#hellenic parliament

[gorrus]

[gemsofgreece]

Sike

Initial info snippet: Βεργίνα (or Vergina in English) is pronounced ver - YEE - nah. Just saying, for no particular reason whatsoever.

Perhaps you know that there is a country in the periphery of Greece that has a flag with a sun. This alongside other issues has been a cause of contention between Greece and this country, as it using this sun as a symbol of its non-Greek nationality was condemned by Greece as an act of cultural appropriation.

That sun looked suspiciously like (as in, it was identical down to the last line) to the Vergina Sun, or sometimes called Vergina Star, most famously discovered in the tomb of King Philip || of Macedon, in Ancient Aegae, Vergina, Macedonia, Greece.

The golden larnax with the Vergina Sun found in the tomb that is believed to be King Philip's.

For some time the Vergina Sun was mostly perceived as a symbol of Macedonia or Macedonian royalty, except that meant polar opposite things to Greeks versus to their neighbours. The Vergina Sun became the symbol of the administrative and historical region of Macedonia within the Greek state, which has this local flag:

The flag was first created in the late 80s after archaeologist Michael Andronikos made the huge discovery of the tombs in Vergina. The Vergina Sun was added as a national symbol at the Hellenic Parliament in 1993.

Meanwhile, in 1992 the newly founded neighbour state (risen through the collapse of Yugoslavia) adopted the EXACT same flag as their official national flag, except the background was changed to red. Greece condemned the use of this symbol, accusing the country of appropriation. Due to the rising tensions between the states, the neighbouring country eventually changed its flag.............. which means it's still the same red flag with the sun except now the sun is "designed differently". Of course, the implications behind it as well as the claims have not changed one bit. The neighbour country was mad at Greece for preventing them to express their true ethnicity and for using her immense evil power (which, as we all know, Greece definitely possesses) to steal THEIR history, because Greece is jealous of THEIR history. Anyway even though there was a legal agreement of sorts between the countries in the last years, it is honoured so little you might as well believe it was never done. And it is crap for our side as well, so everybody hates it.

But here's the funny thing. Even if one argues the true issue is what being a Macedonian entails (which shouldn't truly be a discourse but let's pretend it is)... the hilarious truth is that the Vergina Sun..... is actually not a symbol of Macedonia and Macedonians.

You see, the symbol has been discovered all throughout Greece since at least the 6th century BCE, way before the Kingdom of Macedon rose to any prominence.

Vergina Sun originating from… Sparta, 6th century BC, exhibited in the Louvre.

This famous amphora by Exekias, 6th century BC, depicting Achilleus and Ajax playing a board game. The Vergina Sun decorates their cloaks. Exhibit in the Vatican Museum.

Hercules fighting the Amazons. The Amazon bears a shield with the Vergina Sun. Early 5th century, Gela, Italy. (So it was crafted in the Greek colonies in Magna Grecia, South Italy.) Exhibited in the Regional Archaeological Museum "Antonio Salinas", Palermo.

Jar with the Judgement of Paris. Athena's shield is decorated with a Vergina Sun. Athens, c. 360 BC.

So you know, not only it wasn't an exclusively Macedonian symbol but it actually seems to have been an Archaic symbol of Panhellenic (encompassing all the Greeks) warfare.

Dem evil Griekos stealing other pipl's history.

[mariacallous]

Far-right Golden Dawn supporters have sent letters to at least two MPs from the ruling New Democracy party, vowing to continue targeting them until they are ousted from parliament because they voted for legislation last month that legalised civil marriage for same-sex couples.

New Democracy MP Anna Eythymiou said that after receiving the Golden Dawn letter by email, she then saw it taped to the wall outside her office in Thessaloniki in northern Greece.

“On Tuesday 5/3/2024 I received the attached letter in my email. This morning, upon arriving at my law office, I found that the letter was stuck on the wall at the entrance of the apartment building next to my professional sign with my name and my legal role,” Eythymiou said in a statement.

She called for condemnation of the incidents, which she described as “acts of intimidation and thuggery”.

The letter was signed by the ‘Youth Front of the People’s Association – Golden Dawn’. It said that similar actions will continue against MPs who voted for the same-sex civil marriage bill until they are removed from their parliamentary seats.

The letter describes the vote in favour of the bill as “a direct insult to the values of Hellenism and the principles of the Orthodox Faith”, which “exposes an uncontrolled number of vulnerable, underage members of Greek society to immediate danger and brutally affects their fundamental rights”.

“Finally, we pledge that we will do our utmost to remind the Greek people of your aforementioned value choice until you are removed from any public elected office,” the letter concluded.

Stratos Simopoulos, another New Democracy MP in Thessaloniki, who also voted in favour of the bill, received the same threatening letter.

“‘Ghosts’ of the past are trying to come back,” said Simopoulos – a reference to the banning of Golden Dawn in 2020 under a court verdict that branded the far-right party a criminal organisation.

He said that the letter “also includes threats [targeted at] my appearance at events of a religious and political character”, and called on the Greek Orthodox Church to condemn the incident and stand behind MPs who voted in favour of the bill.

Despite strong opposition, parliament voted last month to legalise civil marriage and childbearing for same-sex couples. The Greek Orthodox Church criticised the legal change, saying it was a step towards the abolition of traditional parenting and the “disappearance” of gender roles.

In April last year, mask-wearing members of Golden Dawn’s youth wing forced their way into an exhibition by artist Sergej Andreevski from neighbouring North Macedonia at a gallery in Thessaloniki’s Kalamaria municipality, accusing him of celebrating past massacres of Greeks.

The far-right activists verbally attacked the artist and later bragged on the internet that they had shut down the exhibition.

[gaymer-hag-stan]

Update on the train incident I posted about earlier.

In case you don't know what I'm talking about, on the 28th of February, a head-on collision occurred between two trains south of the Tempi Valley, near the village of Evangelismos in Thessaly, Greece. The collision, involving the IC62 passenger train and an intermodal freight train, killed at least 57 people, making it the deadliest rail disaster in Greek history and also the deadliest in Europe since the Santiago de Compostela derailment in 2013.

What's been happening ever since is ridiculous, because the vast majority of news anchors on TV have been trying way too hard to push the trainmaster as the sole person responsible for the incident.

At this point two things should be noted.

A. Said trainmaster was grossly unqualified for the position he was put in, reportedly by a politician friend who is still unknown to the public

B. Greece is the lowest ranking EU country for press freedom

I think you can put two and two together, but while obviously the trainmaster should be held responsible as far as his part is concerned. So should the media who consistently ignored train workers going multiple strikes to complain about the unsafe condition of the railway system and had already warned that it was only a matter of time before a serious accident would happen literally a month ago. So should the former transport minister, Kostas Achilleas Karamanlis, who resigned after the incident but would not hear the various warnings by the train workers and would immediately declare their strikes as illegal. Both he and the prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis kept saying that the way the railroad system was operating during the previous government was unsafe and would eventually cause accidents and were bragging about fixing it yet they knowingly did nothing. There are videos of the prime minister arriving at the site of the incident and a bunch of his yesmen directing him at how to appear to look sad, shouting out to him to lower his head and stuff like that.

GPS tracking technology has been purchased TWENTY THREE years ago and has inexplicably not been installed yet. Meaning that every single person in power since 2000 has purposefully ignored the much needed upgrade. Trains have no way of tracking each other other than radio communication which is ridiculous. The two trains that crashed into each other were allowed to move on the same track because the stationmaster at Larissa, who had only been working for one month there, ordered the train to proceed and pass red signals all the way to Neoi Poroi and ordered his assistant – the switchman – to not "turn the keys" (realign the switches) as a local train would be crossing them. The section where the accident took place, located 27.3 kilometres (17.0 miles) north of Larissa, was double-tracked and equipped with automatic controls, but switching and signalling were still being controlled manually.

The European Union announced that they had allocated tons of funds to upgrade the railway system that were never properly invested and were literally about to take Greece to court for the condition of the railway system being a literal health hazard.

The following video features scenes of police brutality.

On the left you can see Kyriakos Mitsotakis' social media post addressing the situation. I could actually translate for you but it's nothing more than empty words. On the right you can see policemen cracking down on people who gathered outside Hellenic Train's headquarters by firing tear gas and using excessive violence. The man with the blurred face exclaims that he was offering medical assistance when the policemen arrested him. The policeman yelling in his face is screaming "What are you doing here? Are you Albanian? Are you a commie? What are you?" And lastly you can see the prime minister in one of his previous speeches inside the parliament formally apologising for anyone who has been affected by police brutality in the past (at this point it should also be noted that during his reign of terror, police brutality incidents have been an at all time high as far as recent years go. He has also seriously overfunded and overhired the police during the last few years)

It should finally be noted that the Monday before the train crash took place was a national holiday, and many of the train passengers were university students in their 20s who had gone back home for the long weekend and were now returning back to their universities in northern Greece

At least 57 people were killed, and 80 others were injured, with 25 of them suffering serious injuries. Of the injured, 66 were hospitalized, with six being admitted to intensive care units. Identifying some victims was challenging due to the high temperatures reaching up to 1,300 degrees Celsius (2,370 degrees Fahrenheit) inside the first carriage. Six Albanians, two Cypriot students and a citizen of Romania are among the dead.

As a closing statement, I'd like to share a quote that's been flying around social media ever since the above incidents took place.

"The few kids that we didn't chase away abroad, boarded the train to go study.

The ones who survived went to protest for those who died.

We beat up those ones."

[elladastinkardiamou]

This week's newsletter from AthensLive is out:

* What does “without too much of a humanitarian cost” mean?

* How Greece is involved in the rising tensions in the Middle East

* ‘Greek Watergate’ - A testimony and a reportage

The Greek PM visited Israel this week, providing full support to the country. At the same time, the Greeks seem divided on whose side they are on as to the conflict; slightly more are those siding with the Palestinians.

US forces use the Greek bases of Souda in Crete and Elefsina in Attica to station their support aircraft and host Special Operation Forces. At the same time, authorities in Greece seem worried that the Israel-Palestinian war could trigger “terrorist attacks” in the country.

Greek Justice has done nothing for 18 months to prosecute people about the wiretapping scandal. Yet, it prosecutes members of the Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy - ADAE, said ADAE president Christos Rammos, testifying to the European Parliament LIBE Committee. A report also revealed that action by the Top Court may have resulted in not unveiling the possible connection between the Greek government and the Predator.

It cannot be recommended strongly enough to read and share this week's updates on the events and developments in Greece here: https://steadyhq.com/en/athenslivegr/posts/65f30d51-0287-4e11-bcc6-41673672dc80

For anyone with a wish or need to follow and to gain an insight into recent events in Greece and to read and support independent and investigative journalism in English, the weekly newsletter from AthensLive should be a core element in the reading flow.

If you want the best overview of the events and developments in Greece right now, this is the place to go. Not the mainstream Greek news, but independent journalism with sharp analysis and links to interesting and important topics from a variety of sources.

Become a member and get the newsletter in your inbox every week here:

https://steadyhq.com/en/athenslivegr/newsletter/sign_up

[alatismeni-theitsa]

In the traditional dress of Olympos, Karpathos, before the Hellenic parliament

[greekroyalfamily]

The 25th of October is 103 years since the death of HM King Alexander I of Hellenes (1 August 1893 – 25 October 1920)

Alexander was King of Greece from 11 June 1917 until his death in 1920.

The second son of King Constantine I, Alexander was born in the summer palace of Tatoi on the outskirts of Athens. He succeeded his father in 1917, during World War I, after the Entente Powers and the followers of Eleftherios Venizelos pushed King Constantine and his eldest son, Crown Prince George, into exile. Having no real political experience, the new king was stripped of his powers by the Venizelists and effectively imprisoned in his own palace. Venizelos, as prime minister, was the effective ruler with the support of the Entente. Though reduced to the status of a puppet king, Alexander supported Greek troops during their war against the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. Under his reign, the territorial extent of Greece considerably increased, following the victory of the Entente and their Allies in the First World War and the early stages of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922.

Alexander controversially married the commoner Aspasia Manos in 1919, provoking a major scandal that forced the couple to leave Greece for several months.

The government allowed the couple to return to Greece in mid-1920. Although their marriage was legalized, Aspasia was not recognized as queen, but was instead known as "Madame Manos".At first, she stayed at her sister's house in the Greek capital before transferring to Tatoi,and it was during this period that she became pregnant with Alexander's child.

Alexander's daughter by Aspasia Manos, Alexandra , was born five months after his death. Initially, the government took the line that since Alexander had married Aspasia without the permission of his father or the church, his marriage was illegal and his posthumous daughter was illegitimate. However, in July 1922, Parliament passed a law which allowed the King to recognize royal marriages retroactively on a non-dynastic basis.That September King Constantine I —at Sophia's insistence—recognized his son's marriage to Aspasia and granted her the style of "HRH Princess Alexander of Hellenes Princess of Denmark ".Her daughter (Constantine I's granddaughter) was legitimized as HRH princess of Greece and Denmark, and later married King Peter II of Yugoslavia in London in 1944. They had one child: Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia.

Alexander visited the newly acquired territories of West Thrace, and on 8 July 1920 the new name for the region's main town—Alexandroupoli (meaning "city of Alexander" in Greek)—was announced in the king's presence. The city's previous name of Dedeagatch was considered too Turkish

On 2 October 1920, Alexander was injured while walking through the grounds of the Tatoi estate. A domestic Barbary macaque belonging to the steward of the palace's grapevines attacked or was attacked by the king's German Shepherd dog, Fritz,and Alexander attempted to separate the two animals. As he did so, another monkey attacked Alexander and bit him deeply on the leg and torso. Eventually servants arrived and chased away the monkeys,and the king's wounds were promptly cleaned and dressed but not cauterized. He did not consider the incident serious and asked that it not be publicized.

That evening, his wounds became infected; he developed a strong fever and sepsis set in. His doctors considered amputating his leg, but none wished to take responsibility for so drastic an act. On 19 October, he became delirious and called out for his mother, but the Greek government refused to allow her to re-enter the country from exile in Switzerland, despite her own protestations. Finally, the queen dowager, Olga, George I's widow and Alexander's grandmother, was allowed to return alone to Athens to tend to the king. She was delayed by rough waters, however, and by the time she arrived, Alexander had already died of sepsis twelve hours previously at a little after 4 p.m. on 25 October 1920.The other members of the royal family received the news by telegram that night.

Two days later, Alexander's body was conveyed to Athens Cathedral, where it lay in state until his funeral on 29 October. Once again, the royal family were refused permission to return to Greece, and Queen Olga was the only member who attended.Foreign powers were represented by the Prince Regent of Serbia with his sister Princess Helen wife of John Constantinovich of Russia, the Crown Prince of Sweden with his uncle Prince Eugene, Duke of Nericia, and Rear-Admirals Sir George Hope of the United Kingdom and Dumesnil of France, as well as members of the Athens diplomatic corps.

After the cathedral service, Alexander's body was interred on the grounds of the royal estate at Tatoi.The Greek royal family never regarded Alexander's reign as fully legitimate. In the royal cemetery, while other monarchs are given the inscription "King of the Hellenes, Prince of Denmark", Alexander's reads "Alexander, son of the King of the Hellenes, Prince of Denmark. He ruled in the place of his father from 14 June 1917 to 25 October 1920."According to Alexander's favorite sister, Queen Helen of Romania, this feeling of illegitimacy was also shared by Alexander himself, a sentiment that helps explain his mésalliance with Aspasia Manos

Την 25η Οκτωβρίου συμπληρώνονται 103 χρόνια από τον θάνατο του βασιλιά των Ελλήνων Αλέξανδρου Α΄ (1 Αυγούστου 1893 – 25 Οκτωβρίου 1920)

Ο Αλέξανδρος ήταν βασιλιάς της Ελλάδας από τις 11 Ιουνίου 1917 μέχρι το θάνατό του το 1920.

Ο δεύτερος γιος του βασιλιά Κωνσταντίνου Α΄, ο Αλέξανδρος γεννήθηκε στο θερινό ανάκτορο του Τατοΐου στα περίχωρα της Αθήνας. Διαδέχτηκε τον πατέρα του το 1917, κατά τη διάρκεια του Α' Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου, αφού οι δυνάμεις της Αντάντ και οι οπαδοί του Ελευθέριου Βενιζέλου ώθησαν στην εξορία τον βασιλιά Κωνσταντίνο και τον μεγαλύτερο γιο του, τον διάδοχο Γεώργιο. Μη έχοντας πραγματική πολιτική εμπειρία, ο νέος βασιλιάς αφαιρέθηκε από τις εξουσίες του από τους βενιζελικούς και ουσιαστικά φυλακίστηκε στο παλάτι. Ο Βενιζέλος, ως πρωθυπουργός, ήταν ο αποτελεσματικός ηγεμόνας με την υποστήριξη της Αντάντ. Αν και περιορίστηκε στο καθεστώς ενός βασιλιά-μαριονέτα, ο Αλέξανδρος υποστήριξε τα ελληνικά στρατεύματα κατά τη διάρκεια του πολέμου τους εναντίον της Οθωμανικής Αυτοκρατορίας και της Βουλγαρίας. Επί της βασιλείας του, η εδαφική έκταση της Ελλάδας αυξήθηκε σημαντικά, μετά τη νίκη της Αντάντ και των Συμμάχων της στον Πρώτο Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο και τα πρώτα στάδια του ελληνοτουρκικού πολέμου του 1919-1922.

Ο Αλέξανδρος παντρεύτηκε αμφιλεγόμενα την απλοϊκή Ασπασία Μάνο το 1919, προκαλώντας ένα μεγάλο σκάνδαλο που ανάγκασε το ζευγάρι να εγκαταλείψει την Ελλάδα για αρκετούς μήνες.

Η κυβέρνηση επέτρεψε στο ζευγάρι να επιστρέψει στην Ελλάδα στα μέσα του 1920. Αν και ο γάμος τους νομιμοποιήθηκε, η Ασπασία δεν αναγνωρίστηκε ως βασίλισσα, αλλά ήταν γνωστή ως «Μαντάμ Μάνος». Στην αρχή, έμεινε στο σπίτι της αδερφής της στην ελληνική πρωτεύουσα πριν μετακομίσει στο Τατόι, και την περίοδο αυτή έγινε έγκυος στο παιδί του Αλέξανδρου.

Η κόρη του Αλέξανδρου από την Ασπασία Μάνου, η Αλεξάνδρα, γεννήθηκε πέντε μήνες μετά τον θάνατό του. Αρχικά, η κυβέρνηση υιοθέτησε τη γραμμή ότι αφού ο Αλέξανδρος είχε παντρευτεί την Ασπασία χωρίς την άδεια του πατέρα του ή της εκκλησίας, ο γάμος του ήταν παράνομος και η κόρη του νόθα. Ωστόσο, τον Ιούλιο του 1922, το Κοινοβούλιο ψήφισε νόμο που επέτρεπε στον Βασιλιά να αναγνωρίζει αναδρομικά τους βασιλικούς γάμους σε μη δυναστική βάση. Εκείνο τον Σεπτέμβριο,ο Κωνσταντίνος —με την επιμονή της Σοφίας— αναγνώρισε το γάμο του γιου του με την Ασπασία και της παραχώρησε το στυλ "ΑΒΥ Πριγκίπισσα Αλέξανδρου των Ελλήνων Πριγκίπισσα της Δανίας". Η κόρη της (η εγγονή του Κωνσταντίνου Α') νομιμοποιήθηκε ως ΑΒΥ πριγκίπισσα της Ελλάδας και της Δανίας και αργότερα παντρεύτηκε τον βασιλιά Πέτρο Β' της Γιουγκοσλαβίας στο Λονδίνο το 1944. Απέκτησαν ένα παιδί: τον Αλέξανδρο, διάδοχο της Γιουγκοσλαβίας.

Ο Αλέξανδρος επισκέφθηκε τα πρόσφατα αποκτηθέντα εδάφη της Δυτικής Θράκης και στις 8 Ιουλίου 1920 το νέο όνομα για την κύρια πόλη της περιοχής —Αλεξανδρούπολη (που σημαίνει «πόλη του Αλεξάνδρου» στα ελληνικά)— ανακοινώθηκε ��αρουσία του βασιλιά. Το προηγούμενο όνομα της πόλης Dedeagatch θεωρήθηκε πολύ τουρκικό

Στις 2 Οκτωβρίου 1920, ο Αλέξανδρος τραυματίστηκε ενώ περπατούσε στους χώρους του κτήματος Τατοΐου. Ένας οικόσιτος μακάκος Barbary που ανήκε στον οικονόμο των αμπελιών του παλατιού επιτέθηκε ή δέχθηκε επίθεση από τον Γερμανικό Ποιμενικό σκύλο του βασιλιά, Φριτς, και ο Αλέξανδρος προσπάθησε να χωρίσει τα δύο ζώα. Καθώς το έκανε, μια άλλη μαϊμού επιτέθηκε στον Αλέξανδρο και τον δάγκωσε βαθιά στο πόδι και τον κορμό. Τελικά έφτασαν υπηρέτες και έδιωξαν τους πιθήκους, και οι πληγές του βασιλιά καθαρίστηκαν και ντύθηκαν αμέσως, αλλά δεν καυτηριάστηκαν. Δεν θεώρησε το περιστατικό σοβαρό και ζήτησε να μην δημοσιοποιηθεί.

Εκείνο το βράδυ, οι πληγές του μολύνθηκαν. ανέπτυξε δυνατό πυρετό και εμφανίστηκε σήψη. Οι γιατροί του σκέφτηκαν να ακρωτηριάσουν το πόδι του, αλλά κανένας δεν ήθελε να αναλάβει την ευθύνη για μια τόσο δραστική πράξη. Στις 19 Οκτωβρίου, παραληρούσε και φώναξε τη μητέρα του, αλλά η ελληνική κυβέρνηση αρνήθηκε να της επιτρέψει να ξαναμπεί στη χώρα από την εξορία στην Ελβετία, παρά τις δικές της διαμαρτυρίες. Τελικά, η κηδεμόνα της βασίλισσας, Όλγας, χήρα του Γεωργίου Α' και γιαγιά του Αλέξανδρου, επετράπη να επιστρέψει μόνη στην Αθήνα για να φροντίσει τον βασιλιά. Ωστόσο, καθυστέρησε από τα ταραγμένα νερά, και όταν έφτασε, ο Αλέξανδρος είχε ήδη πεθάνει από σήψη δώδεκα ώρες πριν, λίγο μετά τις 4 μ.μ. στις 25 Οκτωβρίου 1920. Τα άλλα μέλη της βασιλικής οικογένειας έλαβαν τα νέα με τηλεγράφημα εκείνο το βράδυ.

Δύο ημέρες αργότερα, η σορός του Αλέξανδρου μεταφέρθηκε στον Καθεδρικό Ναό Αθηνών, όπου παρέμεινε στην κατάσταση μέχρι την κηδεία του στις 29 Οκτωβρίου. Για άλλη μια φορά, η βασιλική οικογένεια αρνήθηκε να επιστρέψει στην Ελλάδα και η βασίλισσα Όλγα ήταν το μόνο μέλος που παρευρέθηκε. Οι ξένες δυνάμεις εκπροσωπήθηκαν από τον Πρίγκιπα Αντιβασιλέα της Σερβίας με την αδελφή του Πριγκίπισσα Ελένη, σύζυγο του Ιωάννη Κωνσταντίνοβιτς της Ρωσίας, τον διάδοχο της Ρωσίας Σουηδία με τον θείο του Πρίγκιπα Ευγένιο, Δούκα της Νερίσιας, και τους Αντιναύαρχους Sir George Hope του Ηνωμένου Βασιλείου και Dumesnil της Γαλλίας, καθώς και μέλη του διπλωματικού σώματος της Αθήνας.

Μετά τη λειτουργία του καθεδρικού ναού, η σορός του Αλεξάνδρου ενταφιάστηκε στο βασιλικό κτήμα στο Τατόι. Η ελληνική βασιλική οικογένεια ποτέ δεν θεώρησε τη βασιλεία του Αλεξάνδρου ως απολύτως νόμιμη. Στο βασιλικό νεκροταφείο, ενώ σε άλλους μονάρχες δίνεται η επιγραφή «Βασιλιάς των Ελλήνων, Πρίγκιπας της Δανίας», του Αλεξάνδρου γράφει «Αλέξανδρος, γιος του Βασιλιά των Ελλήνων, Πρίγκιπας της Δανίας. Κυβέρνησε στη θέση του πατέρα του από το 14 Ιουνίου 1917 έως 25 Οκτωβρίου 1920.

[goexploregreece]

The National Historical Museum in Athens.

Founded in 1882, it is the oldest of its kind in Greece. It is located in the Old Parliament House at Stadiou Street in Athens, which housed the Hellenic Parliament from 1875 until 1932.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 12.19 (before 1950)

1154 – Henry II of England is crowned at Westminster Abbey. 1187 – Pope Clement III is elected. 1490 – Anne, Duchess of Brittany, is married to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor by proxy. 1562 – The Battle of Dreux takes place during the French Wars of Religion. 1606 – The ships Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery depart England carrying settlers who founded, at Jamestown, Virginia, the first of the thirteen colonies that became the United States. 1675 – The Great Swamp Fight, a pivotal battle in King Philip's War, gives the English settlers a bitterly won victory. 1776 – Thomas Paine publishes one of a series of pamphlets in The Pennsylvania Journal entitled "The American Crisis". 1777 – American Revolutionary War: George Washington's Continental Army goes into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. 1783 – William Pitt the Younger becomes the youngest Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at 24. 1793 – War of the First Coalition: The Siege of Toulon ends when Napoleon's French artillery forces the British to abandon the city, securing southern France from invasion. 1796 – French Revolutionary Wars: Two British frigates under Commodore Horatio Nelson and two Spanish frigates under Commodore Don Jacobo Stuart engage in battle off the coast of Murcia. 1828 – Vice President of the United States John C. Calhoun sparks the Nullification Crisis when he anonymously publishes the South Carolina Exposition and Protest, protesting the Tariff of 1828. 1900 – Hopetoun Blunder: The first Governor-General of Australia John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun, appoints Sir William Lyne premier of the new state of New South Wales, but he is unable to persuade other colonial politicians to join his government and is forced to resign. 1900 – French parliament votes amnesty for all involved in scandalous army treason trial known as Dreyfus affair. 1907 – Two hundred thirty-nine coal miners die in the Darr Mine Disaster in Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania. 1912 – William Van Schaick, captain of the steamship General Slocum which caught fire and killed over one thousand people, is pardoned by U.S. President William Howard Taft after 3+1⁄2 years in Sing Sing prison. 1920 – King Constantine I is restored as King of the Hellenes after the death of his son Alexander of Greece and a plebiscite. 1924 – The last Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost is sold in London, England. 1924 – German serial killer Fritz Haarmann is sentenced to death for a series of murders. 1927 – Three Indian revolutionaries, Ram Prasad Bismil, Roshan Singh and Ashfaqulla Khan, are executed by the British Raj for participation in the Kakori conspiracy. 1929 – The Indian National Congress promulgates the Purna Swaraj (the Declaration of the Independence of India). 1932 – BBC World Service begins broadcasting as the BBC Empire Service. 1940 – Risto Ryti, the Prime Minister of Finland, is elected President of the Republic of Finland in a presidential election, which is exceptionally held by the 1937 electoral college. 1941 – World War II: Adolf Hitler appoints himself as head of the Oberkommando des Heeres. 1941 – World War II: Limpet mines placed by Italian divers heavily damage HMS Valiant and HMS Queen Elizabeth in Alexandria harbour. 1945 – John Amery, British Fascist, is executed at the age of 33 by the British Government for treason. 1946 – Start of the First Indochina War.

[theankoletimes]

Kisoro MP Aspirants Condemn Religious Influence in By-Elections

A group of woman Member of Parliament aspirants in Kisoro District has expressed dissatisfaction with the influence of religion in the ongoing National Resistance Movement (NRM) joint campaigns. This concern was voiced during NRM joint campaigns held in Kigeyo Village, Kigeyo Ward, Nyanamo Town Council, and Nyarutembe Village, Kagunga Parish, Bukimbiri Subcounty. Aspirants Hellen Mbonye and…

[flairyourtrip]

Your Perfect 5 Night's Greece Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Athens Welcome to Athens! At Arrival meet your driver at Athens International Airport or the Port of Piraeus. Get Transfer & Enjoy a panoramic drive through Athens as you transfer to your hotel. Check-In to your centrally located hotel. In the Evening, relax or explore the local area. Stay Overnight at Athens

Day 2: Athens Sightseeing Tour In the Morning After Breakfast. Start your day with a hearty breakfast at the hotel. Half-Day Tour: Acropolis: Visit the iconic Acropolis and Parthenon. Acropolis Museum: Explore the modern Acropolis Museum. Constitution Square: See Syntagma Square and the Changing of the Guard. Temple of Zeus: Marvel at the ancient Temple of Olympian Zeus. National Library: View the impressive National Library of Greece. Olympic Stadium: Stop by the historic Panathenaic Stadium. Parliament House: Witness the Hellenic Parliament building and the Memorial of the Unknown Soldier.Afternoon: Free time to explore or relax. In the Evening, Dinner at a rooftop restaurant with Acropolis views. Stay Overnight at Athens.

Day 3: Athens to Santorini In the Morning After Breakfast. Get transfer to the port for your ferry to Santorini. Journey: Experience the scenic ferry ride to Santorini. Arrival: Transfer to your hotel in Santorini. Afternoon: Free time to explore the island or relax. In the Evening, dinner at a seaside taverna. Stay Overnight at Santorini.

Day 4: Santorini Caldera & Oia Sunset Tour In the Morning, Start with breakfast at the hotel. Day at Leisure & Enjoy the beautiful island of Santorini. In the Late Afternoon, Caldera Cruise: Embark on an evening cruise to the Caldera. Volcano Tour: Visit the active volcano and hot springs. Thirassia: Explore the traditional village of Thirassia. Dinner on Board: Savor a delicious dinner while cruising. Sunset View: Witness the breathtaking sunset from the best vantage point. In the Evening, Return to your hotel for the night.

Day 5: Santorini to Athens In the Morning, After Breakfast at your hotel. Get transfer to the port for your ferry back to Athens. Enjoy the ferry ride with stunning views of the Aegean Sea. Arrival at Athens transfer to your hotel in Athens. In the Evening, Free time to explore Athens or relax. Stay Overnight at Hotel.

Day 6: Departure from Athens Start your Morning, By enjoying a final breakfast at your hotel. Free Time, Last-minute sightseeing or shopping. Get Private transfer to Athens International Airport. Departure: Begin your journey home with unforgettable memories of Greece.

[gemsofgreece]

Traditional dresses from the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Photos by Calliope Voutzali for an exhibition in the Library of the Hellenic Parliament.

[mariacallous]

It may sound like fun and games, but it’s no joke. After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, this decentralized group of activists came together to raise money for Ukraine and demolish Russian narratives on social media. They even have their own version of NATO’s Article 5 for mutual assistance, with the hashtag #NAFOArticle5, a cry for other fellas to pile in on social media posts. The fellas took a big step toward recognition last month by staging the NAFO summit in Vilnius. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas congratulated the group on its first summit and tweeted, “Behind every Fella is a real person who believes in #Ukraine’s victory.”

The world has changed markedly in the more than three decades since political scientist Joseph S. Nye Jr. popularized the term “soft power” in the pages of Foreign Policy. When that article was published in 1990, the dust had barely settled on the ruins of the Berlin Wall, most American homes didn’t have a personal computer, and the first internet meme of a dancing baby was still a few years in the future. The notion of government ministers attending a wartime summit and taking time to praise smack-talking cartoon dogs would have struck many political observers as far-fetched.

​​Although the modern vernacular of soft and hard power implies opposition, since the earliest civilizations it has been more of a continuum. In ancient times, Hellenization spread throughout the known world in the wake of Alexander the Great’s army. Proselytizing priests followed in the footsteps of Spain’s conquistadors. Imperial China presented a cultural wall against the steppe as powerful as any fortifications. The information age has modified the nature of soft power but not human nature. As Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine grinds on and governments in West Africa fall to coups, it’s evident that no surfeit of wishful thinking will reduce the appeal of hard power for some.

Today, many world leaders still reach for sports, language, food, music, and movies to advance their interests. These efforts aren’t inherently more persuasive than bullets or blockades, but it’s a much more pleasant and humane way of seeking to influence world events. Occasionally, soft power seems to work like a charm. The United Kingdom is widely viewed as having benefited from the recent royal pageantry, despite it coinciding with some messy political infighting in London’s Parliament. India certainly benefits to some degree from the widespread popularity of yoga and Bollywood, but the country’s status as a rising Asian nation and counterweight to China explains much of its appeal in the West.

Increasingly, some political representatives are taking the extra, and risky, step of engaging directly with global popular culture. China’s ambassador to the United States, for example, recently tweeted, “An American friend asked me: what kind of flower will grow out of China?” A torrent of responses cast doubt on this anecdote and questioned whether the ambassador had any notion of how Americans actually speak.

Advancing soft power through pop culture may get more difficult as the internet evolves. The NAFO fellas, for example, generally organize themselves on Twitter, which has been a popular platform for social movements from the Arab Spring to Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement. But Elon Musk’s rebranding of Twitter as “X” raises the question of whether the fellas will still be able to “tweet” and if anyone will notice if they do.

In a similar vein, Hollywood, which arguably did more in the 20th century to promote a beguiling image of the United States than the Marshall Plan or the Apollo program, is struggling with challenges at home and abroad. Labor strife casts doubts on new productions, artificial intelligence is encroaching, and competition from overseas is increasing. Content from Nigeria, Mexico, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and, of course, Bollywood is clamoring for the global attention span. Filmmaking can also backfire: Sony Pictures Entertainment suffered a major hack in 2014 that included threats to terrorize cinemas showing The Interview, a comedy about a plot to assassinate North Korea’s leader.

North Korea may be a touchy Hermit Kingdom. But South Korea’s K-pop, its brand of popular music, furnishes Seoul’s leaders with a deep well of soft power to draw from. In September 2021, when the United Nations opened the first fully in-person General Assembly in New York after lifting COVID-era restrictions, South Korea’s then-president, Moon Jae-in, invited the group BTS to sing and dance (and speak) their way through the U.N. headquarters as his special presidential envoys for future generations and culture. At the time, South Korea was riding high, having recently been catapulted into the top 10 largest economies in the world. Now, it has just been elected to the U.N. Security Council.

Sports and pop culture don’t have a monopoly on soft power. A little more than a decade ago, Russia was viewed favorably by nearly half of Americans. (Russia’s favorables have since dropped to single digits in the United States.) But with the possible exception of the dissident punk-rock band Pussy Riot, Russian pop culture was almost entirely unknown, then and now. Americans are more familiar with the cannons of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and the works of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy. Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov came to define classical dance; ironically, these Soviet defectors made ballet cool for a generation of Americans enrolled in classes during the Cold War. Only much later would some balletomanes understand that Nureyev self-identified as a Tatar and Baryshnikov as a Latvian.

Some government cultural campaigns are deliberately nostalgic. In 2020, Spain’s food ministry launched a campaign with the slogan El país más rico del mundo—which translates as either the “richest” or “tastiest” country in the world—plastering the motto on billboards in train stations and at bus stops. Centuries have passed since Spain had the world’s silver at its fingertips, but Spanish food and chefs are ubiquitous.

Language, and the pleasure of wordplay, is one of the most enduring aspects of a culture. Romance languages, a Roman legacy, flourished in medieval Europe. Many of the top-ranked countries in a recent survey of soft power subsidize global language schools, including Spain’s Cervantes Institute, Germany’s Goethe-Institut, China’s Confucius Institute, Italy’s Italian Cultural Institute, and the United Kingdom’s British Council. The guidepost has been France’s Alliance Française, which was founded independently by a circle of preeminent late 19th-century Parisians that included Jules Verne, Louis Pasteur, and Ferdinand de Lesseps, a French diplomat, developer of the Suez Canal, and leader of the plan to bring the Statue of Liberty to New York. French President Emmanuel Macron feted the 140th anniversary of the organization’s founding on July 21, remarking at a celebration at the Élysée presidential palace that the hundreds of schools scattered around the world, mostly underwritten by student fees, are “absolutely key for the diffusion of French culture but also of our values.”

Soft power may be pricey, but world leaders continue to pour money into a range of cultural offerings because they can’t be certain what will resonate. Last month, Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi watched the Bastille Day parade in Paris, including a flyby of three French-made jets in the Indian Air Force. Modi’s visit concluded with an announcement that India would buy 26 more Dassault Rafale jets and three additional Scorpène-class submarines. This year, during a state visit to Beijing with plenty of cultural baggage, Macron sealed commercial deals for aircraft, cosmetics, financial products, and pork. Soon thereafter, a French television station called it a “jackpot” when the news broke that China had agreed to extend the stay of a pair of giant pandas at the ZooParc de Beauval in France’s Loire Valley. The zoo’s director had been among the entourage that had recently accompanied Macron to Beijing, which has a monopoly on pandas around the world.

Sports, especially hosting global events, can be an expensive and risky way to project soft power, and in some cases, countries have been accused of “sportswashing.” None of this is new. Adolf Hitler wanted the 1936 Berlin Olympics to showcase his Nazi regime; it showcased instead the superlative skills of Jesse Owens, the African American athlete who walked away with four gold medals. More recently, pro-Tibetan protesters stormed the field during an Olympic torch-lighting ceremony ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Last year, Qatar faced widespread criticism when it banned soccer fans from wearing rainbow gear into games because visible support for LGBTQ rights is prohibited in the socially conservative kingdom.

Currently, the thorniest debates center on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and how to handle it when they face Ukrainian competitors, a headache that host countries probably had not envisioned when they bid for these events years ago. Some star Ukrainian athletes are refusing to shake hands with competitors from Russia or Belarus, which Moscow has used as a staging ground for its war in Ukraine. Some tennis fans, who may have thought they were witnessing poor sportsmanship, booed at the end of matches at Wimbledon and the French Open. Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan was disqualified after winning a world championship match in Milan for refusing to shake hands with her Russian opponent. She later posted a video on Instagram saying that what happened “raises a lot of questions.”

One question that hasn’t been answered is whether the fellas are making a real impact. Their social media messages have been so pointed, at least in part, because they echo the agitprop communication style developed by the Soviets to agitate nonbelievers and motivate the like-minded. But the fellas didn’t get their most cherished wish at NATO’s Vilnius summit, which ended without a major advance in Ukraine’s bid to join the security alliance.

The term “soft power” evokes more than wishful thinking, although that was certainly part of its appeal after the barbarism of the 20th century. Alongside other forms of persuasion, it can help a country cut trade deals, win friends, or join new clubs. Or not.

[denimbex1986]

'A landmark resolution, which was passed sparking celebrations as well as angry protests, has cemented a climate of confrontation and division in society. At the same time, "Strangers Between Us", an excellent film that reflects on "gay loneliness", is released in Greek theaters. Can art contribute to the conversation? Let's find out together…

On February 15, the Hellenic Parliament proceeds, amid various reactions, with the historic passing of the bill on the marriage of same-sex couples and childbearing. Somehow, Greece becomes the first Orthodox country to make the decision to legalize same-sex marriage.

On the same day, the release of the Anglo-American film "All of Us Strangers", directed by Andrew Haig ("45 Years", "Lean on Pete"), begins in our country. Coincidentally, the work in question foregrounds a same-sex couple and the isolation they experience.

The timing is ideal: The landmark bill is being passed amid cheers, but also reactions, outlining a climate of confrontation and division in society. The film, on the other hand, is rightly garnering praise. One inevitably wonders if we are dealing with a case in which art can contribute to public debate. To give convincing answers, we will have to start things from the beginning.

The play

The premise of the controversial film is as follows: One night in an almost empty skyscraper in modern London, forty-year-old Adam (Andrew Scott) accidentally meets a mysterious neighbor, Harry (Paul Mescal). Soon, his daily life will change as the two begin to grow closer. As their relationship develops, Adam will be overwhelmed by memories of the past, which will bring him back to the country town where he grew up and his childhood home. There, he seems to be reunited with his parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell), who, however, have… died 30 years ago in a car accident.

Haig's film is based on the novel "Strangers" (1987) by the Japanese author Taichi Yamada. The first infuses it with semi-autobiographical elements, telling the story of a lonely gay writer who "dives" into his past, at the moment when he begins a new love affair. The hypnotic, hallucinogenic direction of the British creator masterfully depicts the stages of the depressing everyday life of the introverted man, passively given over to the hallucinogenic intoxication of a "cocktail" of loneliness and memories, against the backdrop of the alienating modern metropolis.

In the midst of this uncontrollable spiral, the accidental love encounter with the mysterious neighbor Harry, who with his disarming spontaneity unlocks Adam's defenses and helps him let go, seems at first sight like a lifeline. Strangers to each other, meteors in a chaotic world, in which they are forced to walk alone because of their choices, the two will transcendentally rediscover the experience of connection and give each other moments of passion, excitement, romance and tenderness, which so and so seem to have been deprived or oppressed.

But, after all, things may not be quite as they seem. This entire relationship may simply be a projection of repressed desires, long stored in Adam's subconscious.

The sensitive protagonist of this metaphysical story is, at the same time, in open communication with the ghosts of his past. Crossing imaginary borders and invading the nostalgically familiar environment of his childhood in the 80s, the author confronts interactive memories and settles his open accounts with the complex past.

Coming out to his parents, confessing about the intramural violence and bullying he experienced, but also "blaming" him for the lack of understanding and support he had from his home, accompanied by the corresponding burning questions he never got to ask , or the painful, but also the liberating answers that he did not have time to get, become part of a healing process of externalizing the wounded inner souls. Even through imaginary dialogues that take place exclusively in his mind, he will be helped to redefine his relationship with his parents and finally restart his swampy present, without the weights that keep him fortified in his closed shell and a prisoner of his insecurities.

Spoilers ahead!

In contrast, Harry, who is introduced as an uncomplicated guy who seems to carry more assertiveness towards life, displays an emerging melancholy as he goes along with Adam and his deep confessions.

His socialization, mainly through carnal pleasure, camouflages the trauma of a man who feels marginalized, ostracized by his family, but also deprived of essential love and understanding. His addiction to drugs and alcohol suggests how difficult this situation is to manage.

Little by little, Adam's loneliness and depression is reflected back to Harry, like a ping pong ball. Except, unlike Adam and the catharsis he experiences, Harry doesn't have the reserves to metabolize his pain and assimilate it into his life. He continues, thus, to be consumed by his demons, until finally we understand that what we see in flesh and blood in his case is nothing more than the muffled retort of his last, anguished cry for help, which is left to echo in Adam's mind . The revelation comes in a jarring way, in an otherwise suggestive, slow-burning film, which magnetizes with the tension and electricity of its atmosphere.

Haig directs with unparalleled directorial mastery, orchestrating the lensing, color palettes, lighting and stunning editing like a fine-tuned orchestra to produce a cohesive effect in which sequences hauntingly snap together and echo the psychological state of the characters.

The genre identity of the play is part psychological thriller, part contemplative drama and part romantic fantasy film. This versatility also carries over to the construction of the stage environment, which is a hybrid between the real world (impersonal and cold) and a metaphorical wasteland of subconscious thoughts (the open wounds and desperate need of the isolated for real connection), which is presented with narrative economy, spotlighting Scott and Mezcal's amazing chemistry.

The two, in their respective characters' shoes, are enigmatic and vulnerable in a different way each. Their riveting performances and the genuine way they communicate the subtle nuances of their fractured psyches amid the urban chaos that surrounds them compel the viewer to connect with them in an organic way that doesn't extort but cultivates emotion. Their unfolding makes them a primary component of the film's suspense and atmosphere.

Everyone wants – and needs – to feel connected

Without preaching or pointing fingers, "All of Us Strangers" demonstrates the capital role that acceptance, encouragement and inclusion play for each member of our society, instead of the cold neutrality and disparaging tolerance that perpetuates underground prejudice and stereotypes. Even worse, in our own society we see expressions of outright rejection, hatred and stigmatization abound. Unfortunately, such attitudes are common at the expense of people belonging to vulnerable social groups or minorities of all kinds.

A few days ago, through the resolution of the disputed bill for same-sex couples, Greece recognized their right to civil marriage and procreation. This, as we said, automatically made Greece the first Orthodox country to legalize same-sex marriage. This particular "concession" may have stirred up a storm of debate - as if it was done for free - but in reality it should be taken for granted, since the vote was about nothing more than achieving equality, in this case marriage. The key word, then, is equality.

Those who protest the above resolution, believing that its verdict offends or destabilizes the good morals of our society, should ask themselves which future society they envision: One that perpetuates the gaps and divisions between its members, or one that institutes equal privileges for all; And let them not forget that tomorrow they or their children may also belong to a group targeted or discarded.

Let the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, which is content with issuing anachronistic encyclicals, which are a far cry from the emblematic message "Love one another", on the foundations of which the influence of its doctrine was built, also wonder.

First world problems?

Moreover, the issues of modern social conquests may be considered by some to be "first world problems", i.e. fictitious, invented to keep the people of highly developed countries busy, who have resolved their substantive issues.

This is an oversimplified and naive logic (has Greece solved the problem of its economy, employment and standard of living of its citizens?), which is usually parroted in the company of sermons about "woke culture", which contradicts traditional socio-ethics perceptions and allegedly acts degenerate towards our society - as if it was ever angelically formed and not mired in the mire of patriarchy.

This is reasoning that reflects a subconscious phobia of the dominant males who develop it, sensing the impending castration of their power. It provides a cheap alibi for the lack of empathy and the formulation of a very aggressive, intolerant and homophobic rhetoric, which does not resemble at all... first world, and rather more refers to a conservative theocracy!

The walls of separation that must come down

That's exactly the wall that "All of Us Strangers" is trying to break down. The film does not aim to make the viewer feel sorry for the "lonely" – or non-LGBTQI+ people, but to motivate them to look at themselves in the “mirror” of self-criticism. To see how much damage he himself, along with the crowd of his ilk, is doing by refusing to show understanding or make a selfless gesture of love, preferring instead to despise, vilify or exclude members of any minority, condemning them to loneliness or marginalization.

After all, you know something? Perhaps the passage of the same-sex couples bill is a timid first step toward more inclusion and less marginalization. And this should only sound like happy news. If one watches Haig's film, not only with open eyes, but also with an open mind, one is sure to understand this.'

[elladastinkardiamou]

This week's newsletter from AthensLive is out:    

*     Civilization ‘hand-cuffed’ at the dungeons

*     Greek government blocks transparency efforts

*     “Give birth at your own risk”

- are the main headlines to be found inside this highly informative weekly must-read from and about Greece. More evidence on illegal pushbacks has been revealed this week, including a Legal Centre Lesvos video on a 200 migrants pushback and the creepy findings of the until now unknown practice of pushing back people from Italy to Greece on the ‘dungeons’ of luxurious commercial ships. In what appears to be a continuous effort to cover up the ‘Greek Watergate,’ the Greek government indirectly yet clearly turned down the Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy president Christos Rammos' request to inform the Parliament of the Authorities' findings. Expectant mothers are asked to “give birth at their own risk” due to a lack of hospital pediatricians. This is the latest in a series of degrading Greek NHS. This week also included the postponement of chemotherapies due to the lack of hospital pharmacists and humiliating situations in the largest psychiatric hospital in Greece.

It cannot be recommended strongly enough to read and share this week's updates on the events and developments in Greece here:

https://steadyhq.com/en/athenslivegr/posts/3cd57d5d-5791-41d9-9827-b56a36e93c62

For anyone with a wish or need to follow and to gain an insight into recent events in Greece and to read and support independent and investigative journalism in English, the weekly newsletter from AthensLive should be a core element in the reading flow.

If you want the best overview of the events and developments in Greece right now, this is the place to go. Not the mainstream Greek news, but independent journalism with sharp analysis and links to interesting and important topics from a variety of sources.

Become a member and get the newsletter in your inbox every week here:

http://bit.ly/2GkVuYt

[cobragardens]

One of the things that continually amazes and bothers me about humans is how little time it takes for a social custom to seem like It's Always Been That Way. Not even a full human lifespan.

As op points out above, queerness' association with villainy is only a little over a century old. In the latter half of the 19th century snd first two decades of the 20th, there was substantial theoretical support for male homosexuality among the wealthy men who were the architects of Anglo-American culture, because they were consciously aping the values of ancient Greece and Rome, deeply homosexual and more importantly homosocial societies where male homosexuality and pederasty (male rape of boy children and teens) was associated positively with masculinity.

Love and attraction between men was seen in Hellenic and Roman culture (again, among the wealthy and powerful) as truer and more virtuous than heterosexual relationships because women were largely believed to be animals without intellect or reason that men must dutifully impregnate in order to continue the human race. (Aristotle opined that women had no souls and contributed only flesh to their offspring, claiming spiritual matter was transmitted to sons through semen and that female children were the result of the impregnator firing a spiritual blank, as it were, when ejaculating into a woman; in Rome women were kept illiterate.*) Real, true love was thought to be possible only between men bc only between men could there be cause for mutual respect and intellectual connection.

Many men of the fin de sèicle who fancied themselves deep thinkers adopted this Greco-Roman view of mlm relationships as masculine and virtuous--as long as the man being judged was thought to be topping; anything that smacked of womanliness, such as drag or accepting penetration, was Right Out.

The decades just before and after the turn of the 20th century were also a period of scientific exploration in which gender, sexuality, and social mores were examined critically; evidence of the ubiquity of putative "aberrations" was collected; and academics, scientists, and activists began to argue in numbers against prescriptive gender roles. The rise of fascism--as popular in Britain and America as in Germany--burned that progress in its book-fuelled bonfires.

And the Hays Code was part of that rise.

In my own life--and I'm only halfway through it--I have seen queer people lynched, and I have seen marriage equality granted by Parliament in the UK and SCOTUS in the U.S. Now I am seeing the human rights of trans people being pointedly and systematically stripped in both countries, and will see marriage equality and discrimination protections taken from all queer people in the U.S. in the next two years.

I remind my fellow Americans and my British beloveds: The endpoint of conservatism is fascism, and it only takes a very few years to achieve it. A single Presidential term. A single Parliamentary Government.

And it only takes a few years more for everyone to tell you that It's Always Been That Way. That it's the Natural Order of Things.

*If this sounds anything like American race slavery, that is not an accident

actually I'm not done thinking about this. the Hays Code banned positive depictions of queer characters (well, specifically it banned depiction of "sex perversion" and any narrative that threw the audience's sympathy towards people who were "sinful"), which is why so many villains were queer coded. you can have queer people in your movie if and only if they suffer for it. this was to discourage people from sympathizing or identifying with queerness. to avoid "lowering the moral standard" of viewers and promote the "correct standards" of life.

there's this idea I see floating around in fandom circles that a story is "more queer" if the characters struggle, or are disliked by everyone around them, or never have their queerness elevated above subtext. most of this is just people co-opting academic language to make their ship war seem more interesting than it is, but I've seen it over and over so I'm fairly certain there are people that really believe it.

but like. "characters are more queer if they are punished by the narrative" "characters are more queer if they are hated by everyone" "characters are more queer if they're villains" you realize that that's just falling for propaganda, right? the Hays Code was propaganda. maybe you grew up on classic disney villains and think they're cool and sexy that's fine whatever, but saying that queerness must be limited to a little box of suffering, or else it doesn't count as queerness, is just so sad, y'all.