Russian Government Sanctions LGBT Support Group for Suggesting Gay Youths Are Brave
Roscomnadzor sanctions Children-404 for suggesting that gays can be good people. Images edited by Kevin Rothrock.
The founder of “Children-404,” an online support network for LGBT teens in Russia similar to the “It Gets Better” campaign in the United States, now stands formally accused of illegal “gay propaganda.” Lena Klimova first reported the case against her group last week, after investigators visited her home and then summoned her to a federal police building. Klimova was asked to appear in Moscow today, November 18, but she couldn't make the trip, as she lives more than 1,100 miles away, in Nizhny Tagil. Police refused Klimova's request to move the case closer to her home.
Writing on LiveJournal today, Klimova published some excerpts—what she calls the “tastiest bits”—from the government's charges against Children-404. The following language is from the state's case against Klimova's community:
… материалы в целом способны вызвать у детей представление о том, что быть геем – это значит быть человеком мужественным, сильным, уверенным, упорным, с чувством собственного достоинства и самоуважения …
The materials [on Children-404] can cause children to believe that being gay means being a person who is brave, strong, confident, tenacious, and someone with a sense of dignity and self-respect.
… данные комментарии открыто выражают негативное отношение к матери, осуждающей подростка-гомосексуалиста ..
The comments [on Children-404] are openly negative toward mothers who condemn their teenage homosexual kids.
… в данном сообществе практически отсутствует информация о том, что данные отношения являются нетрадиционными в понимании норм, обычаев и устоев РФ …
This community contains almost no information about the fact that this [sexual] orientation is untraditional according to the norms, customs, and practices of the Russian Federation.
These charges build on comments published yesterday on Facebook by Russian federal censors, who accused Children-404 of endangering LGBT minors by providing them with “amateur” psychological support.
The Russian government seems to be telling LGBT teens that they're a threat to each other—that they require the attention of medical professionals, who will explain calmly that being gay precludes bravery, strength, and anything else good under the sun. If you're young and gay, you should stay away from others like you. If you must, go to a doctor and seek proper care, before you fall under delusions of dignity and self-respect.
How's that for an “It Gets Better” public service announcement?
This post is part of RuNet Echo, a Global Voices project to interpret the Russian language internet. All Posts · Read more »
12 comments
This recent pogrom against Russian LGBT isn’t just by authorities but is also supported and promoted by homophobic popular culture, often equating homosexuality with pedophilia. Pew survey suggests that while Russia is most homophobic country in its Europe region sample, Russia is not as bad as most Middle East and African countries: http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/06/04/the-global-divide-on-homosexuality/
– While Ukraine is also challenged by homophobia (ie, recent burning of Kyiv’s Zhovten cinema), supposedly “anti-fascist” Russia is fascist if Russians tolerate and even promote homophobia because being fascist is not only anti-semitism and anti-Roma but also homophobia: http://americablog.com/2014/03/meet-vladimir-putin-favorite-neo-nazis-russia-crimea.html
It’s so sad, teens and kids are being used as the excuse for these things, but they only cause more suffering among gay teens since they can’t seek out advice from other gay people until they are 18, and it also pushes people into the closet and into marriages based on a huge lie, which results in inherently unstable family life for children born in these settings.
What really bugs me is that in Russia, gay rights are seen as “Western Hedonism” yet in Western European countries conservatives associate gay rights with “godless socialism”. How does that make any sense?
Both “Western hedonism” and “godless socialism” are scarecrows left since the Cold War. As to the gay issue, it’s a way for some wanna-be politicians, both here and there, to gain political points, kind of : Vote for me and I’ll smash’em all, them deviants !
No surprise. Not long ago a majority of Americans felt the same way about LGBT people. We’ve come a long way. These incidents serve as a reminder what anti-gay people believe and how they’d like to move this country.
Pardon them for their ignorance.