Looking Danger in the Eye

[al bupp]

From the "12 Years That Shook the World Podcast" comes an inspirational and moving story of mostly unsung LGBT heroism during WWII:

When Frieda Belinfante’s home country of the Netherlands is invaded by the Nazis in 1940, she leaves her flourishing music career to join the resistance movement. In defiance of the Nazi regime, Frieda, a lesbian, will risk her life to protect Jews, musicians, and other members of her community. Featuring Museum historian Dr. Jake Newsome.

https://www.ushmm.org/learn/podcasts-and-audio/12-years-that-shook-the-world/looking-danger-in-the-eye?utm_medium=socialmedia&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=socialmedia&utm_content=firstpodcastpost:friedabelinfante20221205

[ShazzieB]

1. That was fascinating!

What an amazing woman. And Willem Arondeus--his story was both inspiring and heartbreaking.

Thank you for sharing this deeply moving story. I will never forget these courageous people.

This paragraph caught my eye, for what I think will be obvious reasons (bolding added by me):
"The Nazis made it clear that sexual and gender nonconformity really would have no place in the new Germany that they were trying to establish. And I think it's really important to understand that Nazi leaders believed that the alleged “deviance” of same-sex desire and same-sex identities was a “vice”— it was a “choice” that anyone could be tempted into, which is also why they thought that it was so dangerous."

When I read this, I thought, good lord, how is it that so many people STILL believe this, all these decades later? The comparison between Nazi attitudes described here and the upsurge in persecution of LGBTQ people in this country in the freaking 21st century is very striking to me and deeply, deeply disturbing.

[al bupp]

2. You're so welcome, it's my pleasure to share it here

The whole story just blew me away. Her and Willem motivations, beyond just trying to survive under Nazi rule as lesbian and gay people, their desire to fight back, help others and prove all the stereotypes they faced (then, and sadly, still now). Her not being able do "men's" jobs, him wanting to disprove the disgusting trope that gay men are all cowards. True heroes in my book.

As for current times, although I agree that current upsurges in persecution have some very disturbing parallels w/ events leading up to WWII, I firmly believe that the dial has decisively moved w/ regards to the large majority of people having decided that they really don't give a shit about whether someone, regardless of their gender, loves a man, woman or anything in-between, and understand that we're really all much more gender and sexually fluid than the bronze age cultures behind most modern religions believed. This is especially true among younger people and those from urban areas, though, like many of us here, I happen to defy that characterization on both counts

I think what we're seeing now is mostly backlash from that swing among a loud, obnoxious and aging minority. If we connect, organize and take inspiration from stories like this, hopefully we weather any storms that come.