On The Occupation of Denmark, Rick Warren and Pink Triangles

[ruggerson]

There's a wonderful apocryphal story from World War II involving King Christian X of Denmark. During the Nazi occupation, the tale goes, when Hitler ordered the Jews to publicly identify themselves by wearing armbands with yellow stars emblazoned on them, King Christian is supposed to have urged every Dane in the nation to wear the Star of David armband in solidarity. This so confused the Nazis, the old story relates, that most Jews were saved from deportation to the concentration camps.

http://www.snopes.com/history/govern/denmark.asp

While the story is an urban legend, it might have some inspiration for us today.

Many have expressed exasperation about what we can do, besides writing Obama and marching in the streets, to let our feelings be known about the horrific decision to give our majestic inaugural podium to a man such as Rick Warren.

DU'er sfexpat2000 has written a brilliant OP, in which she argues that Warren's dominionism turns all whom he oppresses into the metaphorical "gay." We are all "newly gay" under the kind of blind and reactionary worldview that Warren's hate espouses.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4692559

In honor of this magnificent idea, and as a way for many to express their revulsion for this bigoted fundamentalist preacher actually opening what should be our country's celebration of change, maybe we can borrow from the inspirational fable of King Christian X.

I humbly offer the idea that on January 20, 2009, in solidarity, we are all newly Gay for the Day. This means we all wear a pink triangle on our clothing all day, at home, at work, at the office, at the store, picking up the kids at school, on the kids themselves, both to bind us together as a nation of people with consciences and as a quiet, strong rebuke to the ideas that Rick Warren preaches.

It could also possibly generate thousands of small "educational moments" around the nation as people inquire about the pink triangles.

Let's take this apocryphal tale and turn it into living history.

We have a month to organize this.

Many of us are gay for life.

Are you willing, on January 20, to be newly Gay for the Day?

:)

[truedelphi]

1. Just as we are all gay under Obama's endorsement of

Warren, so we will all remain in economic shackles with Obama's hideous economic picks about to take over the top positions regarding the economy. He jsut announced his pick for SEC, and she is as horrid as Geithner, Rubin and Summers.

One thing that Martin Luther King Jr understood when he tackled the issue of Civil Rights is that Civil Rights do not occur inside a vacuum. Unfortuantely, no one fighting for Gay Rights seems to have the tremendous genius to look at the Big Picture that King took upon himself as his responsibility.

Let me repeat that first premise: Civil rights do not occur inside a vacuum. You cannot have major unjust wars raging and have Civil Rights. (Obama for whatever reason wants our troops re-deployed from Iraq1 into Agfghanistan - never mind that historically, no nation has ever defeated the Afghani people.)

You cannot have major economic swindles supported by your government leaders, and have a shot at Civil Rights. Nor can you allow the dissolution of a Free Press - today the only thing approaching a Free Press are the better of the internet blogs. And as more and more Americans end up homeless, without the electricity to power their computers, they will be left out of the ability to follow the major political stories.

All these elements are interwoven elements. To attempt to focus ONLY on Civil Rights, while not boning up on economic theory, and putting it in the center of the situation, is depravity.

I am so tired of people on DU saying, "Well I don't understand economic theory, and Obama is charismatic, therefore all will be well."

You do not need to be a zoologist to know that a there is a large elephant in the room with you, and that the animal is being allowed to take continuous dumps all over that room, and that the scenario is very dangerous and uncomfortable and must be remedied.

[EFerrari]

3. I think it is a mistake to say no one does. Like that elephant

the whole situation has a lot of handles, many points of intervention. We can't know which one will be the most productive. This is something Harvey Milk understood very, very well.

[truedelphi]

19. Yr point well taken. Is "Milk" getting some play in theatres all over??

I have heard that distribution is in knots. I mean, I know it will play in the Castro, but will suburban outlets carry the film??

Noted film critics give the movie an A-, while regular people give it a B+.

Anyway, I'd prefer to have the real deal walking the Streets of San Francisco, rather than a movie. But will take what I can get.

[Behind the Aegis]

2. Then, there is my avatar.

When one is gay and Jewish.

Shape was chosen by analogy with the common triangular road hazard signs in Germany that denote warnings to motorists. Here, a triangle is called inverted because its base is up while one of its angles points down.

The most common forms of the badge were:

Red triangle — political prisoners (social democrats, trade unionists, liberals, communists, Freemasons, anarchists.) Some anarchists, and other "enemies of the state," were also given a black triangle.
Green triangle — "habitual criminals" (ofttimes Kapos).
Blue triangle — foreign forced laborers, emigrants.
Pink triangle — homosexuals and sexual offenders.<2>
Purple triangle — Jehovah's Witnesses.
Black triangle — people who were deemed "asocial elements," including
Roma (Gypsies), who were later assigned a brown triangle
The mentally retarded
The mentally ill
Alcoholics
Vagrants and beggars
Aristocrats
Intellectuals
Pacifists
Conscription resisters
The habitually "work-shy"
Prostitutes<3><4>
Some anarchists.
Brown triangle — Roma (Gypsies) (previously wore the black triangle).<5>
Double-triangle badges resembled two superimposed triangles forming a Star of David.

Two superimposed yellow triangles — a Jew.
Red inverted triangle superimposed upon a yellow one — a Jewish political prisoner.
Green inverted triangle upon a yellow one — a Jewish "habitual criminal".
Purple inverted triangle superimposed upon a yellow one — a religious dissident of Jewish descent.<6>
Pink inverted triangle superimposed upon a yellow one — a Jewish homosexual.
Yellow triangle superimposed over a black inverted triangle, or "voided" black inverted triangle superimposed over a yellow triangle — an Aryan convicted of miscegenation and labeled as a "race defiler".
In addition to color-coding, some groups had to put letter insignia on their triangles to denote country of origin. Red triangle with a letter: "B" (Belgier, Belgians), "F" (Franzosen, French), "H" (Holländer, Dutch), "I" (Italiener, Italians), "N" (Norweger, Norwegians), "P" (Polen, Poles), "S" (Republikanische Spanier, Republican Spanish) "T" (Tschechen, Czechs), "U" (Ungarn, Hungarians).

Also, repeated offenders would receive bars over their stars, a different color for a different crime.

A political prisoner would have a red bar over his/her star or triangle
A habitual criminal would have a green bar
A foreign forced laborer would have a blue bar
A Jehovah's Witness would have a purple bar
A homosexual or sex offenders would have a pink bar
An "asocial" would have a black bar
A Roma (Gypsy) would have a brown bar
There were many markings and combinations. A prisoner would usually have at least two, and possibly more than six.

In some camps the Nacht und Nebel prisoners got painted with two big letters NN in yellow.

Penal battalion, penal company, etc., are military units consisting of convicted persons for which military service was either the assigned punishment or a voluntary replacement of imprisonment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_concentration_camp_badges

[David Zephyr]

5. Great post, Behind the Aegis

!

[readmoreoften]

6. I believe lesbians were organized under the black triangle.

Everyone should have to watch Paragraph 175. Rick Warren, his supporters, and his peers should have to watch it Clockwork Orange-style, ludovico treatment.

[Behind the Aegis]

8. Here are some more, just for DU.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=221x104213

[David Zephyr]

4. Yes.

And my avatar is now the pink triangle.

[readmoreoften]

7. K&R. I think the ACT-UP era symbols really helped focus our message.

Maybe it's time to bring out the graphic designers....

[Behind the Aegis]

9. Ooops...should have posted #8 response to this one. Sorry!

[Shiver]

10. I look really bad anywhere near pink...

...so I hope it's appreciated when I duct tape one of these to my bandanna on January 20th. :pals:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

11. K&R!

[babylonsister]

12. I'm in in solidarity. Sounds like a great idea. I hope we see lots of

pink triangles on the 20th.

[ruggerson]

15. thank you

that means a great deal. :hug:

[babylonsister]

17. ...

:pals: :hug:

[babylonsister]

16. Oops! Misplaced. nt

[FreeState]

13. Im in - I will also forward the idea to everyone I know :) n/t

[Fumesucker]

14. To paraphrase JFK

Ich bin ein homosexueller

[truedelphi]

22. Ditto, though I am semi-graphically impaired.

[ColbertWatcher]

18. Two more versions of your flag, k+r ...

[RandomKoolzip]

20. Hell, I'll do it!

It'd really piss off the homophobes at work (this is always a good thing).

[LostinVA]

21. The true version is even more apt (although your OP is great)

Almost the ENTIRE nation of Denmark banded together to save their Jewish citizens. They hid them, fed them, protected them. Most were taken to safety to Sweden by Danish fishermen in skiffs. Very, very few were rounded up by the Nazis and deported. The Danish Government intercedded on those deported, and of THOSE, most lived. The VAST MAJORITY of Jews in Denamrk were saved. It's considered teh largest collective resistance against the Nazis during WWII.

Why?

Because they recognized their fellow citizens as just that: fellow citizens, with the same rights they had, and the same right to live.

The Holocaust Museum in DC has a very nice Memorial to the Danes, including one of the actual skiffs used.

A nice summary:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rescue_of_the_Danish_Jews