#ResistanceRoots You’ve probably heard of the Red Scare, but have you heard of the Lavender Scare? It was a mid-20th-century campaign to institutionalize homophobia and normalize the persecution of LGBTQ people, leading to their mass dismissal from government service. /1 - ThreadSky

bambooshooti.bsky.social • 24 days ago

#ResistanceRoots

You’ve probably heard of the Red Scare, but have you heard of the Lavender Scare? It was a mid-20th-century campaign to institutionalize homophobia and normalize the persecution of LGBTQ people, leading to their mass dismissal from government service. /1

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cherylms.bsky.social•24 days ago

Nobody’s Normal by Roy Richard Grinker covers this in his book. Fantastic read. Highly recommend.

bambooshooti.bsky.social•24 days ago

Thank you, Cheryl. I'll add that to my list.

anitarrc.bsky.social•24 days ago

Thank you. New to me, we had similar campaigns in Europe, too.

bambooshooti.bsky.social•24 days ago

You're very welcome, Annette.

bambooshooti.bsky.social•24 days ago

When the Cold War began, the State Department began a campaign to get rid of communists and homosexuals, contriving a “loyalty test” based on “security principles” that included “sexual perversion” and “moral turpitude.” The language implicitly targeted LGBTQ people. /2

bambooshooti.bsky.social•24 days ago

More than 1700 people were denied federal jobs on allegations of homosexuality between 1947 and 1950. They were considered a security risk because their “behaviors” might make them vulnerable to blackmail or coercion in which they’d expose state secrets. /3

bsjcr.bsky.social•24 days ago

But, Pete's alcoholism and sexual assault activity make him ok?

bambooshooti.bsky.social•24 days ago

In June 1950, the Senate began an investigation into the “threat” of LGBTQ people in government, with one Repub claiming they were “as dangerous as the actual Communists.” Joseph McCarthy wove this into his anti-communist campaign, hiring Roy Cohn as chief counsel. /4

bambooshooti.bsky.social•24 days ago

McCarthy and Cohn got hundreds of LGBTQ people fired from government based on allegations, rumors and guilt by association. They silenced opponents by threatening them with rumors of homosexuality. Gay men were most at risk, but lesbians were also targeted. /5

bambooshooti.bsky.social•24 days ago

In 1953, Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10450, barring LGBTQ people from working in the federal government and military. Some 5,000 people were fired, including private contractors. Although less known than the Red Scare, the Lavender Scare harmed far more people. /end

earthdaddy.bsky.social•24 days ago

And people don't know about it

bambooshooti.bsky.social•24 days ago

Side note: Roy Cohn was a New York lawyer who represented Trump and introduced him to Rupert Murdoch. Cohn was also a political fixer who engineered Reagan’s electoral win in New York. Cohn’s homosexuality was an open secret, and he died of complications from AIDS in 1986.

sharro10.bsky.social•20 days ago

What hypocrites.....

padraigelliot.bsky.social•24 days ago

ROFL. Cohn and J. Edgar Hoover were both... well, you know. A big help to their moms.

inaalice.bsky.social•24 days ago

This is next. After they terrorize the Trans community, they will come for marriage equity. Then birth control

widerstand.bsky.social•24 days ago

You find the most interesting information.

bambooshooti.bsky.social•24 days ago

What a nice compliment. Thank you 😊

riversoflight.bsky.social•24 days ago

Yes, Dr. Eric Cervini wrote an incredible book about it called “The Deviant’s War,” it not only documents the persecution of queer federal workers, but also the government’s efforts to drive moral wedges between minorities who would’ve otherwise found economic class solidarity.

kathysadiemolly25.bsky.social•24 days ago

Gotta get that book!

bambooshooti.bsky.social•24 days ago

I love it when my little threads inspire further reading. There’s only so much I can fit in 250 to 300 words.

kathysadiemolly25.bsky.social•24 days ago

I wrote down the title! ☺️

tamara1m.bsky.social•24 days ago

Dangerous times in America and the world!

anitarrc.bsky.social•24 days ago

You are right the Trump/Musk dictatorship will be a danger for all of the Americas. And every democratic country

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