Men’s pairs skating? Nooooo!
Didn’t the Olympics committee almost do away with wrestling because it was too gay? How can there be an Olympics without hot, hairy, man on man nude wrestling? I mean wrestling. Isn’t that how it started?
Levdrakon, Shakes, you’re off topic. Start a new thread in GD or the Pit if you want to pursue.
Thanks,
twickster, MPSIMS moderator
Yeah I know.
Russia bad!
If they would fine tourists it sounds like a ploy to get hard currency into the Russian economy.
Soviet Union maybe, but not contemporary Russia. Toss a little civil rights abuses and repression into the mix for fun? I can see that. But what is he up to? He supports Syria and Assad, and wants to show Islam he’s tough on teh gays?
Twickster, please reflect before moderating this. Russia’s relationship with conservative Islam is relevant.
Sliding back? I don’t think it ever stopped being a dictatorship. They just pretend to be a democracy
This is exactly it. Putin is marginalizing an unpopular minority in order to boost his own power. This is a lot safer than demonizing, say, Muslims, of whom there are so many in Russia.
I don’t imagine they get a lot of gay tourists in Russia (this is just a guess on my part) which, if true, would mean he wasn’t risking much revenue from tourist spending.
Olympics aside, of course. He can keep locals out of the Olympic village, lest they should be contaminated with teh Gay, but he can’t very well keep the tourists segregated all the time. I would love to see an organized boycott on attendance at that Olympics, so that the Russians lose their shirts.
Roddy
Sure, what a great idea. We should definitely use the Olympics as a political tool. Afterall, that’s why the Olympics was created, right?
Let me put it this way: if I were thinking of going, and didn’t know about this government policy in Russia, I would appreciate some organization informing me of their policy so that I could make an informed decision not to go. And maybe I would tell my friends, on the chance that they also did not know about the policy. This is not political, it is a matter of survival. Like why I would never go to Jamaica.
How’s that?
Roddy
“See? The Westerners are boycotting us AGAIN!! Like we’ve always said, they just have got it against Russia!! Being pro-gay is just another part of being anti-Russia!” *They’ll spin it into something that reinforces their self-image as eternally put-upon from outsiders. But damn right that people should be aware that their potential destination is one where they’re subject to active hostility.
And thirded, that Putin is calling upon a set of Russian “traditional values” that involve strong elements of patriarchalism as a way to further extend his power.
Let me make sure I’m clear on this… this guy wants to outlaw homosexual propaganda?
In Russia, openly gay tourists arrest YOU.
Nice set of man boobs there.
Mine are bigger.
Roddy
I know a priest who has a rainbow stole, a gift he got before the rainbow flag became widely known; it was in thanks for helping smooth out the racial and tribal conflicts and differences in one of the locations where he worked (schooling for everybody, mediated a couple of Romeo and Juliet cases, stuff like that). And he’s yummy: if he could marry he’d have a line of candidates going around the block.
I’m having visions of the headlines: “visiting gay* RCC priest refused entry into Russia for posession of inappropriate objects. Patriarch reminds Pope RCC not supposed to proselitize in Russia.**”
- probably not
** something the immense majority of RCC are in complete agreement with
Actually, yes, although it was supposed to be one for peace. Part of its purpose was that, by suspending wars and having everybody come together, people had a chance to talk, get to know each other, smooth out differences without shedding blood, etc. Sometimes two heads of state came together, got to know each other, and decided the other one was a bigger asshole than previously thought, but it was a relatively small number of cases.
I just can’t quit you, Presidency.
Russia is facing a demographic nightmare. It actually makes sense for them to do whatever it takes to boost their population even if this law is misguided. Arent we supposed to fight ignorance on this board?
My understanding is that Putin has been allying himself with religious conservatives to a greater and greater extent to increase his power and to strengthen that brand of nationalism he’s been pushing for years, which is also what was going on in the Pussy Riot case. It’s pretty scary to watch.
Fight my ignorance, then: tell me how arresting gay tourists will cause Russians to have more children. The same goes for criminalizing homosexuality in general, of course, but in this instance it’s especially crazy. And it’s not “misguided,” it’s simply bigoted.
Yes, which is why I’m going to point out that arresting people for being gay isn’t going to make them start having kids, unless you’re planning on raping them while they’re in prison.
If they really wanted to increase their birthrate, how about promoting IVF for lesbian couples?
What part of 'this law is misguided did you two moss?
And I am glad that you two have dismissed any notion of cultural relativism. Can we now proudly say that our culture is more advanced than those heathen Russians and Africans? How 19th Century of us. 