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A GROUP OF thugs in Russia’s Siberian city of Irkutsk beat up members of a St. Patrick’s Day-themed flashmob, mistaking them for gay activists, Interfax news agency reported Monday, citing police.
A fight broke out after students at a language school held a belated St Patrick’s Day flashmob in a mall in Irkutsk, a police spokesman said.
“On Sunday evening, members of Easy School held a St Patrick’s Day flashmob in the mall. Some youths came up to them and expressed displeasure at the proceedings. A conflict took place that grew into a fight on the square outside the mall,” the spokesman said.
A law enforcement source told Interfax that the fight was based on a misunderstanding.
“The Easy School members were wearing historic costumes, particularly kilts and their opponents mistook them for representatives of non-traditional sexual orientation,” the source said, using a Russian phrase meaning gay.
The school posted a video of the flash mob on the social networking site VKontakte showing many wearing checked kilts and confirmed its students and teachers were hurt in the fight.
“Yes our students and teachers were among the injured but it could have been any young people who weren’t to the taste of these grey masses,” the school said in a statement.
Police said a teacher at the school suffered mild concussion.
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Halloween in Russia; look at that zombie! He must be a gay zombie! Let’s get him!
The trouble with Russia is that they shot their best people in the 1930s. You’re left with an ultra macho country with lots of money and no class or character.
And people on here actually supported the introduction of Russia’s draconian anti gay laws? This was bound to happen
So ALL Russians are like this because SOME Russians are like this? Come on folks – lest I make a hasty judgement on the 5 or 6 million or so Irish based on your generalising comments!
Well considering the fact that the government which allegedly has the support of the majority of voters brought in anti-gay laws, the police do nothing to combat (and sometimes engage in) homophobic attacks and state-funded news agencies use the world homosexual in a derogatory tone it’s quite safe to assume that Russians aren’t friendly towards same-sex groups.
The gay agenda is back.
This story isn’t about government laws Jason no more than its about bobsleighing but if you can shoe-horn an agenda in, hey, grab that opportunity. I am not on that bus. The Russians did not vote for such violence – I can’t make that jump with you.
I think Jason’s point is the government are very popular, and they brought in the laws, so it’s safe to assume the laws are popular. Russia is quite a conservative country, I certainly wouldn’t fancy being gay and living there.
They killed their best in 1917 leaving a nation of serfs
That’s right Jamie! In fact, it reminds me of the time our own Fine Gael-Labour coalition romped home in a landslide victory and then introduced the hugely popular property tax. Irish people really love that tax.
Zozzy our administration is not popular currently. Putin’s government is. Homophobia is clearly acceptable, widespread and even encouraged under Putin. The chap himself is probably a repressed homosexual man. Why are people afraid of gayness?
On what basis are you suggesting that he is a repressed homosexual?
Because on one hand he represses gays in his country and at the same time goes around getting pictured all he-man with his tits out and steely face.
None of the gay people I know do that.
Watch hunted on channel 4
People have been making generalizations about the Irish for centuries. The people beat up in Russia were Russians, not Irish, they we’re celebrating an Irish holiday as part of language studies. The fight was apparently started by ignorant bigotted Russian thugs, not that ALL Russians are that way, some were the Russians celebrating the Irish holiday. The entire article has nothing to do with any Irish people, except if you count St. Patrick, who was a Roman Britain, not Irish.
And the U.S. lost their best people in WWI , WWII, Korea and Vietnam.
No ALL Russia is like that because MOST Russian support this behavior.
My grand parents and parents have been living in the US for over 15 years, they still cross the street if they see a gay person walking- or if they assume he is.
Russia is stuck in the medieval times.
“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out– Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out– Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out– Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me–and there was no one left to speak for me.”
Where did they take you?
The kremlin
The Lubyanka.
So where do they take the gays dressed as leprechauns?
Like you care …
When they came for the flash mobs, I said nothing because I hate flash mobs
And when they came for the mimes, I said nothing because it seemed appropriate
Funniest comment in ages…..Can’t stop laughing
That’s a quote from Martin Niemöller, a German lutheran pastor who was imprisoned by the Nazis.
Don’t be anything but Russian in Russia. Actually not even Russian. No one is anything.
They would have got a surprise if it was a flash mob of travellers
They would have met their match and would be in a corner begging for it to stop, these Russian thugs are horrid people, I think Russia is a terrible country, once they let Putin into power the country was never the same again, and not for the better.
Those thugs would be on the streets regardless of who rang the country.
In an interesting article on the psychology of people in former communist ruled countries it was observed that the lower the strata the more they felt empowered denouncing people or attacking them.
This was verified by the growth of violence in the Saxony area of the former east Germany. The police there tolerated it until the neo-Nazis won elections and increased attacks on foreigners. Only then was pressure applied to the federal government.
Oh they are Russian alright.
I believe you mean the west, where everywhere now looks like or are trying to look like New York. Where the serfs are up to their necks bailing out wall street bankers like Goldman Sachs, where when they vote wrong, they are told by ex maoists like Barrosso to vote again. Where whoever has the most money in the US gets to be president. Where a black man gets to be president long before a white woman even though women have been looking for rights far longer and still are. Where such a president who says he is the beacon of freedom, bombs the sh& t out of people in the middle east even more the his predecessor, Bush but the left claims he is a great man, where the US president gets a nobel peace prize at the start of his presidency for having done nothing, but later goes on to commit such attrocities, oh yes, the Russians are nothing, and we the occupied, multicult everywhere west are everything.
Rather be a serf here than in Russia!
Russia seems like a fun place to be
so again official sanctioning of beating up gays, taking on Europe by annexing the Crimea, next Moldova and maybe South Osetia… Russia is just a land of thugs, they have no place in europe or at the security council of the UN, but Europe is too weak to do anything about it…
You might ask yourself why Europeans are weak? is there a co relation with liberalism, after all the only identities that are actively promoted are pro gay, pro feminism, pro immigrant, pro open borders, intolerance of traditional religious practice and apathy towards Islam, any ideology in conflict with this is wrong, a throw back to a less enlightened era. Was it Aristotle that said that tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society?
Since ancient times Steppe cultures have always been violent ones.
We dislike people being attacked by mobs & that makes us weak.
Great stuff David.
Liberty, freedom, mutual respect.
These are traits of a secure strong people.
Fear, hatred, violence.
These are characteristics of weakness.
A strong cohesive society is inevitably exclusive, an all inclusive society will not have strong cohesion. Regrettably fear, hatred and violence actually make a society strong.
Build a wall around Russia then , everyone’s happy , ps David scapegoating the weakest in society isn’t strength it’s cowardice and fear . Ever wonder why Putin has to do this ? Bigger problems in Russia than people loving of even F***ing,
Or
It has nothing to do whether I personally think that they are fairer, only which is strong and which is weak. Which is in the ascendancy and which is in decline Islam or Christianity, which is inclusive and which is exclusive?
Europe IS weak, that’s why no-one will stand up to this bully Putin
We need to ewan ourselves off their gas & oil, then start meeting strength with strength
@David A. Is that a fact? Can you back up your bold statement with any actual empirical evidence ?
Or, are you giving a personal opinion, that you believe to be true, which I suspect you are. You forgot to mention ignorance. Fear, hatred and violence are harnessed by ignorance. You can use your own bigoted world view as a prime example
@ Jeremy Usbourne: Here we go again, but I must defend Russia because of many misconceptions. So much Russia bashing the last few weeks. As I said before I have been living in Russia for the last seven years. After having lived in Holland, Germany, Vietnam and Turkey this has probably been the most interesting country I have lived in. A country, very rich in culture whether it be literature, art, music or theater. A great country with great people, and much closer to Irish mentality than many of our Teutonic neighbors. Firstly to correct a false assertion, being gay is not illegal in Russia, like in many African countries and countries in the middle East and Asia. There was a law introduced here against spreading gay propaganda to juveniles. I read about it nearly every second day in western media, but honestly, most people here have never even heard of it. I or any of my friends have never heard of a case coming before the courts. I know and have worked with some gay people here, and they are very surprised when I relate the stories in western media about their plight. Russia is in general a very tolerant society, and they do not find themselves to be especially discriminated against. From my personal observation, no more than in many European countries. Of course there have been some terrible incidents here, but these are very isolated and in such a vast country not surprising. They have been highly sensationalized in the media. Unfortunately t here are very stupid morons to be found everywhere. On a daily basis you never witness anything like that, and I live in a city with a population of 500.000. I might add to that that I have only seen two fights since I have been here, both on the street in the daytime, and have never yet seen a fight in a pub or nightclub.
I just did Islam versus Christianity.
petes tuppence
That is a generalization: like saying all Irish are drunk on St. Patrick’s Day.
All countries have a problem with violence on the streets. To be honest dressing in kilts was not a very good idea in Siberia.
“Since ancient times Steppe cultures have always been violent ones.”
Sez the Irish guy. Tee hee. How were these amateurs caught without their shillelaghs? Were they angling at the whole ‘saints and scholars’ vibe?
The fact remains that there is a law banning gay propaganda/information being disseminated.
Rian, they certainly make up for the shortfall, on the western media.
Homo sapien is violent
Padraic, no denies the richness of Russian Culture or that it is anything other than a fascinating country. But I have to say from my dealings with Russians -there is a fatal national flaw (which is entirely understandable) and that is their nationalistic fervour and unquestioning attitude towards authority (which is seen in countries like nazi Germany and Soviet Russia), which has manifested itself in Ukraine and also with these anti-gay laws. Another example was the kursk disaster when any Russian I spoke to would not criticise the government. No matter what way you look at it, gays are discriminated in Russia (as they were here in the past) and an incredible anti-gay attitude is institutionalised, only matched by the Middle Eastern and certain African countries. Putin’s comment that gays shouldn’t go near children in Sochi and his introduction of the anti-gay propaganda laws institutionalises that gays are the equivalent of paedophiles…Far from being isolated incident you mention – there are numerous examples such as Pussy Riot episode of no toleration for equal rights and dissent.
“Regrettably fear, hatred and violence actually make a society strong.”
If you’re not trolling, then I feel sorry for you.
@ Rob Gill : While I agree with you that in Soviet times as in Nazi times in Germany, there was an unquestioning attitude towards authority, Russia has changed enormously in the last ten years, just as Germany has in the last 69 years, and with every new generation evolving further. People do not accept or believe this. I lived in England many years ago and was shocked to witness the negative attitude of most English people in regard to the “Gerry’s/Krauts” based mostly on ignorance. This attitude was not only propagated by the media, but by all children’s comics Beano. Dandy etc which portrayed all Germans as some type of monsters. This has all changed now of course, but was all prevalent in the seventies. It made English people feel better to have somebody to look down on.
Sorry Padraic but you sound like an appeaser.
The dandy ? It was commando magazine that had the really good anti German comic strip stuff,Roy of the rovers had a more forward looking attitude, comics are great
Padraic, I agree. There’s a lot of pointless Russian bashing going on here.
In Russia, as in every other country in the world, there are good and bad people. A lot of Russians are sensible, compassionate, articulate, wise and likeable people.
Co-relation implies cousin-ation.
Redneck University
It’s the government and the culture it fosters being criticised , they are not the victims check out their big stick .
@Padraig children’s comics and programs (why are they called programs anyway?) are the surest form of propaganda with long lasting effects, instil in their young minds what ever message the ruling powers wish, England now tells its children a la the legend of King Arthur that some of the knights of round table were actually African and Queen Guinevere is of mixed race, funny that Guinevere originally means The White Enchantress, or Young Leonardo about the inventor Leonardo Da Vinci whose best friend is an African having a love affair with the very blond princess of Milan, or even the film Thor which is based on Norse mythology the gatekeeper is Heimdall is played by Idris Elba, Heimdall is described as the whitest of the Gods in Norse mythology. You do think this is being done for the sake of inclusion? or is it Cultural Marxism rubbing our noses in the denigration of our ancestors. And here is a link to a particularly vile piece of programming aimed at Irish children to encourage them to give away their country.
http://youtu.be/3jtrNKBdMLc
But hey if you notice it you are a hater!
?????????????
@ JD : So according to you appeasement was not good for NI. Or anywhere else for that matter ?
From psychological point of view most of the comments here can only be justified by a phenomenon that is called “Projection” An individual projects all his repressed negative traits onto his so called “shadow”. That is usually a minority in his society, but often another state, race , religion, etc.
Like the gays ???
Also known as scapegoating
@ Richard Boyle: Scapegoating? I lived in Vietnam. There , there is no place for scapegoating. The war is still going on. The red cross of Vietnam estimates that up to 500.000 children are disabled and up to 3 million people have health problems due to Agent Orange . (over 70 million tons were dropped on Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.) This will continue for generations to come. 1 because it is hereditary , and 2. Earth and water (food chain) are severely contaminated in many areas. I lived and worked in Vietnam, and found this is also a major social problem. If you cannot prove that you or your parents were not living in or near any of these areas, it is nearly impossible to find a marriage partner, because of the fear of giving birth to deformed children. Dow chemical and Monsanto, to this day deny any responsibility. I have not yet mentioned the fact that USA helped Sadam Husein with areal pictures to target civilian populated areas in Iran with chemical weapons during the Iran Iraq war, in order to demoralize the Iranian army. Also not to forget the use of uranium enriched weapons in Faluja and other cities, causing birth defects in thousands upon thousands of baby’s today in Iraq. Unbelievable here the hypocrisy , and the amount of gullible people that are falling for it. Frightning.
And we are making a big issue about Crimea ?????
You might want to look up Bill Browder, hopefully Russia treats you better.
The EU doesn’t intervene because Ukraine is not in the EU, nor are they in NATO, so there’s no obligation, nor any reason to intervene, just like the US didn’t intervene in WWII untill some twit decided to bomb their stuff. Oh, and another reason, Russia has nukes.
Lastly, your comment about liberalism stems from a lack of knowledge, I was going to say a lack of historical knowledge but upon rereading your comment I realized you have no knowledge. At all. You base your opinions on factless fears and ideas that have no base in reality, I feel nothing but pity for you and everyone like you.
Classic liberalism the freedom of the individual over the state is long finished, liberalism has morphed into anything that undermines traditional society and while it may be disguised as individual rights its pushed by supra national agencies to undermine and bring about the dissolution of the nation state. Somehow or other two homosexual men adopting children is now supposed to be a “right”. Read up on the Frankfurt School, they have done a fabulous job.
Typical of thugs in Russia, so much for freedom of expression and the irony of Putin grabbing Crimea from Ukraine so the citizens of Crimea can be free and not be supposedly under threat. The man just like these thugs are just bullies and stuck in the dark ages.
@ Paul – Precisely. Putin doesn’t give a damn about freedom of expression. It is well known that there is widespread violence against gay people, journalists, people voicing their discontent against the government and how corrupt it is as well as violence against immigrants in the country. And in light of this some people on the journal comment sections still worship Putin and the ground that he walks on.
If there is a war against the Russians I hope their rival forces dress in pink and knock sh#te out of them
I wouldn’t joke about war, whichever and whoever’s war that could be
What about a clown war, Nelly?
In the clown wars, the first casualty is comedy.
Clown 1: Maybe you got a whole bunch’a f*ckin’ medals, but deep down you know you’re full of sh*t. You never fought that war.
Clown 2: YOU WEREN’T EVEN THERE, MAN!
This is the kind of mentality that Putin has fostered. Yet there Will be people on here ready to defend him.
At least the anti American, Obama, NATO, The West, Capitalism etc brigade have gone into hiding.
It’s Angrys lunch break at the consular office . Or he’s doing that google chrome thing in anonymous mode he’s always banging on about
And he brought his friend glen with him bless
Where are B. Lowe and Hal to defend their buddy?
Come on now,
you can’t say you didn’t laugh at that headline.
nah, I don’t find people being beaten up funny
I can. Exactly which part of it did you find funny?
I know I did!
Some Irish people are gay too, are they Irish enough for you? @racistbigotirekandfortheirish? Find laughing at minorities suffering to be a fun game?
It just goes to show gays are like everyone else. The homophobes in Russia can’t tell the difference anyway. It’s funny really.
Kilts aren’t Irish anyway.
I find the whole thing hilarious.
Yes Marv, because violence & intimidation against minorities and the repression of peoples’ identity is hilarious. Did you think Bloody Sunday was funny too?
the headline is funny, the story not so much. However, had the homophobes come off worse in the encounter, though, you can bet any money the ‘collective we’ would find the whole thing hilarious.
Jack the kilt is our national outfit. We exported it, along with bagpipes and other aspects of culture to Scotland between the 5th and 8th centuries.
The kilt is NOT our national dress; read on…
http://www.reconstructinghistory.com/articles/irish-articles/what-is-traditional-irish-dress.html
Fascist state.
It is genuinely shocking to think that a majority of the planet are so thick that they can only think in terms of violence.
State brainwashing at large.
State-run media. Just like North Korea and China. Fine upstanding societies.
What a dark place
I thought green Russian flashmobs were only limited to Crimea.
Maybe it coincided with Russia’s version of Whacking Day.
Isn’t St Patricks Day the day when the Irish promote gay rights? Easy mistake to make in fairness….
Oh it’s ok to beat up gay people. ( in Russia)
Maybe they thought it was a “Patrick’s Gay” march.
To be fair to them I also find flash mobs incredibly annoying.
Lot of experience with flash mobs eh?
Kinda funny, in fairness.
This is anti Russian propaganda coming from America…….I don’t believe any of it.
To be fair, no one cares what you think.
very true Frank. The Western media only report what they want us to see.
They are totally dominated by a liberal groupthink. The almost daily articles on LGBT issues are only preparing the ground for the same sex marriage referendum in Ireland soon.
Some days there are almost three or four LGBT articles. If its not that its feminism or Pro Abortion. They did the same for the Abortion legislation in Ireland last year.
You will NEVER see them report on stories like this though. At least the Telegraph newspaper saw beyond the ‘groupthink’ to report on it.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/10717566/Aborted-babies-incinerated-to-heat-UK-hospitals.html
You can ‘submit a tip’ to theJournal Zoe & they will let you know.
I apologise that Ireland of the 1950s is disappearing before your eyes.
thanks Jeremy, might so so.
This story needs to be exposed. Unborn babies incinerated as clinical waste, to heat hospitals, might just be an important human rights issue.
But the media will play it down no doubt.
It doesn’t fit the narrative – Doesn’t count if its not about LGBT rights in Russia etc.
Maybe you are just ignorant of the new homosexuality laws in mother Russia making it illegal, and those caught face stiff sentences in prison, the US at fault,hardly.
Focus !!!
With respect Zoe – can you ever have a contribution that *isn’t* about your desire to control pregnant women?
This story is about a bunch of kids being beaten up because some assumptive and poorly educated bigots thought they were gay. It’s got nothing to do with abortion except in your head.
@richardmccarthy. Homosexuality is not illegal, but homosexual propaganda aimed at under 18s – whatever that may mean – is. Many Russians are extremely concerned about the loss of freedom of speech/expression on a level that transcends LGBT rights. Today for example, it has just been reported that a renowned professor from Moscow Institute of International Relations was sacked due to his public criticism of the government’s actions in Ukraine. Maybe here we can afford to focus almost exclusively on LGBT as not many other rights are being violated, but in Russia it’s not a priority just now.
Shanti isn’t incineration a form of control?
With respect , where were you on the other threads re Crimea when you were needed . As for LGBT rights , you may find that in fighting for freedom of expression you include freedom to love as being as high a priority as any.
Shanti, my point is not about abortion, in this case.
It is this.
Why do the media (& in particular the Journal) constantly highlight one human rights situation – but ignore the other?
@ Richard, I fully agree with you. But, I suppose people can only fight one thing at a time and while undoubtedly there are groups in Russia fighting for LGBT rights, many would prefer to combat curtailment of freedom of expression on a macro level before tackling very specific issues. Here we’ve more or less dealt with the macro level (Garda whistle blowers aside) and so can now look at more specific cases.
It upsets me when Russians are painted as a complete monolith with everyone towing the Putin line. What happened here was that some thugs in far-flung Irkutsk, who have probably never heard of Ireland never mind St Patrick’s day, take issue with men leaping around the shopping centre in skirts towards the end of a very long and cold winter and want to take them on. Suddenly all Russians are violent homophobes.
@Zoe: That is a horrific story. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. You speak, however, of liberal groupthink. A certain religion in Ireland might be accused of conservative groupthink. Thankfully, in modern Ireland, compassionate groupthink is now the norm. Good riddence to the groupthink that allowed young women to be imprisioned and abused, that condoned and hid the abuse of orphans because the sins of their parents were upon them, that demanded unquestioning trust in an evil authority. And truly good riddence to anachronistic groupthinkers who would see us beaten into the mental submission of old. They are slowly dying off.
The point is that the thought that they were gay sparked a violent response .Don’t presume that all Russians are homophobes however where is the public outcry other than from LGBT groups ? The Macro issues involve all of the ( to you micro issues )
Wish anyone standing up to this autocratic state the best of luck in the meantime. You might want to consider the scapegoating of minorities is part if a wider exercise in manipulating public opinion and has to be an integral part of the argument against state mis rule
Nice attempt to deflect Zoe, but as per usual you tried to make the thread about a specific and completely unrelated issue.
They (the journal) aren’t ignoring any one thing, unless they’re unaware of it, and if that is the case you can always make them aware by submitting a tip as has been pointed out to you.
But instead you wish to proclaim that there’s a liberal bias in the Irish media (even when there isn’t). It’s not a bias Zoe, it’s just that they’re reporting on things you don’t like, you are of course, welcome not to give the site your traffic – if you think they’re too liberal.. I’m sure Catholic comment could do with the readers..
Zoe,
Gays’ must be given the right to marry that is a so-called “human right”.
To protect the unborn is wrong to the liberal brigade. as is to oppose euthanasia and warn people against the harm of suicide.
The liberals claim think very highly of human rights is a sham.
“Why do the media (& in particular the Journal) constantly highlight one human rights situation – but ignore the other?” Zoe Daly wrote as she gnawed on a dirty sock.
If you want to indulge in whataboutery, don’t bother commenting.
I could just as easily wonder why people give money to the cats and dogs home, when we have homeless people. But then, why give to the homeless when there’s starving Africans? And it goes on and on . . .
“The liberals claim think very highly of human rights is a sham.”
Can anyone else understand this? I don’t speak jumbled nonsense.
@Shanti
“It’s not a bias Zoe, it’s just that they’re reporting on things you don’t like, you are of course, welcome not to give the site your traffic…”
Bingo! Got it in a nutshell. And as always, you’re the voice of reason, Shanti :)
The Journal covers a wide and varied selection of stories but it appears that some readers wear blinkers when it comes to content. Also, no one is forced to read any of the articles. I for one, have no interest in sport. I don’t read the articles. It’s really that easy. I don’t go on to the articles claiming that the Journal has a sports agenda and complain about the number of sports related articles.
The Journal publishes articles that a variety of people want to read.
Don’t like stories about LGBTQ issues? Don’t read them.
Pro-lifer in “doesn’t give a shit about thugs beating up gays” shocker!
Cmac,
1. CIVIL right, not human.
2. You’re the one focusing on the death, others realise that what a stranger does with their own life is their business. Not yours, not mine and certainly not the states. If a woman doesn’t wish to be pregnant – she should not be forced to be. If a terminally ill person is in tremendous pain and it will only be getting worse, we have the compassion to realise that you would spare an animal that suffering when it can’t even give it’s consent – when a person is ASKING to die, they should be afforded that right.
And EVERYONE is trying to prevent needless suicide, dunno where you’ve been getting your notions, but I would hazard a guess it was from inside your head and nowhere else.
True Florence – I don’t read most of the business articles, a load of daily edge ones about celebrities, or the sports – in fact there’s quite a few articles on the journal that I don’t bother clicking on because they are of no interest to me..
If I’m not interested I don’t click – that’s one less page view. Whereas some numpties not only click on the page (increasing it’s popularity) they comment on it too – adding to the impetus for thejournal to keep putting out stories around that topic.. You’d swear not one of them had the remotest clue of how the world works..
And well spotted Ciaran – pro life – until you’re born..
A CIA plot no doubt…Damn the West they all even beating up gays to make Putin’s Russia look intolerant – oh they are wily ones….
I blame who ever took that picture of “macho” Putin on his horse that day,ever since he has come down like a ton of bricks on gays,he should embrace his sexuality!
If the great shirtless one would just embrace his fabulous side!
Since when did not wearing a shirt mean you’re gay? And why is it gay people stag people that don’t like the gays as being homosexual? It’s kind of silly and funny at the same time.
Wha?
I don’t think it’s the fact that he was shirtless exactly – more that he likes having his very macho and slightly homoerotic pictures taken..
And there’s been studies that suggest a large percentage of homophobes are actually gay themselves, but may not have been able to come to terms with it. These people are usually the product if a very conservative upbringing, which accounts for their feeling ill at ease with themselves, and focusing external hatred at other gay people in an attempt to divert attention away from themselves and the fact that they are themselves, gay.
Remember yer man in “American Beauty”, he was like that. Fully agree with your point Shanti.
Even so, I’m sure the majority of homophobes are actually just straight.
Do you know many?
We all do.
Live and let live eh?
Jeese by the looks of the comments on this thread you’d swear Irish thugs would never beat up someone for being gay. Can we not focus on our own not-so-open society before we start pointing fingers at Russians?
Funnily enough I don’t think they would. I can certainly imagine homophobic abuse and spitting but I don’t think sustained physical assault would happen that often in Ireland. I’ve seen some nasty homophobic stuff on the streets at night but more threatening behavior and abuse than assault.
@ David. Are you seriously suggesting that no gay person has ever been attacked in Ireland for being gay? If you don’t believe Irish people are capable of that, then there’s no denying that you can be beaten up by Irish thugs for not being Irish. What about the Italian tourist kicked to a pulp in Dublin on St. Patrick’s day as part of our national celebrations. I wonder how we were portrayed in the Italian media? Not all Russians are homophobic thugs – or even just thugs. There are many who regularly take to the streets to protest measures brought in by Putin. Given that this story was reported in Russia by Interfax – a Russian news agency – it would suggest that it’s seen as abhorrent by a large percentage of the population
Good post and genuine question , is there a website or newspaper or tv outlet of repute that offers a dissenting view to the state owned media ?
No, he didn’t say that no gay person has EVER been attacked. He made the point that homophobic attacks are more widespread and recieve far more cultural endorsement in Russia
Christ did you really need that explained to you?
@ Richard If you are looking for Russian media, I would try slon.ru or tvrain.ru. Unfortunately both in Russian, but they represent the voices of Russians sceptical of the state channels. The government is cracking down hard on tvrain at the moment – tax raids, leases on premises cancelled etc. There was also lenta.ru, but the chief editor recently got fired …
Cheers for that !
We should invade Russia to protect our honorary citizens.
What on earth is a flashmob?
Thanks for the red thumbs but i still dont know what a flashmob is.
Look it up!
A bunch of people stand around blending in with members of the public until they get the signal – then they all start doing a choreographed dance – much to the surprise of all other people standing in the vicinity.
Although – obviously what happened here was that upon starting the dancing some ignorant numpties assumed “they’re wearing skirts (kilts) and dancing – they MUST be gay!” And beat them up, so in truth it was the flash mob that got the surprise, a bad one..
Russia strikes again! Yeeehaw!
Fair play to you Journal. That is the single funniest item I have read in a long time! :-D
Disco Stu , the goldfish in your platform shoes are dead …
Russia sickens me. Vile country and people.
Russian cun*s
There are so many metrosexual now it’s hard to tell the difference
Some Russians are quite behind in the whole human rights thing aren’t they ?
Sum craic but not that one!
Night liberals it’s been a blast :-)
Everyone else , you stay on the death star with captain haddock , I’m going clear.
On Paddy’s Day in Ireland, it’s easy to find a party. In Soviet Russia, party finds you.
I wudnt be russian to go there….
have your say