Support for the 2014 Olympics is Support for Russia's War on Homosexuality

In 1936, when other nations threatened to boycott the Berlin Olympics because Hitler had declared that no blacks or Jews should compete in Berlin, Hitler recapitulated to the point where he demanded that all "No Jews" signs be removed during the Games, and that all police and brownshirts hold back on beatings of Jews and other race enemies during the Games. Because there was no Internet or social media at that time, and it was easy to fool people, a lot of Americans and others who went to Berlin for the Games thought that Hitler wasn't such a bad chap after all, that the persecution of Jews and others was hogwash, and Hitler laughed into his sleeve...once the games ended, he made everything even worse for Jews and others, and limited media coverage of the truth.

It was a strange time in history for Jews and African-Americans. We were also considered racially inferior or suspect in other countries, yet we saw the Olympics as our chance to shine--to beat the "master race" at sport. In many instances, we did. The Hungarian Jews were master fencers and wrestlers. And of course, everyone knows about Jesse Owens. There were many non-Aryan Olympic champions that year who showed the Germans that they are not invincible. Their victories, unfortunately, did not change Hitler's agenda.

Seventy eight years later--in 2014--the Russians will host the Summer Olympics in Sochi, by the Black Sea. In 2013, Vladimir Putin has declared a war on LGBT people and has given police and vigilante groups free reign to beat and arrest anyone even suspected of being queer. While Putin has said that foreign LGBT "guests" and athletes who participate in the Olympics will be safe, and the anti-gay laws will not apply to them, that is not good enough. As my friend nomadmatan said, "We do not need an LGBTQ Jesse Owens--we need a boycott." Any nation or corporation that has taken a stand to support LGBT rights should NOT support the Summer Olympics in Sochi.

A petition is going around to ask corporate sponsors--Coca-Cola, Panasonic, and others--to pull out of the Games. Sign it and comment if you care about human rights.

Want QueersTo Disappear? Don't Talk About Them

In Russia, Saint Petersburg's decision to ban all public activity and discussion of LGBT issues--even on the Internet--was signed into law and took effect on March 12th. 

Saint Petersburg, the second largest city in Russia--and the one that won an award from the United Nations for tolerance--is not the only Russian city to have banned LGBT public activity and discussion.  Archangelsk and Kostroma have also approved such a ban, and Moscow has yet to host a legally sanctioned Pride Parade.

These local decisions conflict with the national Russian Constitution, namely Article 29: Freedom of Speech, Article 19: The Ban on Discrimination, and Article 55: The Ban on Local Governments Infringing on the Rights of Minorities.  Unfortunately, these articles serve to protect the majority, as opposed to minorities, in Russia.  Most non-Russian minorities who are not considered "white" or Orthodox Christian have no personal security in Russia, as police and government officials themselves hold prejudiced beliefs.

Russian justifications for the ban on LGBT public activity and discussion include protection of traditional morals, protection of the family structure, and protection of children from pedophiles and the gay agenda.  While homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993, and removed from the list of mental illnesses in Russia in 1999, 70 per cent of Russians still believe that gays are mentally ill, and 40 per cent believe they should be isolated from mainstream society.

Before anyone criticizes the Russians for their "ignorance", remember that the religious right in the United States also would promote such a policy where "it's not OK to say 'gay'", as they have in Tennessee and Utah.  American evangelist Scott Lively, originator of Uganda's "kill the gays" bill, had conducted a speaking tour in Russia and wrote a letter to the Russian people to defend themselves from the "fast growing cancer" that would destroy "the family foundations of [Russian] society".

Can Americans learn from this, and not allow religious leaders to take up real estate in the White House, as the Russian Orthodox Patriarch has done in the Kremlin?