05-28-2012, 04:54 AM
For anyone wondering what's going on with our siblings in Russia:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/27...48992.html
:frown:
I guess it's too much to ask that Christians emphasize the Golden Rule of Christ rather than the other parts of the Bible. And I'd think Russia's government had much bigger problems than this, and apparently they're not worried about their public image (Muslim nations might like their stance, but Russia only rarely gets along with those nations anyway).
Hopefully Nikolai Alexeyev was only arrested this time without the usual beatings the cops normally give him. If they spared him this time then maybe they see beating him just isn't going to crush his spirit so there's no point, or heck, maybe after arresting him so many times they're even getting to like him. :tongue:
(I mean no disrespect, I learned in my youth to deal with bad times with graveyard humor, that is to say learning to laugh about horrible things rather than crying over them.)
ETA: You know what I don't get? If Russia is so against homosexuality then why is the military hazing that often includes man-on-man sexual abuse tolerated? I understand that's not homosexuality but I'd think those who hate gays would consider such sex abuse as such. Russia has also had more than one soldier so abused get hold of military weapons and blow away his tormentors, btw, so I'd think that would only add to the resolve of the leadership to stop it from happening. (And men are required to spend time serving in the military, btw.)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/27...48992.html
Quote:Gay activists tried to stage two demonstrations in Moscow on Sunday to demand the right to hold a gay pride parade in the Russian capital, but they were blocked first by Orthodox Christian opponents and then by police, who detained a total of about 40 people from both sides.
The gay activists first gathered outside the city council building, where a few scuffles occurred as their opponents tried to disrupt the demonstration, decrying homosexuality as a sin. After police broke up that protest, another group tried to stage a second protest at city hall, but once again police moved in and detained participants, including prominent gay rights activist Nikolai Alexeyev.
The majority of those detained were gay activists, but some of the Christian demonstrators also were pushed into police buses. Police said about 40 people were detained in all.
Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993, but anti-gay sentiment remains strong.
Activists have long petitioned the Moscow government for permission to stage such a parade, but have always been denied. Former Mayor Yuri Luzhkov described gay parades as "satanic," while current Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has said he disapproves of gay gatherings because they could offend the religious beliefs of many Russians
Quote:"It's as if they thought that if all left-handed people held a parade, then afterward everyone would become left-handed," Kaptur said. "This is wrong."
Among the opponents of gay rights was Dmitry Tsarionov, who spoke to the crowd in front of a sign that said "Moscow is not Sodom."
"I will not allow perverts to bring the wrath of God onto our city," he said. "I want our children to live in a country where a sin that so awfully distorts human nature is not preached in schools."
Quote:This month, Alexeyev became the first person convicted under a new law in St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city, which makes it a crime to spread "gay propaganda" among minors. Alexeyev was charged after he picketed St. Petersburg's city hall with a placard that said "homosexuality is not a perversion." He was fined 5,000 rubles (about $170).
The Russian parliament is considering extending the measure nationwide, which gay activists say would make it even easier to ban their public demonstrations
:frown:
I guess it's too much to ask that Christians emphasize the Golden Rule of Christ rather than the other parts of the Bible. And I'd think Russia's government had much bigger problems than this, and apparently they're not worried about their public image (Muslim nations might like their stance, but Russia only rarely gets along with those nations anyway).
Hopefully Nikolai Alexeyev was only arrested this time without the usual beatings the cops normally give him. If they spared him this time then maybe they see beating him just isn't going to crush his spirit so there's no point, or heck, maybe after arresting him so many times they're even getting to like him. :tongue:
(I mean no disrespect, I learned in my youth to deal with bad times with graveyard humor, that is to say learning to laugh about horrible things rather than crying over them.)
ETA: You know what I don't get? If Russia is so against homosexuality then why is the military hazing that often includes man-on-man sexual abuse tolerated? I understand that's not homosexuality but I'd think those who hate gays would consider such sex abuse as such. Russia has also had more than one soldier so abused get hold of military weapons and blow away his tormentors, btw, so I'd think that would only add to the resolve of the leadership to stop it from happening. (And men are required to spend time serving in the military, btw.)