Russia has been and is still being criticized for making it illegal to spread material relating to the non-traditional sexual relations, basically this means that in the eyes of the justice system publicly showing gay material is wrong. The justice system in most developed states is the most powerful institution. The law is the apparent protection of the civilians of its state from actions or offenses which are deemed wrong. So if in Russia the spread of homosexual material is seen as an act which is so wrong that, the justice system has to protect the people from it, this will only send extremely misguided messages to people. That homosexual relations are something wrong, something which can cause harm or impingement of freedom.
Nationalists in Russia beating minorities is a common thing... don't believe me? Watch this...
but the attack and degradation of the LGBT community is far worse. As some Russian groups interpret the law to mean that the LGBT community is a group which is wrong, sick or any sense lower to them they feel it is right to take the law in their own hands. Why stop the spread of gay material when you could just stop the spread of the gay community, surely this is more effective? This could be the logic that some people use to justify these actions. With nationalistic egos already settled within them and groups of men with the idea that violence is a perfectly acceptable tool to express their hatred, these acts are probable and will only get worse.
Many of you are probably asking that the Russian police force should take these groups down and really stamp out these attacks. However we must remember that the police force are normal humans, with their own set of beliefs, if the common and accepted mentality is to hate on LGBT community then the police WILL NOT go out of their way to stop this.
This is completely unacceptable. When I saw the video which a friend posted on a social network I actually felt huge anger and sinking of my heart. I rarely feel this. Normally I assess if acts are wrong by simply carry out the rule that: if an act restricts ones freedom without consent... it is wrong. Here the rule still applies but it seems it struck a huge emotional cord in me.
Every person has the freedom to do and say whatever they want IF and ONLY IF this does not impinge the freedom of others. If two men stand before me and kiss, hug and hold hands my freedom is not restricted. No harm has come to me. Personally I actually encourage this as I like people enjoying their freedom as much as they can. Even if I completely felt disgusted, it wouldn't matter. They still have the right to kiss, hug and hold hands.
However not many people share this easy going rationale and some groups in Russia seem to lack the understanding that people are equal and hate crimes are completely wrong and the reasons as to why they are wrong are wholly justified. So what is the solution to tackle this hatred and violence?
As we said before the law carries huge power across the territory of the state. No hint of inequality to the LGBT community should exist within the law... so this means making gay material okay to be viewed wherever heterosexual material is viewed. The police force must increase their effort in stopping all violence and giving out severe penalties and sentences to those leading or taking part in abuse against LGBT's and any minority group. The big players on the internet need to make a conscious effort to not ban videos of hatecrimes, but to keep them there, so people all over the world can witness this disgusting behavior and to share their concern towards this.
This means that pressure will be exerted on these hateful groups from all corners of society so that their crimes come to a gradual halt and that the next generation will sprout up in a more learned environment.
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