Gay History Month

Discussion in 'Ethics, Morality, & Justice' started by Orleander, Mar 10, 2009.

  1. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    I can't wait to see how this one plays out.
    Why would they change Romeo & Juliet to celebrate gay history month instead of actually studying historical gay people like Leonardo DaVinci, J Edgar Hoover, etc?


    Prosecution for Parents Dodging LGBT History Month

    The parents of at least 30 students who were yanked out of school for a week of LGBT history lessons at a primary school in the United Kingdom are facing prosecution.

    Students at the George Tomlinson Primary School in Leytonstone, East London were absent without leave for a week of instruction on gay history – including a special adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet retitled Romeo and Julian and a lesson about gay penguins Roy and Silo.

    Now the Waltham Forest Council is treating this as a mass truancy and threatening to prosecute, saying parents could be dragged into court, fined and forced to sign parenting contracts.

    Many of the parents said the history month was at odds with their religious beliefs. Some say they notified the school of their intent to keep their children home. Some say they were told it was their only option if they didn’t want their kids to attend the school lessons.
     
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  3. Baron Max Registered Senior Member

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    Why didn't they also have live demonstrations? Then the kids could see as well as hear about gays and gay activities. Much better lesson plans, wouldn't you say?

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    Hmm, when is "Celebrate Pedophile Day"? Perfect for elementary kids, don'cha' think?

    Baron Max
     
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  5. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    I just hate that they are saying "respect gay rights" while wanting the parents prosecuted for enforcing their rights.
    and when did Gay History Month come about???
     
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  7. Baron Max Registered Senior Member

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    When is "Respect Heterosexual Rights" month?

    We have "National Black Month" or something like that ...when is "National White Month"? Or "National Mulato Month"?

    Baron Max
     
  8. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    well, growing up, every month was National White Month. The only black guy in our history book was George Washington Carver.
     
  9. Baron Max Registered Senior Member

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    Huh? And you had a celebration of that every month????

    Baron Max
     
  10. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    uh, yeah
     
  11. Baron Max Registered Senior Member

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    How was it celebrated? You're either very fuckin' confused, or you're just saying that bullshit in some misquided attempt at irony.

    Baron Max
     
  12. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    J. Edgar Hoover wasn't gay, and there is no evidence Leonardo was either.
     
  13. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Mod Hat - The problem with second-tier hatemongers

    Mod Hat — The problem with second-tier hatemongers

    Go troll someone else's subforum. If you wish to apply as a special-needs member whose intellectual and psychological handicaps require exclusive consideration, send Plazma a letter explaining what your particular mental retardation is, and we'll do our best to accommodate it.

    In the meantime, either contribute something useful to these discussions or simply shut the fuck up, Max.

    Seriously, I'm sick of putting up with your lack of good faith. No more hatemongering from you, Max. Either contribute something of value or I will see you out the door—permanently.
     
  14. superstring01 Moderator

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    12,110
    Really? Gay history month? Honestly?

    Oye veh.

    ~String
     
  15. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Wait for the imported version

    Yeah, wait 'til it comes to the States. Hell, we can just sequester the kids and make them watch MTV for a month.

    After all, they're public school students, so detailed lessons on Oscar Wilde or Sir Isaac Newton wouldn't help.

    And I wonder how it would go over in Kansas or wherever when they got to the part about the gay Vice President of the United States in the 19th century.
     
  16. swarm Registered Senior Member

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    http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2423/was-j-edgar-hoover-a-cross-dresser

    http://www.trivia-library.com/b/was-renaissance-artist-leonardo-da-vinci-gay-part-2.htm
     
  17. Pandaemoni Valued Senior Member

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    3,634
    I don't have a conceptual problem with Gay History Month if the perception is that the accomplishments of gay historical figures is downplayed or overlooked. The problem is that the homosexuality of most historical figures is raised as a speculation (even if a plausible speculation) rather than a matter of well settled fact.

    "Suspected Gay History Month" has a bad ring to it.

    The truth is that it is a good thing that we do not have hard evidence oon the sexuality of figures like Lincoln or Da Vinci. Facing facts, some proportion of historical figures were gay, and the truth of the matter is that we can't tell their accomplishments from anyone elses. That is a more positive message than the implication that either (i) homosexuality in some way contributed to the figure's accomplishments or (worse) (ii) the figure accomplished these things "despite" being gay.
     
  18. swarm Registered Senior Member

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    4,207
    Oscar Wilde and Alan Turing were both gay and both killed themselves because of persecution.

    Sir Isaac Newton avoided women and lived with his male Cambridge room mate for twenty years, but he was also rabidly religious and there is no record that they were lovers. He could well have been asexual in his expression. As it is, there is no record.
     
  19. swarm Registered Senior Member

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    4,207
    http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2502/was-abraham-lincoln-gay
     
  20. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Nicholas Fatio de Dullier

    Sir Isaac's most likely lover was Nicholas Fatio de Dullier.

    The book [Principia] was widely accepted, and soon after this, Newton became a Member of Parliament. But all the while he was in the House of Commons, the only time he spoke was to say, "Could someone close the window? I've got a draught on my back." Shortly after this fiery maiden speech, Newton became depressed, to the point that he almost had a breakdown. This came during the only time the unmarried Newton ever appeared to be in love in any sense, when he became obsessed with a young Swiss mathematician called Nicholas Fatio de Duillier. The lad shared Newton's interest in alchemy. But then Fatio sent Newton a desperate letter:

    "Yesterday, I had a sudden sense as might be caused by the breaking of an ulcer. As yet I have no doctor that perhaps could save my life. I thank God my soul is quiet, in which you have had the chief hand."​

    Then Fatio spoiled this by living for another sixty-one years.

    Even now, you can't help changing your perception of Newton slightly once you know he was probably gay. Can you imagine him saying, "Because of gravity, I can't help but go down on a body with a large mass"? But worryingly for Newton, Fatio started leaving papers around that would give away Newton's secret life as an alchemist. Which shows how fleeting the prejudices of society are, that in the 1680s a bloke could think, "If I'm not careful, that bloody boyfriend could get me outed as an alchemist".

    Newton and de Duillier parted after about four years, when the pressures of the relationship seemed to get to Newton.


    (Mark Steel)

    There's more to the story, but the online episode is gone, and I haven't the time right now to transcribe those parts. I'm out for a few hours, so I'll catch you all in later hours.
    __________________

    Notes:

    Steel, Mark. "Sir Isaac Newton". The Mark Steel Lectures. See http://www.open2.net/marksteel/newton_lecture.html
     
  21. Thoreau Valued Senior Member

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    3,380
    Oh goodness, I'm surprised I didn't see this thread sooner.

    I agree with them teaching GBLT rights and stuff in school, but I don't agree they should be going after the parents because of it.

    "Support Gay Rights or DIE!" seems a bit too... forceful.

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  22. superstring01 Moderator

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    Indeed. This is precisely why the core curriculum & base funding should be set at the state level, and the "extra" stuff done at the local level, voted on by the citizens of each school district.

    I've been reading on Richard I "Cœur de Lion" of England, and all evidence shows that he was pretty damned gay. Turns out that there were a lot of us.

    Baron Von Steuben apparently came to the fledgling USA on account of having to flee Prussia due to some scandals involving him and another man.
    Alex The Great is a tough call because sexuality wasn't defined as clearly as it is now, but it's obvious that he was quite fond Hephaestion, more than was normal for even those times.
    Word around the scuttlebutt has it that James Buchanan was family.
    God knows how many kings and queens (ha) throughout Europe.
    While it's easy to portray a great many of the Roman aristocrats as gay, it's hard to determine who was, truly, and who was not, truly, queer on account of the fact that to them you were only "gay" if you bottomed.

    While I could not care less if it was taught in schools (again, let the locals figure that one out), I do wonder who was and who wasn't just to satiate my own personal curiosity.

    ~String
     
  23. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    W. R. D. King

    The centerpiece of that, it seems, is one William R. Devane King, perhaps the first gay vice president of the United States.

    (Boyblue's telling of the story is a bit more entertaining for being both a bit more presumptuous and considerably dressed up in nearly stereotypical gay melodrama.)
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Roberts, Gregory. "A look at King County's original (ex) namesake". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. March 13, 2006. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/262697_gcenter13.html

    Blueboy. "William Rufus de Vane King". Boyblue's Backdoor. Accessed March 12, 2009. http://www.geocities.com/boybluetoo/rufey.html
     

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