Still from video at Berlin's memorial to gay Holocaust victims While plenty of Americans still haven't decided whether slavery merits an apology, Germany is preparing to clean up its human rights history with a plan to annul the convictions of over 50,000 men for homosexuality, and to compensate those who were convicted under the obsolete law. The anti-gay law actually dated from 1871 but was made harsher by the Nazis in 1935, adding a sentence of 10 years at forced labor. Even after the war, the law was enforced until 1968 in East Germany and 1969 in West Germany; it wasn't repealed until after reunification, in 1994.
A German friend of mine said one advantage they have is that the people running the country now grew up in the 50s, when German parents were too busy just trying to survive to worry about what their kids were up to. And the kids were all rebelling against their uptight parents.
Well, yeah. Mexico was the first country to do so. Also, our first constitution (1824) was the first to spell out equality regardless of race. Our present one includes equal rights regardless of gender, gender preference, belief or non-belief. Yeah, it spells out that atheists are equal before the law (which alas, doesn't always mean that much in practice).
As a child growing up in Western Europe in the 1970s and 80s, my rather strange parents took their children on vacation to Eastern Germany, Czechoslovakia and Poland. (Hungary was considered "too Western" and I didn't visit it until 1990.) All of this is to say that srsly, Eastern Europe in the 70s and 80s was not the worst place in the world. I do blame them for my life-long thing for men in uniform. But that's my problem, not the world's.
It always amuses me when people don't understand why lesbians don't usually get included in the NO WEIRD SEX laws. Haven't any of them ever watched any porn? Girls getting it on is hardly a recent male fantasy - it's the main reason the BIBLE doesn't condemn women banging each other. Watching two concubines getting frisky was a time-honored way of getting a boner.
That is SO UTTERLY WRONG it's hard to even know where to start with it. It's just more of that "them old timers did everything wrong" nonsense that gets spread around by people later.
Actually, that would be the now-US-state of Vermont! At the time it did this it was an independent republic. But Spain did it pretty early on.. and included the colonies (something some of the other colonial powers did in stages).
And yeah, the forced conversion to Catholicism back in that same time frame was not so good. Another one of the causes of Texas becoming independent of Mexico. Well, can't have it all and what's a little Spanish Inquisition leaking out to the colonies, eh? :|
Oh, awesome! That had always been my assumption, that this was their nod to the "large boned opera gal" so that's nice to see it was so completely intentional.
That sounds like a book I should probably read. Have you, worth it?
"Ordinary people are cool even when their government are shitbaskets." We have that in our own southern states. Makes you wonder who the fuck is doing all the voting (or at least the vote counting.)
As Chuck Jones said in one of his memoirs, Chuck Amuck:
“Missing the great, pink, busty quality of the Wagnerian diva, we invested all the fat curves we owned in Brünnhilde’s charger.”
A German friend of mine said one advantage they have is that the people running the country now grew up in the 50s, when German parents were too busy just trying to survive to worry about what their kids were up to. And the kids were all rebelling against their uptight parents.
Well, yeah. Mexico was the first country to do so. Also, our first constitution (1824) was the first to spell out equality regardless of race. Our present one includes equal rights regardless of gender, gender preference, belief or non-belief. Yeah, it spells out that atheists are equal before the law (which alas, doesn't always mean that much in practice).
As a child growing up in Western Europe in the 1970s and 80s, my rather strange parents took their children on vacation to Eastern Germany, Czechoslovakia and Poland. (Hungary was considered "too Western" and I didn't visit it until 1990.) All of this is to say that srsly, Eastern Europe in the 70s and 80s was not the worst place in the world. I do blame them for my life-long thing for men in uniform. But that's my problem, not the world's.
It always amuses me when people don't understand why lesbians don't usually get included in the NO WEIRD SEX laws. Haven't any of them ever watched any porn? Girls getting it on is hardly a recent male fantasy - it's the main reason the BIBLE doesn't condemn women banging each other. Watching two concubines getting frisky was a time-honored way of getting a boner.
Cartman's plaintive inquiries about scheiss videos is as close as I want to get, thank you. * shudder *
It's awfully puzzling how we managed to convince the world we're the most moral people on the planet, isn't it?
That dude is funny.
Have you seen "Deathdealer"? GREAT short film. Rollins is brilliant.
So I guess using the device pegged them as criminals?
That is SO UTTERLY WRONG it's hard to even know where to start with it. It's just more of that "them old timers did everything wrong" nonsense that gets spread around by people later.
Also, if your definition of sex is penis-centric, it's difficult to say lesbian sex is sex at all.
Actually, that would be the now-US-state of Vermont! At the time it did this it was an independent republic. But Spain did it pretty early on.. and included the colonies (something some of the other colonial powers did in stages).
And yeah, the forced conversion to Catholicism back in that same time frame was not so good. Another one of the causes of Texas becoming independent of Mexico. Well, can't have it all and what's a little Spanish Inquisition leaking out to the colonies, eh? :|
Oh, awesome! That had always been my assumption, that this was their nod to the "large boned opera gal" so that's nice to see it was so completely intentional.
That sounds like a book I should probably read. Have you, worth it?
"Ordinary people are cool even when their government are shitbaskets." We have that in our own southern states. Makes you wonder who the fuck is doing all the voting (or at least the vote counting.)
That stuff was missing from all of my history books. Fucking Texas school boards...