J. Edgar Hoover - Being Compromised as Gay Created a Behavioral Template
 for the Dangerous Intelligence Community Zealots Coming In Behind Him


Link Updated Dec10, 2024 Updated May 15, 2020
Context

In thinking about this piece about Hoover, in an age in which using a name someone may find offensive for any reason they make up, I tried to think how to explain J. Edgar Hoover's behavior, if he was not trying to protect himself from exposure as a homosexual.  If his behavior was not in defense of being gay, then was Hoover simply a criminal?

It also occurred to me that if Hoover was not covering up for being gay, how can his protecting the mafia from investigation be explained? The FBI took public funds supposedly to protect the public and yet the FBI knew about the Mafia and did nothing about them for years.

"Necessity is the Mother of Invention"  SO IS FEAR, OPPRESSION.  Hoover's desperation to cover his tracks invented the FBI coercive shakedown strategy in use to this day.

As a partial apology for Hoover's behavior I gave a nod to the fact that he was gay and would have been persecuted back then because of it.  But there are lots of people that suffer mistreatment and who do not behave as Hoover did.  It was also interesting that the Kennedys were shut down by Hoover. The fact that senior members of the mob claimed Joe Kennedy was running booze together with them, and that JFK screwed everything he could, may have allowed Hoover to compromise them to oblivion.  Other presidents may have had use for Hoover's conduct in their own nefarious ways such as the Democrats effectively did with Trump and the FBI willingly complied to hone their tactics, while the elected peons loved rolling around in the cash in the public trough like hogs far too much to risk speaking out against a pernicious blackmailer and shakedown artist who might expose them. The FBI, if nothing else had and has immense spying and shakedown powers that could and are being exploited to their advantage in America. Compared to the Biden family corruption and the State Department's support for their corrupt behavior in Ukraine Trump looks positively saintly.  Lucky there are prosecutors who would be the first to attend a lynching if they could get their name in lights and the victims were white.

I worked with a serious lobbyist who invented ways to ingratiate the staff of Senators and Congressmen, and he did as much as he could for all of them and their families, actually appreciated them, and spent years benefiting them whenever he could which enabled him to go directly to them for appointments and information. They would leak the scuttlebutt of what their bosses were doing, off the record, a confidence that he religiously protected.  It's one thing for a boss to be an asshole, and quite another for that boss to expect his/her staff will not leak it.

"Of all those in the army close to the commander none is more intimate than the secret agent; of all rewards none more liberal than those given to secret agents; of all matters none is more confidential than those relating to secret operations." - Sun Tzu

The other thing to note is the fact that a job and being paid does not imply trust, loyalty, and willingness to go the distance required to protect the boss.  It is simply a financial necessity facilitated by an economic model that streams profits and power upwards.  A job for almost everyone is an economic necessity and it takes real ingenuity to turn it into a personal mission people will die for.  Top that off with an asshole in charge and you have the foundations of mutiny, bounded only by fear.  I did a project for one of the largest companies in the world whose products killed millions.  Curious, I asked multiple employees how they could work for them and the explanations were simple, they paid a lot more in salaries and benefits than anyone else and they justified the fact that since everyone knew the products were harmful the customers were making the choice to kill themselves.

If however you do not have employees by their cajones financially, which unfortunately our economies do on their behalf, then the only tactic that can be used to keep the troops in line is constant bullshit, properly framed by pretty boys and girls in the media and backstopped by name calling, pressure from the deluded, and outright fear.  The backwash from that approach however is when the public wakes up, they no longer execute you cleanly with Marquess of Queensbury rules, they may go a lot farther.  Lying about vaccines, inflation, trying to rig elections, starting illegitimate wars, and telling people they are ignorant, stupid, deplorable and garbage is the road to oblivion.  The recent death of the United Healthcare CEO is portrayed in the mainstream news media as a senseless act of violence. But what if it exposes complete rejection of the way things work?Or from the shooters mind? UnitedHealth Group CEO addresses Brian Thompson death, says health-care system is ‘flawed’

"Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death." - Sun Tzu

What do you call a government attacking Iraq based on absolute lies, Jewish action in Gaza, telling parents their underage children do not have to listen to them, exposing them to men dressed up like clowns in school without once mentioning the fact that the clowns' behavior, notwithstanding the fact that they might look like Ronald McDonald, exposes them to a deadly virus with no cure, just a $20,000 annual payment to drug companies to put it possibly into remission ?  Merciful acts of God by benevolent Christians saving the world?  Better check your references.  Purdue Pharma for example, spent millions promoting Oxycontin, a highly addictive drug that caused an opiod epidemic, in multiple nefarious ways, and got away with fines and no admission of guilt.  Are you going to suggest that is a penaly sufficient?  Murder for money?  Please.

"If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril." - Sun Tzu

The lobbyist and I went for lunch one time in a Georgetown restaurant and before we got to the door, which was guarded, he instructed me to follow him, look at his back only, and do not look around or directly at anyone.  That in itself made me try to perfect the side eye glance, and the little I did see was old guys ogling much younger people I assume were their junior staff.  You can be 70 years old, full of yourself, and still want to play with your young and vulnerable staff members, male or female.  For them it would kind of be like being licked by a Char Pei dog with bad breath for a few kibbles as a reward I guess.

 
It not OK to single out anyone in a derogatory manner because of their sexual orientation, However, in the era Hoover was alive it likely drove a capable person like Hoover to become a blackmailer and shakedown artist to protect himself against what today would barely attract notice. Hoover learned how effective shakedowns were from the mob considering the fact the mob had recordings of his queering in the bathroom of the Stork Club and confronted him with it.  A senior mob guy, Michael Franzese talks about the hooks the mob had into Hoover in the previous link. Franzese was was a caporegime in the Colombo crime family, and son of former underboss Sonny Franzese.
  Michael Franzese also talks about being a homosexual in the Mafia would get you killed in another interview. 

Regardless of anything, Hoover's behavior enshrined unacceptable and in some cases criminal conduct in the FBI and intelligence community, that to this day is not being reigned in, to the detriment of all Americans. 
The ACLU at one time called for reigning in the FBI and the intelligence community's behaviorA link to the FBI files here.

J Edgar Hoover was clearly an intelligent and capable person, but being a homosexual carried enormous personal baggage, especially for someone in Hoover's position. The fear of being identified as a homosexual may have driven Hoover to shield his deep seated anxiety about being sexually attracted to men with the creation of one of the most aggressive, and largely illegal domestic spying operations (and here), (and here) created at the time. In the process Hoover built a culture of leadership that understands you can shakedown anyone if you have enough on them, or simply make up what you don't have and destroy them anyhow.

The Guardian: The secret life of J Edgar Hoover

BBC Timewatch - The Secret File On J Edgar Hoover (video 47 minutes)

Hoover's attraction to men is most likely the reason why Hoover refused to admit the mafia existed for more than 20 years. If the mob had anything on Hoover, they certainly would use it against him, and there is historical evidence they did (-2-). The mob is certainly no different than any other criminal organization, and all of them as history shows try to compromise the government and police (link updated) to protect their cash flows. Drug cartels are a case in point.  The lesson from all of this it is that a person's capabilities that count, and not their sexual orientation. 

Racist Homosexual. J Edgar Hoover #1
Racist Homosexual. J Edgar Hoover #2
Racist Homosexual. J Edgar Hoover #3

Hoover abused his position as the head of the FBI to get dirt on anyone in a position to expose him as a homosexual. In doing so Hoover pioneered using the intelligence apparatus under his control to spy on anyone that could threaten him, that he he did not like, or that he disagreed with, destroying the lives of those he targeted in the process. It showed how vindictive Hoover and the FBI was and is now.  The secret processes the FBI and the intelligence agencies operate under today entrenched the tactics and methods Hoover in many respects pioneered and refined, as current revelations of FBI conduct in the run up to the 2016 election show. Comey is only one example of that behavior in the intelligence community, and it is continuing today.

Glenn Greenwald: U.S. intelligence “interference” in 2020 presidential election.
Ex-FBI unit chief blows whistle on Comey, McCabe over warrantless spying
Democrat Nadler Cancels Judiciary Hearing on Reforming FISA Warrantless Spying
How Widespread is Domestic Political Spying?

The Democrats celebrated Comey's conduct regarding the persecution of Trump, as if the tables will never be turned by the Repulicans or the intelligence agencies.  Their celebration exposes the fallacy of political expediency. What everyone, no matter what political stripe, should want to observe carefully is how intelligence agencies corrupt the entire operation of democratic societies with their shakedowns, illegal activities, conspiracy with news agencies to propagandize the nation, with a mind to destroy and control people. These guys are a threat to everyone, and unless they are reined in, their arrogance, abuse of power, and willingness to lie will undermine the fabric of the nation. Its a matter of remembering who they work for and taking back control of their conduct, or better yet, flip the script.  Two can play the game.

I did not know J. Edgar Hoover, but a close relative, a Princeton graduated accountant seconded to the US during the second world war, knew Hoover well. He was a capable, extremely well connected businessman and Vice President of Patino Mining, described in the link under "The tin, aluminum and nickel giants."  He and Hoover were long time friends. He told me Hoover asked him to buy two horse racing tracks to help Hoover, who liked to play the ponies, and who said the tracks Hoover wanted him to buy had mob ties, which Hoover at that stage wanted to avoid completely. 
One track was in Freehold, New Jersey and the other was in Bowie, Maryland just outside the DC beltway. My relative said he had to modify the view from the stands in the covered areas so that the betters could not see who was inside.  Hoover was sexually involved with Clyde Tolson, and in private dining events when in the company of my relatives and trusted friends, Hoover and Tolson behaved like a gay couple.

I was working at the time providing training to life insurance companies and was challenged to find ways to help trainees make long term behavior changes. Compared to programs like Weight Watchers and Alcoholic Anonymous, the military is one of the greatest behavior change organizations in the world and I wanted to know how they did it. My relative called Hoover on my behalf to see if he could provide insight into the processes they used and Hoover gave him reams of documents to send to me that explained the processes used as well as future programs being worked on. Simply put military and intelligence agencies have been working on ways to change and control behavior for many years, both for recruits and for the public at large. The record shows they are not constrained by any moral code, lives lost, or damage they do to society, domestic or foreign.
One of the keys to behavior change in certain settings is simply changing it, no permission required. Think boot camp or how we bring up our young children. As a point of interest, having people you want to train over a barrel financially, or having something on them, are not motivational tools!  Good way to create an uprising through.

"Purpose of counter-intelligence action is to disrupt and it is immaterial whether facts exist to substantiate the charge. If facts are present it aids in the success of the proposal but the Bureau feels … that disruption can be accomplished without facts to back it up."  - J. Edgar Hoover

When I began using the information from the material Hoover provided it worked better than I could have imagined. In reporting back to my relative about the results I was seeing he asked a simple question "Do I want to give this knowledge away to the insurance companies I provided training for?" and I said no. He then told me to quit what I was doing immediately and come to work with him, which I did.

Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move. - Sun Tzu

Out of curiosity one day while visiting one of the tracks I asked my relative's wife about Hoover and Tolson, who she knew. She told me she could tell Hoover and Tolson were a gay couple from the private time they spent together. She had a unique perspective on the issue given that her first husband turned out to be a switch hitter. 

It may explain why Hoover would want to cover his tracks, but it is no excuse for totally unaccountable intelligence agencies using the tactics criminally against Americans.  Nor is it an excuse for a political party to exploit that criminality for their own purposes. And to top it off the completely and utterly worthless mainstream media to ignore all of the tactics that were used by the FBI while being directed by the White House and DOJ against a political opponent shows exactly how far off the ranch these criminals have strayed.