Spark This
  • Spark This
  • About This
  • Subscribe To This
  • Search This

The Gold Medal for Freestyle Homophobia

2/27/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
To be sure, Russia was the odds-on favourite going into the international freestyle homophobia competition. It got strong marks from bigots the world over for its so-called gay propaganda law, which makes it illegal to tell children about gay equality. And it even upped the anti at the last minute with a surprise move forbidding foreign same-sex couples (and single people from countries where same-sex marriage is legal) from adopting Russian children.

The retrograde powerhouse met with some serious challenges from unexpected quarters, however. The United States made a bid for the top of the podium with a proposed law that would have allowed private businesses in the state of Arizona to deny service to gays and lesbians in the name of religious freedom. But the governor of that state, Jan Brewer, faltered in the long program when she vetoed the controversial bill. It was always a long shot anyway, as gay couples can now marry in 17 states and the District of Columbia, and form civil unions in another four.

No, it is tiny Uganda that in the end presented the real threat to the supremacy of Russian douchebaggery. Homosexuality is taboo in much of Africa, and illegal in 37 of its countries, including Uganda. But the kicker is new legislation signed by its president this past Monday, which promises harsher treatment for offenders, and—stealing a routine right from the old KGB playbook—"makes it a crime to fail to report anyone who breaks the law."

As a judged event, some people will always second-guess the results of freestyle homophobia competitions, but when all was said and done, Russia had to content itself with silver, and Uganda took home the gold.
1 Comment
Gina
3/10/2014 07:26:12 am

Oh, my Brad!!! I had not seen this one. You are a master at entwining sad, horrible facts and sarcastic humour! Well done, yet again.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Who Writes This

    Bradley Doucet is a Montreal writer and the English Editor of Le Québécois Libre.

    More of This

    June 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013

    Even More of This

    The Limits of Power: A review of Malcolm Gladwell's David and Goliath

    Math Education Should Be Set Free

    Santa on Trial

    What Does Greenpeace Have Against Golden Rice?

    Dear Sugar Man: Does a Nation Really Need a Charter of Values?

    To Dream a Possible Dream: MLK’s Famous Speech, 50 Years Later

    The Cost of Regulation: Why It's Worth Thinking About

    Is Government a Necessary Evil? A Review of Michael Huemer's The Problem of Political Authority

    The Planned Chaos of New Orleans, LA

    The Unplanned Order of Houston, TX

    Dynamists vs. Stasists: Virginia Postrel's The Future and Its Enemies, 15 Years Later