Staying In Sochi Is A Hilarious Adventure in the ass.
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It's not comparable, that's what I'm saying. I'm saying my student accommodations in Grenada were far, FAR superior to the pictures from Sochi ITT, and those accommodations are supposed to be for press and Olympic athletes.
Hence why I think it's laughable that the original poster I responded to took issue with people labeling them as "third world country"
That's not a good example. No first-world country can spend 50 billion dollars on the Olympics. That 50 billions counts bribes, kick-backs, having to rebuild venues because of shoddy workmanship, and unrelated projects getting misappropriated funds.
Current day Russia still has a lot in common with its second-world version of itself.
https://twitter.com/BexGBbobsleigh/status/432082177921392640
British athlete called the elevator and found an empty shaft when the doors opened.
British athlete called the elevator and found an empty shaft when the doors opened.
WarrenMax007
Member
You do undestand that that was illegal protest? In Russia you hava to, in advance contact City Hall, so they can approve time, place and how many people will be there. And while i'm at it, in most cases, they'll give you approval.
4 arrested people weren't arrested because they are LGBT. They were arester because
It was illegal.
Oh, so if the protest had been sanctioned they'd be okay?
OH WAIT
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Russia
And what did the Olympic Charter they were displaying say? Something about equality?
Seriously, how is it physically possible for one single person to be so completely wrong about so many things? I have to assume that your account is helmed by an actual team of Russian PR goons.
speculawyer
Member
You do understand that most western countries think that calling 4 people waving rainbow flags an 'illegal protest' is a pathetic human rights and free speech violation.
LAUGHTREY
Modesty becomes a woman
That shouldn't be illegal either. Is that really a defense?
Exterminieren
Banned
The fact that your laws are backwards and oppressive isn't as strong a defense as you clearly think it is.
Mercury Fred
Banned
I wonder what it feels like to fully embody and proliferate government propaganda without any critical distance whatsoever. What a fucking horror show.
Most Western countries shouldn't be hypocrites and clean up their own backyard first.
http://www.rochesterhomepage.net/st...aiting-for-bus/d/story/CPzaYjvL0EmTFIQSaIR19g
Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011
Cool, you noticed that we have racism and shit here too. Good job. That doesn't mean we can't call it out when we see it, no matter where it happens.
Sorry, but "they did it too!" is only an acceptable defense if you're under the age of 10.
It is important to call it where it happens. It is also very much important to realize it happens where you live. Saying Russia is racist, ... is good if you don't ignore the fact other countries are too. Saying most Western countries wouldn't call those protests illegal, is already ignoring the problem. But it is a lot easier to do because it doesn't require admitting to your own countries problems, especially for politicians and the media. It is like Obama sending gay representatives to Sochi while doing nothing to improve conditions of gay people in the US.
hydragonwarrior
Member
Changes will eventually happen as long as people keep calling each other out on it. On the opposite end of things, possibly nothing will happen if we just go with "that's just how things are" and not say anything at all.
You wanna talk about Russian attitudes toward the 'caucasians' (not the race, people from Caucasus) if we're talking race relations? Fascinating stuff.
I understand that all issues should be challenged, but this is so incredibly hypocritical. Finger wagging at other countries is typical. The pot calling the kettle black.
I like the backyard reference. Clean up the shit in your own backyard before you start complaining about your neighbor's dog shit.
So it is "Do what I say, not what I do"? Leading by example would probably work a lot better. And calling other people out on it, yes, but are you really calling Russia out on it? Russians aren't hearing the American protests. The Americans are hearing the American protests and are realizing how much better they are than Russia. No gay people are actually getting treated better.
I think I would just take the stairs in Sochi at this point
thezerofire
Banned
"No gay people are actually getting treated better."
I'm assuming you're saying no gay people are being treated better in the US than Russia? If so you're fucking full of it. Gay marriage is at least legal in parts of the US
thezerofire
Banned
Third world isn't really a describer of living conditions. It was originally used as a way to describe countries' allies during the cold war. US+allies was first world, USSR+allies was second world, everyone who didn't pick a side was third world. iirc
No, I mean the treatment of gay people isn't improving anywhere by the American politicians pointing at Russia. If the US lead by example, it could legalize gay marriage for instance for the entire country. It would help gay people in the US. Pointing the finger at Russia isn't doing anything for the gays in Russia or the gays in the US.
So if I can't literally change something, I can't complain about it?
Sorry, that's stupid.
thezerofire
Banned
Legalizing gay marriage isn't quite the same as just not having laws on the books criminalizing the very state of being gay (or giving out "gay propaganda"). Or having gay people jumped. etc. Trust me, the US is working on it getting legalized everywhere. It's happening. But the state of politics in the US makes everything slow. At least there's progress.
Not as stupid as complaining about something, and not changing anything where you can change it...
You can only stop that if you can actually counteract the reason for it. The protests are making the Russian people think 'see, those gay people are coming for our culture'. Putin is getting more popular and the radicals are getting strengthened, not the normal people.
I like this tidbit by The Guardian: "No country likes being lectured to, especially when that criticism is so often seen as disproportionate and ill-informed. Russians are no exception, and the all too common anti-Russia rhetoric coming from the west over issues from gay rights to Syria and Pussy Riot has fostered a sense of national persecution. It also allows Putin to position himself as Russia's sole protector in the face of a vicious "information war" against Mother Russia. Little wonder that the ex-KGB officer's electoral ratings have just shot up to their highest level for nearly 10 years."
cuevas. PhD.
Member
Gays and middle eastern people face no issues here in the US either.
thezerofire
Banned
So basically you're saying that it's gay people's faults for making Russians uncomfortable?
Are you seriously implying that putting pressure on a country that's treating a minority poorly is a bad thing? I can maybe understand thinking it's a pointless effort due to how far gone the people in charge are, but to say it's dumb to just be content with people being treated poorly. I mean the US does have it's fair share of issues, but slowly over time it's been getting better (specifically regarding LGBT issues).
As a gay person living in Canada (where gay marriage is already a thing) I literally wouldn't feel safe going to Russia.
Russia deserves persecution for its treament of LBGTQ people. Don't wanna get lectured? Give your LBGTQ people basic civil rights.
Sorry that y'all are so scared of the gay gangs.
Psychotext
Member
One thing I haven't seen mentioned is the association of homosexuality with paedophilia on an institutional level in Russia. It's sick.
No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying to show them they're wrong, not tell them.
jim-jam bongs
Member
#WhenRacismEnded
thezerofire
Banned
We are showing them. We repealed Don't Ask Don't Tell. We're in the process of legalizing gay marriage. And in the meantime, we're not arresting and not beating gays.
hydragonwarrior
Member
It's of course not perfect in the US or Canada, and I think those that are calling out Russia acknowledge it's an ongoing issue to provide more rights for the LBGT community. The issue is that Russia has issued a law that could easily be interpreted as no person being allowed to discuss being gay in public (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Russia) That's completely backwards to what's attempting to be done in North America.
But do note that the politicians that aren't calling the Russian government out on this probably belong in Russia themselves - i.e. Rob Ford.
R10Neymarfan
Member
Russia is still in the banana phase. Took the US 3 decades before that ended.
Mercury Fred
Banned
You mean like sending gay delegates to Sochi?
Also, obviously the U.S. has huge problems with its treatment of gays and most other minority groups. I would gather that almost everyone in this thread critical of Russia's heinous anti-gay brutality is also critical of our own issues in our own back yard.
The idea that we shouldn't be so critical, especially when Russia is at the center of the world stage right now, is ludicrous.
thezerofire
Banned
BEFORE PEOPLE JUMP ON THIS, Daily Currant is satire
I'm saying the way you put pressure on a country is way more important.
Maybe that is what needs to be stressed by the protesters. Show them the European countries where gay marriage hasn't made the country turn into a wasteland because people aren't getting kids anymore for instance. That was one of the reasons given by Putin.
I'll be honest, the first words that came out of my mouth when I saw the last ring fail to open were "Well looks like someone's going to be sleeping with one eye open.".
Heh
Canada (where I live) already has gay marriage, and the US is slowly getting gay marriage in specific states. What more do you want to put pressure on a country? If "showing an example" of how to fix LGBT issues is a key factor (which you have stated before), I think North America is already in the progress of doing that.
No, things aren't perfect, but they're continually getting better. Russia's LGBT stance however has been getting worse and worse.
nah. Satire contains intrinsic and subtle humor, often ensconced in an exaggerated fiction.
that was just purposeless lies.
thezerofire
Banned
You're right. I should have said Daily Currant bills themselves as satire, so don't take it as a real news story.
Oh I'm sorry I didn't know that. Shouldn't have posted that.
Particle Physicist
between a quark and a baryon
Yeah, I agree that this stuff should be left out of this thread. My bad besada -vvvv
thezerofire
Banned
It's alright, it's easy to get thrown off by the lack of actual humor
Hey. Everyone. The topic of this thread is "funny stuff we saw in Sochi" not "Russia's homophobic laws." Im pretty sure there's already a thread for this, and if not, I'd ask someone to start one, because it's obviously an issue we're going to discuss.
But let's keep it contained, so people enjoying the light side of this can do so. The same goes for the Olympics thread itself.
I absolutely think this is an important issue that should be discussed, but I don't think it ought to derail every thread.
But let's keep it contained, so people enjoying the light side of this can do so. The same goes for the Olympics thread itself.
I absolutely think this is an important issue that should be discussed, but I don't think it ought to derail every thread.
weekend_warrior
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