NASA says an extensive review of historil rerds found no evince that Webb ever led or supported purg of ernment employe who were gay. But some astronomers thk that's a pretty low bar.
Contents:
- JAM WEBB HATED GAY PEOPLE. WHY ARE WE NAMG A TELPE AFTER HIM?
- SHOULD NASA NAME A TELPE AFTER A DEAD GUY WHO PERSECUTED GAY PEOPLE THE 1950S?
JAM WEBB HATED GAY PEOPLE. WHY ARE WE NAMG A TELPE AFTER HIM?
Did the former head of NASA discrimate agast gay people? One physicist tried to rebut the accatn, only to fd himself the target of attacks. * james webb telescope gay *
The Lavenr Sre wch-hunt rulted the mass dismissal of gay and lbian people om the US ernment service the mid-20th century. “Nasa learship has stubbornly refed to acknowledge that what is now public about JW’s legacy means he do not mer havg a great observatory named after him, ” she Webb’s time as admistrator, Nasa employee Clifford Norton was fired 1963 for “immoral, cent, and disgraceful nduct” after beg terrogated on spicn of homosexualy. “We have found no evince at this time that warrants changg the name of the Jam Webb space telpe, ” Nasa’s current admistrator Bill Nelson said a statement March, the journal Nature published 400 pag of ternal Nasa documents obtaed through a eedom of rmatn requt, cludg a whe paper that said “Nasa had cid that removal of homosexual employe would be s policy.
“But ’s named after someone irrevobly tied to bigotry and homophobia, and moreover Nasa has botched the way they handled the suatn. The bate over the telpe cuts to the re of who is worthy to memorialize and how past human acplishment should be balanced wh morn standards of social the former head of NASA discrimate agast gay people? This man, they sisted, was a homophobe who oversaw a purge of gay Oleyi, who is now the print of the Natnal Society of Black Physicists, was sympathetic to the crics.
Webb were acknowledged that the feral ernment at that time “shamefully promoted” discrimatn agast gay employe. Webb should be held rponsible for any anti-gay activy at NASA and at the State Department, where he had prevly been a high-rankg official. Webb “knew exactly what was happeng wh secury at his own agency durg the height of the Cold War, ” addg, “We are eply ncerned by the implitn that managers are not rponsible for homophobia.
SHOULD NASA NAME A TELPE AFTER A DEAD GUY WHO PERSECUTED GAY PEOPLE THE 1950S?
Some scientists say discrimatn agast gay and lbian ernment employe durg Jam Webb's tenure as NASA admistrator should preclu him om havg a telpe named his honor. * james webb telescope gay *
In attackg the State Department, they tried to ferret out employe they claimed were Communists and what they lled “perverts” — gay Amerins, what beme known as the lavenr sre. Johnson, a history profsor at the Universy of South Florida and thor of “The Lavenr Sre: The Cold War Persecutn of Gays and Lbians the Feral Government.
In two s, between 5, 000 and 10, 000 gay employe were phed out of ernment, reers and liv wrecked. Webb led the anti-gay purge at the State Department and that he had ttified of his ntempt for gay people. Webb as a “homophobe.
Webb but a different State Department official who oversaw the purge and spoke disparaggly of gay the qutn of moral culpabily lgered. Historians who specialize this era gay history said such expectatns ignore the historil ntext.