Posted on 10/28/2004 6:07:00 AM PDT by Pokey78
If the loving heart of the Great Emancipator found its natural amorous passions overwhelmingly directed toward those of his own sex, it would certainly be a stunning rebuke to the Republican Party’s scapegoating of same-sex love for electoral purposes. And a forthcoming book by the late Dr. C.A. Tripp — The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln, to be published in the new year by Free Press — makes a powerful case that Lincoln was a lover of men.
Tripp, who worked closely in the 1940s and 1950s with the groundbreaking sexologist Alfred Kinsey, was a clinical psychologist, university professor and author of the 1975 best-seller The Homosexual Matrix, which helped transcend outdated Freudian clichés and establish that a same-sex affectional and sexual orientation is a normal and natural occurrence.
In his book on Lincoln, Tripp draws on his years with Kinsey, who, he wrote, "confronted the problem of classifying mixed sex patterns by devising his 0-to-6 scale, which allows the ranking of any homosexual component in a person’s life from none to entirely homosexual. By this measure Lincoln qualifies as a classical 5 — predominantly homosexual, but incidentally heterosexual."
Tripp also found, based on multiple historical accounts, that Lincoln attained puberty unusually early, by the age of 9 or 10 — early sexualization being a prime Kinsey indicator for same-sex proclivities. Even Lincoln’s stepmother admitted in a post-assassination interview that young Abe "never took much interest in the girls." And Tripp buttresses his findings that Lincoln was a same-sex lover with important new historical contributions.
(Excerpt) Read more at laweekly.com ...
From my experience on FR, it is the anti-Southern types like yourself who are filled with hate. More often than not the individuals bashing the Confederacy are the same ones with other leftist agendas.
A good example was the infamous liberal ringleader of the Freerepublic Southern-bashers....WhiskyPapa. The guy voted for Clinton....twice. WhiskeyPapa eventually was shown the door, not for his hatred of the South, but rather for his less acceptable liberal views.
Excellent observations. You've done your homework!
Try reading the whole thread - there's a lot of information on it.
A few generations ago, educated people wrote and often spoke in flowery sentimetal language whose import is often hard for us to undertand. Girls and women would profess undying love, call each other stuff like "Dearest Bosom Friend" and the like - all without any sexual motive or action. LIfelong friendships were valued, and people expressed themselves very differently. Did you see "Gods and Generals"? One of the criticisms of the movie was the ornate, flowery dialogue.
It was taken from contemporary letters.
#219 directly answers your point. The language used in Lincoln's letters was *not* unusual for the time, and his closing "Yours forever" was also addressed to others (with whom he did *not* have that close a relationship.)
The southern acts of secession were not lawful, so their actions were, in fact, a rebellion. Therefore there was no invasion. One cannot invade their own country.
And I am not trolling. I am stating facts
You're stating your opinion.
I've seen more hatred drip from an average stand waite post than from anything capitan_refugio has done.
Thank you for this post, that was very convincing.
How is Walt doing these days? Wasn't he a good buddy of yours? You guys keep in touch over at DU?
Sure he is. And you're right behind him, right?
I didn't read this book. The book I'm referring to is old. And I don't need to read the whole thread to express an opinion :-)
To some extent, you're right, but I hope the Republicans haven't wholly taken over the attitudes of the Democrat party of the 19th century, and that there's still something of the spirit of Lincoln in the GOP. It was not a bad thing to be the party opposed to the spread of slavery, and later, to be less attached to racial segregation than the Democrats, or to value human rights as much as "state's rights." It would be a mistake to throw all that overboard.
And even now, there's something of radical chic in Jefferson that Democrats respond to, and that Republicans are leery of. We're at a point in our history where I don't think it makes sense to be 100% Jeffersonian or 100% Hamiltonian. There are dangers and virtues in both halves of our political heritage and the important thing is how to combine them best.
Amen...close this junk down. There are really "important" issues going on in the world!!!
No need to get snippy. And as far as old books, I meant books written in the 1860s to 1880s.
Another attempt at dragging America's heros through the mud to make it seem like they themselves aren't so bad. In the process our heros reputations are tarnished, and some people who admire them lose heart. But the folks who are leading the charge, get their way. It worked well for Clinton.
I have stated a number of times that there is nothing wrong with pride in one's heritage. I have 4 of 16 great-great grandparents who were of southern birth. One ancestor fought with the CSA and was captured at Fort Donelson. Another was an east Tennessee Unionist. I married a southerner. I lived for a time in the south - well, Texas. When it comes to southern traditions and values, I am well versed.
You take pride in your South Carolina heritage, as can be seen from your FR bio. I find nothing wrong with that. But when people glorify the antebellum, slavery-based southern society, I take exception. When neo-reb posters resort to ad hominem character assassination, make crude and vile innuendo, and intentionally misrepresent and lie in their posts, I'll just call'em like I seem'em.
Maybe "bushpilot" getting suspended or banned for his "Lincoln was gay" posts will tone the tenor of the discussion down a little bit.
We might even be able to have a rational debate. That would be a change, wouldn't it?
I spoke too soon, Godebert. You aren't capable of rational discussion. You'll fit in well with the other neo-rebs.
Didn't you know? Every dead person who can no longer defend their good name was a closet sodomite! Especially if they were courageous, brilliant, and openly heterosexual. Those traits are dead give-aways!
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