There will be people competing in something called a “luge”.
I haven’t a clue what a luge is.
And probably there’ll be those strange Scottish women running up and down the ice with brushes, in the always-exciting curling event.
And then the organ donor competition, otherwise known as skiing.
Call me a killjoy but winter sports don’t really do it for me.
Best left to those countries which struggle through the season in perpetual darkness, drunk out of their skulls and perpetually on the verge of topping themselves.
The Scandinavians, then.
This time, though, there have been calls to boycott the Games because of the manner in which Russia treats its gay and lesbian people.
The, uh, entertainer Paul O’Grady led a protest in Whitehall last night and Stephen Fry has stamped his little feet and demanded everyone tell the Ruskies how horrid they are.
Lots of Western politicians have declined to attend the opening ceremony.
They don’t want to be photographed with Russian president Vladimir Putin, who has been fingered as a homophobe.
I don’t like the way Putin behaves towards gay people, either.
Though I have to say, he’s very camp for a supposed homophobe — never happier than when stripping off for the cameras in some rugged outdoor pursuit.
You just know he’s got all the Pet Shop Boys’ albums.
But if we boycott Russia, who don’t we boycott?
This is the point that the gay activists are missing and the point lost on the Western politicians who won’t go to Sochi for the opening ceremony.
Truth is, Russia’s attitude towards gay and lesbian people is a damn sight more enlightened than the attitude in most of the rest of Asia — and pretty much all of Africa, plus large swathes of the Caribbean.
All Putin has done is ban the “promotion” of homosexuality, in much the same way as the UK did in the 1990s with the infamous Section 28 law.
In other words, he’s sort of where we were 20 years ago.
Homosexuality is still legal, just about, in Russia. There are 83 countries in the world where it is illegal. Should we boycott all of them as well, have nothing to do with them? That’s almost half of the entire globe you’re talking about.
Should we refuse to play Iran, or Uganda, at football?
Should we refuse to trade with Egypt and Morocco?
It’s just a difference of opinion.
We think we’re right, Russia thinks that it is right.
And boycotting the games won’t make the slightest difference.
Yes, The Sun gets it more than gay fuckwits.
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But Section 28 simply banned local councils from using funds to promote homosexuality. While that was bad, it's a far cry from Russia's law, which has been interpreted to ban gay affection, and any LGBT protests.
ReplyDeleteNo, it does not. That's why there have been protests in Russia about it.
DeleteMr. Burn, this is just from Wikipedia:
ReplyDeleteIn 2013, Russia received criticism from around the world for enacting a law that bans the distribution of "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" to minors, which effectively makes it illegal to suggest that gay relationships are equal to heterosexual relationships or to distribute material on gay rights.[4] Leaders of foreign governments have condemned the law, as have 27 Nobel prize winners from the fields of science and the arts.[5]
Since the passage of the anti-gay propaganda law, the media has reported the arrest of a gay rights activist[6] as well as a surging incidence of hate crimes motivated by homophobia,[7][8] including hate crimes perpetrated by neo-Nazi groups against gay minors.[9][10] A law prohibiting gay pride parades in Moscow for one-hundred years has also recently been enacted.[11]
Continued quote:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Russia#National_laws
The law does not explicitly mention the word "homosexuality", but instead uses the euphemism "non-traditional sexual relations".[4][45] Under the statute it is effectively illegal to hold any gay pride events, speak in defense of gay rights, or say that gay relationships are equal to heterosexual relationships.[37][4][42][43][44]
Oh, it's on Wikipedia - must be true then!
DeleteMr. Burn,
ReplyDeleteSarcastic remarks about Wikipedia are rather 10-years-ago aren't they? You are welcome to refute the many, many linked sources.
Like you I started out skeptical, but a moment's glance at the sources and daily news shows
* Russian gay pride events have been outlawed
* People supporting the LGBT community are being criminalized
* There is a substantial increase in intolerance and violence towards gay people in Russia
Frankly I think you have fallen into the trap of thinking that because some critics of Russia have an agenda, all criticism of Russia must be baseless.
This will be my last message, I've learned over many years that arguments on the internet are futile.