The First Gay Arrests At The Olympics
With the whole world watching, four people holding up a banner that read, ‘Discrimination is incompatible with the Olympic Movement. Principle 6. Olympic Charter,’ were arrested today in St. Petersburg.
Gay rights activists, some of whom assert that Sochi is reminiscent of the 1936 Games in Nazi Germany, which took place in an atmosphere of anti-Semitic backlash, are yielding signs and wearing clothing that highlight Principle 6 from the Olympic charter. Some have said they will pay tribute to this by holding up six fingers when a camera is on them.
Russia, hosting a winter Games for the first time, has come in for sharp international criticism over the law banning “gay propaganda” among minors. Large companies, such as Google and AT&T, a sponsor of the US Olympic team, have publicly opposed Russia’s policies that oppress gays. “Russia’s law is harmful to LGBT individuals and families, and it’s harmful to a diverse society,” AT&T said in a blog post.
President Putin is hoping that this $51 billion Olympic spectacle will prove to be a pivotal point in a long re-election campaign that could see him remain in power until 2024. If successful he would be in power for a longer period than all the former Soviet Union’s supreme leaders, except Joseph Stalin.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.