Unamerican activities.
Dec. 5th, 2018 07:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unseenlibrarianThanks to Koschei the Deathless crushing the Russian revolution and declaring himself the new Tsar, there wasn’t a 1919 Red scare. Without that, and without the Soviet union, there wasn’t one in the 40s, either. Communism was just one of several political affiliations, no more remarkable than any other, save for the fact that it had the unofficial endorsement of members of the Low Court- The Uniform Trade council had organized itself after human unions, after all, and the rights of workers was an important point for both groups.
Which meant that Joe McCarthy and HUAC needed something else to focus on.
When Joe McCarthy waved around his list of 205 names, it was of people who were known members of the Fairy Courts, yet working for the state department. (In many cases, this membership amounted to “My grandfather was an elf who met Oberon once”, but it was enough.) The focus on Hollywood was similar; many nonhumans lived in LA, hoping to get their big break, to become a star; there was one block of neighborhoods called “The Hollywood Underhills” because the fae population was so high. Who knew who they might be loyal to?
(Even blacklisted, however, it was easy for Leanhaun sidhe to set up a front, inspiring a new set of screenwriters, and some Deenie stars like Wendell Doyle were basically untouchable.)
The Farthest Shore movement may have been tailor made for their suspicions; a xenophobic, anti-human group of fair folk who did terror strikes to try and drive humans out of the country, in order to claim land they believed to be Tir Na Nog, the land of the young was the perfect adversary to point to if you wanted to persecute elves and question their loyalty.
(Danny Kaye was famously held in contempt of congress for the following exchange, when being questioned about an elven co-star:
“So this group, Mr. Chairman, the Farthest Shore, they want to kill us all and take our land?”
“Yes.”
“Well, what could be more American than that?”)
McCarthy’s downfall began when he was upstaged on national television; as it turns out, shortly before he went on See it Now, the current Puck of the Courts delivered the Farthest shore leadership to the FBI, along with enough evidence to convict all of them.
Not a single member was someone McCarthy or HUAC had accused of sympathies with the extremist group. His angry, defensive reaction when Morrow confronted him with this turned much of the public against him. This eventually led to his censure, and his decline in turn led to HUAC’s loss of prestige.
Which meant that Joe McCarthy and HUAC needed something else to focus on.
When Joe McCarthy waved around his list of 205 names, it was of people who were known members of the Fairy Courts, yet working for the state department. (In many cases, this membership amounted to “My grandfather was an elf who met Oberon once”, but it was enough.) The focus on Hollywood was similar; many nonhumans lived in LA, hoping to get their big break, to become a star; there was one block of neighborhoods called “The Hollywood Underhills” because the fae population was so high. Who knew who they might be loyal to?
(Even blacklisted, however, it was easy for Leanhaun sidhe to set up a front, inspiring a new set of screenwriters, and some Deenie stars like Wendell Doyle were basically untouchable.)
The Farthest Shore movement may have been tailor made for their suspicions; a xenophobic, anti-human group of fair folk who did terror strikes to try and drive humans out of the country, in order to claim land they believed to be Tir Na Nog, the land of the young was the perfect adversary to point to if you wanted to persecute elves and question their loyalty.
(Danny Kaye was famously held in contempt of congress for the following exchange, when being questioned about an elven co-star:
“So this group, Mr. Chairman, the Farthest Shore, they want to kill us all and take our land?”
“Yes.”
“Well, what could be more American than that?”)
McCarthy’s downfall began when he was upstaged on national television; as it turns out, shortly before he went on See it Now, the current Puck of the Courts delivered the Farthest shore leadership to the FBI, along with enough evidence to convict all of them.
Not a single member was someone McCarthy or HUAC had accused of sympathies with the extremist group. His angry, defensive reaction when Morrow confronted him with this turned much of the public against him. This eventually led to his censure, and his decline in turn led to HUAC’s loss of prestige.
