The part where you acknowledged that this is not a measure to boost their population, and not merely an unethical one.
There’s a quote I like on the subject of cultural relativism:
“You say that it is your custom to burn widows. Very well. We also have a custom: when men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.”
If you believe cultural relativism protects the Russians from criticism for persecuting homosexuals, then cultural relativism should also protect us from criticism for criticising the Russians. How can you claim to be more advanced than us critical heathens when you insist on oppressing our culture like this?
If by “our culture” you mean more and more of the civilized world every day.
Gay rights are increasingly recognized around the world as basic human rights. Defending those rights and haranguing the leaders of countries where abuses occur is kinda why we have the UN isn’t it? We have every right and I would include obligation to criticise Putin and Russia over things like this.
Sochi is already a security problem that has some athletes and families concerned. My friend is not attending what will be her husbands last Olympic games due to the risk. They first decided it was too risky for the kids, then they decided she had to stay home because losing both parents was an unfair risk. If they were a same sex couple the addition of this would be enough for him to drop out of the competition.
:rolleyes: I had to look at the date to ensure that it was 2013 not 1913.! Was not aware that people needed a certificate from western countries to be considered “civilised” anymore.
The developed world, often including Japan too and usually with a capital W. From what I can tell, there’s some debate in the West about the need to delineate “the West,” but it’s a very accepted practice over here … in the East.
Doubtful, most likely the authorities are discreetly given very strict instructions not to enforce the law during the Games or otherwise harass foreign visitors. If Hitler can manage that so can Putin.
Traditionally the “Good GUys” [US and allies] are First World, the old Soviet Bloc were the Second World and everybody else was lumped into Third World.
I really liked that definition, let you know where you stood in the grand scheme of things.
I shall hereby endevour to excuse attrocties for the rest of my life.
The Dope crowd and unfortunately most Westerners IME cannot get their heads around the idea that other people hold their beliefs just as dearly as they hold their own and in this modern era you will have to deal with them despite that.
Russia is intolerant of homosexuals. Russia is also a great power and nations will have to deal with them regardless.
FTR, I am not supportive of the legislation is question.
I can say that if a country does not arrest people for being gay, it has more respect for the right of gay people than a country that arrests people for being gay. And you’ve yet to explain how outlawing “openly gay tourists” or the “promotion” of homosexuality will help Russia’s demographic problems.
Nobody has discussed the sincerity of anyone’s beliefs. They’ve discussed the wrongness of this law.
