LGBT
Related: About this forumAlan Turing's pardon is wrong
To single out Turing is to say all the other persecuted gay men are not so deserving of justice because they were less exceptionalThe Queen's announcement of a posthumous pardon, under a Royal Prerogative of Mercy, to Alan Turing follows a long campaign and a petition signed by more than 37,000 people. The pardon will be welcomed by many, and it is undoubtedly a gesture of humanity, compassion and progressive values. It is also entirely, profoundly wrong.
Turing was an intellectual legend of the 20th century. His breakthroughs in applied mathematics have led him to be described as the father of modern computing. His work on the Enigma codebreaking machine made him more responsible than almost any other British individual for the ultimate defeat of Nazi Germany. Biographers recall him as a gentle, modest, reserved man. He was also gay, and in 1952 he was convicted of gross indecency - the catch-all legal term used to prosecute any consenting sexual acts between two men. The judge at his trial, acknowledging the importance of Turing's work, laid down what seemed at the time to be a lenient sentence. The mathematician was spared jail and ordered to undergo an experimental hormone therapy for homosexual urges, often dubbed "chemical castration". We know now the treatment will not have affected his orientation or desires, but it did cause physical changes including breast enlargement and erectile dysfunction.
Turing described the experience as horrible and humiliating and less than two years later, he died of cyanide poisoning. An inquest recorded a verdict of suicide. It is a tragic, shameful episode in our recent history, but while the tragedy was Turing's, the shame was entirely the nation's.
In announcing the pardon today, the justice secretary, Chris Grayling, said: "A pardon from the Queen is a fitting tribute to an exceptional man." Turing was certainly an exceptional man but the tribute could not be less fitting. It says that the British state is prepared to forgive historical homosexual acts providing they were performed by a national hero, academic giant or world-changing innovator. This is the polar opposite of the correct message. Turing should be forgiven not because he was a modern legend, but because he did absolutely nothing wrong. The only wrong was the venality of the law. It was wrong when it was used against Oscar Wilde, it was wrong when it was used against Turing and it was wrong when it was used against an estimated 75,000 other men, whether they were famous playwrights and scientists or squaddies, plumbers or office clerks. Each of those men was just as unfairly persecuted, and many suffered similarly awful fates. To single out Turing is to say these men are less deserving of justice because they were somehow less exceptional. That cannot be right.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/24/alan-turing-pardon-wrong-gay-men
uriel1972
(4,261 posts)How about admitting they were wrong and quash the sentences of the 75k+ people who were tortured under this law.
Jesus Malverde
(10,274 posts)It's good they've recognize the injustice. They should be held to renounce this...
Behind the Aegis
(53,961 posts)There are some who are always looking for the negative.
Deep13
(39,154 posts)which brings us to the next objection. Pardon = guilty, but we'll overlook it. In the case of anti-sodomy laws, the only guilt belonged to the state.
closeupready
(29,503 posts)what kind of modern mechanism would allow for pardoning en masse?
To be honest, the UK is light years now past where the US is on civil equality for gay people, so to the extent that the Guardian is a UK media voice, I suppose the negative spin here on Turing's pardon ('yeah, but what about everyone else?!') is a familial criticism, thus, not really subject to the same standards as it would be if the UK were criticizing the US, vice versa, or relatedly, other states.
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)it is a recognition of gross injustice to this man, and stands alone for that reason.
A tribute? Bestowing the highest honors on Turing. Thousands of merchant mariners and sailors benefited from his work.
dickthegrouch
(3,175 posts)I think Turing deserves at least that.
I'm sure an act of Parliament could be crafted to vacate the convictions of all under gross indecency laws. I'm astonished that there are only 75,000 or so such convictions.
Jesus Malverde
(10,274 posts)http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/12/alan-turings-body/282641/
closeupready
(29,503 posts)Fearless
(18,421 posts)They should continue and pardon the rest as well. And pay reparations to the living people whom it has affected.