Just the other day, I was talking to a historian friend about a conversation she had with a lesbian friend who announced that she wasn't voting. The friend told her that we'll just have four years of Trump. This gave me pause. I know more than a few people who have announced they're not voting. What these people, who call themselves progressives, have in common, is that they are white, mostly economically privileged (but not all of them), and straight.
Of course, I tried to talk some sense into them. But with each one, I was left frustrated and came to the conclusion that they are in denial. Even if they are white and economically privileged and straight, history can change on a dime and their lives will be changed also.
When I heard about Queer Identities and Politics in Germany, A History 1880-1945, by Clayton J. Whisnant (Harrington Park Press; 2016), I was immediately interested. It's not an easy book to read. The first night I started reading it, I kept dreaming that the United States was sliding toward fascism. Then when I woke up I thought about the presidential election. I guess it's safe to say that the book got under my skin and that it was published at exactly the right time.
The Weimer Republic and the openly gay culture in Berlin was embedded in my LGBT encoded memory. Whisnant writes about the "homosexual movement" launched in Germany in the 1890s and its various factions (and its scandals and political movements) that led up to the openness of the Weimer Republic in the 1920s.
The author recounts that in the heyday of the Weimar Republic, there were between 90 and 100 gay bars in Berlin frequented by gay men and lesbians. There we also many thriving publications for gay men and lesbians. I found it interesting that the lesbian publications addressed trans issues.
As open as it was, the Weimar Republic was far from being a utopia for LGBTQ people. There were anti-gay laws on the books but German police officers, for the most part, turned a blind eye to the bars. This is more than can be said for U.S. police conduct, before Stonewall when patrons were routinely rounded up, arrested and their names published in the papers (ruining careers and severing family ties).
The author writes about Christopher Isherwood, a prominent foreigner who frequented the sexual underworld of Berlin. Isherwood wrote a series of short stories -- The Berlin Stories -- which inspired the Broadway musical and the award-winning film Cabaret.
The book also chronicles the downfall of the Wiemar Republic.
This includes the rise of censorship laws that targeted gay and lesbian publications. The book also addresses infighting and factions in the "homosexual movement," including the "masculinist" faction that abhorred anything feminine or feminist. Ultimately, many of the "masculinist" gay men joined the Nazi Party and were put in concentration camps and exterminated.
Things changed almost overnight. As the author writes:
"In 1930 the Nazi Party won a staggering victory in the federal elections: overnight it grew from a small fringe party with only twelve seats in the Reichstag to become the second most powerful political party in the land. Homosexual activists recognized that they were in trouble."
The book also chronicles the persecution of gay men and lesbians in the camps and concludes with "Gay and Lesbian Life after 1945."
Suffice to say that it took decades to repair the damage. Now, as well as historically, is not a time for skepticism, sarcasm or inaction.
There is a lot at stake in the upcoming election:
Think about what a Trump presidency would do to the Supreme Court. Trump has declared that if elected he'll do what he can to roll back the marriage equality ruling.
You don't have to be LGBT to have a lot at stake in this election, but it helps.
Think about climate change.
Think about our standing in the world.
And if you are still convinced that you have nothing to lose, think about voting for those who are the most vulnerable -- such as the 11-year-old Mexican-American girl who lives in fear of her immigrant parents being deported.
Still, the life you save by voting may well be your own.
You can learn more about Tea Leaves: A Memoir of Mothers and Daughters here.