Homophobia

- and other such skeletons in many a politician's closet (pun fully intended).

I was quite alarmed to hear about the escalating homophobia in Poland, which has reached rather violent proportions this week. It does not look good: efforts to ban Polish LGBT organisations; a "normality parade" endorsed by Polish officials - after banning Poland's gay pride march; gay bashing - and now, shooting - at gay venues.

The intensity of the climate has forced Polish LGBT organisations to plead to Europe for help. In their statement:

Politicians of the League of Polish Families and the Law and Justice Party, using ignorance and negative stereotypes about gays and lesbians in Polish society, manipulate fear to spread hatred. They are proposing to ban our organizations, to “cure” and to isolate us. According to their demands, the society should not socially or morally tolerate us. The rhetoric of Mayor of Warsaw, Lech Kaczyñski, the Chairman of the League of Polish Families, Roman Giertych, and Member of the European Parliament, Wojciech Wierzejski, reminds us the rhetoric we all remember from totalitarian regimes.

A few days ago two of our friends were shot and injured in front of a gay club in Katowice; in Warsaw two men have been beaten up and somebody tried to demolish a gay club. In both cases the assistance of the Police and ambulances were needed. Elsewhere, gays and lesbians have been attacked in a dozen places where the LGBT community gathers. We receive letters with death threats.

We are publicly called perverts, pederasts, pedophiles and fags. Politicians, including leaders of political parties and members of the Polish and the European Parliament, do this openly and proudly. The justice system doesn't react when they call for discrimination against homosexuals, tacitly giving its support for the crimes that we are victims of.

We are afraid.

ILGA's response to Polish and EU authorities here.

Elsewhere, Jerusalem officials ban a gay pride parade also, and - this particularly disappoints me, coming from Spain - the Senate rejects the gay marriage bill.

And now, with the election of ultra-conservative Ahmadinejad in Iran - whose social policy runs along the lines of "We did not have a revolution in order to have a democracy", among others - I worry.


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