Wheeee, the Olympics! A fun exciting adventure that brings out the very best in the human spirit! Come to Sochi and see all that Russia has to offer! Just please do not look over there at what’s happening to those gay people.
You will not doubt be SHOCKED to learn that Russian officials are continuing their abuse of gay and lesbian citizens. The latest victim isn’t even gay, and isn’t even a person: it’s a newspaper that had the audacity to report that gay people exist.
The story begins with the firing of Alexander Yermoshkin, a geography teacher who was fired for being gay. That’s outrage enough, whether it’s happening in Russia or America.
(Putin, for his part, has said “the rights of people with nontraditional orientation are infringed upon neither in terms of profession nor salary level,” which is about as observably false as a lie can be.)
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
But it gets worse: one of the newspapers that reported on his firing has been threatened with massive fines and closures of three months, just for reporting the facts of the case. A state propaganda official accused the paper of the usual garbage: harming children, promoting a lifestyle, etc etc.
To their credit, the newspaper is fighting back. That always goes over well in a totalitarian state.
So, let’s see. We have gays and lesbians violently assaulted, harassed out of their jobs, and their very existence censored by the state. Sure, let’s invite the world to pop by for a visit. What could possibly go wrong?
fagburn
Can you tell me how you checked any of this?
MikeE
@fagburn: how hard can it be for you to actually follow the links in the article? there’s a direct link to an English article from The Guardian, which in turn gives a direct link to a Russian article.
Do you REALLY feel this insatiable need to trash absolutely everything and everyone?
2eo
@MikeE: Don’t even bother, the piece of shit that is Fagburn has already publicly condemned those who speak about Russia as “worse then holocaust deniers”, his literal words on his site before he took them down after being called on it.
Greg Garavani
Christ the people of Russia can’t have their own beliefs without their government shutting them up and feeding them lies, the stories my grandpa would tell me about the Soviet Union haven’t changed, they’re still super corrupt. Really saddening to know how soulless those people can be and are too afraid to stand up to what they believe in.
fagburn
@MikeE: @MikeE: Yes, and I asked Roy Greenslade who wrote The Guardian article – how he checked it.
He didn’t!
And he’s a “professor of journalism”.