h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The problem I see with the pink triangle is that it originated as the symbol for homosexuals in Nazi internment camps; isn't that a bit of a dangerous association?

That concern is part of the reason why the rainbow flag and lambda game into use as socially positive alternatives. The rainbow flag was meant to represent social ideals while the lambda harkened back to what was presumed to be a "gay-friendly" era. (To be fair, the Greek culture was so different that what they did wasn't really like what we do today.)

The original intention in using the pink traingle had two parts. First, the goal was to demonstrate how opinions once deemed innocent - dislike or disapproval of gay people - could result in horrific violence if taken to the extreme. There was once a lack of awareness about this, since gay people were considered both rare and "harmless" by some.

The other goal was to reclaim the symbol as something positive. For many decades, the triangle was the only known symbol for homosexuality. Since gay people were subject to so much discrimination, they weren't in a position to openly publish their own symbols. By the time gay people lived openly and could discuss making changes, they found they were stuck with the symbol was already part of popular culture.

Personally, I think they handled the situation with ablomb. People do think of it today as a "gay pride" symbol - not a Nazi death sentence.

Thanks for explaining that, then!

I just know that here in Germany, everyone's still very nervous about that kind of symbolism, but reclaiming it is a great idea! They sure spoiled a lot of things for us...