the gar spot

fiction and musings from a gay black dude with delusions above his station

Menu
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • SIN AGAINST THE RACE, a novel
Menu
the gar spot fiction and musings from a gay black dude with delusions above his station

Descent into Chaos

Posted on August 31, 2013 by gar

Art Spiegelman’s masterpiece Maus deftly illustrates the slow descent into chaos experienced by European Jews as the Nazi menace took hold over their lives. The nightmare did not hit all at once, but in slow, dreadful paces. During the descent, everyone tried to live as normal a life as possible.  They went to the store.  They went to work.  They had friends over for dinner. Meanwhile, the Nazi menace hovered over everything like thick smoke and those caught in its wake coped with it by, metaphorically, wearing stronger and heavier gas masks to filter out the ugliness around them. The full breakdown of society came when the Nazis started hauling folks into the camps. Only then, did society for the victims vanish.  The gas masks no longer worked.

I’m wondering, are LGBT folks in the Russian Federation going through this same type of descent? Are they finding their world constricting around them, the air heavy with suffocating smoke? What are they doing to adapt to the new normal foisted upon them by a cruel government hell-bent on their elimination? What masks do they employ?

The scenes coming out of Russia are horrific not just because they depict senseless violence, but because the violence they depict is sanctioned, even encouraged, by the state. That’s the tipping point. Gay bashings occur here, where I live, in the US, in California, in the Bay Area. But where I live, the law provides redress for and protection from violence directed against someone because of his or her sexual orientation. The state certainly does not sanction such violence. This is not the case in Russia. Not now.

To be sure, Russia has never been known as a gay-friendly place, either during the Soviet era or since — Lenin decriminalized homosexuality, but Stalin recriminalized after Lenin’s death. Ostensibly, gay sex is legal, with the age of consent being 16. Laws allowing the legal change of one’s gender date back to 1997. But these laws are meaningless under the intentionally ambiguous smokescreen created by the Russian government regarding the legal status of LGBT people.

The ambiguity reached its zenith this summer with the passage of Article 6.21 that President Putin signed into law.  From PolicyMic:

Here is what Article 6.21 actually says:

Propaganda is the act of distributing information among minors that 1) is aimed at the creating nontraditional sexual attitudes, 2) makes nontraditional sexual relations attractive, 3) equates the social value of traditional and nontraditional sexual relations, or 4) creates an interest in nontraditional sexual relations.

We can thus summarize Article 6.21 as the Don’t Make Kids Gay (Or Else) Law. What constitutes propaganda and what constitutes traditional and nontraditional sexual relations is completely up to the state to define. For the purposes of LGBT folks, the definition is as narrow as possible, confining them as tightly as possible, restricting every aspect of their lives as much as possible. It’s the “Or Else” that makes the law deadly for them.

Do not be fooled into thinking that only those who protest the law and the attitudes behind it are the immediate victims of 6.21. Having been blessed by the state to Get the Gays, thugs are having a field day randomly surrounding, harassing, beating, and killing anyone they perceive as gay, whether they are or not. Fellow writer Hans Hirschi, who has written some great commentary on the Russian antigay laws, has posted some horrific photos, though sadly such photos are not hard to come by. Police sometimes intervene to stop the beatings, but sometimes they simply look on.

So the new normal requires LGBT folks to don a disguise, any disguise to make them look “traditional.” It’s not enough that they not carry signs or wear t-shirts that endorse The Gay. They have to do everything possible to look “not gay” so as to avoid harassment or worse. Imagine how it would impact your life to have to go through lengths to hide something about yourself, something basic to your being, something that would not otherwise show. You could not walk with your significant other. Even if you did not touch each other, something about your manner or comportment might give you both away. You might fret over your attire, fearing that the slightest flash of out-of-the-ordinary might make you a target.

You would get ulcers worrying about it.  You would constantly look over your shoulder, wondering if you are being spotted. You would lose your sense of self by constantly pretending to be someone else. This would become your new normal.

But it’s getting worse. Neighbors are being encouraged to rat on each other. Homes are being invaded. So even if one behaves themselves in public, one still is not safe. For now the state might come into your home, into your bedroom, to find you out. Russian landlords may have spontaneously begun posting flyers encouraging their tenants to be on the look out for gay folks. Or they may have been encouraged by the state to do so. But in the end it doesn’t matter. Regardless of the impetus, it is allowed to happen. Folks perceived as gay can be harassed.  Indeed, by current Russian societal dogma and state decree, they must be.

So what’s the new normal? There isn’t one, not for LGBT folks in Russia. Others define their normal. They aren’t allowed to define a normal for themselves. Their “normal” is a constant state of fear, paranoia, and self-loathing.

We know where this can go. We’ve seen it before. Today’s gay-bashing thugs are simply yesterday’s Brownshirts in different clothing. So the challenge we face is, what are we going to do about it? Will we blithely go and play in the Olympics? Will we ask them to suspend 6.21 during the Olympics, so that the athletes and guests are not harassed, only for the law to go back into effect after the games are over? That’s not going to happen in any case, as Russian officials have already said that they will not suspend 6.21 during the Sochi Winter Games. Hitler got to show off how “wonderful” his country was during the 1936 Berlin Summer Games, at least until Jesse Owens whipped his Aryan-loving ass. But the Jews and other “undesirables” were already under various levels of new normal, or chaos, by 1936. Again, we know what happened after that.

I agree with George Takei’s recommendation: move the games elsewhere. This will not stop the beatings and killings. It will not stop the spying and harassment. But it will deprive Putin a platform where he gets to show the world how “wonderful” his country is. That’s a start.

© 2013, gar. All rights reserved.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

SIN AGAINST THE RACE, a novel–Click image for info

Sin Against the Race

Contact

  • email gar

Twitter

Follow @the_gar_spot

Instagram

garmcveyrussell

Pride brunch. #pride #pridemonth #pridesunday #pr Pride brunch. 
#pride #pridemonth #pridesunday #prideday #pancakes #brunch
Dug up from the archives. I can’t believe we hav Dug up from the archives. I can’t believe we have to fight for this again. 
#abortionrights #abortionishealthcare #cisgaymanforchoice
Time to write more letters to encourage people to Time to write more letters to encourage people to vote. Tempus fugit.
#abortionrights #abortionishealthcare #roevwade #mymarriageisnext #voteblue #voterepublicansout
Pride flag over the Claremont Hotel. Don’t think Pride flag over the Claremont Hotel. Don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. 
#pride #pridemonth #berkeley
New outdoor dining set. #backporch #alfresco #hom New outdoor dining set. 
#backporch #alfresco #homedecor
Consulted with my editors this morning. I value th Consulted with my editors this morning. I value their feedback. 
#trees #hiking #oakland #writersofinstagram #iputmyfaithintrees
Remembering Roger Ebert on what would have been hi Remembering Roger Ebert on what would have been his 80th birthday. 
#rogerebert #writer #legend #cancersucks
Fly me to the moon (not pictured) Let me play amon Fly me to the moon (not pictured)
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter (the brighter one) and Mars
#backyardastronomy #jupiter #mars #predawn #goodmorning
A gorgeous day at the #oaklandgreekfestival #oakla A gorgeous day at the #oaklandgreekfestival #oakland #greekfestival #greek #music #food #ilovemycity
I used to rock the hell out of these. Cards of dis I used to rock the hell out of these. Cards of discovery and endless possibilities. I still miss them. 
#cardcatalog #library #knowledge #og #searchengine
A sunny Saturday in 1990 found my sister Tania (@m A sunny Saturday in 1990 found my sister Tania (@makeuptogoblog) and I outside of the Julia Morgan Center waiting. I had seen the great Maestro Pt. Shivkumar Sharma in LA—he even autographed an album for me. And I was studying tabla with his accompanist Ud. Zakir Hussain at the time. We couldn’t wait. But wait we did, because the maestros weren’t there. As my sister and I stood at the front of the line, they came. Ud. Zakirji was laughing and joking. Pt. Shivji looked as if he floated in as he passed and entered the theater. After we got settled in our seats, it was on. A beautiful concert with the two maestros playing rapturously, holding us spellbound. Pt. Shivji floated in like a deity and played to the heavens, taking us all with him. By far one of my favorite concerts. 

Words cannot describe how devastated I am at the great master’s passing. His gifts to music and the world are incalculable. My condolences to Panditji’s family, to @zakirhq9 , and to all who loved his beautiful music. #ptshivkumarsharma #indianclassicalmusic #santoor #rip
This makes me very happy. #oaklandgreekfestival # This makes me very happy. 
#oaklandgreekfestival #theyreback #yahoo #greek #oakland #ilovemycity
Happy 85th Birthday to legendary Maestro Ron Carte Happy 85th Birthday to legendary Maestro Ron Carter! The most recorded bassist in history, he was a huge inspiration for my late brother Robert. And he continues to inspire bassists and musicians to this day. 
#happybirthday #roncarter #legend #bassist #jazz #music
Dinner on the back porch. #alfresco #dinner #pizza Dinner on the back porch. #alfresco #dinner #pizza #arizmendi #evening
My sacred music day where I pay homage to Duke Ell My sacred music day where I pay homage to Duke Ellington (1899-1974) and Ustad Alla Rakha (1919-2000) on their shared birthday. This year I’m also celebrating the 100th birthday anniversary of harmonica and whistling maestro Toots Thielemans (1922-2016). Enjoy the music of all of these legends! ✌🏾 ❤️ 🎶 
#dukeellington #allarakha #abbaji #tootsthielemans #centenary #happybirthday #music
Happy Birthday Ella Fitzgerald! Born on this day i Happy Birthday Ella Fitzgerald! Born on this day in 1917. 
#ella #ellafitzgerald #firstladyofsong #jazz
It’s the only home we got. Let’s treat it with It’s the only home we got. Let’s treat it with respect and love. 
#earthday #earthday2022 #home #planet #environment
A harrowing day, but it ended safely. I’m home n A harrowing day, but it ended safely. I’m home now with a nice cup of tea. ☕️ 
#berkeley #shelterinplace #allclear #home #tea #murchies
This pale blue beauty is destined to become part o This pale blue beauty is destined to become part of my #sundaybrunch #pancakes. Fresh from my next door neighbor!
Celebrating the centenary of a great musician. Hap Celebrating the centenary of a great musician. Happy 100th Birthday Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Sahib!!! His great legacy lives on. 
#aliakbarkhan #centenary #indianclassicalmusic #sarode
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Facebook

Subscribe by email:

Archives

Blogroll

  • Life During Wartime – The Trump Years
  • Patricia Dunn – Author
  • Philip Robinson, poet
  • The Outspoken – You're Welcome
  • Uppity Negro Network

Interests

  • Cassini Probe @ Saturn
  • Daily Kos
  • Doctor Who
  • KCSM – Jazz 91
  • Makeup to Go!
  • The Root

Tags

99% african-american AIDS Bay Area bigotry Billy Strayhorn black Black Lives Matter climate change Duke Ellington dystopia dystopian fiction gay growing up gay healthcare history homophobia jazz LGBT LGBTQ literature marriage equality music North Korea novel Oakland police brutality politics queer queerlit queer lit racism rant reading Religion Republicans Romney SATR science fiction Sin Against the Race Trayvon Martin Trump women in jazz writing

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
©2022 the gar spot | Theme by SuperbThemes