On this day, 25 May 1895, libertarian socialist author Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for two years’ hard labour for “indecency” for having sex with men.
Though many potential witnesses refused to testify against him, he was convicted, and upon sentencing judge stated: “It is the worst case I have ever tried. I shall pass the severest sentence that the law allows. In my judgment it is totally inadequate for such a case as this. The sentence of the Court is that you be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for two years.”
Wilde’s detention would cause him serious health problems which eventually contributed to his untimely death.
In his essay, The Soul of Man under Socialism, in which he expounds his political ideas, he declares: “Disobedience, in the eyes of any one who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion.”
You can read the essay here: https://libcom.org/library/soul-of-man-under-socialism-oscar-wildehttps://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1724421034409706/?type=3
