dan savage needs to stop with the hate

[rkt]

Why The Stoli Boycott Is Misguided And Dangerous

Boycotting a Russian brand of vodka does nothing to help LGBT people in Russia.What’s worse, it might do more damage than good.
Louis Peitzman

Comments

[the_physicist]

Why am I not surprised?

Oh right, because this happens all the time! Hear about something going wrong in another country?

a) listen to the locals affected/the local activist and see what help and support they want you to give

Or

b) decide you know best from afar (probably can't even pronounce the country's name and most likely you decide your government should impose economic sanctions or some shit)

It's always option (b). ALWAYS.

[lied_ohne_worte]

And c) find the most stereotypical thing you possibly can to latch onto. Because Russia = Vodka.

[redstar826]

is there another Russian product that a lot of people in the US purchase? Not saying that this is a good strategy, but just doing a quick google, the vast majority of Russian exports are natural resources/raw materials that the average person wouldn't be directly buying.

[nextdrinksonme]

Nesting dolls? That's all I can think of.

[clevermanka]

I'm relieved to see I wasn't the only one going how is this possibly helpful.

Also, the alcohol tag would be a good addition.

[a_grumble_cake]

If you associate everyone and everything in a country with the government it's a good sign you know nothing about that country and you need to STFU about it. It's dehumanizing and ignorant.

[redstar826]

This boycott is stupid, but I also really don't think that the sponsorship of lgbt events by alcohol companies is something to be celebrated and encouraged

[thelilyqueen]

Perhaps not, but I do think it's relevant here in terms of showing the boycott is misplaced. Gee, here's a company that's willingly associating themselves with LGBT events and people... we should totally boycott them?

[astridmyrna]

Gee, here's a company that's willingly associating themselves with LGBT events and people... we should totally boycott them?

Yeah, that's what confused me too and really shows how lazy these people got in their slacktivism--so lazy you couldn't do a google search!

[rkt]

out of curiousity, why?
stonewall was way more about drunken debauchery than marriage

[tilmon]

I drink domestic vodka, so no matter my opinion on this boycott (which is that it is stupid to boycott an ally), my behavior won't be changing. And I'd kind of like for the Olympics to still be held there, just to allow for visitors and foreign athletes to protest in person. Yeah, they might get arrested, but they will probably simply be expelled, which is a better fate than what Russians themselves would experience. If you have money to be traveling to the Olympics, you have money and power to spend on making a statement in favor of human rights, without it really harming you at all.

[the_physicist]

Currently Russian LGBT+ organisations are paying for the lawyers of foreing activists who come over and get arrested as well as for paying the legal costs for their own activists. If people want to do this kind of activism they should talk to local activist groups first rather than assuming they know what they are getting themselves (and others who then try to help them) into.

[lied_ohne_worte]

And Russia also seems to be on a run of accusing foreign organisations and governments of interference, including of course foreign conspiracies causing pro-homosexual activism. They searched (not relating to gay rights, but still) NGO's associated with the largest German parties earlier this year, and only refrained from searching the Goethe Institute after considerable protests, none of which are organisations I'd suspect of espionage or sabotage. So listening to what kind of help the Russian activists need and are prepared to accept becomes even more important if one doesn't want to "prove" that they are just tools of outside powers, as the government would like to claim.

[the_physicist]

yup. it's just important in general as it, you know, shows you want to help them, not use their plight to do something to put yourself in the limelight.