Gay Equality Day Saturday September 28th!!!
As always---I will be home on 'troll patrol' all day Saturday. If you are a regular and want my phone #, just message me for it. No xenophobia against Russia. If you get any hate on a post, please send me the user name so I can ban them and just delete it.
This month I want to focus on the increasing brutality against members of the LGBT community in Russia and even in the USA. Of course we know in Russia the increased violence is due to the draconian law signed by Putin, but it's increasing in the USA too. I have found some things on the internet that link the Russia propaganda law to an extremist American preacher. (I must stress, any religion that advocates the harm of others, is extremist and is NOT within the norm of the majority of peaceful religions with peaceful religious members, so please do not take this as an attack on 'religion', it's not. Please no comments attacking Christians, Russian Orthodoxy, etc. A religion that advocates harming others IS extremist and does deserve derision though. You CAN attack this Scott Lively of Abiding Truth Ministries and the Patriach Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church. Same as no xenophobia against Russia; but Putin and the politicians who support this are fair game.)
This Scott Lively is a piece of work! In all I have read before, on various sites, I have never come across him mentioned before! He believes that homosexuality was the cause of the Inquisition, Slavery, and the Holocaust. As George Takei would say "Oh Myyy". He's being persecuted, federally, for pushing a bill in Uganda that made homosexuality a crime punishable by death. Lively believes the Russian law that Putin signed this year was the result of a seed planted when he toured Russia in 2006-7 with his hate mongering. He goes to countries and spreads his anti-gay 'preaching' and gets countries and cities to declare places 'gay free zones'. Such as in Moldovia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine and Belarus. He promotes denying rights to gays and if they have been given rights, to take them back. I found another article about this hate monger from just this month where he wrote Putin claiming their laws don't go FAR ENOUGH against the LGBT community He claims there needs to be a war on gay people. And he wants Russia and America to be allies in that fight, just like in WWII. He, of course, tries to cloak himself with religion, but religions teach acceptance and love, not death and murder.
South African Former Archbishop Desmond Tutu has stated “I would not worship a God who is homophobic, and that is how deep I feel about this,” [he] said at a United Nations’ gay rights campaign function in Cape Town, South Africa. “I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. 'No,' I would say. 'Sorry. I mean, I would much rather go to the other place.'” Tutu likened gay rights to the civil rights battle for blacks and apartheid. . He is a TRUE religious leader who grasps the messages that people learn from religion and the human rights aspects of this.
Now this link is a really good, though long article. Russia’s Anti-Gay Pogrom Has Disturbing Parallels to Medieval Anti-Semitism. But I have to give a couple warnings first. First, it does link to videos that show the brutal attacks against members of the LGBT community. Second, they talk about the impact of religion upon the current Russian law and how the leader of the Russian Orthodox church even gives sanction to the wiping out of gays. Now, not all members of the Russian Orthodox church feel that way; just as there are some extremist Christians, Muslims, etc, there are extreme believers in pretty much every faith. Just wanted to point that out and make sure no one attacks that faith as a whole---you can certainly attack the leader, Patriarch Kirill, for his beliefs though.
So we have an American fringe radical 'religious' guy advocating violence against gays in other countries. The Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill believes gays should be wiped out. These countries already have an underbelly of homophobia and suppressed rage at I don't know what, that they feel they can take out on the LGBT community and it appears they can brutalize, even murder, members of the LGBT community with impunity--in Russia.
Violence in Russia
There are Russian vigilante groups that go out and brutalize members of the LGBT community in an attempt to 'cure' them and they also believe they are pedophiles. They claim their purpose is to name, shame and punish suspected pedophiles but activists said it was just an excuse to indulge their homophobia is further written about in this article here. Why the pedophile link to gays?? Because of Putin of course!
This month an Uzbek teen boy was bullied, raped with a bottle at gun point and it was videoed because he was gay. " 'The Russians told us he was a pedophile, which he denied. But he confessed that he was gay.' " More about the disturbing group 'occupy pedophilia' here. An snippet: "Gay victims aged 12-16 are reportedly lured in by the group Occupy-Pedofilyay, led by Maxim Martsinkevich, known under the nickname “Cleaver”. Videos are then circulated of the victims being made to come out as gay, with a view to parents, schools, or friends finding out about their sexuality. A report from May notes that 19-year-old Alex Bulygin, a victim of the ‘fighters with paedophiles’ branch of the group, committed suicide after having his sexuality revealed online. " So they prey upon vulnerable teens, as any bully would. This story from the Washington Post tells how the Russian laws isolate LGBT teens and makes a more difficult and confusing time even worse. They are already isolated and ostracized and the internet, at times, can provide a place of solace and friends. Of course it can also be a place where bullies troll for victims.
Here's a quote by Putin from an interview here where he tries to claim he's not homophobic. "I assure you that I work with these people. I sometimes award them with state prizes or decorations for their achievements in various fields. We have absolutely normal relations, and I don't see anything out of the ordinary here. They say that Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a homosexual. Truth be told, we don't love him because of that, but he was a great musician, and we all love his music. So what?" THESE people?! I can't imagine Putin working, knowingly, with anyone in the LGBT community. Russia is also trying to 'ungay' Tchaikovsky to it's people but with the internet and his papers being published, nah, they're gonna fail. THESE people?! The nerve!!! THAT 'man' Putin! There! :)
Other Countries
The European Union does not even have crimes committed on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity as a hate crime. “This is unacceptable because sexual orientation and gender identity are protected grounds of discrimination in international human rights law,” as it says in this article.
This is also true in many countries. Currently Italy is trying to include the LGBT community in hate crime law. The bill isn't expected to pass their upper house, but in case you did not see it, here's a link to an article and a video clip of Italian lawmakers having a same sex kiss-in to protest LGBT discrimination.
There are countless countries---seriously I have read over 150 news articles the past 2 days that I had bookmarked, then googled more, etc---that have horrific stories of brutality against members of the LGBT community. It's really made me heart sick. I could link to a variety of articles but you seriously don't want to look or read all of them. I think most of these are sad enough.
My back yard and what you can do you in YOUR back yard
A man in Cleveland was attacked leaving a gay bar. The same bar had another patron attacked and there have been instances of slurs yelled at patrons. The City of Cleveland was quite ignorant and even sent the bar a letter claiming they--the BAR---was a nuisance for calling the police ignoring the fact that they called the police due to being harassed. I learned that in Ohio, attacks against members of the LGBT community are NOT considered a hate crime though they say are going to work to change that. There are also 20 states where LGBT crimes are not considered hate crimes. You can see here if your state has 'sexual orientation' listed for hate crimes. If they do NOT contact the Attorney General in your state to request that they please ADD IT! I have sent an email to Ohio's Attorney General.
Now I was a bit confused because I knew of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act; but that is FEDERAL LAW, not state. So in the United States you could be charged with a federal hate crime--depending where the crime took place---in a state where there is no sexual orientation hate crime protection because the federal law, obviously, covers all 50 states.
There are news stories about brutal attacks on members of the LGBT community all over the USA. NYC, Chelsea, Denver, California cities, Florida, etc. It's happening more and more all over the country. It's usually teens or attackers in their 20s who carry out the attacks and they attack them for their sexual orientation hurling slurs while attacking them. What is WRONG WITH PEOPLE?!
There is no justification to attack a member of the LGBT community. If you feel that much rage towards members who go about their life and have a different sexual orientation, I really suggest you get some anger management. People who commit these cowardly acts need to be charged with HATE CRIMES and need to be held fully accountable in a court of law. In Russia, the authorities should actually GO AFTER and CHARGE those who carry out those attacks instead of turning a blind eye.
Apparently Russia has hired an American PR firm, Ketchum.com to try to improve Putin's and Russia's image in the USA. They're the ones who helped get Putin's op ed in the New York Times. Article here. Obviously Ketchum has no qualms about catering to a homophobic brutal dictator as long as their check clears. I have sent them an email asking if their company supports equal rights for LGBT employees and if so, does it not create a conflict of interest representing Putin? I'm sure I'll get no reply, but at least they got an email! editor@ketchum.com
Our NEXT Gay Equality Day is going to be October 11, National Coming Out Day!
This month I want to focus on the increasing brutality against members of the LGBT community in Russia and even in the USA. Of course we know in Russia the increased violence is due to the draconian law signed by Putin, but it's increasing in the USA too. I have found some things on the internet that link the Russia propaganda law to an extremist American preacher. (I must stress, any religion that advocates the harm of others, is extremist and is NOT within the norm of the majority of peaceful religions with peaceful religious members, so please do not take this as an attack on 'religion', it's not. Please no comments attacking Christians, Russian Orthodoxy, etc. A religion that advocates harming others IS extremist and does deserve derision though. You CAN attack this Scott Lively of Abiding Truth Ministries and the Patriach Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church. Same as no xenophobia against Russia; but Putin and the politicians who support this are fair game.)
This Scott Lively is a piece of work! In all I have read before, on various sites, I have never come across him mentioned before! He believes that homosexuality was the cause of the Inquisition, Slavery, and the Holocaust. As George Takei would say "Oh Myyy". He's being persecuted, federally, for pushing a bill in Uganda that made homosexuality a crime punishable by death. Lively believes the Russian law that Putin signed this year was the result of a seed planted when he toured Russia in 2006-7 with his hate mongering. He goes to countries and spreads his anti-gay 'preaching' and gets countries and cities to declare places 'gay free zones'. Such as in Moldovia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Ukraine and Belarus. He promotes denying rights to gays and if they have been given rights, to take them back. I found another article about this hate monger from just this month where he wrote Putin claiming their laws don't go FAR ENOUGH against the LGBT community He claims there needs to be a war on gay people. And he wants Russia and America to be allies in that fight, just like in WWII. He, of course, tries to cloak himself with religion, but religions teach acceptance and love, not death and murder.
South African Former Archbishop Desmond Tutu has stated “I would not worship a God who is homophobic, and that is how deep I feel about this,” [he] said at a United Nations’ gay rights campaign function in Cape Town, South Africa. “I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. 'No,' I would say. 'Sorry. I mean, I would much rather go to the other place.'” Tutu likened gay rights to the civil rights battle for blacks and apartheid. . He is a TRUE religious leader who grasps the messages that people learn from religion and the human rights aspects of this.
Now this link is a really good, though long article. Russia’s Anti-Gay Pogrom Has Disturbing Parallels to Medieval Anti-Semitism. But I have to give a couple warnings first. First, it does link to videos that show the brutal attacks against members of the LGBT community. Second, they talk about the impact of religion upon the current Russian law and how the leader of the Russian Orthodox church even gives sanction to the wiping out of gays. Now, not all members of the Russian Orthodox church feel that way; just as there are some extremist Christians, Muslims, etc, there are extreme believers in pretty much every faith. Just wanted to point that out and make sure no one attacks that faith as a whole---you can certainly attack the leader, Patriarch Kirill, for his beliefs though.
So we have an American fringe radical 'religious' guy advocating violence against gays in other countries. The Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill believes gays should be wiped out. These countries already have an underbelly of homophobia and suppressed rage at I don't know what, that they feel they can take out on the LGBT community and it appears they can brutalize, even murder, members of the LGBT community with impunity--in Russia.
Violence in Russia
There are Russian vigilante groups that go out and brutalize members of the LGBT community in an attempt to 'cure' them and they also believe they are pedophiles. They claim their purpose is to name, shame and punish suspected pedophiles but activists said it was just an excuse to indulge their homophobia is further written about in this article here. Why the pedophile link to gays?? Because of Putin of course!
This month an Uzbek teen boy was bullied, raped with a bottle at gun point and it was videoed because he was gay. " 'The Russians told us he was a pedophile, which he denied. But he confessed that he was gay.' " More about the disturbing group 'occupy pedophilia' here. An snippet: "Gay victims aged 12-16 are reportedly lured in by the group Occupy-Pedofilyay, led by Maxim Martsinkevich, known under the nickname “Cleaver”. Videos are then circulated of the victims being made to come out as gay, with a view to parents, schools, or friends finding out about their sexuality. A report from May notes that 19-year-old Alex Bulygin, a victim of the ‘fighters with paedophiles’ branch of the group, committed suicide after having his sexuality revealed online. " So they prey upon vulnerable teens, as any bully would. This story from the Washington Post tells how the Russian laws isolate LGBT teens and makes a more difficult and confusing time even worse. They are already isolated and ostracized and the internet, at times, can provide a place of solace and friends. Of course it can also be a place where bullies troll for victims.
Here's a quote by Putin from an interview here where he tries to claim he's not homophobic. "I assure you that I work with these people. I sometimes award them with state prizes or decorations for their achievements in various fields. We have absolutely normal relations, and I don't see anything out of the ordinary here. They say that Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a homosexual. Truth be told, we don't love him because of that, but he was a great musician, and we all love his music. So what?" THESE people?! I can't imagine Putin working, knowingly, with anyone in the LGBT community. Russia is also trying to 'ungay' Tchaikovsky to it's people but with the internet and his papers being published, nah, they're gonna fail. THESE people?! The nerve!!! THAT 'man' Putin! There! :)
Other Countries
The European Union does not even have crimes committed on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity as a hate crime. “This is unacceptable because sexual orientation and gender identity are protected grounds of discrimination in international human rights law,” as it says in this article.
This is also true in many countries. Currently Italy is trying to include the LGBT community in hate crime law. The bill isn't expected to pass their upper house, but in case you did not see it, here's a link to an article and a video clip of Italian lawmakers having a same sex kiss-in to protest LGBT discrimination.
There are countless countries---seriously I have read over 150 news articles the past 2 days that I had bookmarked, then googled more, etc---that have horrific stories of brutality against members of the LGBT community. It's really made me heart sick. I could link to a variety of articles but you seriously don't want to look or read all of them. I think most of these are sad enough.
My back yard and what you can do you in YOUR back yard
A man in Cleveland was attacked leaving a gay bar. The same bar had another patron attacked and there have been instances of slurs yelled at patrons. The City of Cleveland was quite ignorant and even sent the bar a letter claiming they--the BAR---was a nuisance for calling the police ignoring the fact that they called the police due to being harassed. I learned that in Ohio, attacks against members of the LGBT community are NOT considered a hate crime though they say are going to work to change that. There are also 20 states where LGBT crimes are not considered hate crimes. You can see here if your state has 'sexual orientation' listed for hate crimes. If they do NOT contact the Attorney General in your state to request that they please ADD IT! I have sent an email to Ohio's Attorney General.
Now I was a bit confused because I knew of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act; but that is FEDERAL LAW, not state. So in the United States you could be charged with a federal hate crime--depending where the crime took place---in a state where there is no sexual orientation hate crime protection because the federal law, obviously, covers all 50 states.
There are news stories about brutal attacks on members of the LGBT community all over the USA. NYC, Chelsea, Denver, California cities, Florida, etc. It's happening more and more all over the country. It's usually teens or attackers in their 20s who carry out the attacks and they attack them for their sexual orientation hurling slurs while attacking them. What is WRONG WITH PEOPLE?!
There is no justification to attack a member of the LGBT community. If you feel that much rage towards members who go about their life and have a different sexual orientation, I really suggest you get some anger management. People who commit these cowardly acts need to be charged with HATE CRIMES and need to be held fully accountable in a court of law. In Russia, the authorities should actually GO AFTER and CHARGE those who carry out those attacks instead of turning a blind eye.
Apparently Russia has hired an American PR firm, Ketchum.com to try to improve Putin's and Russia's image in the USA. They're the ones who helped get Putin's op ed in the New York Times. Article here. Obviously Ketchum has no qualms about catering to a homophobic brutal dictator as long as their check clears. I have sent them an email asking if their company supports equal rights for LGBT employees and if so, does it not create a conflict of interest representing Putin? I'm sure I'll get no reply, but at least they got an email! editor@ketchum.com
Our NEXT Gay Equality Day is going to be October 11, National Coming Out Day!