Even Smart people can be incredibly stupid

Just when the thought crosses your mind that “Nobody could possible be ‘that’ stupid”, somebody comes along to prove you wrong.

Today’s example is all about an Italian history professor, Roberto De Mattei, who has made the claim that …

The collapse of the Roman Empire and the arrival of the Barbarians was due to the spread of homosexuality,”

Er what!! … OK, I’ll put this in context, its the same chap who has already made himself famous saying the Japanese tsunami was “divine punishment”. I suspect you might be able to guess the next bit, but he is a devote Roman Catholic.

Its not just one of those moments of insanity (foot-in-mouth) that most of us can have. instead its a very public statement, where he makes an incredibly stupid claim for which there is not one jot of evidence at all …

“The Roman colony of Carthage was a paradise for homosexuals and they infected many others. The invasion of the Barbarians was seen as punishment for this moral transgression.” It is well-known that effeminate men and homosexuals have no place in the kingdom of God, he said. “Homosexuality was not rife among the Barbarians and this shows God’s justice throughout history,”

Now for a bit of reality with a summary, its complete bollocks. So what do other historians have to say?

It is highly improbable homosexuality led to the fall of the Roman Empire,” historian Emilio Gabba, a leading light in Roman history, said. However research would seem to suggest homosexuality was rife in ancient Rome, and it is widely portrayed in ancient Roman art and was seen as acceptable 2,000 years ago.

There is no proof Rome had a high number of homosexuals. I can safely say Rome did not fall because it was gay,” Professor Lellia Cracco Ruggini, an expert on Roman history from Turin University, added.

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