I could use the opportunity to publicize the abominable antigay laws passed by Russia’s lower house of parliament that essentially forbid public expression of pro-gay views. The measures — and anti-gay statements by various Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin — have encouraged harassment of and attacks on gays. The situation for gays in Russia has become so dire that some have compared next year’s Sochi Olympics to the 1936 Berlin Games, when the world stood in silence as Hitler’s Germany ramped up its oppression of Jews, gays and other minorities.
So I told the RT producer that I would be happy to appear on the program, and I asked the network to provide a car to ferry me to the studio and then to the airport after the show, as I had a flight that evening to Tallinn, Estonia. This was hardly an unusual request, and the producer readily agreed.
The following day, I set out to look for some gay-pride paraphernalia — ideally a rainbow flag I could hide until my moment on live TV. Hours scouring downtown Stockholm turned up nothing. Then, in a bargain bin at a vintage-clothing store, I spotted a pair of rainbow suspenders.
— Jamie Kirchik explaining how he planned his incredible hijacking of Russia’s RT news, in an op-ed he contributed to Washington Post
balehead
Because he is just another media ho hijacking a issue for his own personal advancement…
Stache1
@balehead: That may be but nothing he said was any less true because of it. RT is extremely biased and homophobic. Stunts like that are the only way you’ll get something close to the truth out.
Lefty
I’m sure Putin is changing the law in question as we speak, now a right-wing American – who chooses to support the grotesque treatment of Chelsea Manning by his own government – has put him in his place while wearing rainbow coloured braces.
So brave.
fagburn
What a disgusting far right gay goon – so brainwashed he was literally incapable of condemning his own country’s incarceration of Chelsea manning – the subject of the TV debate.
Scum.
Cam
Can we stop having the anti-gay trolls in here who keep trying to come on and attack every person who speaks out for gay rights by calling them a Media Ho etc…
Manning is one woman who isn’t being incarcerated for being transgendered, she is being incarcerated for laws broken, whether or not that is valid.
HOWEVER, what I HAVE seen is that once again, when something involves the Transgendered community, rather than wanting to work with other communities ANY opportunity to lash out, attack, belittle etc… the gay and lesbian community is taken.
Do not think we have forgotten that the DAY that marriage became legal in NY State one of the leading voices in the Transgendered movement took it as an opportunity to attack the gay community for fighting for marriage rights. NOT ONE SINGLE DAY could be allowed to celebrate a victory without using it as an excuse to attack.
Same here. Russia is systematically going after thousands of people just like all of us on this board, but far be it from a few to relish the opportunity to use it as an excuse to attack the gay community.