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Aside from Webb's human rights record, isn't it wildly inappropriate for a major international scientific collaboration to be named after one of the host countr

by kloch 4y ago

Aside from Webb's human rights record, isn't it wildly inappropriate for a major international scientific collaboration to be named after one of the host country's (non-scientist) bureaucrats? This is one of the greatest scientific instruments ever produced, shouldn't it be named after an astronomer/astrophysicist? Shouldn't the scientists that worked on it for decades be the ones to pick the name?

bitwize 4y ago
Absent the Lavender Scare, Webb was instrumental in turning NASA into a cohesive organization, enabling scientists to do good work. On that grounds alone the name is no big deal. It's like naming a computer science building after Bill Gates or even Al Gore. But his participation in a hate campaign makes him ineligible for the honor in my view.
- Taywee 4y ago
  What participation? The NASA finding is that he had no direct involvement.
- StrictDabbler 4y ago
  The Lavender scare took place during the early communist scares of the 50s. At the time being gay was absolutely grounds for blackmail. Being openly gay was socially impossible for anybody outside of a few industries like entertainment. Many people participated in the Lavender scare for horrible, hateful reasons, but the security risk of employing closeted individuals was real. That's why Eisenhower issued the order. He was morally wrong to do so and deserves all blame. Government administrators could not defy a presidential order regarding security on a moral basis. It was legally impossible to do so. If Webb had actively refused he would have been fired. If he subverted the policy he would have risked prison. Therefore we do not know how often he turned a blind eye to somebody's orientation. Today you cannot work in a classified position if you have a gambling problem because it makes you vulnerable to bribery. When the administrator of a classified agency complies with this policy it does not mean he hates gambling addicts. It means that they are security risks and that he is acting within the law. When the executive order was finally repealed a significant part of the reasoning was that being gay no longer necessarily meant being closeted and was therefore no longer a security risk. The cold war was also over which reduced security concerns for ordinary military personnel. The Lavender policy was repugnant, but literally the only people who had any choice in the matter are the seven presidents who chose to continue the executive order, Eisenhower who implemented it, and anybody who actively campaigned for it. It's a good thing we don't name anything important after former Presidents, isn't it?
Taywee 4y ago
He was the administrator of NASA during much of the Apollo program, so it's not like he's entirely irrelevant.
dmix 4y ago
“Wildly”? It might be preferable to name it after a scientist but a long time institutional leader is still highly valuable to science.

by kloch 4y ago

bitwize 4y ago

Absent the Lavender Scare, Webb was instrumental in turning NASA into a cohesive organization, enabling scientists to do good work. On that grounds alone the name is no big deal. It's like naming a computer science building after Bill Gates or even Al Gore. But his participation in a hate campaign makes him ineligible for the honor in my view.

Taywee 4y ago
What participation? The NASA finding is that he had no direct involvement.
StrictDabbler 4y ago
The Lavender scare took place during the early communist scares of the 50s. At the time being gay was absolutely grounds for blackmail. Being openly gay was socially impossible for anybody outside of a few industries like entertainment. Many people participated in the Lavender scare for horrible, hateful reasons, but the security risk of employing closeted individuals was real. That's why Eisenhower issued the order. He was morally wrong to do so and deserves all blame. Government administrators could not defy a presidential order regarding security on a moral basis. It was legally impossible to do so. If Webb had actively refused he would have been fired. If he subverted the policy he would have risked prison. Therefore we do not know how often he turned a blind eye to somebody's orientation. Today you cannot work in a classified position if you have a gambling problem because it makes you vulnerable to bribery. When the administrator of a classified agency complies with this policy it does not mean he hates gambling addicts. It means that they are security risks and that he is acting within the law. When the executive order was finally repealed a significant part of the reasoning was that being gay no longer necessarily meant being closeted and was therefore no longer a security risk. The cold war was also over which reduced security concerns for ordinary military personnel. The Lavender policy was repugnant, but literally the only people who had any choice in the matter are the seven presidents who chose to continue the executive order, Eisenhower who implemented it, and anybody who actively campaigned for it. It's a good thing we don't name anything important after former Presidents, isn't it?

Taywee 4y ago

He was the administrator of NASA during much of the Apollo program, so it's not like he's entirely irrelevant.

dmix 4y ago

“Wildly”? It might be preferable to name it after a scientist but a long time institutional leader is still highly valuable to science.