Accept Everyone

Dolly Parton accepted everyone.

 

She accepted you if you were:

Gay

Straight

Southerner

Not Southerner

Black

Hispanic

Latino

Asian

White

Republican

Democrat

Independent

Religious

Not Religious

Rich

Poor

Homeless

Hungry

Illiterate

A Veteran

Female

Male

Disabled

Not Disabled

 

We need to ALL be more like how Dolly Parton was.

Like make September 25th  (9-25) Dolly Parton Day.

11: Marriage

11 years ago today (June 26, 2015) the US Supreme Court made Gay Marriage legal throughout most of the United States.

Gay Marriage remains illegal on some Indian Reservations and the US Territory of American Samoa.

Massachusetts became the first US State or Territory to allow Gay Marriage in 2004.

68% of American Adults approve of Gay Marriage.

Homosexuality was first decriminalized in 1962 with Illinois becoming the first US State or Territory and last decriminalized (by the US Supreme Court) in 2003 in Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.

However, there is currently a new Lavender Scare causing Unnecessary Mass Moral Panic across the United States (the same way it did in the 1940s-1970s.)

Many US States (such as Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, Alabama, Indiana, Arizona, South Dakota, Iowa, Montana, Arkansas, Tennessee, etc.)  currently have or are working on making Anti-Homosexuality Laws where they can including: Education, Sports, “Don’t Say Gay”, Pride Parade Bans, Gay Book Bans, Boycotts,  etc.

The US Federal Government is also looking into doing away with Gay Marriage and many other Federal Homosexual Protections.

Politicians and Groups of People across the United States are trying to cause panic and fear against Homosexuals so attention is deflected from the real issues and so People have a Scapegoat to blame all their problems on.

I’m not Gay, but I support Gay Rights and Gay Marriage because I am Straight, but not Narrow (Minded.)

 

 

Paragraph 175

Paragraph 175

Many People believe that the Nazis made it illegal to be Gay in Germany, but that is not the case.

Paragraph 175 (which made it illegal to be Gay, but not a Lesbian) was created in 1871.

Anyone convicted of being Gay was sent to a Regular German Prison.

Between 1902 and 1918 (when World War 1 ended) 9,384 Gays were convicted in Germany and sentenced to Prison.

Between 1919-1932 (during the Weimer Republic) 9,257 Gays were convicted in Germany and sentenced to Prison.

In 1935, the Nazis amended Paragraph 175, to make it easier to denounce Gays with just the belief that a Man liked another Man with no evidence needed. It also included imprisoning Gays in Concentration Camps as well as in Regular Prisons.

In 1936 the Reich Central Office for the Combating of Homosexuality and Abortion, working with Gestapo Special Bureau II S was established in Berlin. It worked with the Regular German Police to arrest any suspected Gay Man.

In April 1941 Hitler declared that any Gay Man in the Hitler Youth (which was made Compulsory for all Non-Jewish German Boys and Teenagers in 1936) get the Death Penalty. They were not usually sent to the Camps, but killed privately with their numbers kept secret.

In November 1941 Hitler declared that any Gay Man in the SS, the Gestapo or the Regular German Police get the Death Penalty. They were not usually sent to the Camps, but killed privately with their numbers kept secret.

In 1943 Hitler declared that any Gay Man in the Regular German Military (which was Compulsory for all Non-Jewish German Men) get the Death Penalty. After the great German losses at Stalingrad in February 1943 (where 235,000 German Soldiers and 22 German Generals were captured by the Soviets) the Death Penalty for being Gay in the Military was not followed. Instead any Gay Soldier was sent to Special Battalions that did dangerous jobs (like clearing minefields or trying to kill Partisans in the Forests and Swamps of German-Occupied Eastern Europe – where the majority were killed.)

Between 1933 – 1945 the Nazis arrested at least 100,000 German and Austrian Men for being Gay or the suspicion of being Gay.

50,000 of these Men were sentenced in German Civilian Courts; 7,000 by German Military Courts and an unknown number by Special Closed Courts.

15,000 were imprisoned in Concentration and Death Camps (where they were made to wear the Pink Triangle on their Prisoner Uniform or a Yellow Star with a Pink Triangle if they were Jewish and Gay.)

60% of those imprisoned in Concentration Camps and Death Camps died or were murdered (the highest rate of all other Prisoner Groups except the Jews.) Those not killed in the Gas Chambers were either killed through Forced Labor or during Experiments carried out by the German Nazi Doctors at the Camps.

Some of these Experiments included forcing Gay Men to have intercourse at the Camp Brothel (known as the Lagerbordell) in order to see if it would “cure” them.

10 Concentration and Death Camps had their own Brothels for the Non-Jewish Prisoners (that doesn’t include the Brothels for the SS and the Wehrmacht throughout German-Occupied Europe) which the Non-Jewish Prisoners could use if they filled their Quota.

34,140 Female Prisoners (mostly Political Prisoners and Roman and Sinti, but no Jews) were forced into these Brothels during the War.

Gay Men were forced to be with these Women while Nazi Doctors watched. The Gay Men were then almost always killed immediately after to be studied. If a Woman became pregnant the Baby was taken to a State Orphanage and the Mother was killed.

Other Experiments on Gays included Castration, Lobotomies and Hyperthermia Tests.

Gay Men were arrested from all over German-Occupied Europe and sent to Concentration and Death Camps, but they were usually recorded as being Political Prisoners and not Gay so their numbers are not known.

When World War 2 ended in 1945 Gays continued to be imprisoned some went from a Death Camp or a Concentration Camp to a Regular Prison.

Gay Homosexuality (but not Lesbian Homosexuality) was illegal in the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union and the United States so the Allies did not recognize Gays as Victims of the Nazis, but as Regular Criminals.

The 1935 Version of Paragraph 175 – one of the few Nazi-era laws that remained in force and unaltered in West Germany – was upheld by the West German Federal Constitutional Court in 1957 and remained in force until 1969, when Homosexuality was partially Decriminalized.

From 1946-1968 (from when World War 2 ended until it was Decriminalized) West Germany sent 58,361 Homosexuals to Prison.

From 1968 – 1990 (from when it was Decriminalized until Reunification) West Germany sent 4,904 Homosexuals to Prison.

In East Germany, the Pre-1935 Version of Paragraph 175 was kept into law. Homosexuality was rarely prosecuted after 1957, was Decriminalized in 1968 and Paragraph 175 was repealed there in 1988.

Paragraph 175 not only continued in West Germany and in East Germany, but also in United Germany.

From 1990 to 1994 United Germany sent 283 Homosexuals to Prison.

Paragraph 175 was not repealed in Germany until 1994.

Since 1994 Homosexuals have been allowed to openly serve in the German Military (German Men had to serve as Conscripts until 2011.)

Until 2000 Officers in the German Military were forbidden to be Homosexual.

Same-Sex Civil Unions became legal in Germany in 2001.

In 2002, Germany finally annulled the Nazi-Era judgements under Paragraph 175 and in 2017, Victims were offered Compensation (the Annulment and Compensation extended to Men convicted from 1945-1994.)

Each Person convicted under Paragraph 175 received €3,000 Compensation, plus €1,500 for each year spent in Custody as a result of a Conviction.

The Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism opened in Berlin in 2008. Inside is a Video showing 2 Men Kissing. Every 2 Years the Video is changed to show 2 Women kissing.

Same-Sex Marriage became legal in Germany in 2017.

Kyiv Pride

 

5,000 People participated in Kyiv’s 10^th Annual Gay Pride Event in Kyiv, Ukraine today.

It was the largest turnout of People since Russia started the War in 2026.

The Event lasted 2 hours and ended with Russian Missiles attacking Kyiv.

Gays in Ukraine have gained respect and recognition for how fiercely they fight the Russians and defend their homes.

70% of Ukrainians now believe that Homosexuals should Equal Rights compared to 28% of Ukrainians in 2010.

Homosexuality has been legal in Ukraine since it gained it’s Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and are allowed to Openly Serve in the Ukrainian Military.

Lavender Scare

Lavender Scare

The US Government (which Occupied West Germany and Parts of Austria) after World War 2 decided to add parts of West Germany’s Paragraph 175 into Official Practice with the Lavender Scare.

In 1947 President Truman signed Executive Order 9835. Known as the Loyalty Order it sought to weed-out Communists and Homosexuals from the US Federal Government (Mainly the State Department) and the US Military.

From 1947-1953 3 Million People were investigated and 300 were fired from their jobs or Discharged from the US Military.

In 1953 President Eisenhower signed Executive Order 10450 (which expanded The Loyalty Order and banned Homosexuals from applying for work throughout the whole US Federal Government and for serving in the US Military.)

US Senator Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn helped bring about the Mass Hysteria and Witch Hunts when they brought Investigations and Charges against many Homosexuals and Suspected-Homosexuals from 1947-1954.

McCarthy was Censured for his abuse of Power in 1954. He died of Alcoholism in 1957.

Cohn was disbarred in 1986 for Unethical Conduct. He died of AIDS in 1986.

From 1947-1973 10,000 Federal Employees were fired for being Homosexual (and unknown number of Job Applicants were also investigated and not hired for being Homosexual.)

From 1940-2011 over 100,000 Homosexuals were kicked-out of the US Military (including 14,000 during the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Era from 1993 to 2011.)

Those fired or not even hired for being Homosexual didn’t just lose a job, but the US Government sent their records to their State for further investigation (Homosexuality was also illegal in most States until a few started Decriminalizing it in 1961 and it became legal nationwide in 2003) as well as to any Place looking for a reference to hire these people.

In 1975 the US Federal Government agreed to hire Homosexuals on a “case-by-case basis.”

In 1977 the State Department ended its ban on Homosexuals working for them.

Homosexuals have been able to serve openly in the US Military since 2011.

Same-Sex Marriage became legal nationwide in the US in 2015 (except for some Indian Reservations and the US Territory of American Samoa.)

Executive Order 9835 and Executive Order 10450 were repealed in 2017, when President Obama signed Executive Order 13764.

Again, the US’ Lavender Scare and the Official Anti-Homosexual Federal Laws were created after seeing how Kaiser Germany, the Weimer Republic, Nazi Germany, West Germany and the United Germany used Paragraph 175.

There is currently a new Lavender Scare causing Unnecessary Mass Moral Panic across the United States (the same way it did in the 1940s-1970s.)

Currently, the US States of Alabama, Texas and Florida have Official Anti-Homosexual Laws.

Many other US States are also looking into creating their own Anti-Homosexual Laws.

The US Federal Government is also looking into doing away with Gay Marriage and many other Federal Homosexual Protections.

Politicians and Groups of People across the United States are trying to cause panic and fear against Homosexuals so attention is deflected from the real issues and so People have a Scapegoat to blame all their problems on.

Overlooked

Overlooked

I’ve been asked why I regularly write about: the Disabled, the Holocaust, the Military, Ukraine, Homosexuals, Veterans and Animals

I believe in keeping awareness up on those that otherwise would be forgotten.

The Disabled have always been kept hidden away from Society. From the 1800s-1974 there were “Ugly Laws” around the United States and around the World. People didn’t want to see anyone not like them and so they were kept in horrible conditions in basements and Institutions where they were abused.

Not only were the Disabled hidden away, but they were Forcibly Sterilized in Canada (from 1803-1982), in China (from 1978-Present), in Czechoslovakia (from 1973-1989), in Denmark (from 1936-1976), in Nazi Germany (from 1933-1945), in East Germany (from 1945-1990), in Japan (from 1907-1996), in Peru (from the 1920s-1998), in Sweden (from 1934-1976) and in the United States (from 1883-1978.)

Nazi Germany also murdered the Disabled by Gas or Lethal Injunction. 300,000 Disabled People were murdered between 1939 and 1945 in the Aktion T4 Program.

Even today, the Disabled seem to be protected by Local, Regional and Federal Laws, but in reality the Disabled continue to be kept as Second-Class Citizens (they are allowed to be paid below Minimum Wage in many Places for the same work that the Non-Disabled do.)

Ordinary People tend to keep away from the Disabled when they do see them rather than interacting with them.

 

Homosexuals have been used as Scapegoats by different Countries and Politicians for Decades.

The Nazis arrested 100,000 Homosexuals between 1933-1945 and sent 9,000 to Concentration and Death Camps where they were forced to wear a Pink Triangle and were subjected to cruel and inhumane punishments including Medical Experiments (like Castration.)

The rest were kept in regular Prisons.

Even when World War 2 ended in 1945 the Allies (Soviets, French, British and Americans) didn’t consider the Homosexuals as Political Prisoners of the Nazis and sent most from the liberated Concentration and Death Camps right into German Prisons.

In West Germany in 1959 alone 3,530 Homosexuals were convicted and sent to prison (44 were sent to prison in 1994 in United Germany – the year Paragraph 175 was repealed.)

From 1947-1977 the United States Government used the German Law Paragraph 175 (1871 to 1994) to discriminate against American Homosexuals.

10,000 Federal Employees were fired

From 1940 – 2010: 100,000 Soldiers were kicked out of the US Military for being Homosexual.

There is currently a new Lavender Scare causing Unnecessary Mass Moral Panic across the United States (the same way it did in the 1940s-1970s.)

Currently, the US States of Alabama, Texas and Florida have Official Anti-Homosexual Laws.

Many other US States are also looking into creating their own Anti-Homosexual Laws.

The US Federal Government is also looking into doing away with Gay Marriage and many other Federal Homosexual Protections.

 

 The Holocaust seems to get a lot of coverage everywhere, but when you look at the facts (85% of Americans were found to be Anti-Semitic in 2023 with similar numbers across the World) then you see that after 78 years little has changed.

6 Million Jewish Men, Women and Children were murdered by the Germans and their Collaborators from 1933-1945.

11 Million Non-Jewish Men, Women and Children were murdered by the Germans and their Collaborators from 1933-1945.

20 Million Jewish and Non-Jewish Men, Women and Children were imprisoned in German Concentration Camps, Labor Camps and Death Camps from 1933-1945.

Holocaust Denial may be illegal in many places today, but Holocaust Admiring (People who believe the Germans didn’t do enough and want to “finish the job”) grows every year with violent attacks on Jews in the US, Canada, Germany, the UK, Spain, Poland, Russia, etc.

 

 The Military and Veterans seem to get a lot of coverage everywhere, but when you look at the facts you see it isn’t.

 A Poll conducted in 1973 (when the US Military Draft ended) found that 84% of every American either served or knew a Loved One that served in the US Military.

A Poll conducted in 2019 found that 0.01% of every American either served or knew a Loved One that served in the US Military.

With less than 1% of all Americans serving or knowing a Loved One who is serving in the US Military little to no attention is really paid to what the Soldiers and the Veterans are going through. A lot of people post or say things like “Thank You for your service” and give no other thought to the Homeless, Disabled and Hungry Veterans or the Soldiers away from their Families.

 

Ukraine seems to be everywhere, but other than getting a few “likes” and many “Slava Ukraines” not much is being done by the General Population to help end Russia’s Genocide against Ukrainian Men, Women and Children. Putin is using the same excuses and methods against the Ukrainians that Hitler used.

Every Man, Woman and Child around the World that doesn’t side with Ukraine and do everything they can to help them defeat the Russians is just as guilty of the War Crimes being committed there as the Russians are themselves.

 

Abused, Abandoned and Hurt Animals seem to be posted everywhere (on TV, Social Media, etc.) but other than feeling sorry for what they see many people simply ignore what is going on. Animals, especially Pets, are seen as “Property” in many places so you can do whatever you want to them. Pets need to be protected as the loving and living creatures they are.

Ever since I was little my Mom told me one phrase over and over again: “Do Good.”

She showed me (through her words and actions) to stand-up to Anti-Semitism when I was in 5th Grade in Germany, to help Veterans, Soldiers and Military Families, to care for Animals and shortly before she passed in 2014 she told me to do what I could to help the Ukrainians after the Russians invaded and occupied Crimea – she went with me to Kyiv, Ukraine in November 2007.

That is why I always write and will continue to write about these often over-looked People and Animals.

Burger

 

72: Alan Turing

72 Years ago today (June 7, 1954) - Alan Turing passed away from Cyanide Poisoning – a suspected Suicide.

Alan Mathison Turing OBE was born on June 23, 1912 in London, England was an English Mathematician, Computer Scientist, Logician, Cryptanalyst, Philosopher and Theoretical Biologist.

He worked at the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park during World War 2 and broke Nazi Germany’s Enigma Code Machine which saved countless Soldiers and Civilians.

In 1936 he created the Turing Machine, published “The Turing Proof” in 1937, created “The Turing Test” in 1950 and created “The Turing Pattern” in 1952.

Considered to be the Father of Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence as well as Enigma Code Breaker but ostracized in his lifetime due to his Homosexuality.

He was arrested for being Gay in 1952 and made to have Chemical Castration.

He committed Suicide 16 days before his 42nd Birthday.

In 2009, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made an Official Government Apology on the way Turing was treated for being Gay. In 2013, Queen Elizabeth II granted him a posthumous pardon.

Officially pardoned of his “crime” he is now on the £50 Bank Note in the U.K.

Also, the term "Alan Turing Law" is now used informally to refer to a 2017 Law in the United Kingdom (only in England and Wales) that retroactively pardoned men cautioned or convicted under historical legislation that outlawed Homosexual acts (around 50,000 Dead Men have automatically been pardoned and around 15,000 Living Men who have applied have been pardoned.)

Other countries have similar Gay Pardon Laws: Canada (in 2018) and Germany (in 2002 just for Gays discriminated against by the Nazis and in 2017 for all Gays.)

Paragraph 175

 

(The Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism in Berlin, Germany.)

Many People believe that the Nazis made it illegal to be Gay in Germany, but that is not the case.

Paragraph 175 (which made it illegal to be Gay, but not a Lesbian) was created in 1871.

Anyone convicted of being Gay was sent to a Regular German Prison.

Between 1902 and 1918 (when World War 1 ended) 9,384 Gays were convicted in Germany and sentenced to Prison.

Between 1919-1932 (during the Weimer Republic) 9,257 Gays were convicted in Germany and sentenced to Prison.

In 1935, the Nazis amended Paragraph 175, to make it easier to denounce Gays with just the belief that a Man liked another Man with no evidence needed. It also included imprisoning Gays in Concentration Camps as well as in Regular Prisons.

In 1936 the Reich Central Office for the Combating of Homosexuality and Abortion, working with Gestapo Special Bureau II S was established in Berlin. It worked with the Regular German Police to arrest any suspected Gay Man.

In April 1941 Hitler declared that any Gay Man in the Hitler Youth (which was made Compulsory for all Non-Jewish German Boys and Teenagers in 1936) get the Death Penalty. They were not usually sent to the Camps, but killed privately with their numbers kept secret.

In November 1941 Hitler declared that any Gay Man in the SS, the Gestapo or the Regular German Police get the Death Penalty. They were not usually sent to the Camps, but killed privately with their numbers kept secret.

In 1943 Hitler declared that any Gay Man in the Regular German Military (which was Compulsory for all Non-Jewish German Men) get the Death Penalty. After the great German losses at Stalingrad in February 1943 (where 235,000 German Soldiers and 22 German Generals were captured by the Soviets) the Death Penalty for being Gay in the Military was not followed. Instead any Gay Soldier was sent to Special Battalions that did dangerous jobs (like clearing minefields or trying to kill Partisans in the Forests and Swamps of German-Occupied Eastern Europe – where the majority were killed.)

Between 1933 – 1945 the Nazis arrested at least 100,000 German and Austrian Men for being Gay or the suspicion of being Gay.

50,000 of these Men were sentenced in German Civilian Courts; 7,000 by German Military Courts and an unknown number by Special Closed Courts.

15,000 were imprisoned in Concentration and Death Camps (where they were made to wear the Pink Triangle on their Prisoner Uniform or a Yellow Star with a Pink Triangle if they were Jewish and Gay.)

60% of those imprisoned in Concentration Camps and Death Camps died or were murdered (the highest rate of all other Prisoner Groups except the Jews.) Those not killed in the Gas Chambers were either killed through Forced Labor or during Experiments carried out by the German Nazi Doctors at the Camps.

Some of these Experiments included forcing Gay Men to have intercourse at the Camp Brothel (known as the Lagerbordell) in order to see if it would “cure” them.

10 Concentration and Death Camps had their own Brothels for the Non-Jewish Prisoners (that doesn’t include the Brothels for the SS and the Wehrmacht throughout German-Occupied Europe) which the Non-Jewish Prisoners could use if they filled their Quota.

34,140 Female Prisoners (mostly Political Prisoners and Roman and Sinti, but no Jews) were forced into these Brothels during the War.

Gay Men were forced to be with these Women while Nazi Doctors watched. The Gay Men were then almost always killed immediately after to be studied. If a Woman became pregnant the Baby was taken to a State Orphanage and the Mother was killed.

Other Experiments on Gays included Castration, Lobotomies and Hyperthermia Tests.

Gay Men were arrested from all over German-Occupied Europe and sent to Concentration and Death Camps, but they were usually recorded as being Political Prisoners and not Gay so their numbers are not known.

When World War 2 ended in 1945 Gays continued to be imprisoned some went from a Death Camp or a Concentration Camp to a Regular Prison.

Gay Homosexuality (but not Lesbian Homosexuality) was illegal in the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union and the United States so the Allies did not recognize Gays as Victims of the Nazis, but as Regular Criminals.

The 1935 Version of Paragraph 175 – one of the few Nazi-era laws that remained in force and unaltered in West Germany – was upheld by the West German Federal Constitutional Court in 1957 and remained in force until 1969, when Homosexuality was partially Decriminalized.

From 1946-1968 (from when World War 2 ended until it was Decriminalized) West Germany sent 58,361 Homosexuals to Prison.

From 1968 – 1990 (from when it was Decriminalized until Reunification) West Germany sent 4,904 Homosexuals to Prison.

In East Germany, the Pre-1935 Version of Paragraph 175 was kept into law. Homosexuality was rarely prosecuted after 1957, was Decriminalized in 1968 and Paragraph 175 was repealed there in 1988.

Paragraph 175 not only continued in West Germany and in East Germany, but also in United Germany.

From 1990 to 1994 United Germany sent 283 Homosexuals to Prison.

Paragraph 175 was not repealed in Germany until 1994.

Since 1994 Homosexuals have been allowed to openly serve in the German Military (German Men had to serve as Conscripts until 2011.)

Until 2000 Officers in the German Military were forbidden to be Homosexual.

Same-Sex Civil Unions became legal in Germany in 2001.

In 2002, Germany finally annulled the Nazi-Era judgements under Paragraph 175 and in 2017, Victims were offered Compensation (the Annulment and Compensation extended to Men convicted from 1945-1994.)

Each Person convicted under Paragraph 175 received €3,000 Compensation, plus €1,500 for each year spent in Custody as a result of a Conviction.

The Memorial to Homosexuals Persecuted Under Nazism opened in Berlin in 2008. Inside is a Video showing 2 Men Kissing. Every 2 Years the Video is changed to show 2 Women kissing.

Same-Sex Marriage became legal in Germany in 2017.

Joseph John “J.J.” Belanger

Joseph John “J.J.” Belanger

( J.J. Belanger at age 17 as a Member of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps in June 1940.)

Joseph John “J.J.” Belanger was born on January 24, 1925 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

He enlisted in the Military at 17 years old during the Second World War.

He served first in the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps from 1940-1942 and then as a Wireless Air Gunner in the Royal Canadian Air Force from 1942-1944.

He flew in Lancaster Bombers on Raids over German-Occupied Europe.

During one Mission in mid-1944, Enemy Fire hit JJ’s plane and he was wounded by shrapnel.

The Crew had to bail out along the coast of France where JJ spent three days in a small dingy before being rescued.

Only three of the Plane’s eight Crew Members survived.

One of the dead was the Bomber Pilot, an Australian named Gordon and JJ.’s Lover.

They had met at the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan base in Winnipeg earlier in the War and had spent much time together.

This tragic loss was very hard for JJ and was made even worse because their love had to be hidden from the wider world.

Grieving the death of his Partner too openly would have caused problems, so he couldn’t express the full depth of his sorrow.

During the War, JJ came out to his Family and to Gordon’s Parent - who lived in England.

He believed that if he were to die in the War he should at least be true to himself even though being Homosexual was illegal in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States.

He was awarded a Defense Medal, Canadian Voluntary Service Medal, and War Medal for his Service.

After the War, he returned to Civilian Life and moved to the West Coast.

As a Researcher JJ helped Dr. Alfred Kinsey who expanded the field of Sexuality during that Era.

JJ served in the US Air Force – joining in 1954.

He served for five years, earning numerous Commendations including the Aviation Badge, Good Conduct Medal and Outstanding Airman of the 26th Air Refueling Squadron.

Joseph John “J.J.” Belanger died on January 26, 1993, two days after his 70th Birthday. 

In 2014, Photographs of JJ were found.

It is of JJ and Robert Block kissing in a Photo Booth at the Playland Amusement Park in Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada in 1953.

JJ lived as openly as a Gay Man in the 1940s-1960s.

(A photo booth picture taken in Vancouver in 1953 of J. J. Belanger (left) and Robert Block.)

Being Gay was Illegal in Canada until 1969 and was considered a Mental Illness until 1973,

Gays couldn’t openly serve in the Canadian Military until 1992 and Gays couldn’t marry throughout Canada until 2005.

That means that JJ would have been imprisoned for being openly Gay, could have been put into a Mental institution and would have been thrown out of the Canadian Military (even during Wartime) and was never allowed to marry in Canada.

Being Gay was illegal in the United States until 2003 (Nationwide and was considered a Mental Illness until 1973.

Gays couldn’t openly serve in the American Military until 2011 and couldn’t marry until 2015 (Nationwide – except for some Indian Reservations and in American Samoa.)

That means that JJ would have been imprisoned for being openly Gay, could have been put into a Mental Institution and would have been thrown out of the American Military and was never allowed to marry in the United States.

JJ was forced to live a Double-Life where on the one-hand he risked his life protecting Canadians and Americans while serving in the Canadian and American Militaries while on the other-hand having to hide the fact that he was Gay.

Gay Pride Month

June is Gay Pride Month.

Many People think that Discrimination of Homosexuals is something of the past, but unfortunately, Homosexuals have become a favored scapegoat for Modern-day Politicians and Other People who are trying to deflect away from the real problems occurring (Mass Shootings, Scandals, High Unemployment, Lack of Security, the Rise of Dictatorships, the increase of Hate Crimes, etc.)

I am not Gay, but I stand with the Gays.

 

As of June 2026 38 Countries recognize Same-Sex Marriage:

 

The Netherlands (nationwide since 2016)

Belgium (since 2003)

Spain (nationwide since 2005)

Canada (nationwide since 2005)

South Africa (since 2006)

Norway (since 2009)

Sweden (since 2009)

Portugal (nationwide since 2010)

Iceland (since 2010)

Argentina (since 2010)

Denmark (nationwide since 2017)

Brazil (nationwide since 2013)

France (nationwide since 2013)

Uruguay (since 2013)

New Zealand (since 2013 – except in Niue)

Luxembourg (since 2015)

The United States (since 2015 – except some Indian Reservations and the US Territory of American Samoa)

Ireland (since 2015)

Columbia (since 2016)

Estonia (since 2024)

Finland (since 2017)

Germany (since 2017)

Greece (since 2024)

Malta (since 2017)

Australia (nationwide since 2017)

Austria (since 2019)

Taiwan (since 2019)

The United Kingdom (England since 2014, Wales since 2014, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands since 2014, British Indian Ocean Territory since 2014, Akrotiri and Dhekelia since 2014, Pitcairn Islands since 2015, Isle of Man since 2016, Gibraltar since 2016, Ascension Island since 2017, the Falkland Islands since 2017, Saint Helena since 2017, Alderney since 2018, Jersey since 2018, Northern Ireland since 2020, Sark since 2020, Guernsey since 2017)

Ecuador (since 2019)

Costa Rica (since 2020)

Chile (since 2022)

Switzerland (since 2022)

Slovenia (since 2022)

Cuba (since 2022)

Mexico (nationwide since 2022)

Andorra (since 2023)

Aruba and Curacao – part of the Netherlands (since 2024)

Liechtenstein (since 2025)

Thailand (since 2025)

You don't have to be Homosexual to support Equal Rights for Gays and Lesbians.

You just have to be Straight and not Narrow.

 

Franco Spain

The White Terror in Spain was part of Francisco Franco’s Dictatorship and Repression (Spanish: Represión franquista) of the People of Spain from 1939-1975.

(My Great-Aunt  got this on one of her many Trips to Franco Spain from the 1950s to the 1970s -she continued to travel to Spain until 2006.

It says "Catalonia" - the Region of Spain - but it says it in Spanish: "Cataluña" and not in Catalan: "Catalunya" because she got it during Franco's Dictatorship (1936-1975) where the Catalan Language, Culture and Traditions were banned.)

During Franco’s White Terror the following were considered State Enemies: Loyalists to the Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939), Liberals, Socialists, Protestants, Intellectuals, Homosexuals, Freemasons, Roma and Sinti, Jews, Muslims, the Basque, the Catalans, the Andalusians and the Galicians.

The Roman Catholic Church in Spain actively supported Franco and his Fascists and his attacks on the different Groups of People (which was solidified with the 1953 Concordat (Spanish: Concordato de 1953) between Franco and the Roman Catholic Church in Spain.)

The Concordat made it Mandatory for all Catholics to have a Church Wedding (alongside the Civil Marriage Ceremony), the right to publish Books and Newspapers, gave Exemptions to the Clergy in the Spanish Military, gave the Catholic Church Tax Exemption, made Catholic Prayer Mandatory in all Public Schools and solidified the Roman Catholic Church as the one and only Official Religion in Spain.

The United States (which had been Neutral during the Spanish Civil War) changed to a more Pro-Franco Stance in 1947 due to the Cold War as Franco and his Fascists were Anti-Communists.

In 1955, the US even opened American Military Bases in Franco Spain.

That is despite that fact that Franco and Spain favored Hitler and Nazi Germany during World War 2 (both Countries being Fascist Dictatorships – even though Spain was Officially Neutral during the War.)

Franco also sent 45,000 Spaniards to fight with Hitler on the Eastern Front (known as the Blue Division – Spanish: División Azul.)

Franco even compiled the Jewish Archive (Spanish: Archivo Judaico) of all 6,000 Jews living in Spain so he could give it to Hitler if Spain ended its Neutrality in favor of the Nazis during World War 2.

From the moment of Victory in 1939 Franco carried out a Social Cleansing (Spanish: limpieza social) of all aspects of Public and Private life in Spain.

At least 400,000 Men, Women and Children spent time in Prisons (there were 12,042 Children in Franco’s Prisons in 1942 alone.)

300,000 Children were removed from their “State Enemy” Families and raised by Franco Officials.

They are called the Lost Children (Spanish: niños perdidos del franquismo.)

There were 300 Franco Concentration Camps (Spanish: Campos de concentración franquistas) from 1936-1947 that held 431,251 Men, Women and Children in them.

At least 5,000 Homosexuals were arrested, imprisoned and/or murdered under Franco.

The number is much higher, but many Homosexuals were imprisoned under different Laws than just the 1954 ("Vagrancy Act" (Spanish: "Ley de vagos y maleantes.)

An estimated 200,000 Men, Women and Children were murdered by Franco’s Dictatorship from 1939-1975.

The exact number is unknown (and most likely much higher) because the vast majority were shot and buried in unmarked graves through Spain.

Franco and his Fascists moved to eliminate the Catalans from both Public and Private Life (Spanish: Anticatalanismo, Catalan: Anticatalanisme.)

The Catalan Language and Culture was made Illegal and only Castilian Spanish was allowed in Education, Commerce, the Government, the Media, etc.

From 1939 until the 1960s Franco Officially encouraged Non-Catalan Spaniards to Rape Catalan Girls/Women so the Catalan Population would be diluted.

The 1944 Penal Code said Rape was a punishable offense when a Girl was between 12 and 23 if she was a Virgin, and between the ages of 17 and 23 if she was not, but even this Laws was Officially Overlooked when it came to the Rape of Catalan Girls/Women by Non-Catalan Men.

The Exact Number of Catalan Girls/Women that were Raped by Non-Catalan Men under Franco will never be known since there were never any Police Reports or Official Statements made.

In the 1960s and the 1970s Franco also supported Thousands of Non-Catalan Spaniards moving into Catalonia to reduce the growing influence of the Catalan Culture in the latter years of the Franco Dictatorship.

It has been calculated that, without Franco’s Forced Migration, the Population of Catalonia would have gone from 2 Million People in 1900 to 2.4 Million in 2001instead of the more than 6.1 Million registered on that date (an addition of 3.4 Million Non-Catalans into Catalonia.)

Spain has official laws that prevent the country from dealing with the crimes (including murder) committed during Franco’s Dictatorship:

In 1975 the Pact of Forgetting (Spanish: Pacto del Olvido) was the Political Agreement for all Spanish Political Parties to avoid confronting Franco’s Repression.

The 1977 Amnesty Law (Spanish: Ley de Amnistia de 1977) -still in force today - guaranteed impurity to those who committed crimes during Franco’s Dictatorship. It also made the Pact of Forgetting official.

The 2007 Historical Memory Law (Spanish: Ley de Memoria Histórica) recognizes the victims on both sides of the Spanish Civil War, gives rights to the Victims and the Descendants of Victims of the Civil War and the subsequent Dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, and formally condemns repressions of the Franco Regime.

It doesn’t negate the 1977 Amnesty Law so no one can be punished for their crimes.

The Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory (Spanish: Asociación para la Recuperación de la Memoria Histórica) formed in 2000 is a Spanish Organization that collects the oral and written testimonies about the White Terror of Francisco Franco and excavates and identifies their bodies that were often dumped in mass graves.

Franco wasn’t removed from the Valley of the Fallen (Spanish: Valle de los Caídos) until 2019 which was 44 years after his death (for reference Joseph Stalin was removed from Lenin’s Mausoleum by the Soviets in 1961 which was 8 years after he died.)

The last Statue of Francisco Franco in Spain was only removed in Melilla in February 2021.

During the Spanish Transition to Democracy (Spanish: Transición española ) from 1975-1982 where Spain switched from the Franco Dictatorship that had ruled Spain for the past 36 years to a Constitutional Monarchy the Roman Catholic Church lost most of the Privileges that Franco had given them in support for his Murderous Regime.

In 1978 the Roman Catholic Church was removed as the Official State Religion and allowed for the Free Practice of every Religion across Spain.

Note: None of these Numbers or Victims include what happened during the Spanish Civil War from 1936-1939.

John Riordan

John Riordan

(John Riordan with some of the Vietnamese Families he saved in the 1970s.)

He is known as the Oskar Schindler of the Vietnam War.

In April 1975, Riordan was an Assistant Manager at Citibank in Saigon, South Vietnam (modern-day Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.)

He was ordered to evacuate along with other Americans as North Vietnamese Communist Forces approached the city (then the Capital of South Vietnam) during the final days of the Vietnam War.

Riordan initially obeyed the evacuation orders and was flown to nearby Hong Kong (then a British Colony.)

In Hong Kong Riordan worked to find ways for his South Vietnamese Co-Workers to flee (they were not eligible to be evacuated by the Americans and the North Vietnamese Communists would have imprisoned or killed them for working for the Americans.)

Citibank eventually told him to stop trying to help the people or he would lose his job.

On April 19, 1975, Riordan flew back to Saigon alone.

He gathered all of his South Vietnamese Co-Workers and their Families (105 People in total) and hid them in his villa and a nearby villa near the city.

Facing no other options, Riordan decided to claim the 105 People as his Dependents so that they would qualify for evacuation aboard US Military Cargo Planes.

He claimed the South Vietnamese Men as his Sons.

He applied at the Evacuation Office ten separate times, listing several of the 105 as his Dependents each time.

(John Riordan recently.)

Riordan himself flew out with the last Group a few days before the Fall of Saigon.

Citibank, instead of terminating Riordan, praised his efforts and worked to resettle all of the South Vietnamese Workers and find them new jobs.

Nevertheless, his story was largely unknown until October 2013 when Riordan was profiled on “60 Minutes.”

John Riordan is openly Gay.

Wrong Name

I just watched a Reporter whose Native Language is English say the following:

"The Lesbians are fleeing Beirut and southern Lebanon because of the Israeli Bombs."

I think they meant to say the Lebanese (ie. People from Lebanon.)

I'm sure there were some Lesbians in the group who fled the bombs, but I don't believe it was only the Lesbians in Lebanon who fled.

110; Fredy Hirsch

110 Years ago today (February 11, 1916) Fredy Hirsch was born.

Alfred Hirsch - known as Fredy (February 11, 1916 in Aachen, Germany – March 8, 1944 at the Auschwitz Death Camp in German-Occupied Poland) was a German-Jewish Athlete, Sports Teacher and Zionist Youth Movement Leader, notable for helping thousands of Jewish Children during the German Occupation of Czechoslovakia in Prague, the Theresienstadt Ghetto and the Auschwitz Death Camp in German-Occupied Poland.

When the Nazis came to power in 1932 and barred Jews from contact with non-Jews Fredy helped found the Jüdischer Pfadfinderbund Deutschland (Jewish Scouting Association of Germany, JPD) in Aachen, in Dusseldorf and in Dresden.

He gave German-Jewish Boys and Girls a safe outlet to enjoy the outdoors and forget the violence from the non-Jewish German Society.

After the Nuremberg Race Laws were created in 1935 he fled to Czechoslovakia and continued his work with Zionism and helping Jewish Children – despite not speaking Czech.

In March 1939 the Germans invaded all of Czechoslovakia and Fredy could have fled to South America with his Brother (who survived the War) but instead he stayed to help the Children.

He was on the first Transport from Prague to the Theresienstadt (Terezín) Ghetto in March 1941. Fredy became the Deputy Supervisor of Children at Theresienstadt.

Because of his German extraction, charisma, and careful appearance, he was able to convince SS Guards to grant privileges to the Children, including exemptions from Deportation and extra rations, which saved their lives at least temporarily.

Fredy and his Assistants maintained clandestine education under the difficult circumstances. Fredy’s insistence on exercise, discipline, and strict hygiene reduced death rates among the Children.

In 1943, he arranged to hold the Maccabi Athletic Children’s Games inside the Ghetto which were observed by thousands of Spectators.

In August 1943 1,200 Jewish Children from the Bialystok Ghetto in Poland arrived in Theresienstadt and were kept from the other Children in the Ghetto (because they spoke of the Gas Chambers.)

(Fredy in the Theresienstadt Ghetto in German-Occupied Czechoslovakia in 1941 helping show the Jewish Children forced there how to exercise.)

Fredy jumped the fence separating these Children from the others to see if he could help them in any way. A Guard stopped him and he was deported to Auschwitz in September 1943.

At Auschwitz, Fredy was made the Supervisor (Kapo) of the 600 Children in the Children's Block at the Theresienstadt Family Camp at Auschwitz II-Birkenau.

The Theresienstadt Family Camp was a German ruse where whole Families were allowed to stay together with civilian clothes and kept for when the Red Cross would come visit Auschwitz in February 1944 (the way they had visited the Theresienstadt Ghetto in June 1943.)

Each transport from Theresienstadt was only allowed to live for 6 months before they were gassed (although they weren’t told this by the Germans.)

In March 1944, the September Transport from Theresienstadt (which brought Fredy) was due to be sent to the Gas Chambers – since the 6 months had elapsed.

Fredy was made aware of his fate and the fate of all the Children from his Transport (by the Jewish Sonderkommando Prisoners who worked in the Gas Chambers) and was offered (by the Germans) to continue to help the Children from different Transports but he couldn’t abandon his Children and declined the Germans’ offer.

What happened next is not known. Fredy either attempted suicide by poison so he wouldn’t have to see his Children gassed to death or Jewish Prisoners poisoned him so he wouldn’t start an Uprising and get everyone killed.

What is known is that Fredy Hirsch was semi-consciously brought into the Gas Chamber on March 8, 1944, along with his Children and all the others from the 1st Transport and murdered.

According to Sonderkommando Prisoners, they sang the Czech National Anthem, the Hatikvah Jewish Anthem (today Israel’s National Anthem), and the Internationale before entering the Gas Chambers. In total 3,792 people were murdered from the 1st Transport that night.

 Fredy Hirsch was 28 years old when he died. He had no Children of his own and yet worked hard for them in Nazi Germany, in Czechoslovakia, in German-occupied Czechoslovakia, at the Theresienstadt Ghetto and at the Auschwitz Death Camp.

He stayed with them even when he was given 2 official chances to flee and survive.

There’s a Documentary called “Dear Fredy” about his life and work.

 

110: Fredy Pictures

Fredy Hirsch

(Fredy Hirsch in Germany)

(Fredy Hirsch, shirtless at right, surrounded by Jewish children at the Hagibor sports grounds, Prague, ca. 1941-42.)

(Fredy Hirsch, Hagibor sports grounds, Prague, ca. 1941-42.)

(Fredy Hirsch’s Stepping Stone)

(Memorial to Fredy Hirsch)