Russia fines party-goers for ‘looking too gay’ (www.telegraph.co.uk)

submitted 5 days ago by chuso@fedia.io to c/lgbtq_plus@beehaw.org

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Crossposted from https://lemmy.world/post/23801022

Russia fined at least seven people for “looking too gay” after a police raid on a nightclub in Tula in February which videos show was carried out by men in military-style uniforms and helmets.

It comes as the Kremlin ramps up a push to promote “traditional values” that has included tightening anti-LGBT legislation and banning “propaganda promoting a child-free lifestyle”.

One man had “crosses of black tape glued to his nipples” and a “women’s style corset” on his “naked” body.

Another had “pink socks … an unbuttoned kimono over his shoulders, his hair dyed bright orange, and red tattoos on his face”.

“Although a man, he was wearing a short top covering his chest, black leather shorts above the knee, on which there were several chain-shaped ornaments, and fishnet tights,” read another description.

“The appearance of the detainees is inconsistent with the image of a man of traditional sexual orientation,” judges were reported to have said.

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[-] DdCno1@beehaw.org 3 points 4 days ago

you’ll need to find a gay sex positive austinite over the age of 45 who used to patron the chain drive to find those details; i learned of it myself from patrons of the iron bear and highland

Then how are you expecting a random person on the Internet to know about it? This isn't /c/LGBTQ_plus_Austin_Texas_over_45_only. You presented it as if this obscure club from ages ago was something people should know about, just because they care about this cause. You thought it was relevant enough to bring up in a discussion about current-day human rights abuses in Russia.

it’s safe to assume anyone who accepts this kind of pink washing propaganda is not an ally.

I'm not "accepting" anything. I specifically wrote that it seemed that way after a cursory search and provided you with an opportunity to tell me more about this, ideally with more than hearsay. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but 1) it seems a bit far-fetched in a Democrat stronghold, under a mayor who is sympathetic to the cause (was already sympathetic to the cause before the club closed and who was also able to direct what police is doing in his city) and 2) I am perplexed that you still haven't provided anything that supports your claim. Once again, you are not a good spokesperson for your cause by being obtuse and abrasive. If I were on the fence about this topic, this kind of unpleasant interaction might push me in the other direction. I'm not, never have been, because I've always been opposed to any kind of discrimination since kindergarten (one of few things I'm proud of in my life). You could treat me much worse and I'd still only be annoyed by you, but there are certainly people other than me who aren't this tolerant.

This is only a small corner of a small corner of the Internet - and one that where one can expect virtually everyone to either be LGBTQ+ or sympathetic - so the amount of damage you'd be able to cause with this kind of behavior is limited, but one has to wonder if you're like this elsewhere and doing yourself and others a disservice on larger and more visible stages as well. Again, being aggressive is an entirely normal reaction to having experienced aggression yourself and I am truly sorry that you have had terrible experiences, but please direct this aggression only towards those who actually want to cause harm to you and others, not people who are genuinely trying to understand and learn.

[+] eldavi@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

[deleted]

[-] DdCno1@beehaw.org 2 points 4 days ago

a club that was shutdown less than five years ago is current enough.

To local affairs and in the context of talking about America maybe, but not here. Thanks for finally providing a time frame, by the way. I thought this was about something happening in 2014 based on what search engines provided me on this club. I'm saying this in the nicest way possible, but extracting teeth is less painful than extracting any information out of you. You should choose a life of crime, because police would rather release you out of custody than having to endure interrogating you. Please excuse this attempt at sarcasm/humor.

This discussion was originally about repression in Russia before you derailed it and I unintentionally played my part in helping you derail it, by the way - and we're still at it.

your assertion that gays aren’t arrested anymore in this country

Yet instead of providing information that contradicts a possible error on my part, your reply was once again condescending and dismissive, just like with this comment. I've been almost begging you for better answers and hard facts several times already, yet you still can't bring yourself to step down from your throne and actually talk to me like I'm another human being. Why? What do I have to do in order to prove to you that I'm not some champion (or victim) of American corporate oligarch pink washing or some other word salad accusation you've been throwing at me for some reason? Seriously, I'm trying, despite mounting frustration, but you're not making it easy.

[-] UngodlyAudrey@beehaw.org 1 points 4 days ago

being nice is what our oligarchs want you to use to discredit people.

You do realize you're posting in a Beehaw community, right? We do expect you to be(e) nice when engaging with people here. DdCno1 is trying to engage in good faith(and, honestly, getting very understandably frustrated). If you don't want to educate them, that's perfectly fine and valid. If that's the case, then this conversation isn't really going anywhere at this point and it'd be best if you disengaged and moved on.