Some LBGT activists will no doubt be upset that California's courts have allowed a small, private Lutheran High School to expel two 16-year-old girls for having a "bond of intimacy" that was "characteristic of a lesbian relationship," as reported by the Los Angeles Times. The girls sued; they lost.
Here's a suggestion. Maybe the girls should not go to a school that's founded on religious beliefs that view homosexuality as immoral, rather then trying to use the coercive power of the state to force the Lutherans to modify their dogma-based practice-at a private Lutheran institution-and thereby play into every fear being promoted by the religious right.
A libertarian friend suggests that perhaps we should tell the right that if they agree to marriage equality, we'll drop anti-discrimination laws-and then we could claim the mantle of freedom and diversity. LGBT activists would never go for that one, but advocating that private, religious organizations be treated as serfs of the state really isn't a good idea.
More. Our liberal readers are agast. Typical responses: "Change schools? How insensitive can you get?" and "If it gets one dime for transportation, books, physical ed, health ed, etc., the school can not say it is private."
But reader "Walker" responds to the point:
Religious schools generally don't get government money. But most institutions in a society with a government as big as ours do get some kind of financial "support" from government. Do you really want to bring the entire society under the control of government? Does that sound like a good plan for freedom and diversity? Or for a small minority that depends on tolerance? If you say you can attach all-enveloping strings to ANY government money, then you'd better be confident that your allies will always be in charge of that all-powerful government.
As to the question "Do you really want to bring the entire society under the control of government?," I bet their answer would be, "Yes!"
32 Comments for “A Suit Too Far”
posted by mgh on
…seriously? that’s your solution? just “change schools”?
what does this do to kids whose parents (a) don’t know they’re gay (imagine that), or (b) refuse to take them out of such a school because they don’t approve of their child’s homosexuality…?
posted by TS on
Miller? “A libertarian friend suggests that perhaps we should tell the right that if they agree to marriage equality, we’ll drop anti-discrimination laws?and then we could claim the mantle of freedom and diversity.”
Sheer genius. As an LGBT activist, I am for it. I know a certain Bobby would be too.
and yes, mgh. Just change schools. I think you’d be surprised by how many problems a little segregation can solve. As long as it exists in the free choice realms of the private world, and is never imposed on the public world by the government, segregation has healing powers.
posted by Rob on
what does this do to kids whose parents (a) don’t know they’re gay (imagine that), or (b) refuse to take them out of such a school because they don’t approve of their child’s homosexuality…?
How about the emancipation of minors and seizure of some of the familiy’s assets?
posted by TS on
cool idea, Rob! A little anti-family, but I think that most gay people whose families responded in any less than accepting way have a little anti-family streak in them. I certainly do.
posted by Arthur on
Does the school receive ANY support from the state? If it gets one dime for transportation, books, physical ed, health ed, etc., the school cannot not say it is private. As soon as you except my tax dollars, you play by Caesar?s rules.
posted by Jorge on
Change schools? How insensitive can you get? It’s not like people choose to be gay. Most people don’t even know they’re gay before they enter high school. But I’m not going to complain about the decision itself.
Does the school receive ANY support from the state? If it gets one dime for transportation, books, physical ed, health ed, etc., the school cannot not say it is private. As soon as you except my tax dollars, you play by Caesar?s rules.
Perhaps, but it’s Caesar who has to enforce the rules by withdrawing the school’s tax support. Or at the very least, it’s the state that should be suing for breach of contract.
posted by Bobby on
TS, it’s natural for people to discriminate against other people. When I’m looking for a job, I’m discriminated in favor of a better candidate, when I’m looking for a date, I’m discriminated in favor of a younger and skinnier man, when I seek to make friends, I’m discriminated in favor of other people.
And I’m not alone in my experience, like seeks like. A Lutheran school seeks students that embody christian values, values gays don’t have according to their tenets.
Should historically black colleges be forced to admit more white students? Should Islamic schools admit students who brink ham and cheese sandwiches? Should women-only gyms admit men? Should a respected country club admit an alleged member of the mafia just because he can pay the hefty initiation fee? Should the Michigan Womyn’s Festival admit men? Should the fashion industry employ more fat and old people?
Discrimination is necessary for a free society. It may be ugly sometimes, but it lets you know where’s your place so you can go there and stay away from your enemies.
It’s just like any high school at lunch, with few exceptions, Hispanics sit with Hispanics, blacks with blacks, whites with whites, Asians with Asians, jocks with jocks, nerds with nerds and so on.
Those two lesbians don’t belong in a homophobic Lutheran school. The school did them a favor, maybe even prevented them from becoming future victims of a hate crime.
posted by Walker on
“Any support from the state”? Religious schools generally don’t get government money. But most institutions in a society with a government as big as ours do get some kind of financial “support” from government. Do you really want to bring the entire society under the control of government? Does that sound like a good plan for freedom and diversity? Or for a small minority that depends on tolerance? If you say you can attach all-enveloping strings to ANY government money, then you’d better be confident that your allies will always be in charge of that all-powerful government.
posted by Arthur on
Walker, you now understand the dangers of a private institution taking tax dollars. It is the foot in the door. In my town, the city board of ed pays for the transportation (busing), and because Phys Ed and Health are required by the state board, those teachers and books in private schools are paid for by the city and state.
The government has a bigfoot in the door.
posted by Carl Hendrickson on
Some time ago I made a commitment to myself to subscribe to this forum and proceed to consider, despite my progressive–ah, who’s kidding who–my liberal queer point of view, differing opinions. I rarely comment and have never gone on the attack.
However, in the case of Stephen Miller’s piece I am inclined to pack it in. The absurdity of Miller’s solution leaves me dumbfounded. At first reading I though he must be joking, doing a satire piece. But of course he wasn’t.
posted by BobN on
Gay people didn’t sue the school; the parents — presumably conservative, Lutheran parents — of the girls did. Why? Who knows, but I bet the attitude of privilege and entitlement so common to “conservatives” in Orange County is more at work than a sudden embrace of the “gay agenda”.
A little investigation into the background would have been more interesting than the tired, old strawman above.
posted by Priya Lynn on
I’m with Carl, I don’t come here much anymore because Stephen Miller and David Link are so full of it and can barely conceal their hostility towards full gay equality.
For example Stephen says “As to the question “Do you really want to bring the entire society under the control of government?,” I bet their answer would be, “Yes!”.
How absurd can you get. Not using tax dollars to fund a school that discriminates isn’t remotely the same as “bringing the entire society under the control of government” and no LGBT wants to have society entirely controlled by government despite Stephen’s absurd hyperbole.
posted by CPT_Doom on
The school is private, so of course it has the right to expel anyone for any reason – how do you think private schools maintain those high test scores?
This school sounds like my Catholic high school, which had a policy of throwing out any girl who got pregnant – not the father of the baby, of course, just the girl. Their thinking was twofold: men can’t control their sexual impulses, so it’s up to girls to resist and any girl who had sex was a slut and therefore there was no way to be sure who the father is. This policy was enforced even when one boy got both his girlfriend AND her younger sister pregnant. So much for religious morality.
As a progressive, however, I also believe that the society as a wwhole has a right to answer this kind of bullsh*t with a bit of the same medicine. I certainly think that these parents have e right to broadcast these actions across their community – to warn other parents that this school cannot be trusted. They have every right to demand the local government stop any interactions with the school (e.g., having the principle on a mayor’s workgroup, that sort of thing). Just because we have to aallow bigotry in some forms does not mean you can’t still treat the bigot as a social pariah.
posted by avee on
Self-described “progressive” Carl Hendrickson threatens to “pack it in” (that is, leave and never darken our doorway again) because of “the absurdity of Miller’s” post. My guess is that he has never read ANY libertarian philosophy. And how very typical of a “progressive” to dismiss as “absurd” rather than debate a point. The left has nothing but insults, and censorship, in its intellectual (sic) arsenal these days. And how fitting that Priya Lynn is standing with Carl.
What infuriates these people is that the site dares deviate from their left-liberal party line. And this, after the site added the endlessly dull liberal postings of David Link! But it was for naught; deviance from the party line, in anyway that’s beyond the merely superficial, cannot be tolerated. As Miller writes, they are “agast.”
posted by TS on
Priya Lynn and Carl are mostly wrong. To say that Stephen Miller and David Link are “hostile” to full gay equality is the same or worse “absurd hyperbole” in which Miller indulged for the initial article. They merely take a libertarian approach. You might disagree with it and that’s cool, but to call them enemies is just stupid.
We need to elevate the discourse here. The above attacks are akin to stupid conservatives attacking people’s patriotism. I believe that both Priya Lynn and Carl Hendrickson are my allies and want a fairer, better world for all people including LGBTs, just like me.
I say the school should be allowed to discriminate, and there should be a greased pathway for those students to get to a school that will treat them fairly, including a way to escape their families’ attempts to use the power of the purse to control them if necessary. (i.e. we need a better emancipation system. Down with the traditional family in cases where it’s not working!) You say they should not be allowed to discriminate and the lawsuit should be adjudicated against the school.
I argue we need diverse schools. Education shapes people much more by means of experiences than curriculum. We need people entering the world of adults that come from different backgrounds, not a single sterilized one decided upon by the government. The education financing system is in dire need of reform, but the above principle of freedom and real diversity should be kept alive. I think judicial power being used to coerce people who are unaccepting of LGBTs or any other part of the social world doesn’t actually solve any problems, and in fact only serves to make such people feel threatened, preventing them from reflectively re-evaluating their impressions of us.
Now you say why you think that argument is wrong and what is your argument.
P.S. BobN, that is coooold, man! I didn’t know that. It definitely supports several of my prejudiced impressions of human nature. Even though the actual case may not really be about what it claims to be about, the issues are still worth an attempt at elevated discussion.
And Bobby, “The school did them a favor, maybe even prevented them from becoming future victims of a hate crime,” may not actually be accurate. In most cases like this, the admin is a lot less with it than the students. I doubt there’s a single non-tiny high school, public or private, religious or not, at which the student body is more authoritarian than the admin.
posted by TS on
Forgot to add an important feature of my argument. There needs to be an active contrast between what we’re saying is good and fair and what’s not. When people are only allowed to know one way of doing things and told the other way is wrong or bad for them or unfair, they become curious. If we have the good school with reasonable, relevant rules down the street from the bad school that is ruled by a bunch of dumb religious doctrine, kicking out students for no good reason at all, then we don’t have to scream our heads off about why it’s better to treat us fairly. Everyone will be able to see it with their own eyes. Whereas if we shut down the bad school, people will find something to complain about at the good school.
posted by acoolerclimate on
“TS, it’s natural for people to discriminate against other people. When I’m looking for a job, I’m discriminated in favor of a better candidate, when I’m looking for a date, I’m discriminated in favor of a younger and skinnier man, when I seek to make friends, I’m discriminated in favor of other people.
And I’m not alone in my experience, like seeks like. A Lutheran school seeks students that embody christian values, values gays don’t have according to their tenets.
Should historically black colleges be forced to admit more white students? Should Islamic schools admit students who brink ham and cheese sandwiches? Should women-only gyms admit men? Should a respected country club admit an alleged member of the mafia just because he can pay the hefty initiation fee? Should the Michigan Womyn’s Festival admit men? Should the fashion industry employ more fat and old people?
Discrimination is necessary for a free society. It may be ugly sometimes, but it lets you know where’s your place so you can go there and stay away from your enemies.
It’s just like any high school at lunch, with few exceptions, Hispanics sit with Hispanics, blacks with blacks, whites with whites, Asians with Asians, jocks with jocks, nerds with nerds and so on.
Those two lesbians don’t belong in a homophobic Lutheran school. The school did them a favor, maybe even prevented them from becoming future victims of a hate crime.”
Wait a minute, we are talking about High School Students. Minors. Minors can’t choose. Plus minors only have the Christian Values there parents are choosing for them. They haven’t decided yet what they want. They get put in these schools by their parents. Also, students don’t generally have any idea they are gay when they enter high school, so at that point how can they even make an informed decision? So you start out thinking you are straight, then you start having feelings, then you meet this other girl, and suddenly it’s your fault for having gone to this school in the first place? Huh???
And maybe it’s just a phase. Maybe the kid is bisexual. Or just likes this one girl, but later on will turn out heterosexual if left alone. No one knows. What if the parents force her to stay, regardless, because they are trying to pray away the gay? There are way too many unknowns, variables, etc to have this cut and dry attitude that the kids themselves should force discriminate themselves.
And isn’t school a good place to get exposed to lots of different people so you’ll learn how to function in society as an adult?
And even if it is a good thing for gay kids to go to gay schools, then why is it that conservatives are the ones that stopped that gay high school in Chicago? So kick out the kids from religious schools because they aren’t wanted there, but then deny them a safe school they can go too? So weird.
Maybe everyone at age 13 should sign a paper declaring their sexuality for all time, set in stone, so everyone else can have an easier time placing them throughout their life?
posted by TS on
“Wait a minute, we are talking about High School Students. Minors. Minors can’t choose. Plus minors only have the Christian Values there parents are choosing for them. They haven’t decided yet what they want.”
You are quite right. That is why we need a better emancipation system. Instead of an arbitrary number of years, people should become independent of their parents as soon as they feel ready, and state officials concur. There should be alternate, stepping stone systems available for young people who find themselves at odds with their parents before they are ready to care for themselves. And something should be done to alleviate any economic pressure to stay at home when the family is no longer working.
“So you start out thinking you are straight, then you start having feelings, then you meet this other girl, and suddenly it’s your fault for having gone to this school in the first place? Huh???”
Absolutely not. No fault is being assigned here. But if your values, your understanding of the world, change, perhaps your setting should change too. If the old setting and the new you become inconsistent, why force them to stay together?
“And isn’t school a good place to get exposed to lots of different people so you’ll learn how to function in society as an adult?”
I agree that this is a function of scholastic education. But it must be carefully reconciled with the notion of free choice. Lots of research supports the notion that how experiences are gained has a huge effect on what they mean. If somebody is out exploring the world on their own terms, that is the surest way to come to a realistic understanding of how it all works. But trying to strap someone to the seat for a guided bus tour of that world is no better than kidnapping. And while they may say yes to whatever you demand to stay out of trouble, as soon as they are released, chances are the lessons won’t stay with them.
“And even if it is a good thing for gay kids to go to gay schools, then why is it that conservatives are the ones that stopped that gay high school in Chicago? So kick out the kids from religious schools because they aren’t wanted there, but then deny them a safe school they can go too? So weird.”
If people are in favor of religious or discriminatory school choice but against this school, then they are hypocrites. Assuming it is a PRIVATE school. All public schools should be governed by germane, nondiscriminatory rules and admissions standards only. A school that only accepts gay students must necessarily be private, as must be a school that rejects them.
I personally am glad to have been educated in a public school where I obtained an accurate proto-impression of the real world. But I don’t doubt that gay school or conservative lutheran school allow other students to thrive. Their unique educational experiences enrich the world. I feel strongly that most people who graduate from the lutheran school and then transfer into a more sophisticated social circle eventually turn against anything anti-gay that school tried to teach them. Others can try to stay in a narrow minded conservative christian box their whole life. As long as they stay out of my business, I will return that courtesy.
posted by Jorge on
You are quite right. That is why we need a better emancipation system. Instead of an arbitrary number of years, people should become independent of their parents as soon as they feel ready, and state officials concur. There should be alternate, stepping stone systems available for young people who find themselves at odds with their parents before they are ready to care for themselves. And something should be done to alleviate any economic pressure to stay at home when the family is no longer working.
There already is such a system. It’s called getting knocked up by a sugar daddy boyfriend.
posted by dalea on
What struck me about this is that Lutherans are all over the place on gay people. The vast majority of Lutherans are in countries where gay folks have rights, even marriage. So, I wonder, how a court can take the statement of some small group that their Lutheran views are radically different from the demonstrable positions taken by the vast majority of Lutherans and allow it to be taken seriously.
Lutheran is a brand name. And to allow any group of cranks to use the brand name while taking totally opposite positions seems like a violation of standard commercial practice.
posted by Pat on
As much as I feel sorry for these girls, the school, if totally private, has the right to expel the students they believe do not uphold their “esteemed” values. I’m not sure how much choice these girls had in attending the school. It may have been the parents’ decision. If so, they are partially to blame for knowingly sending their kids to a homophobic school. Parents should be aware of the possibility that their children are gay, and what impact that could have on the children at the school they send their children to.
posted by Bobby on
Emancipation, what a joke, I knew a lesbian who got kicked out of her parents home, she had to survive with a girlfriend, do shitty jobs, and go to school. Then when the girlfriend broke up with her, she was in trouble again, so she had to go back to her mother only to get kicked out again. Emancipation is useless unless you have a trust fun or someone to take care of you.
It’s the same reason why many slaves after the civil war went back to work for their old masters, freedom is useless if you can’t support yourself.
“And isn’t school a good place to get exposed to lots of different people so you’ll learn how to function in society as an adult?”
—Parenting is a very personal thing. If you watch the show Wife Swap you’ll see all kinds of parenting styles, some of which you’ll find objectionable. I’ve seen home schooled kids that are polite, high school kids out of control, and everything in between. It’s not up to you or me to decide how someone is raised.
And let’s face it, with gay couples having kids there’s always the danger that some kid might be ashamed of having gay parents and might want to become a born-again-christian, get emancipated, and be adopted by a straight family.
So this idea that you have to let your kids choose whatever they want is ludicrous.
posted by TS on
Bobby, again with this a person is a slave until they are 18, then they magically are an adult and live in a free libertarian dream world.
“Emancipation, what a joke, I knew a lesbian who got kicked out of her parents home, she had to survive with a girlfriend, do shitty jobs, and go to school. Then when the girlfriend broke up with her, she was in trouble again, so she had to go back to her mother only to get kicked out again. Emancipation is useless unless you have a trust fun or someone to take care of you.”
Deja vu: You are quite right. That is why we need a better emancipation system. Instead of an arbitrary number of years, people should become independent of their parents as soon as they feel ready, and state officials concur. There should be alternate, stepping stone systems available for young people who find themselves at odds with their parents before they are ready to care for themselves. And something should be done to alleviate any economic pressure to stay at home when the family is no longer working out.
“And let’s face it, with gay couples having kids there’s always the danger that some kid might be ashamed of having gay parents and might want to become a born-again-christian, get emancipated, and be adopted by a straight family.”
Clever thing to point out. Right again, so cool with me.
posted by TS on
BTW, I wish Priya Lynn and Carl Hendrickson would read and respond to my post above. As I explained, I believe they are my allies who happen to disagree with me, and I’d love to hear them explain why.
posted by acoolerclimate on
I’d like to argue also that being gay is a state of being, not a lifestyle choice. So kicking out gay kids, to me, is the same thing as kicking out black kids. Sure they say it’s just behavior, but gay kids deserve a chance to date just like straight kids. I think it’s horrible that a school can say only the straight kids get to date, go to a prom, have fun. If your gay, you have to deny yourself, either lie to others and date people of the opposite sex, or live without dating at all.
Ridiculous, Absolutely ridiculous. Gay kids didn’t choose to be gay, and they deserve happiness. Perhaps I agree with all the other tenants of the faith that the school has, but I happen to be gay. I just don’t think that it’s fair for the school to kick you out for something you have no control over.
posted by Bobby on
“Bobby, again with this a person is a slave until they are 18, then they magically are an adult and live in a free libertarian dream world.”
—Fine, slave is not the word, let’s call them “dependents.”
“Instead of an arbitrary number of years, people should become independent of their parents as soon as they feel ready, and state officials concur.”
—That’s our current system now, if a kid wishes to become emancipated, he can find a lawyer and sue his parents. The real question is who takes care of the kid after he or she is emancipated?
“And something should be done to alleviate any economic pressure to stay at home when the family is no longer working out.”
—That’s why we have the foster care system, if a child is being abused he can call 911 and hopefully be saved from a bad home environment. However, I wouldn’t automatically say that having homophobic parents is a bad home environment. Nor do I think teenagers automatically have the right to date. In some religious families you can’t even date until you’re a certain age.
This is what Dan Savage had to say about parenting a gay child in today’s column:
“Treat your son to some of that equal treatment we gay people are always going on about, SMS, and treat him just like you’d treat your 14-year-old straight kid. No responsible parent would allow his 14-year-old daughter?and that’s how you should think of him for now to have sleepovers with her slightly older boyfriend, right? So no sleepovers for your gay kid. Remember: You can be supportive and be his advocate without signing off on stuff you wouldn’t sign off on for a straight child?indeed, it’s the best way to show your support.”
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/SavageLove?oid=1509883
Check out the link, Savage goes on to advising against anal sex until the kid turns 18 and other matters.
“I think it’s horrible that a school can say only the straight kids get to date, go to a prom, have fun.”
—I think it’s horrible that my jewish school forced me to listen to a pro-life speaker without an opposing point of view, but that’s the difference between private and public. Private schools are like little prisons, they make you wear a uniform, they force you to behave a certain way, and sometimes they give you a great education.
If a Lutheran school wants to keep gays out, they should. If they keep gays in, they’re only going to ridicule them, harass them, use them as bad examples in front of other students. Forced integration does not always work, the University of Alabama for example has completely segregated fraternities and sororities because no black or white person is crazy enough to be a minority by choice. In some colleges gays have their own fraternities to avoid coming out drama. I’m glad society is becoming more tolerant, but we can’t expect miracles. Rather than demand to be accepted where we’re not wanted, let’s have some dignity and know when to say “you don’t want me? I don’t need you!”
posted by acoolerclimate on
If a Lutheran school wants to keep gays out, they should. If they keep gays in, they’re only going to ridicule them, harass them, use them as bad examples in front of other students. Forced integration does not always work, the University of Alabama for example has completely segregated fraternities and sororities because no black or white person is crazy enough to be a minority by choice. In some colleges gays have their own fraternities to avoid coming out drama. I’m glad society is becoming more tolerant, but we can’t expect miracles. Rather than demand to be accepted where we’re not wanted, let’s have some dignity and know when to say “you don’t want me? I don’t need you!”
What if you are completely conservative, agree with every single thing the school believes in, except that you happen to be gay; through no fault of your own, by the way. So for that one single thing, you’re out? Nothing else about your personhood, character, viewpoints, behavior matters, all wiped out by something that just is? Crazy.
posted by Arthur on
Banks/Wall Street, the auto industry demand and receive government money, then complain about government interference.
Private and religious institutions demand and receive government money, then complain about government interference.
College kids demand to move back home and receive money, then complain about parental interference.
Grow up. If you don?t want the interference, get off the teat.
posted by Bobby on
“What if you are completely conservative, agree with every single thing the school believes in, except that you happen to be gay; through no fault of your own, by the way. So for that one single thing, you’re out?”
—Yes, I have too much pride and self-respect to join a place where I’m not wanted. I feel the same way about the military, I love everything about their but their don’t ask don’t tell policy, so I will never join. I refuse to hide while the breeders talk about their girlfriends and sexual encounters. And believe me, straight men will discuss that, specially in all-men environments.
“Nothing else about your personhood, character, viewpoints, behavior matters, all wiped out by something that just is?”
—If you forget you’re gay someone will remind you. Like when you go to a party and someone tells a homophobic joke. Look at it this way, a house negro remains a negro. Your can be as straight-acting as you want, but unless you’re deeply in the closet, you’ll never be 100% like them. And if a conservative school would rather value sexuality over ideology, I’m better off not going to that school. I doubt that evil Lutheran school is expelling students for pre-marital sex, so believe me, those lesbians are better off away from that environment.
posted by Carl Hendrickson on
In my mind this is nothing more than a variation on Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell.
The girls got the hook because a fellow student told his teacher what he had been told by one of the girls that she loved another girl. The student informer didn?t name names but he told the teacher that he could go on to MySpace to determine who was involved. So there you have it: a high school version of Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell. The girls might well have been fine if they had kept their mouths shut and stayed off MySpace?you know the routine. These girls choose to hide and when the school threw them out their parents did the right thing by challenging the school and there by the law.
The California education code makes one exception to its tough sexual orientation law?you guessed it, religious schools. The Courts acted on the suite based on the law but time will show that the law is wrong minded and, I am willing to bet, the law will in time be changed.
posted by Bobby on
Carl, let’s say you had a secular private school and two of your students are homophobic, they keep telling gay students that they’re going to hell and that homosexuality is unnatural. So, wouldn’t it be fair that you expel those students? Wouldn’t it be fair that you ran the school the way you want without government interference?
posted by Franz on
I can’t imagine how old Miller was when he came out, but I would guess it was after he got into high school. But I wonder what he would have done if came out to himself during high school and it was a Lutheran school? Maybe he would remain closeted, hidden in shame; or, maybe he would emerge and come out, proud in his new found sexual identity. The student came out and her family rightly challenged the school’s policy. They lost in court. I think it underscores the special rights religions have, even the right to enact policies that are bigoted.
I so wish that other students in that school proclaimed their solidarity and claimed they were gay, kinda like the Dutch King who wore a Star of David in solidarity with the Jews against the Nazis.
Franz