"Obsess much?" On Feb 20, 10:01 am, Tommy News <[email protected]> wrote: > Presidents Day: Three who may have been gay > > Happy Presidents Day > > Three Presidents Who May Have Been Gay > > George Washington > > Abraham Lincoln > > James Buchanan, The "bachelor" President > > Hail to the > Chiefhttp://www.mountainpridemedia.org/oitm/issues/2001/aug2001/col03_ston... > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > A gay president? Hey, it might already have happened. > > Okay, there's been no First Gentleman, no state banquet to > celebrate Gay Pride Day, and no rainbow flag out in front of the White > House. But the case can be made that at least two American presidents > were gay: one of our best and one of our worst. > > Abraham Lincoln > > Log Cabin Republican > > You have probably heard the rumors, floated mainly by the acerbic > Larry Kramer, that Abraham Lincoln, certainly one of our best > presidents, was gay. You might wonder on what he based this claim. > After all, Lincoln was married and had children, and he certainly > doesn't look gay. Where did Kramer get this stuff, anyway? > Well, it seems that when he was 28, Lincoln shared a bed with a > younger man named Joshua Speed. In his letters, Speed writes about > their three years together above the general store in Springfield, IL: > "our Abe is like a schoolgirl (he) often kisses me when I tease him, > often to shut me up. He would grab me up by his long arms and hug and > hug." In his famous biography of Lincoln, Carl Sandburg notes that > Lincoln and Speed "had a streak of lavender and spots soft as May > violets." > They remained lifelong friends, although both, as society > demanded, got married. (In their letters to each other, they referred > to their miserable marriages as "forebodings!") Another historian > claims that Lincoln had "numerous homoerotic relationships throughout > his life." Believe it or not, there are actually rumors of Lincoln > dallying with Marine guards in the White House. (Shades of Monica!) > It seems that historians have long known about Joseph Speed's > letters, but have ignored them. Interestingly, Kramer is joined in his > claim that Lincoln was gay by KKK members who hate Lincoln for obvious > reasons and are happy to call him a "sexual deviant." (Talk about > strange bedfellows!) > Even stranger still is the theory that the dashingly handsome > John Wilkes Booth was a homophobe who had been "presented" to Lincoln > by Joshua Speed. (How's that for an assassination theory?) > > James Buchanan, The "bachelor" President > > Do-nothing Democrat > > And from one of our best presidents, we move to one of our worst: > James Buchanan (1791-1868). He diddled in the Oval Office from 1857 to > 1861, while the country fell apart. Lincoln was left with his mess. He > was the only bachelor president, as you might remember from school, > and it turns out that he loved to party. (What more proof do you need > that he was gay?) > Actually, he seems to have had a long-term relationship with > William Rufus de Vane King (1786-1853), a senator from Alabama whom > Andrew Jackson called "Miss Nancy." They lived together for 15 years, > and their relationship was often ridiculed in the press. King was > called Buchanan's "better half," and was referred to in letters as > "she." He served all his life in government, eventually becoming our > 13th vice president under Franklin Pierce in 1852. He served a very > short time and died of tuberculosis in 1853. > > What's it all about? > > At this point, you may be saying that an unhappy marriage does > not necessarily indicate homosexuality. You may point out that > "excessive statements of friendship" were common to the time, and that > people of the same sex slept together for economy and warmth. (Of > course!) You may argue that intimate friendships may not have had a > sexual side. You may even be convinced that "gay" history is a crock, > that every lead is a red herring, and that there are far more > important issues to discuss. > But if any president's personal life is worth examining—if FDR's > polio, JFK's mistresses or George Washington's wooden teeth are of any > historical interest whatsoever—then sexual orientation is certainly a > viable topic. Many aspects of the lives of our presidents had no > bearing on how they did their job, yet they fascinate us. > After all, we are only doing what oppressed people have done for > ages—finding our own heroes and heroines to admire. I happen to agree > with Larry Kramer, who asks, "How can so many of us have lived on this > earth for so long and left no history?" If we are not to be found in > public life, where were we? > It is easy to document drag queens. They left an elegant, > perfumed trail through history from the beginnings of recorded time to > the present. It is the gay male who did not cross-dress who has been > invisible. This figure is the man who married because he had to, lived > a double life, and sneaked off to well-hidden bars or sex venues. > These guys hid their traces well. They burned their letters. They had > to, and it is our loss. > If looking for gay traces makes us feel better about ourselves, > then why not do it? And who knows, it may just help our cause if > Republicans eventually realize that Abraham Lincoln, the founder of > their Party, was gay! > > --------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > George Washington > > The Father of our Country may have been a gay dad. He married Martha > Custis, a wealthy widow with children for her money, and he never had > any children. George and Martha had seperate bedrooms at Mount Vernon. > Washington consumed a great deal of alcohol, and he may have died from > siphilis, contracted elsewhere. > > A Father We Hardly Know: Recalling the Character of George Washington > > http://www.federalist.com/histdocs/gwtheman.htm > > Richard Brookhiser > > "I'm very pleased to be here this morning. It is an honor to be at the > Family Research Council. The introduction mentioned that I moved to > New York City from upstate New York, and it has been something of a > conversion experience. One thing that you do learn about New York City > is that it pays almost no attention to its history, considering how > much it has. New York is older than Boston, older than Philadelphia. > It is also where the first inauguration was, and it was where some > severe fighting in the Revolution occurred with some awful American > defeats. I'll talk more about those as I get into the subject today. > > Before I tell you my thoughts about George Washington, I thought I > would start with what I learned from other people since I wrote > Founding Father, which came out in 1996. In the three years since > then, I did a lot of speaking and appeared on radio shows that have > call-in features. I received plenty of feedback from the audiences. > > The most commonly asked question about George Washington–that comes up > in every radio show that has call-ins–is "Did he grow hemp at Mount > Vernon?" All the potheads of America know the answer, which is that he > did. They all call up and want me to say that yes, he did grow hemp at > Mount Vernon. I responded yes, but it was most certainly for fabric or > for rope. So those who call for the legalization of marijuana cannot > use the father of this country as an argument in this cause. > > The second most commonly asked question is "Was he a Mason?" Masons > who know the answer is yes and they are fishing for a compliment > sometimes ask this. Usually, anti-Masons ask the question. I was > surprised to learn how many of them are still out there. I knew there > was an anti-Masonic Party in the nineteenth century, but anti-Masonry > is still flourishing. People are very alarmed by the notion that he > was a Mason. They want me to say either, "Yes, he was, but he got out > of it" or, "It didn't mean anything." So what I tell them is that > Washington was a Mason from his twenties. He was a very active Mason, > which shouldn't alarm anyone. I was once asked if he was an > Illuminated Free Mason, and anyone that uses those words is so crazy > that I simply said, "No. Next question." > > I received an angry letter from a man who read my book and asked why I > had concealed the fact that Washington was gay. Washington's > association with known gays such as Hamilton and Lafayette, he said, > proved his gayness. Alexander Hamilton was married with eight > children, and he was involved in the first political sex scandal in > American history. It was double adultery that he freely admitted > without any pressure from a congressional investigation. So, if he is > the reason that George Washington was gay, it is not a strong one. > > Finally, I received a call from a middle-aged woman, and by her > accent, I would guess a white, Southern woman. She asked if I had read > any of Washington's letters to his black children. I told her I > hadn't. There really aren't such letters because, not only did he not > have any black children, but he didn't have any children at all. There > are many reasons to think that he was sterile, thus incapable of > having children. And she said, "Oh, that is too bad. The letters are > so sweet." > > The good thing about all of this nonsense is that people know who > Washington is and they care about him. They somehow want him on their > side or they don't want him on the other side, whatever the other side > is. I would prefer that instead of knowing false things about him, we > should know the truth about him. I would like to run through six > traits of his character that I think we have either forgotten or that > we misunderstand: Washington as a man of charisma, as a hero, as a > gentleman, as a politician, as a thinker, and as a skeptic." > > Hail To The Chiefs! > Happy Presidents Day > > Tommy! > > -- > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time. > Have a great day, > Tommy > > -- > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time. > Have a great day, > Tommy
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