Documentary: Gays hunted like wild animals in Russia

reply to post by flammadraco

I for one did not join ATS to defend my sexuality, I joined to discuss more important issues, but the fact of the matter is, i will not stand by and watch other members blatantly be homophobic. Yes they are entitled to their views but they should be views they keep to themselves.

I can't believe I heard that said here.

Wow....

With that I'm going to move on to other threads, as I've probably exhausted the limits of positive things I have to say on this one.

WOW...... Tolerance. It's a two way street...and not just a good idea. It's a requirement in decent society....to all view points, whether we agree with them or not. You'd silence them? Just... Wow.

Have a good morning.....

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Because in my eyes it has nothing to do with nations it's about people. I believe it is a universal right for people to live without fear of being persecuted because the find people of the same sex attractive.

As for other countries looking to ours and judging our morals, I say bring it on. Nobody and no country should sit back and think they've got it all sorted because we don't.

If this is the show that was on UK tv a week or so then I watched this and it was just awful.
Not only do they attack them in the street or try to get them sacked from work, the so called vigilante groups pose as gay men, get the men to their apartment and then beat them, interview them and make them confess their sexuality in a filmed interview.
They always pour urine on them too and call them pedophiles and use the terms homosexual and pedophile interchangeably.

To add insult to injury, gays are not allowed to protest this abuse or have rallies or protests to speak out against the harassment and abuse.
The government essentially condone and support the anti-gay groups, and there are many, and roughly 60% of the Russian people believe that homosexuality is either a mental illness or a choice and 74% think that it should NOT be accepted by society.
It was such a harrowing documentary but one that needed to be seen.

Wrabbit2000
reply to post by flammadraco

 

I for one did not join ATS to defend my sexuality, I joined to discuss more important issues, but the fact of the matter is, i will not stand by and watch other members blatantly be homophobic. Yes they are entitled to their views but they should be views they keep to themselves.

I can't believe I heard that said here.

Wow....

With that I'm going to move on to other threads, as I've probably exhausted the limits of positive things I have to say on this one.

WOW...... Tolerance. It's a two way street...and not just a good idea. It's a requirement in decent society....to all view points, whether we agree with them or not. You'd silence them? Just... Wow.

Have a good morning.....

So its acceptable for ATS members to be homophobic to other members?

Is it then acceptable for ATS members to be racist to other members? I'm sure that there are a lot of members who are racist but have to keep their views to themselves is this not the same as silencing these members? How is it any different to homophobia?

Why should I and other LGBT members have to tolerate homophobic abuse?

WOW a moderator thinks its acceptable for homophobia on ATS and LGBT members of ATS have to suck it up,is that correct?

reply to post by flammadraco


I'm not taking any position...and I'm a member in this thread, not staff. We can't be both... *ever*...so when I or any other mod posts casually..no matter what happens after that? That's a thread we cannot do more in or speak officially in.

Hence...I can't answer your questions in the way you seem to want them answered..and couldn't even if we weren't in this situation.

However, I really wasn't joking. Your self stated goal here, now repeated, is to suppress the opinions of other members you don't agree with. I can't respect that, on any level. So, this is the last post I'm making on this thread of any kind.

Enjoy the Russia bash and whatever else this is about. The truth and open discussion to explore each others views with respect damn sure isn't it.

reply to post by flammadraco


I was a little shocked when I joined ats, I had innocently thought this kind of site would be free from homophobia, racism etc.

reply to by flammadraco



The Christian right are a fairly big influence on ATS.
Sadly a lot is allowed to slide.
You should report the posts that break the T&C and that offend you.
I agree that discrimination should be silenced and members protected.
Free speech isn't in the T&C but offending members, discrimination and hate speech is.
So if you report it, it should be dealt with.

As someone said before the OP simply does not care , he started a highly debatable topic and just benefiting from it while sitting at the back eating his pop corn. Meanwhile you people arguing over the internet, people never going to change their opinions , everybody grew up in a different environment so they are sticking to their beliefs.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I don't get it,are you saying ats has no rules about racist or homophobic language? I thought this was quite a heavily moderated site?

WilsonWilson
reply to post by flammadraco

 

I was a little shocked when I joined ats, I had innocently thought this kind of site would be free from homophobia, racism etc.

Far from it, i have never seen so much homophobia in my life until I saw this site. One has to remember that the US still has groups like the KKK and as such LGBT rights are a long long way off. I agree with some Russian members on this thread that its not just happening in Russia but all over the World, I suppose they will need to ask "Gardner" why he started this thread, but they have been suspiciously quiet on the threads they have started.

More shocking is the response from the ATS moderator who thinks my view that homophobic opinions should be kept to ones self is abhorrent.

reply to post by Laxus


That's not true I grew up in a religious household my father is a young earth creations. My uncle was a missionary and pastor, my sister even git ordained in the US.
Yet I do not share their beliefs.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000

However, I really wasn't joking. Your self stated goal here, now repeated, is to suppress the opinions of other members you don't agree with. I can't respect that, on any level. So, this is the last post I'm making on this thread of any kind.

lets get one thing straight here, I'm not asking for anyone's opinions to be suppressed that I don't agree with. I am asking that homophobic remarks are kept off the site as they are homophobic.

Lets put this another way and hypothesis for a moment. If I said that slavery should never have been abolished, would that be acceptable? No is the answer because its racist. Its the same thing for homophobia. Being homophobic is a "Hate Crime" and treating it as such is the same way ATS would deal with racism on the threads.

If I was the UN, I'd threaten to kick Russia out until they changed their laws again and allowed equal treatment for homosexuals.
It's a disgrace that any country actually treats people like this, but a so-called, civilised, western, EU and UN member state doing it is just unbelievable.

Let's replace Gay with Black.

So Russia bans Black people from protesting, says that Blacks can no longer have Black History Month or any other "propaganda" related to their race and heritage and there were groups of Russians going around hunting black people and pouring urine on them and beating and humiliating them.
People were actively seeking to get black people fired as they did not want their children anywhere near them.

What then?


Exactly.


Some of the views in this thread are embarrassing.... ATS should be ashamed to have some of the members that they do.
It's disgraceful.


I find it absurd that there is some sort of scale of discrimination..... Homophobia and Attacks on gays is ok?? Really?

reply to post by WilsonWilson


I was mostly generalizing on the social views of the majority or people. I myself am of Russian origin and speak Russian fluently ,I went to school and grew up in Greece where i was the only foreign kid in the whole school. People didnt exactly like me and mostly avoided me just because i was foreigner until the 6th grade where i was more or less integrated, so i know what it is like to be treated as an alien. Currently i live in the UK for the past 7 years and i should tell you i never seen gay people openly until i arrived here, to tell you the truth it was quite a shock to me, because in Greece and in Russia people afraid to openly admit it as they would mostly likely to be bullied. Now i see it as nothing unusual and have a few gay friends and they are the kindest people i've met. I have the benefit to see both sides of the world and understand both equally while at the same time see the broken bridge between others who never lived in another society to be able to shape their views better. I do not like violence myself and there is no excuse for the people on the video.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I have to agree with the bucktoothed one here. People need to be encouraged to express viewpoints. FOr one, it gives an opportunity for discussion (and puts the onus on you to then be civil in reply, as a positive force for your position).

But beyond that it also gives you insight into the nature of the people you are around. That is very important.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


Good Afternoon or Evening BigFatFurryTexan

Whilst I agree with you that people should be allowed to air the views and opinions, that does not mean that ATS members should be homophobic towards other members. The following statements have been made on this thread;

1) Get all homosexuality out of society
2) Homosexuals and Paedophiles are the same
3) Gays are hated in other nations too, i don't like them either

Now lets change the wording from "Gays" to "Blacks" for argument sake;

1) Get all "Blacks" out of society
2) "Blacks" and Paedophiles are the same
3) "Blacks" are hated in other nations too, i don't like them either

Its not acceptable is it as its racist, but homophobia is tolerated on this site. Some members probably do agree with the last set of statements but they keep these opinions to themselves as its socially unacceptable to hold or air these views. The same can be said for homophobia and whilst I agree that people should talk about what they want, they have to understand that some people will find their comments offensive and homophobic.

reply to post by flammadraco


ATS is not the place to resolve societies issues. I think that is far too much for the 3 Amigo's to take on.

For the most part, "bad" posts get removed. Just report it. Then put on thicker skin because people are going to have opinions you do not like.

Going into an internet forum and discussing things like sexuality, abortion, politics, and religion....that is like willingly walking onto a battlefield. Set your expectations accordingly.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


I'm yet to see one homophobic post removed.

flammadraco
reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

 

I'm yet to see one homophobic post removed.

Because you apply your own standards and demand that others observe them. It just ain't so.

And if it were, "the other side" would accuse ATS of launching a cultural war and becoming a den of hate for Christians. You just can't please everyone. So its best to try to let folks have their opinions.