So-called counsellors took it upon themselves to out a gay man on social media after he reached out to them via a Russian hotline.
During the call, they reportedly told him they couldn’t “work with f*ggotry.”
The unnamed man claims he called the FROG center in St. Petersburg. He told the operator he was homosexual and needed some advice.
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The operator primly responded, “This line isn’t for faggots,” and hung up on him.
Understandably outraged, the caller sought out FROG’s director Alexander Bronshtein on social media and complained about his treatment.
Bronshtein’s response: “You were told [we] don’t work with f*ggotry and then you were wished all the best. What was rude about this?”
Realizing antigay sentiment runs rampant within that company, the caller then reached out to Lena Klimova, a Russian LGBTQ activist and founder of the “Children 404” support group for gay youths.
Klimova noted the situation in a Facebook post, taking issue with FROG’s hypocritical “statement of trust”: “If you’re sad, lonely, and in pain, call us! We will help everyone!”
Sharing screenshots of the grotesque exchange, she warned LGBTQ Russians to avoid the company altogether.
She blurred the caller’s name, but left Bronshtein’s exposed for all the world to see.
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On a Russian social media platform called Vkontakte, the director pitifully defended his stance:
“We really don’t treat people for f*ggotry and this caller was informed of that, and wished all the best. Except you [Lena Klimova] erased his information for some reason, and left mine. If you’re taking screenshots, then do a full screenshot. You don’t need to hide your friend’s name.”
Some people believe Bronshtein’s response, which effectively outed the caller, may constitute a hate crime.
FROG employees are apparently unfazed by the incident and are still staunchly embracing their homophobic viewpoint.
Shortly after the grim back-and-forth between he and Klimova, Bronshtein shared a video on the company’s official website featuring Vladimir Putin defending Russia’s ban on “gay propaganda.”
h/t: NewNowNext
DCguy
Russia’s economy is in the toilet and of course they have a history of attacking Jews so couldn’t do that again. So Putin’s game, make everybody in the country worry about the terrible, evil lgbts. (Just like the GOP here does)
Putin doing that will, he hopes, take all of the attention off the fact that in spite of the massive amount of resources Russia has, Putin and his buddies are stealing so much money that a country with twice the population of France has an economy half the size.
But hey Russians, don’t worry about your leader and his buddies vacuuming billions a year out of your economy because you’ve got those evil “homos” to hate.
ChrisK
Putin is the most corrupt leader of modern times. The American Mafia has nothing on this murderous goon. Nothing gets done or is just too expensive in Russia because you have to pay off Putin and cronies first or face death.
Captain Obvious
I love a good Russia bashing session but we still have plenty of homophobia here in America that goes unchecked and there’s PLENTY of it online. Maybe we should chill with the daily stoning.
Juanjo
Captain Obvious weighs in with an obvious logical fallacy – the old false equivalency argument. It is not either/or, CO. Do try to keep up.
DarkZephyr
How is reporting the facts “bashing” exactly?
Captain Obvious
Do you trolls literally wait around this site for the slightest thing you can twist into an argument? Oh wait of course you do. No lives to speak of, this is what you live for. Sad.