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Russia's Anti-GayCrackdown

Silais

That useless reptile
297
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10
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  • Seen Jul 17, 2016
RUSSIA'S president, Vladimir V. Putin, has declared war on homosexuals. So far, the world has mostly been silent.

On July 3, Mr. Putin signed a law banning the adoption of Russian-born children not only to gay couples but also to any couple or single parent living in any country where marriage equality exists in any form.

A few days earlier, just six months before Russia hosts the 2014 Winter Games, Mr. Putin signed a law allowing police officers to arrest tourists and foreign nationals they suspect of being homosexual, lesbian or "pro-gay" and detain them for up to 14 days. Contrary to what the International Olympic Committee says, the law could mean that any Olympic athlete, trainer, reporter, family member or fan who is gay — or suspected of being gay, or just accused of being gay — can go to jail.

Earlier in June, Mr. Putin signed yet another antigay bill, classifying "homosexual propaganda" as pornography. The law is broad and vague, so that any teacher who tells students that homosexuality is not evil, any parents who tell their child that homosexuality is normal, or anyone who makes pro-gay statements deemed accessible to someone underage is now subject to arrest and fines. Even a judge, lawyer or lawmaker cannot publicly argue for tolerance without the threat of punishment.

Finally, it is rumored that Mr. Putin is about to sign an edict that would remove children from their own families if the parents are either gay or lesbian or suspected of being gay or lesbian. The police would have the authority to remove children from adoptive homes as well as from their own biological parents.

Not surprisingly, some gay and lesbian families are already beginning to plan their escapes from Russia.

Why is Mr. Putin so determined to criminalize homosexuality? He has defended his actions by saying that the Russian birthrate is diminishing and that Russian families as a whole are in danger of decline. That may be. But if that is truly his concern, he should be embracing gay and lesbian couples who, in my world, are breeding like proverbial bunnies. These days I rarely meet a gay couple who aren't raising children.

And if Mr. Putin thinks he is protecting heterosexual marriage by denying us the same unions, he hasn't kept up with the research. Studies from San Diego State University compared homosexual civil unions and heterosexual marriages in Vermont and found that the same-sex relationships demonstrate higher levels of satisfaction, sexual fulfillment and happiness. (Vermont legalized same-sex marriages in 2009, after the study was completed.)

Mr. Putin also says that his adoption ban was enacted to protect children from pedophiles. Once again the research does not support the homophobic rhetoric. About 90 percent of pedophiles are heterosexual men.

Mr. Putin's true motives lie elsewhere. Historically this kind of scapegoating is used by politicians to solidify their bases and draw attention away from their failing policies, and no doubt this is what's happening in Russia. Counting on the natural backlash against the success of marriage equality around the world and recruiting support from conservative religious organizations, Mr. Putin has sallied forth into this battle, figuring that the only opposition he will face will come from the left, his favorite boogeyman.

Mr. Putin's campaign against lesbian, gay and bisexual people is one of distraction, a strategy of demonizing a minority for political gain taken straight from the Nazi playbook. Can we allow this war against human rights to go unanswered? Although Mr. Putin may think he can control his creation, history proves he cannot: his condemnations are permission to commit violence against gays and lesbians. In May a young gay man was murdered in the city of Volgograd. He was beaten, his body violated with beer bottles, his clothing set on fire, his head crushed with a rock. This is most likely just the beginning.

Nevertheless, the rest of the world remains almost completely ignorant of Mr. Putin's agenda. His adoption restrictions have received some attention, but it has been largely limited to people involved in international adoptions.

This must change. With Russia about to hold the Winter Games in Sochi, the country is open to pressure. American and world leaders must speak out against Mr. Putin's attacks and the violence they foster. The Olympic Committee must demand the retraction of these laws under threat of boycott.

In 1936 the world attended the Olympics in Germany. Few participants said a word about Hitler's campaign against the Jews. Supporters of that decision point proudly to the triumph of Jesse Owens, while I point with dread to the Holocaust and world war. There is a price for tolerating intolerance.

What do you guys think of this?
 
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What do I think of this?

There's honestly not much to say. People are far too inclined to treat people unfairly just because they are different - it is high time that Russia followed the examples of several other countries and gave homosexual people the same rights and freedoms as those of the opposite gender before things get any further out of hand than they are.

All humans are equal regardless of sex, race, religion, sexual-orientation or any other factor.
 
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I want to see scores of Olympic athletes carrying rainbow flags during the parade of nations, in front of the world to see. Let Putin dare arrest them.

But yes, this is a scapegoating of a minority of people to keep himself in power. It's wrong, shameful, inhumane, and completely unjustifiable. Russia's no better than Iran or North Korea.
 

Silais

That useless reptile
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My question is why homosexuals are becoming the new Jew. And by that, I mean they're being used as a scapegoat in the place of the Jewish people, who were, at one point, blamed for every wrong or disaster that happened in the world. Homosexuals are feeling the brunt of this now and it's a bit puzzling. Is it simply because homosexuality is receiving more attention from the rest of the world? Or is it something else?
 
10,769
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My question is why homosexuals are becoming the new Jew. And by that, I mean they're being used as a scapegoat in the place of the Jewish people, who were, at one point, blamed for every wrong or disaster that happened in the world. Homosexuals are feeling the brunt of this now and it's a bit puzzling. Is it simply because homosexuality is receiving more attention from the rest of the world? Or is it something else?
Because of preexisting prejudice, I'm sure. Probably they, Putin and his friends, can't target non-whites in large enough numbers since there aren't many in Russia. Targeting ethnic minorities from neighboring countries is too likely to spark something political and those people would have a voice in the form of the neighboring country's leaders. It's the queer people who have no central political voice that's big enough on the world stage that Putin has to fear. I mean, Western countries can raise objections, but I guess the average Russian person doesn't care what Western countries think, and I don't think you'll see many in the former Soviet republics (Ukraine, Kazakhstan, etc.) care about gay people so Russia is extra insulated against critical thinking where it comes to LGBT issues.
 

Ozymandias

i'm going on a journey
1,069
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My question is why homosexuals are becoming the new Jew. And by that, I mean they're being used as a scapegoat in the place of the Jewish people, who were, at one point, blamed for every wrong or disaster that happened in the world. Homosexuals are feeling the brunt of this now and it's a bit puzzling. Is it simply because homosexuality is receiving more attention from the rest of the world? Or is it something else?

Ummm... I support gays but, this is taking it a bit far...

The treatment of Jews during WW2 is nowhere near as bad as that of Homosexuals right now.
And on my thoughts of the topic, I guess it's not really our place as not part of that society to know about their culture and what not about their views on homosexuals.

It may sound a bit insensitive on my part but, we don't really know. It's messed up, but its their culture and country.

And Russia is no better than North Korea? Please... >_> don't make me laugh
 
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Chili does have a point there.

The discrimination against homosexuals in modern society doesn't compare even a little to what the Nazi's did to not just Jews but most minority groups. That being said, homosexuals were treated pretty badly throughout history too.

The point remains the same though regardless. It is about time we stopped treating gays as half-people.
 
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I don't know if it's fair to make a comparison between Jews and homosexuals. The Jews were over-represented in the German upper and middle class in the early 20th century so it's easy to give into fear of their power. They also continue to be over-represented in the US congress today. I can't say the same about homosexuals though since they don't really hold many of the levers on power - in fact I would argue their society position is worse to begin with since they don't really have access to power. Now give that we're in the 21st century and with international human rights norms and all it'll probably never get to a holocaust-like stage, so I'm thankful for that. But it's probably just because homosexuals are easy to pick on, and they have a relevant-enough context to be stigmatized (low birth rates)? There are other more interesting factors, like old people being old and retaining Soviet-style, modernist, rationalist, scientific and clinical-type thinking.
 
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Part of it is the resurgencey of rigid Eastern Orthodox traditions, supported by an ever increasingly Autocratic government. So instead of godless commies, you have authoritarian religious fundamentalists. Yikes. That and they're a vulnerable scapegoat.
 
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Well I guess I won't be going to Russia then................ but seriously; I guess this is just Putin's way of keeping religion in and anything different out.
 

Silais

That useless reptile
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I was making the Jewish-homosexual comparison not to indicate that they were treated as violently as the Jewish were in the WWII era but because of the stigma the name has in society. Back in that time period, the word "Jew" was almost a bad word—in some countries today, the word "gay" or "homosexual" is a trigger word for anger and even some violence. The point I was making is that the way we saw Jews in the Nazi era is becoming the same way much of the world sees homosexuals—as something to fear and hate and suppress.

I hope that makes sense! I wasn't trying to compare how Jews were treated to how homosexuals were treated throughout history in terms of killing and violence. I was using the terminology to make a comparison.
 
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I've heard that in divorce cases in Russia now spouses are accusing each other of being gay to gain custody of children.

And Russia is no better than North Korea? Please... >_> don't make me laugh

Russia is terribly corrupt. Unless you follow the party line you get arrested. NK might be more insular, might be worse in some areas, but just look at the examples of Pussy Riot or Alexei Navalny and you can see that dissent isn't tolerated in Russia either. When you get below a certain point, a certain standard of human rights, it's kind of meaningless to say "Well, Russia's bad, but it's no North Korea" since Russia is still pretty terrible.
 

Star-Lord

withdrawl .
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Yeah, he wasn't making a comparison to how the Jewish people were treated during the Holocaust. Historically there was a lot more prejudice for Jewish people before that. The Russian Empire especially. Jewish people were forcefully evicted from Kiev and Moscow, and there were many Jewish people who weren't allowed to vote in local elections. There's a reason that they all emigrated out when they had the chance. They were systematically discriminated, and one can make the comparison between the two groups and I think it would be fair. He also has a fair point that Jewish people were seen as the deviants and the "wrong" in society, but now we've switched the blame onto homosexuals.

That being said, I'm incredibly uncomfortable about the olympics in Russia. I have this feeling it'll turn into another Berlin Olympics, where Putin is going to desperately try to show what a great country Russia is. I just fear for any gay spectators that may be in the audience - it might cause quite the storm.
 

Sir Codin

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I heard a report of gay bars all over the world protesting by dumping Russian vodka and refusing to purchase Russian vodka ever again. I'm not gay myself, but I'm tempted to join them.
 
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The most recent development is that Russia is actually bowing to some of the international pressure on their gay rights stance because they don't want to jeopardize how lucrative the Olympics in 2014 will be for them. There's a very equality-driven PR campaign and everything. What a quick turnaround!
 

Omicron

the day was mine
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Yes, they are starting to bend their initial posture. Why, because the economical factor involved in both the Winter Olympics and the World Cup is too important to risk being sabotaged or something worse.
 
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Someone once told me on these forums that there was no way that Russia would attempt to once again make being gay a crime. Well, I hate to say it, but it looks like it's happening. Already law enforcement officials in Russia are looking the other way when reports of gay bashings are coming in. Also, we have politicians now working on a bill to take children away from their gay parents. It's only a matter of time.
 
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