The Winter Olympics in Sochi are, of course, still going
ahead. While the campaigning and fighting has drawn a lot of attention, it was
never going to stop or change the games because the cishet world has always had
many many many more priorities than our lives.
Needless to say, I won’t be watching the games, or having
much to do with any coverage focusing on people playing sports rather than the
gay bodies they’re stepping over to keep playing – nor do I want anything to do
with the huge number of commenters who say they totally oppose homophobia while
going to the games unless they are actually going to do something substantial to
challenge the homophobia they’re tacitly endorsing.
Because that is what you are doing. Did any of us think
that we could pull of a boycott of Sochi? No. Did any of us think we could
force Russia to change their laws? No we do not have and never have had that
kind of power or that many allies – we’re more than aware of that. Did we hope
we would gain some kind of temporary hold or blanket immunity of GBLT
travellers during the Olympics? That was never the goal – and frankly it’s
nauseating to sign off on Russia temporarily suspending evil persecution while
the cameras are pointed their way then go back to blood business as usual when
we’re looking away.
The point is that there are some things you don’t want to
affiliate with. There are things that are more important than sport, that the
lives of GBLT people are worth something. By staying in Sochi, the
International Olympic Commission has denied that; by boycotting the Olympics I
am rejecting the IOC’s denial of GBLT humanity. We exist and Russia’s creeping
attempts to criminalise our existence, to make GBLT people invisible and to
tacitly support brutal persecution is not tolerable
I do not want to be part of this:
Mayor of Sochi,
Anatoly Pakhomov has declared there aren’t any GBLT people in Sochi at all,
so totally no problem right? Ignore those gay bars, Anatoly has declared gay
folks non-existent to his straight eyes.
Putin, who can always be relied upon for some vile
bigotry, has assured us all that gay people will be safe during the Olympics. So
long as gay folk leave the children alone – because we’re all evil child
predators, of course. He also believes countries
that don’t persecute gay people are considering legalising paedophilia. Putin
loves his homophobic
hate speech and is a repeat offender.
Prime Minister
Dmitry Medvedev has
assured everyone that no gay people have protested about the bigoted laws…
showing that he also has the same spectacular cishet disease as Anatoly
Pakhomov where gay people are just magically invisible to him.
Chernyshenko, head of the Russian games, has
also made it clear he expects athletes to be silent about the persecution of
gay people.
Sochi Olympic
Village mayor Svetlana Zhurova just doesn’t see the point of protesting –
they’re only pesky gay people after all! Concentrate on the sport! Of course, she’s
fully on board with labelling gay people as child abusers as well.
Contrary to
what the IOC has suggested- the bigoted law is going to be enforced during the
Olympics.
And a law
is brewing to take children from gay parents – to forcibly separate gay families.
Of course, Russian media is playing along – with some
almost comically over-dramatic homophobic screeds like this from Pravda
– invoking Sodom and Gomorrah and gay people being “terrorists.”
The head of Russian
TV news agency, Dmitriy Kiselyov goes
further – our bodies and organs need to be burned on death lest they be used in
organ donation and poor cishets get tainted by us.
Well, maybe – after this debacle I have zero respect for the Olympics.
A library
book is being investigated because it may acknowledge gay families exist –
stoke up the book burning. The goal of homophobes is always to render us
invisible – if they can’t make us extinct, they like to pretend we are
A gay
teacher was sacked for being gay – and then the newspaper that reported on it
was fined for daring to talk about a gay person being fired!
And, of
course, since the legal persecution went into force, there has been an upswing
of violent attacks against GBLT people.
In Moscow, gay
rights campaigners were protesting the increasingly bigoted laws that have been
passed, were attacked by Orthodox Christians and then 40 of them were
arrested.
A gay
dating app has been blocked in Russia – and a message added to it
threatening users with arrest.
A protestor who
dared to hold a rainbow flag has been arrested for that terrible crime of
trying to assert GBLT humanity.
3 men have
stabbed a man and set him on fire, believing he was gay.
Virulent
persecution, killings and torture continue. With Russian
gangs hunting GBLT people, and beating gay men on camera
And what has the IOC done about all this?
Well, Thomas
Back has loudly spoken against… anyone protesting at the games or distracting
from the precious sport by bringing up the pesky lives of gay people. He
also creates a wonderful straw man about people expecting the IOC
to change Russia’s laws – no, bigot, we expected you NOT TO ENDORSE THEM.
You don’t have the power to change laws, you do have the power to give your
seal of approval. He also took the opportunity in his New
Year address to snidely criticise “politics” and “division” at the Olympics
The last IOC head, Jacques
Rogge, doesn’t even think the law is homophobic. After all, straight people
can be imprisoned for acknowledging GBLT people exist as well! Totally equal
guys!
Canadian
IOC member Dick Pound just dismisses the whole thing – after all countries
put GBLT people to death so why should the IOC give a damn about a little
brutal persecution? Silly gay people getting overexcited!
Australian Olympics
boss, John Coates, also wants to be sure no-one mentions that pesky gay
persecution and for everyone to shut up about it.
Olympics
staff are already jumping on anyone daring to wave a rainbow flag. Which
is, of course, defending by homophobia
enabler, Coca-cola, one of the sponsors of the Olympics
Several athletes are also annoyed that we’re daring to
talk about the persecution of GBLT people which is a total distraction from
their fun – like skater
Tara Lipinski and pole-vaulter Yelena
Isinbayeva, skater Jeremy
Abbot and quisling Jonny Weir. And
the innumerable others offering complicity with their silence.
And it goes without saying that the godsquad is
positively salivating at all this homophobia – the Russian
Orthodox church fully supports excluding criminalising being gay – they want
to go for full on genocide. FEEL THE CHRISTIAN LOVE!
Of course, much news has been made of various people “snubbing”
the games… except they – including Cameron and Obama – have been quick to
assure us that it totally has nothing to do with the persecution of GBLT
people. So that renders any “snub” pretty pathetically meaningless – but gee
thanks cishet leaders for your dedicated concern!
Enjoy your sports. Don’t let the blood distract you.