• Powerful homosexual rights lobby calls for boycott of 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia
By Pete Papaherakles
Vladimir Putin’s Russia has come under attack by gay rights activists in the west for his tough stance on homosexuality. Gay rights groups are calling for a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia and even a boycott of Russian vodka. As same sex marriage laws are being passed in Western countries, Russia’s firm support for traditional family values is seen as a major threat to the homosexual agenda.
While Barack Obama supports same sex marriages, homosexuals in the military and was even named “The First Gay President” on the cover of Newsweek magazine, Putin has consistently taken positions supportive of traditional family values and against gay rights. Although he has the overwhelming support of the Russian people, he has been harshly criticized by the liberal Western media, governments and “human rights” activists.
The Western media’s war against Putin started even before his election as Russia’s president last March. Fox News showed footage of huge anti-Putin election riots in Moscow with burning buildings and thousands in the streets. Russian media outlet RT revealed that no such thing happened and proved that the footage shown, including palm trees and signs written in Greek, was actually from riots in Athens.
Formed after Putin’s announcement to run for president in September 2011, the vulgarly-named Russian feminist punk rock group Pussy Riot staged anti-Putin protests including a lewd sexual performance inside Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior in February 2012, protesting the Orthodox Church’s support for Putin.
Their subsequent trial and two-year prison sentence for hooliganism was condemned by the Western media and human rights groups, and by a wide range of musicians including Madonna, Sting and Yoko Ono. Putin stated that the band had “undermined the moral foundations” of the nation and “got what they asked for.” Most Russians agreed with him.
In June 2012, Putin placed a ban on gay pride parades in Moscow for a hundred years, a decision backed by Russian courts. Accused of human rights violations by the West, the court said they were not “anti-gay” but were simply protecting “the majority’s rights.” Gay pride parades and same sex marriages are not “human rights” they explained.
The following June, Putin again came under criticism from the West for signing a law which lays heavy penalties for those deemed to promote homosexuality to anyone under the age of 18. The law, supported by 88% of Russians, also prohibits public display of the rainbow flag, the symbol of gay rights and gay pride.
In the recent world championship track and field competition held in Moscow in August, Russian Olympic pole vault champion and spokesperson Yelena Isinbayeva came under fire for criticizing two Swedish athletes for painting their fingernails in rainbow colors in support of homosexual rights.
“It’s unrespectful to our country. It’s unrespectful to our citizens, because we are Russians,” she told reporters. Maybe we are different from European people and other people from different lands.” “We have our home and everyone has to respect (it). When we arrive to different countries, we try to follow their rules.”
“If we allow to promote and do all this stuff on the street, we are very afraid about our nation because we consider ourselves like normal, standard people. We just live with boys with woman, woman with boys.”
The Western media used dirty tactics, portraying a touching of the lips by two female athletes celebrating a win at the event, as a protest. The Russian athletes were offended and described the ‘gay kiss’ speculation as ‘sick fantasies.’
Pete Papaherakles is a writer and political cartoonist for AFP and is also AFP’s outreach director. Pete is interested in getting AFP writers and editors on the podium at patriotic events. Call him at 202-544-5977 if you know of an event you think AFP should attend.
