Anti-Gay Activism Looks Lively in Latvia
Lively is most famous for his 1995 book The Pink Swastika, which explored the presence of homosexuality in the Nazi Party. The book argues that gay activists can be compared to the Brownshirts, and that the claim that homosexuals were the victims of Nazism is a historical distortion on a par with Holocaust denial. His Latvia link was explored in the Williamette Week in February: In front of about 30 people gathered recently in a Salem church sanctuary to celebrate the reunion of the Oregon Citizens Alliance, Scott Lively found cause for optimism about the rebirth of the anti-gay group. The Baltic Times published a profile of Ledyaev last summer, and also recounted details of the anti-gay counter-protest: Many of those who witnessed the events of that afternoon recall four hours of a tense confrontation between an irate crowd shouting things like "No to sodomy!" and a line of stoical, generally non-responsive policemen, punctuated by sudden moments of banal violence. One protester pelted an LNT cameraman with eggs. When a member of Mozaika [a gay-rights group] attempted to leave the hotel by the front door, one protester ran up to squirt water in her face.
A rambling and poorly-translated essay by Ledyaev reposted here gives his side, and some analysis: A double policemen cordon around the few mostly foreign homosexuals (at least two policemen per each gay) beating their own in order to make a way for foreigners this was too much!
Latvia-based blog Marginalia has some further commentary: The antics of New Generation, a mostly Russophone sect closely tied to Ainars Slesers' Latvia's First Party (LPP), have long been reported in Latvia -- I'm choosing to describe it as "a mostly Russophone sect" on purpose, because that's what it is (Ledyaev, its leader and a self-described "apostle," was furious when our President described it that way)...Ledyaev has suggested replacing Latvia's constitution, the Satversme, with the Ten Commandments, introducing Christian totalitarianism, and "humbling all liberals and homosexuals." Ledyaev was also the subject of a satirical cartoon that showed him as a worshipper of Cthulhu; the newspaper office found itself surrounded by protesters. In 2002, Ledyaev was barred from Russia, where, according to Charisma, his denomination has sixty branches (there are also plans to expand into Africa). He believes that George Bush "is a man chosen to fulfill God's plan on earth in the last days", and that there will be a "New World Order" of Christianity. Lively visited Latvia in March, alongside a fellow activist named Ken Hutcherson. Hutcherson presented himself as coming from the White House as "Special Envoy for Adoptions, Family Values, Religious Freedom, and Medical Relief". According to the Seattle Stranger, Hutcherson claims he was given this title by the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, although a White House spokeswoman denied it was true.
With homosexuals in Russia facing continuing threats of violence from far-right nationalists and Orthodox fundamentalists, Lively flew in earlier this month to pour petrol on the flames. The Gay Republic Daily quotes a speech he made: "The youth must know about "the blue threat" as much as possible. Many countries of the former Soviet Union, which had been the outposts of family values recently, have submitted to the pressure of homosexuals."
Anti-Gay Activism Looks Lively in Latvia | 3 comments (3 topical, 0 hidden)
Anti-Gay Activism Looks Lively in Latvia | 3 comments (3 topical, 0 hidden)
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