Russia’s Anti-Gay Crackdown. Time to boycott the Olympics.

[FreeState]

Its time to pressure our government to boycott the Olympics. This is unacceptable and we should not be putting our athletes in harms way nor giving a pass to human rights violations.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/22/opinion/russias-anti-gay-crackdown.html?_r=0

On July 3, Mr. Putin signed a law banning the adoption of Russian-born children not only to gay couples but also to any couple or single parent living in any country where marriage equality exists in any form.

A few days earlier, just six months before Russia hosts the 2014 Winter Games, Mr. Putin signed a law allowing police officers to arrest tourists and foreign nationals they suspect of being homosexual, lesbian or “pro-gay” and detain them for up to 14 days. Contrary to what the International Olympic Committee says, the law could mean that any Olympic athlete, trainer, reporter, family member or fan who is gay — or suspected of being gay, or just accused of being gay — can go to jail.

Earlier in June, Mr. Putin signed yet another antigay bill, classifying “homosexual propaganda” as pornography. The law is broad and vague, so that any teacher who tells students that homosexuality is not evil, any parents who tell their child that homosexuality is normal, or anyone who makes pro-gay statements deemed accessible to someone underage is now subject to arrest and fines. Even a judge, lawyer or lawmaker cannot publicly argue for tolerance without the threat of punishment.

Finally, it is rumored that Mr. Putin is about to sign an edict that would remove children from their own families if the parents are either gay or lesbian or suspected of being gay or lesbian. The police would have the authority to remove children from adoptive homes as well as from their own biological parents.

[LeftofObama]

1. Yep!

Boycott!

[FreeState]

2. AS much as I love the winter Olympics - I won't be watching n/t

[LeftofObama]

3. I won't be watching either.

I love curling up on the couch and watching some of the Olympics, but not this time.

[FreeState]

4. Genocide and the Olympics should never mix

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007043

THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE

On December 9, 1948, in the shadow of the Holocaust and in no small part due to the tireless efforts of Lemkin himself, the United Nations approved the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This convention establishes "genocide” as an international crime, which signatory nations “undertake to prevent and punish.” It defines genocide as:

[G]enocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

While many cases of group-targeted violence have occurred throughout history and even since the Convention came into effect, the legal and international development of the term is concentrated into two distinct historical periods: the time from the coining of the term until its acceptance as international law (1944-1948) and the time of its activation with the establishment of international criminal tribunals to prosecute the crime of genocide (1991-1998). Preventing genocide, the other major obligation of the convention, remains a challenge that nations and individuals continue to face.

[theHandpuppet]

5. Arrests have already begun.

See this thread http://www.democraticunderground.com/113729121

[NightWatcher]

6. The kids who bust their ass for a chance at the Olympics

would like the US not to boycott.

[MNBrewer]

7. They are so much more precious than the millions of GLBT people in Russia

[NightWatcher]

9. No, but how does a boycott help their cause?

[MNBrewer]

11. How did divestment help black South Africans?

[theHandpuppet]

8. So will our own GLBT athletes risk arrest?

Maybe we should hear from some of our own GLBT Olympic athletes. After all, the arrests have already begun. Perhaps we should ask all of our GLBT Olympians to barricade themselves inside their rooms for the duration of the games.

[dbackjon]

10. Agreed! Take a stand for civil rights, President Obama

[DevonRex]

12. I had to see what Johnny Weir had to say.

He doesn't talk of boycott. He has always loved Russia. Not the government, not Putin, not the laws, although he thought it was moving toward democracy. But the people, the arts, the culture, the language, the rich history- he loves.

http://fcnp.com/2013/07/18/johnnys-world-russia/

" I have performed many times in Russia, walked down the street, and kissed my husband in Red Square. I have worn flamboyant costumes there, and I have met with Russian LGBT citizens and support groups. I have a very large following in Russia, and I am always cheered for as a kindred spirit or even as a hometown hero when I’m on the ice performing to classical music or that of the much adored gay icon Lady Gaga. In theory, for all these acts I am a criminal.

The fact that I may never be issued a visa to the Russian Federation again in my lifetime; that I may never be able to take my children to a place I love so much; and of course the fact that I could be publicly humiliated, beaten up, arrested, charged, and expelled is a crushing blow. Due to this new law, I may not be able to safely enter Russia for the Olympic Games next February, or to perform with my friend and icon Evgeni Plushenko in his future tours. I may never meet the children of my many friends living in Russia, and I may never be able to work in Russia again. My heart is broken when I think of my amazing fans in Russia who have supported my career since the beginning, fans I may never be able to perform for again. I am especially worried for my brothers and sisters who were born, just like me, slightly different.

Despite my heartache, I will fight for my right to go to Russia. I will fight to perform there. I will fight to show the government how strong my community is. I will proudly go to Russia – God willing I slip through the cracks and get a visa – and hold my head high. Should I get arrested, I will be arrested with the pride that I am myself, never flinching, and I will be strong for the oppressed community of beautiful people who I can call brothers. I will be strong for the country, not for the government.

Discrimination is something held behind the eyes of the ignorant. Hatred is a skill taught by others. Life is a gift worth living, no matter the cost. Pray for our friends in Russia that one day, they will all be free."
END
Johnny Weir-Voronov with his husband, Viktor Weir-Voronov, in Moscow
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[starroute]

13. Like that worked so well when we tried it in 1980

Just possibly if a large group of major Winter Olympics nations could be convinced to boycott, it would have a real impact. But the US pulling out of the Games unilaterally merely looks petulant.

It also doesn't give ordinary Americans a chance to take action or do anything meaningful on their own. You hope the US Olympics Committee will make a move, they either do or they don't, and that's the end of it. Either way, you haven't actually done anything yourself.

It might be more effective, for example, if a significant number of Hollywood movies included pro-gay messages that were integral to the plots -- forcing the Russians to go back to the bad old Soviet days and censor Western media. Hit them where it really hurts, not just in attaching asterisks to their gold medals.