The Folly of the Stolichnaya Boycott

For more information about Stolichnaya, you can see their Wikipedia page HERE.

To Boycott or Not to Boycott the Olympics: Part 2

I recently wrote a post about how some people are calling for a boycott of next year’s Olympics in Sochi, Russia given the country’s enactment of laws which we in the States - as well as others in the western world - would say violate the freedom of speech. While that post primarily addressed a formal boycott by the United States Olympic Committee - thus precluding participation by American athletes - it has since been brought to my attention that I did not mention a critical part of the discussion: the safety of sports fans in attendance of the Games.

While in the first post I mentioned that the USOC boycotting the Games or the United States government issuing a travel ban would be tragic for the athletes whose dreams would be crushed, fans not going to the Games is a completely different story. People deciding not to go of their own volition makes total sense, but this is something that goes beyond just next year’s Olympic Games. Just this week the first tourists were arrested under Russia’s draconian homophobic laws. According to the Huffington Post, four Dutch tourists were put in jail as they were suspected of “promoting homosexuality” to children. These laws are not just endangering gay people (which would be bad enough), but also allies and anyone else who believes in free speech.

With the radically anti-gay laws they have put in place, Russia has set itself amongst the ranks nations in the Middle East and Africa where most countries outlaw being supportive of homosexuality as well as homosexuality itself, even to the point where being gay will get you a state-sanctioned execution. As such, a concerted tourism boycott of Russia and a boycott of Russian products is something I can support. It should also be incumbent upon  the United States Department of State and its foreign counterparts to issue travel advisories. While we in the LGBT community are aware of what is happening given that we are the primary target of these laws, many people outside of the LGBT community are unaware and thus they risk being thrown behind bars for saying the wrong thing. They will not even know why they are being jailed. 

Whether or not even this will be enough to change Russia’s stance on LGBT equality and freedom of speech remains to be seen. However it is also incumbent upon the international community to make sure Russian officials how this makes Russia appear: as an archaic state that seeks to crush minority rights, trample free speech, and oppress its people. The fact of the matter is that instead of striding forward into the future where people‘s rights are concerned as it had been doing before, Russia is now pulling itself back into its own dark past where human rights mean nothing. It is high time Russia entered the 21st century with the rest of the world.

To Boycott or Not Boycott the Olympics?

Over the course of the last year, Russia has passed many draconian laws regarding the LGBT community. One such law makes it illegal to spread pro-gay "propaganda," except the law's definition of propaganda is extremely broad. The Pride Parades that go on in much of the world during the Summer months are for all intents and purposes outlawed throughout Russia. Anyone flying a rainbow flag, anyone who tells children that there is nothing wrong with homosexuality, and same-sex couples holding hands risk being thrown behind bars. Such laws in the States would be a violation of the freedom of association and freedom of speech which are guaranteed by the first amendment of the United States Constitution. The punishments can run up to a 200,000 ruble fine (which is several thousand U.S. dollars) and jail time. Travelers from outside the country could be detained for 14 days before being deported In short, being "out and proud," or even supporting that notion, is against Russian law. Insulting religious feelings can result in a one year prison term.

With all of this and more (Russia will no longer allow same-sex couple and gay people in general to adopt children from out of the country) in mind, there are LGBT groups in the States calling for the United States Olympic Committee to boycott the 2014 Olympics which will be held in Sochi, Russia (a similar thing happened with human rights watch dog groups calling for a boycott of the Olympic Games held in Beijing, China because of that nation's human rights violations), while other groups are saying that a boycott is a bad idea.

I see both sides of this problem but I think I have come to my own personal conclusion. First and foremost, there are absolutely ZERO excuses for what Russia has done. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that these laws were passed in order to protect children from pedophilia, which shows how categorically ignorant he and members of Russia's government are when it comes to homosexuality. The mayor of Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, is cutting the city's ties with Russia given its homophobic actions. It is the duty of the international community to put pressure on Russia regarding its homophobic laws. I 100% support boycotting vacationing in Russia, purchasing Russian products, etc.

Having said that, I can not say that I support the United States Olympic Committee boycotting the Sochi Games as many are calling for them to do. We are talking about athletes who have spent day-after-day for several years training for the opportunity to represent their country in the Olympic games. These are people's dreams. For some, this will be their last/only chance at making it to the Olympics since they only come around once every four years. I would sincerely hate to see all of that work come to naught but might-have-beens in the end. On a slightly selfish note, Meryl Davis and Charlie White have a really good shot at winning the gold in Ice Dance and I would LOVE to see that happen.

American Figure Skater Johnny Weir

On a more practical point, I do not believe that America alone boycotting the Games would suffice to sway Russia beyond a symbolic gesture (not to belittle symbolic gestures). The only way to truly sway Russia by way of the Olympics would be to either move the Olympics out of Russia or to have several major nations boycott the Games in a concerted effort. The former is logistically impossible and the chances of the latter happening are infinitesimal.

Using the Olympics for political reasons, even benevolent political reasons, is always a dodgy prospect. The way to get Russia to change its course will not involve five rings. Possibly reaching the Sochi Games is openly gay American figure skater Johnny Weir, who has in the past expressed an affinity for any things Russian (he is married to a Russian man). New Zealand speed skater Blake Skjellerup, also openly gay, has said that should he make it to the Sochi Games, he will march in wearing a rainbow pin that he got from his visit to the London Games in 2012 which were far more gay friendly. These and other openly gay athletes have an opportunity to offer something to fly in the face of these Russian laws: defiance. At least hundreds of millions of people will be watching these games and if Russian authorities had the audacity to actually enforce these laws, it would be huge news that would shed an incredibly unflattering light on the discrimination happening there.

If I thought that America's absence from the Games would genuinely make a difference, then I would be humming a different tune. But as things are, I simply do not see that happening. It would be a shame to see the dreams and years-long hard work of so many athletes go up in smoke.

App Helps You Boycott Koch Brothers/Monsanto Products

Lowlights & Highlights: July 21, 2012

Clearly the worst thing to happen this week was the shooting in Colorado, and I don't need to tell anyone how tragic this is. As someone who lived in Blacksburg, Virginia on April 16, 2007, I know what this community is going through and they have my condolences and prayers.

Compounding the tragedy is that it has brought out the lunatic fringe elements of society. Case in point: Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas said that this happened because of an attack on Judeo-Christianity here in America. He went on to question why the people in the theatre (where the shooting took place) didn't have any guns, almost like he's blaming them for being sitting ducks. I have no idea how this man's thought process (assuming he actually has one) works, but his opinion would have been far better kept to himself since it does more harm than good.

***

While I certainly would not expect or even really ask people to boycott Chick-Fil-A in light of the fact that they have given millions of dollars to anti-gay organizations spreading falsehoods and misinformation about the LGBT community, I find it heartening that many people are voluntarily boycotting this business. Some of these people are quite high-profile. As I have mentioned earlier in the week, actor Ed Helms (The Hangover) and Boston mayor Thomas Menino (pictured) have both publicly voiced their feelings on this issue.

Chick-fil-A has every right in the world (or at least this country) to give money to whatever organization they wish. However, we the people have every right to make sure our dollars are not the ones that they give to proliferate hate, bigotry, and outright lies. Freedom is a two-way road folks.

Ed Helms Boycotts Chick-Fil-A

From The Advocate:

Actor Ed Helms calls Chick-Fil-A's stance on marriage equality "lame" and says the fast food franchise has lost a loyal customer.

Website TMZ first reported the tweet from the popular star of NBC's The Office and The Hangover movies, which reads, "Chick-Fil-A doesn't like gay people? So lame. Hate to think what they do to the gay chickens! Lost a loyal fan."

The star's comment is in response to news that broke Tuesday, in which Dan Cathy, COO of Chick-fil-A, was asked if the company had indeed established a position against marriage equality. "Guilty as charged," Cathy replied, then went on to explain its adherence to what it believes are biblical principles.

The Religious Wrong: Trying to Boycott Google

They may be biting off more than they can chew this time.

Boycotting Gay-Friendly Companies

There has been a pattern developing over the last few years. Any time a major corporation voices their support for LGBT equality, advertises in a gay magazine, or anything of this nature, a boycott is called for by homophobic organizations including (but not limited to) The National Organization For Marriage (Discrimination) and the so-called American Family Association.  We saw this when Home Depot sponsored gay pride parades. We saw this when J.C. Penney announced that Ellen DeGeneres would be their spokesperson. We saw it when Starbucks announced their support for Washington state's marriage equality bill. Now, we are seeing it again with General Mills announcing that they are against a  proposed anti-marriage equality amendment to the state constitution of Minnesota (where the corporation is based) as well as with Nabisco/Kraft which support Pride Day.

What would happen if this mentality were taken to its logical conclusion? By this, I mean what would happen if people that are against LGBT equality boycotted EVERY corporation, business, person (doctors, lawyers, etc), and so on, that in some way supports LGBT equality? Essentially, they would have to boycott American life altogether.

...Furthermore, NOM would eventually also have to boycott all the American companies and organizations that support same-sex marriage including Apple and Microsoft (no more computers for NOM!) and the Ford Motor Company and Boeing (good luck getting a car or plane ride, haters).

Plus, they'd have to boycott the over 858,854 doctors, lawyers and mental health professionals who are a part of pro-gay associations like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Bar Association, the American Medical Association and the American Psychological and Psychiatric Associations as well as the 16,070,453 auto workers, service industry people and educators unionized under the pro-marriage AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union and the National Education Organization.

In short, the National Organization of Marriage would have to ask its supporters to basically drop out of American life and go live in a cave where they can eat insects, drink rainwater, strap cornhusks to their feet and use rocks and fire to communicate to each other... 

That's just fine by me. You can read the entire article from Gay.net HERE.