British Government Apologizes to and Exonerates Breaker of German Enigma Code

The horrible things done to gays over the years and centuries are beyond numeration, but once in a while an apology occurs, although in this case it comes decades too late for Alan Turing who was chemically castrated for being gay and driven to suicide 55 years ago. The crimes committed in the name of religion and ignorant religious belief are disgusting and what was done to Turing is a case in point. The Guardian has a story that recognizes Turing's genius and Prime Minister Gordon Brown's unequivocal apology for the government's misdeeds. Meanwhile, the religious based hate and discrimination that motivated those responsible for what was done to Turing is still alive and well in many countries, particularly among the "godly Christian" set in America who seem to practice more hatred and intolerance than Christian love. Here are some story highlights:
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Gordon Brown issued an unequivocal apology last night on behalf of the government to Alan Turing, the second world war codebreaker who took his own life 55 years ago after being sentenced to chemical castration for being gay.

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Describing Turing's treatment as "horrifying" and "utterly unfair", Brown said the country owed the brilliant mathematician a huge debt. He was proud, he said, to offer an official apology. "We're sorry, you deserved so much better," Brown writes in a statement posted on the No 10 website.
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Turing is most famous for his work in helping create the "bombe" that cracked messages enciphered with the German Enigma machines. He was convicted of gross indecency in 1952 after admitting a sexual relationship with a man. He was given experimental chemical castration as a "treatment". His criminal record meant he was unable to continue his work for the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) because his security privileges were withdrawn. Two years later he killed himself, aged 41.
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Paying tribute to Turing's contribution to "Britain's fight against the darkness of dictatorship", Brown described him as "a quite brilliant mathematician". "Without his outstanding contribution, the history of world war two could well have been very different," he writes. "The debt of gratitude he is owed makes it all the more horrifying, therefore, that he was treated so inhumanely. In 1952, he was convicted of gross indecency – in effect, tried for being gay.

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Brown wrote: "Thousands of people have come together to demand justice for Alan Turing and recognition of the appalling way he was treated. While Turing was dealt with under the law of the time and we can't put the clock back, his treatment was of course utterly unfair and I am pleased to have the chance to say how deeply sorry I and we all are for what happened to him. "Alan and the many thousands of other gay men who were convicted as he was convicted under homophobic laws were treated terribly. Over the years millions more lived in fear of conviction. "This recognition of Alan's status as one of Britain's most famous victims of homophobia is another step towards equality and long overdue." "But even more than that, Alan deserves recognition for his contribution to humankind

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Turing also made significant contributions to the emerging field of artificial intelligence and computing, and is often considered to be the father of modern computer science. In 1999 Time Magazine named him as one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century.

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The amount of blood on the hands of self-anointed men of God is immense. Yet today people like Pat Robertson, Bob McDonnell, GOP candidate for Virginia governor, James Dobson , and other professional Christians, and Pope Benedict XVI, LGBT individuals are still viewed as less than human and worthy of hate and mistreatment no matter their accomplishments and good deeds. Again, it makes me wonder if the world might not be a better place without religion - or at least the perverted forms that emanate from Christianity, Judaism and Islam.