Homophobia Engrained in Russian Population- Putin: “Gays Leave the Kids Alone”
Russia is no different than the United States or England a few years back. We know Russia is been behind the US and the modern world in everything except may be in nukes compare to others (except US). Homophobia has been tacked head on here because of the bravery of those gays of the 70’s until today. Also our system of government has helped a lot. As long as there is a substantial number of gays out of the closet, Those gays can put pressure on current politicians, courts and at the same time run for offices or fill vacancies in every branch of the government.
That is the secret which is no secret anymore. Gays in countries in which they have achieved some sort of parity with straights they most keep pressure on their governments and companies to put financial pressure on Russia. The rest is for the gay population there to come out and and learn how other have done it. Easier said than done when you face expulsion of your apartment or job if they find out. For most of us that have come out, we know the experience was not as bad as we thought. The exceptions to that have been heart wrenching but just talking numbers alone, the experience of coming out after one has established one self as just like the others at work, neighbors, etc. is been better than expected. went-to-work-expecting-worse-day-ever-but
The one to one experience is very different to when people are being quoted in general or even polled. Some people can say that gays are not real people but they would not say to their coworker in their face.
The gay Russian population have two choices but both involve coming out and proving that they are already in the mist of the population. One is to confront the authorities and many become martyrs of the police like those queens at Stone Wall, The second choice is to slowly come out, obeying most of the laws and then try to convince some in the government or courts that they need justice. Putin is popular in Russia because they have seen compared to what they had some visual improvement. Also for having laws that the population likes even though it does nothing to improve or secure any particular Russian citizen. Cosmetic laws like what we had here and we can even still find on the ex-slavery states.
Laws that tell people how to have sex and what religion to follow and not to shop or drink on sundays
Looking at United States as an example and by no means we are not out of the woods yet, it takes for a tiny minority to convert itself into a vocal massive minority to effect change. Those Russians that think gays are from Mars have to be taught that the gays in Russia come from their own families in Russia. Likewise families of gays have an intricate roll to follow. Just like we have PFLAG (parents,friends of lesbians and gays). PFLAG in a nation in which AIDS were killing both gays and non gays but having gays take the blunt in the media of the culpability of the disease it was organizations such as this, compose mainly of straight friends and families of gays that were in the forefront of education of the american people.
As there is no country 100% like the USA, still we are a good example here to test new ideas to improve the lives of the whole population. It is smart for the Russian gays to learn our gay history and apply there what has work for us here.
Again I most say that no matter how you do it, in increments or totally coming out is the mother of gay human and civil rights. If there is no one to raise their hand up and accept both the responsibility and benefits of coming out, unless that hand is raised there will be no gay rights. It will be assumed that they gays are just a sickness or something to be changed or something that can be oppressed and serve as the culpable that all societies need to have to blame their problems on something that can not or would not fight back.
A powerful new film has highlighted the increase in homophobic attacks in Russia ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics following the passing of an anti-gay ‘propaganda’ law.
The film, ‘Young and Gay in Putin’s Russia’, from VICE News and Stonewall, found that homophobia was ingrained in everyday people in the street, with one even comparing homosexuality to zoophilia.
In June, President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill punishing people for homosexual ‘propaganda’.
Nikolay Alexeyev, a long-time gay rights activist, journalist and lawyer and organiser of now banned Moscow Pride Parade, is arrested after a one man picket at an anti-Sochi boycott protest, outside Sochi Olympic headquarters in Moscow in September
Nikita Guryuanov, a 17-year-old gay rights activist who has been accused of spreading gay propaganda because of his YouTube show about LGBT issues. Part of his activism is to teach gay teenagers about how to protect themselves online from the likes of violent vigilante groups
The law imposed fines on those who disseminate information aimed at minors ‘directed and forming non-traditional sexual setup’, or which may cause a ‘distorted understanding’ that gay and heterosexual relationships are equal. Activists and celebrities have repeatedly called on Mr Putin to repeal the law but to no avail, while there have been calls to boycott Sochi.
Only on Friday, Mr Putin said that gay people would be welcome at the Olympics, but in a sign of the persecution the homosexual community is under in the country, he said: 'They must leave children in peace'.
Last week, the powerful Orthodox Church – of which approximately 64 per cent of Russians identify themselves as – demanded one step further, calling for a national referendum on criminalising homosexual relationships altogether, a return to a Soviet law enacted by Stalin.
Nix and Ray, two of Russia's core LGBT activists
Nix, Ray and other LGBT activist staging an action in moscow in July 2013 to draw attention to the rise in suicides among gay teenagers since the anti-gay propaganda law was passed
‘The one reason the law was installed in the first place was to please the Orthodox majority,’ explained Milène Larsson, a UK-based journalist originally from Sweden.
‘He [Putin] is looking for enemies. In Russia, homosexuals and gay rights activists are labelled as foreign agents.
‘You have such a vast majority of people who are Orthodox who potentially feel this way, those are his voters, that he is not going to step back and say “actually gay people are ok”.'
The video highlights the abuse that homosexuals receive in the streets, with activists regularly attacked.
They have gone to extraordinary lengths to protect themselves from persecution – from both official channels and neo-Nazi vigilante groups. The gay community has their own taxi service, while there are LGBT self-defense classes. There are also videos on YouTube held by activists, such as Nikita Gurjyanov, who has teaches gay people how to protect themselves from such groups.
Ms Larsson, who filmed the documentary along with Olga Kravets, told MailOnline that she was particularly struck by the attitudes and reaction of everyday people in the street.
‘What I was particularly struck by was talking to a random person on the street, who in a very calm voice says they can’t be like Europe, “we have our own traditional conservative values, and at the moment in Europe, they’re legalising paedophilia, they’re legalising zoophilia, they have zoo brothels”, and this guy just looked like a regular professional on the street.
There has been a rise in vigilante groups, like the neo-Nazi Occupy Pedofilyaj, that hunt down homosexuals online and make YouTube clips of how they abuse them. Here, two members of the group are humiliating a young Uzbek man
Russia's Vladimir Putin meets with volunteers taking part in the preparations for Sochi. On Friday, he said gays should feel welcome at Sochi, but must 'leave the children in peace'
‘The other thing when I felt the hatred the most, was when one of the activists Alexei Davydov passed away, and we had a funeral and a memorial, so the gay rights activists we had been following joined, and the plan (spread via social media) was to hold a minutes silence for Alexei.
‘So of course, violent homophobes and various neo-Nazi groups and orthodox thugs showed up because they heard about it. I didn’t expect this because somebody passing away is a sad moment.
'It’s not the place you expect people showing up to basically try and beat these people up. Luckily there was a heavy police presence.
‘So many violent people trying to pick fights and getting dragged away, and you could tell they were looking at me to see what side I was on, so much hatred.'
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