchanged or whatever? can't remember exact nomenclature lol

That's dumb as hell
Sbfdjvfdjvb anger

I believe lavender is one of the colors that was associated with being gay…. maybe it was one of the flowers they exchanged or whatever? can't remember exact nomenclature lol

Interesting

So what's the lavender scare?

Basically like that except with lesbians in government or military positions (Such as WAVES or WASP)

If you didn't like the woman you worked under you could report her as a lesbian, get her fired, and take her job. (I just read an account of that)

and it was all under the guise of being in the name of national security

So what's the lavender scare?

Basically like that except with lesbians in government or military positions (Such as WAVES or WASP)

If you didn't like the woman you worked under you could report her as a lesbian, get her fired, and take her job. (I just read an account of that)

yeah that's part of it
but not just lesbians
literally all gay/bi/lesbian gov workers

So what's the lavender scare?

Basically like that except with lesbians in government or military positions (Such as WAVES or WASP)

If you didn't like the woman you worked under you could report her as a lesbian, get her fired, and take her job. (I just read an account of that)

Hmmmmmmmmmdcgrrjsejgfmmmmmmore anger

I believe lavender is one of the colors that was associated with being gay…. maybe it was one of the flowers they exchanged or whatever? can't remember exact nomenclature lol

Interesting

Lavender is often associated with lesbians, and I think it had to do with women a lot

also uhhh there was this really popular preacher after WW2 who preached Christianity as a shield against sin/evil/bad stuff and you know what somehow being gay got filed on the side of bad stuff so that's not good either

some notes from my study guide:
The work environment in the clerical sections of the government was highly feminized, which allowed openly gay men a healthy workspace, as well as lesbians. Officials turned a blind eye to the high LGBTQ+ population in the government, because there were so many workers who they'd lose; besides, their sexuality is their business.

In the 1930s and early 1940s attitudes towards homosexuality in DC could be described as ambivalent, but generally favorable. During the late 1940s and early 1950s attitudes towards homosexuality changed from genial ambiguity to fear and bigotry. This change started with the belief that homosexual people were predatory and a danger to society. Following Hoover’s statements, stricter sex crime laws were enacted, including homosexual behavior as a punishable crime. Finally, Eisenhower's order to investigate federal employees to determine if they were suitable to be in society, which affected the lives of many gay and bisexual government workers. This negative change of rights for gay men and women and bisexuals happened quickly because people were scared and needed a scapegoat, somewhere to take their anger out.

The federal government used national security to ban federal employment of homosexuals by claiming homosexuality was a form of sex perversion, and sex perverts shouldn't be serving in the government. Furthermore, according to the Hoey commission, homosexuals are emotionally unstable and have weak moral fiber. The goal of these actions was to force LGBTQ+ individuals from government positions. This affected the LGBTQ community in the following ways; fear of coming out, struggle to find jobs, blackmail, and fear of arrest.

oh yeah this too lol
they thought being gay inherently meant you were weaker in terms of morality and more susceptible to blackmail and that puts the gov in a critical position so CAN'T HAVE THAT

The Lavender Scare limited opportunities for gay men and women and bisexual Americas in the 1950s by discharging them from military and firing them from government positions, publicly outing them. Not only did this limit the rights of the LGBTQ community but it also led to suicides of several gay men and women and bisexuals. This ushered in an era in which LGBTQ+ individuals were afraid to fight back, or even be openly gay/bi, because they didn't want to limit their options. The Lavender Scare, by using national security is a rationale for laws passed, effectively banned all gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals from government service. In short, the Lavender Scare was a result of homophobia, and led to the death and ostracism of gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals.

okay then random piece of evidence from my essay outline practice

Washington Post claimed that the government had become a “haven for sexual degenerates, including those who engaged in homosexual activity.” (5.9C, Shifting beliefs in homosexuality, Philip Jenkins)

Those who engage in acts of homosexuality and other perverted sex activities are unsuitable for employment in the Federal Government. …illegal and immoral acts, but they also constitute security risks in positions of public trust. (5.9D, Senate Hearing Commission Report)

It is generally believed that those who engage in overt acts of perversion lack the emotional stability of normal persons. In addition there is an abundance of evidence to sustain the conclusion that indulgence in acts of sex perversion weakens the moral fiber of an individual to a degree that he is not suitable for a position of responsibility.
(5.9D, Senate Hearing Commission Report)

Well Thank you for the History Lesson. It's too bad that such things had to happen but that's just the way things went.

so uh yeah there's your lesson on how homophobic America was during the Cold War

also it kinda sucks bc…
"In the 1930s and early 1940s attitudes towards homosexuality in DC could be described as ambivalent, but generally favorable. During the late 1940s and early 1950s attitudes towards homosexuality changed from genial ambiguity to fear and bigotry." from my notes again

Well Thank you for the History Lesson. It's too bad that such things had to happen but that's just the way things went.

I mean yeah? It is bad. but I don't think we can just say that's the way things went, that shows apathy and if we don't care about and study the past we can't learn from it and improve

That's awful

Okay, no offense American, but WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK????? Have you no respect for the LGBTQA+ community?

dude it really is
and like
I was in my history class learning this
and I'm just like… horrified and outraged and heartbroken? like so many people had to go back into the closet and lost their jobs and friends bc of rampant homophobia based upon the false axiom that gay=communist leanings and susceptibility to blackmail

Okay, no offense American, but WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK????? Have you no respect for the LGBTQA+ community?

NO THEY DID NOT
IT WAS FREAKING TERRIBLE THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING

Okay, no offense American, but WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK????? Have you no respect for the LGBTQA+ community?

They still don't

It's just not as bad anymore