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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living
from White Crane Institute
Exploring Gay Wisdom
& Culture for over 20 Years!
www.gaywisdom.org
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Today In Gay History
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2013
1312 - PIERS GAVESTON, French favorite of Edward II of England,
was murdered on this date (b: 1284). The favorite, and probably the
lover, of King Edward II of England, Piers was the son of Sir Arnaud de
Gabaston, a soldier in service to King Edward I of England. Arnaud had
been used as a hostage by Edward twice; on the second occasion, Arnaud
escaped captivity, and fled to England with his son. Both then entered
the royal household, where Gaveston behaved so well and so virtuously
that the King declared him an example for his own son, Prince Edward, to
follow, making him a companion of Prince Edward in 1300. Prince Edward
was delighted with Gaveston -- a man skilled in the arts of war and
military tactics -- who was noted for his wit, rudeness, and
entertaining manner, and gave him many honours and gifts. The Prince
also declared that he loved Gaveston 'like a brother.' Gaveston was also
a close friend of Roger Mortimer of Wigmore, Gaveston being awarded the
wardship of Mortimer's property after the death of Roger's father –
this was a great honor for Gaveston, since the wardship of such an
estate would normally be awarded to a nobleman, and is thus an
indication of the regard both the King and his son held for Gaveston.
When
Gaveston returned in 1312, he was faced with hostility. Thomas
Plantagenet, 2nd Earl of Lancaster raised an army against Gaveston and
the King, and on 4 May attacked Newcastle, where Edward and Gaveston
were staying. They were forced to flee by ship to Scarborough Castle,
leaving behind all of their money and soldiers, where they were
appropriated by Lancaster. Edward then went south to raise an army,
leaving Gaveston in Scarborough. Lancaster immediately brought his army
up to threaten Gaveston and to cut him off from the King. Fearful for
his life, Gaveston was forced to surrender to Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl
of Pembroke, who swore an oath to surrender his lands and titles to
protect Gaveston. However, in Oxfordshire, Gaveston was captured and
taken to Warwick Castle by Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick. He
was held there for nine days before the Earl of Lancaster arrived;
Lancaster then judged, "While he lives, there will be no safe place in
the realm of England." Accordingly, on 19 June, Gaveston was taken to
Blacklow Hill (which belonged to the Earl of Lancaster), and killed by
two Welshmen, who ran him through with a sword before beheading him as
he lay dying on the grass. For more see the recent issue of our magazine
at:
1566 - KING JAMES I of ENGLAND and VI of SCOTLAND was
born on this date (d. 1625). Responsible for the version of the bible
that bears his name, James was the son of a homosexual who was murdered
in his bed at twenty-two, together with the page he was buggering.
Throughout
his life James had close relationships with male courtiers, which has
caused debate among historians about their nature. After his accession
in England, his peaceful and scholarly attitude strikingly contrasted
with the bellicose and flirtatious behavior of Elizabeth, as indicated
by the contemporary epigram Rex fuit Elizabeth, nunc est regina Jacobus (Elizabeth
was King, now James is Queen). Some of James's biographers conclude
that Esmé Stewart (later Duke of Lennox), Robert Carr (later Earl of
Somerset), and George Villiers (later Duke of Buckingham) were his
lovers. Restoration of Apethorpe Hall, undertaken in 2004–2008, revealed
a previously unknown passage linking the bedchambers of James and
Villiers.
Under James, the "Golden Age" of Elizabethan literature and drama continued, with writers such as William Shakespeare, John Donne, Ben Jonson, and Sir Francis Bacon contributing
to a flourishing literary culture. James himself was a talented
scholar, the author of works such as Daemonologie (1597) and Basilikon
Doron (1599). Sir Anthony Weldon claimed that James had been termed "the
wisest fool in Christendom", an epithet associated with his character
ever since (and, I'm sure we need not remind you if you've been paying
attention!...one of the essential archetypes of same-sex people across
time and cultures in history). So the next time some fire and brimstone
anti-Gay preacher starts quoting from the King James Bible, you make
sure to inform him he's reading Gay poetry. It probably won't make him
or her stop, but it may give them pause.
1900 - the American novelist LAURA Z. HOBSON was
born on this date (d. 1986). Born the daughter of Jewish socialist
immigrants, she graduated from Cornell University. In 1937, she decided
to adopt a baby and a few years later in 1941 she became pregnant. After
1940 she devoted herself to writing. On 27 April 1947, her most famous
work, Gentleman's Agreement, reached #1 on the The New York Times
best-sellers' list. A later novel, Consenting Adult (1975), about a
mother dealing with her son's homosexuality, was based on her experience
with her son, Christopher.
But now we get to the story of Lester C. Hunt...
On this date in 1954 LESTER C. HUNT committed suicide.
Who
was Lester C. Hunt? Lester Hunt was a dentist and later a very popular
two term governor from the state of Wyoming. Everything was great with
Hunt and he won election to the United States Senate in 1948.
He
was a pretty good senator too. Historians credit him for his being a
bitter enemy to the redbaiting, constitution-shredding, Wisconsin
Senator Joseph R. McCarthy. His criticism of McCarthy's anti-communist
tactics marked him as a prime target in the 1954 election. It was
unlikely that Hunt would lose election as he was so popular in Wyoming.
[How
popular? ... You know that cute bucking bronco on the Wyoming license
plate? Well, it was Hunt who placed it there when he was governor. This
guy *was* Wyoming. Untouchable.]
Then
in July of 1953 his twenty-year-old son was arrested for soliciting
prostitution from a male undercover police officer in Lafayette Square
right next to the White House.
[Side
note: Lafayette Square was a very cruisy park in Washington for most of
the 20th century. One can only imagine what presidents could spy from
the windows of the White House. If you are ever in DC, Lafayette Square
contains some of the most homoerotic sculptures in the city dedicated to
a Gay hero of the American Revolution.]
Anyway,
back to Hunt... Republicans learned about the senator's son and his
arrest and in early 1954, Senator Styles Bridges of New Hampshire
delivered a blackmail demand to Hunt: either he retire from the Senate
immediately and not run for re-election or they'd go public with the
story of his homosexual son's arrest. You see the Republicans wanted
Hunt's senate seat and Wyoming had a Republican governor at the time
who'd appoint a Republican to run as an incumbent. After some
vacillation, Hunt announced on June 8, 1954, that he would not seek
reelection. Eleven days later, Hunt shot himself in his Senate office,
becoming the first congressman to commit suicide in the a Senate office
building.
Although The New York Times attributed
Hunt's suicide to "apparent despondency over his health", journalist
Drew Pearson published a column stating that Senators Styles Bridges
(R-NH) and Herman Welker (R-ID) had delivered the ultimatum to Hunt.
If
this story sounds somewhat familiar it's probably because of the film
version of a novel by Allen Drury. Drury was a congressional reporter at
the time, and remembered the story when he later wrote his Pulitzer
Prize-winning novel, Advise and Consent. In the novel, the
senator is the homosexual who commits suicide rather than reveal a past
"indiscretion." In 1962 director Otto Preminger made the novel into a
movie starring Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton,
Peter Lawford and Don Murray as the senator who commits suicide. Most
who saw the movie had no idea there was an actual story behind it all.
The story of Lester C. Hunt and his son, whose homosexuality was so
radioactive it could end not only his father's career but his life. And
now you know the story of Lester C. Hunt and homophobia in the not so
long ago.
1969 - today's the birthday of Japanese celebrity and choreographer KABA-CHAN.
Born
Eiji Kabashima in Yanagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture, Kaba-chan (his stage
name) studied dance in New York City and later returned to Japan. He
was a member of the musical group Dos with Taeco Nishikawa and Asami
Yoshino. Already known for his flamboyant character in Dos, he came out
publicly on a 2002 episode of the Dancing Sanma Palace variety show and
later became a regular panelist on Waratte Iitomo! from 2002 to 2005.
Kaba-chan has also appeared as a contestant on two editions of
Sharu Wi Dansu? (Shall We Dance?), the Japanese version of Dancing with
the Stars.
1995 - on this date the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of HURLEY V. IRISH-AMERICAN GAY, LESBIAN, AND BISEXUAL GROUP OF BOSTON unanimously
voted to allow Boston's St. Patrick's Day Parade organizers to ban Gay
groups from marching in the city's annual St. Patrick's Day Parade.
Hurly is considered a landmark decision regarding the right to assemble
and for groups to determine what message is actually conveyed to the
public. Generally, the Court ruled that private organizations, even if
they were planning on and had permits for a public demonstration, were
permitted to exclude groups if those groups presented a message contrary
to the one the organizing group wanted to convey. More specific to the
case, however, the Court found that private citizens organizing a public
demonstration may not be compelled by the state to include groups who
impart a message the organizers do not want to be included in their
demonstration, even if such a law had been written with the intent of
preventing discrimination.
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