LGBT News Olympic Committee threatens to punish athletes who fight for gay Russians

The worst thing about this is that I don't think many people are going to be surprised by this.

Okay, the worst thing about this is that the IOC is actually siding with the Russian government on this but you get my point.

 

Being objective i dont think they "sided" with Russia. If you read the story of the olimpics you should now is a neutral activity. War even stopped in the olympics days. Ap i suppose this bann of lgtb related promotions are a way of mantaining neutrality in russian soil.

I dont know much about olimpic rules or how Russian laws can affect or threaten the olimpics organizer, but my point is this is not neceaarily about picking a side.

That said, i was the first to suggest:"dont boycott, lets use this activity as a way of fighting" but with this news everything change. Lets boycott the hell out of this. Unless anyone has a better idea.

 

Oh God I feel sick reading this. I was so sure the IOC would end up doing the right thing. I can't believe this is happening in fucking 2013. If they won't let the athletes show solidarity I'll go and do it for them. I don't have the money to fly to Russia and back right now but I swear to God the minute I do I will go over there and protest my ass off.

 

I really mean this :icon_sad:

 

Since when are simple expressions of solidarity, such as wearing a pin, acts of proactive political demonstration?

 

Russian Fuckers.

---------- Post added 12th Aug 2013 at 05:42 PM ----------

And the IOC

 

Honestly, what the hell else would wearing a pin mean? Showing solidarity in the middle of a giant political conflict is inherently demonstration, like it or not.

The IOC didn't side with Russia, they follow their guidelines which are explicitly neither pro- nor anti-LGBT issues. The Olympics staying nonpolitical is probably a very good idea if you ask me.

Let's not turn the IOC into the culprit. They're upholding the spirit of the games. Russia on the other hand could take a lesson from their book and abandon politics while the games are running.

 

Then why is it okay for them to protect against discrimination from gender, religion, political views and race? What is it that makes sexuality such an overtly political issue that they can't possibly get involved? Would you be saying the same thing if Russia were murdering young black people?

And on this subject, if the IOC protect against gender discrimination, doesn't that give them an obligation to protect trans* people during the games? Just a thought.

 

I agree, but in the real-world, the IOC punishing an athlete for being who he is and wearing what he wants will raise an incredible stink and hurt the movement in the long run. They are quite legitimately between a rock and a very hard place.

 

well to be honest here.....this shouldn't be about political things but I mean, People's lives are at stake here. This is way more than political shit. these are peoples lives. even if there was no anti gay law or whatever, People would still torture them.

I don't mind if someone has a pin with them. People have 9/11 pins and etc. People show support for some kind of group whether its LGBT or not.

If games are more important than people's lives and human rights then we have a big problem. That's like saying...Oh 26 gay men were killed but were still gonna go on with the games. Yeah, really classy eh?

i don't mind people showing support for LGBT people, who gives a shit? They could torture gay athletes for all we know. its not being political to show support or whatever, Its being Kind and Humane.

 

This is really depressing

*Sigh* I can understand why the IOC is doing this, but they are taking the easy, less controversial route out.

I might actually pay attention to the news and watch the olympics this time... If everything goes off without a hitch - just few randoms getting arrested and what not, ima be so pissed off. It's like we are just letting Russia get away with this... even if its not the olympics purpose, i kind of doubt people will care as much when their own people arent involved/in danger. After this, some people may turn their eyes away from Russia and just say "its not our business" which is sickening. Someone needs to take this seriously if not the UN... idk

I really hope things don't get too much worse there for LGBT people, all of the stuff happening now is just too identical to the past and I'm worried.

I agree with MerBear. I wouldn't go out decked in my rainbow pinz, or even slogan pins, but showing some sort of support now punishable? thats ridiculous. I think it would be more honorable to go out getting arrested and deported than punished by your "neutral" allies for being yourself/caring about other living breathing human beings who are being oppressed.

 

You have to keep in mind that intolerance for discrimination based on gender (more likely sex, in this case)/religion/race are issues that are globally-held views. However, LGBTQ* rights are not there yet. For the IOC to take a formal stance on the issue would be to inject itself into the middle of a political fight, not just in Russia, but for the rest of the world fighting LGBTQ* issues. It really is the hot topic of current times.

Protecting from discrimination is also a very different issue than prohibiting people from showing solidarity for whatever cause they're lobbying. Keep in mind that by the IOC essentially banning LGBTQ* propaganda, they're also effectively protecting (or at least deterring from breaking) all of the athletes from the Russian laws.

 

No. Not really budder because russia isn't stupid. They can torture someone who they think are gay. You don't even have to be yourself or show support. they can still torture people who they think are gay so its not Effectively protecting them.

 

It is effectively protecting them, because if the athletes value their position in the games (which I really hope they would, given all the work it takes to get there), they'll downplay whatever potential form of "LGBT propaganda" they might have. Hopefully that means they'll fly under the radar a little more than they otherwise would.

I didn't say it was foolproof, I said it was better than nothing, and that there really is a small silver lining behind what seems like a giant cop-out.

 

To be honest I wouldn't call myself an Olympic watcher to begin with. I'm following this story because I'm a Russia watcher.

At the same time though, if I knew an LGBT Olympic athlete, I would not feel good about them going to Russia right now. I would feel absolute dread about it in fact.

I mean, from what I can tell the Russian laws seem to leave the definition of "gay propaganda" as being completely arbitrary. And I somehow doubt the Kremlin subscribes to the Amnesty International news letter.

 

This is terrible. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people should have as much right as a straight person! Love is Love, and nobody can change that. If people are saying that according to the Bible, you will go to H--- because you aren't Straight, we don't always have to refer to the Bible every single freaking time something is supposedly a Sin! You should never judge someone because of their Sexuality. Just like you shouldn't judge someone because of their Religion or Skin Color. Everybody should be treated the same. And just to make it clear, the supposed assumption that showing Gay signs will make children Gay is wrong. If children are Gay, that's because they want to be with a certain Gender. This goes for the other Sexualities as well. People that are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender want to live a happy life, and if living a happy life means being a certain Sexuality, people should live happy. I AM GAY AND PROUD OF IT!!!

I rest my case.

 

...the IOC isn't saying that LGBTQ* people shouldn't have rights, they're saying they're staying neutral on the matter, as that's their (political) policy.