How did the “red menace” and the “lavender menace” intersect in Cold War political culture?
2 thoughts on “Week 3 Day 2 Discussion Question 3”
Emma Brown
During the Cold War, the American government saw similarities between the “red menace” and the “lavender menace” which they deemed were a threat to national security. Government officials created ties between the two groups, stating that both were “twisted mentally or physically in some way”, and psychoanalysts went to claim there were common psychological traits as both “want their shame and enjoy the guilt of lying, cheating, and deceiving their friends”. The fact that these claims were so blatantly expressed is absolutely ridiculous as two completely different groups were compared with far-fetched accusations in order to foster feelings of safety, yet there was truly no valid logic to support these arguments. This further demonstrates the Cold War hysteria that was ubiquitous in American culture; the “trust no one” attitude that infected the public as the government used any excuse to persecute anyone who they deemed to be different and therefore “dangerous”. To label and stereotype an entire group of people as feminine and thus “succumbing to weakness” and blackmail from communists completely baffles me, as these claims seem to be so improbable, which like Henry stated really highlights the true fear of Cold War America of any slight change from the ordinary.
The “Hearings on Homosexuality” reading was, to me, simultaneously the most bizarre and eye-opening we’ve had in this course. The only real similarity between the “red scare” and “lavender scare” is that people were worried of their way of life being overthrow by a mysterious and dangerous “other.” Yes, the two groups were equally persecuted, but the only shared attribute between homosexuals and communists here is the fact that they were minorities that posed the question of chance. Now, I’m sympathetic to the fear of Communists and foreign agents legitimately trying to infiltrate the government to affect state policy, but the expulsion of homosexual state department agents just seems ridiculous. By the very logic put fourth in the hearing, one should search to expel pyromaniacs and kleptomaniacs as well from the government, as they have another form of uncontrollable compulsion. There’s just no way a sexuality can have the same intense desire to subvert America’s status and standing in the world the way an ideologically opposed political group could, regardless of how “emotional” Mr. Miller says. Admittedly though, from the perspective of a college student in the year 2017, from a contemporary standpoint, I can see where this fear of change is coming from. Lack of logic aside, the article does a great job of brining to light what the red scare and McCarthyism were really about- the preservation of American life precisely as it was the second that second atomic bomb dropped. If the movement against homosexuals in government was this strong, there was probably a reason beside simple homophobia. Americans during the red and lavender scares really just wanted stability and security, and to them, and form of change or unknown whatsoever represented something new and potentially dangerous- change.
During the Cold War, the American government saw similarities between the “red menace” and the “lavender menace” which they deemed were a threat to national security. Government officials created ties between the two groups, stating that both were “twisted mentally or physically in some way”, and psychoanalysts went to claim there were common psychological traits as both “want their shame and enjoy the guilt of lying, cheating, and deceiving their friends”. The fact that these claims were so blatantly expressed is absolutely ridiculous as two completely different groups were compared with far-fetched accusations in order to foster feelings of safety, yet there was truly no valid logic to support these arguments. This further demonstrates the Cold War hysteria that was ubiquitous in American culture; the “trust no one” attitude that infected the public as the government used any excuse to persecute anyone who they deemed to be different and therefore “dangerous”. To label and stereotype an entire group of people as feminine and thus “succumbing to weakness” and blackmail from communists completely baffles me, as these claims seem to be so improbable, which like Henry stated really highlights the true fear of Cold War America of any slight change from the ordinary.
The “Hearings on Homosexuality” reading was, to me, simultaneously the most bizarre and eye-opening we’ve had in this course. The only real similarity between the “red scare” and “lavender scare” is that people were worried of their way of life being overthrow by a mysterious and dangerous “other.” Yes, the two groups were equally persecuted, but the only shared attribute between homosexuals and communists here is the fact that they were minorities that posed the question of chance. Now, I’m sympathetic to the fear of Communists and foreign agents legitimately trying to infiltrate the government to affect state policy, but the expulsion of homosexual state department agents just seems ridiculous. By the very logic put fourth in the hearing, one should search to expel pyromaniacs and kleptomaniacs as well from the government, as they have another form of uncontrollable compulsion. There’s just no way a sexuality can have the same intense desire to subvert America’s status and standing in the world the way an ideologically opposed political group could, regardless of how “emotional” Mr. Miller says. Admittedly though, from the perspective of a college student in the year 2017, from a contemporary standpoint, I can see where this fear of change is coming from. Lack of logic aside, the article does a great job of brining to light what the red scare and McCarthyism were really about- the preservation of American life precisely as it was the second that second atomic bomb dropped. If the movement against homosexuals in government was this strong, there was probably a reason beside simple homophobia. Americans during the red and lavender scares really just wanted stability and security, and to them, and form of change or unknown whatsoever represented something new and potentially dangerous- change.