In the 1960s, a Carleton researcher developed what he called the “fruit machine,” a device purported to be able to tell if someone was gay. The measure was widely used and the information given to the RCMP, and was used to fire and demote gay people working within the government.
It supposedly detected homosexuality via pupil response, as well as breath and heart rates of a subject viewing naked or semi-naked images of women or men.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is facing pressure to apologize posthumously to a man convicted of being gay. Apologies admit wrongful acts and can provide closure and healing for victims. Carleton is a community that accepts and encourages LGBT students, and apologizing now acknowledges its complicity in the events of the past
Everyone and everything is a product of the times, and that couldn’t be more true than when it comes to research. That doesn’t, however, excuse it.
What happened was a gross violation of human rights. That it happened long ago or wasn’t considered wrong at the time isn’t an excuse, and Carleton needs to formally apologize for its role in the prosecution of innocent people.
