Russia accuses EU of "LGBTQ propaganda".
That the East and the West do not agree on how to deal with the LGBTQ community is no secret. The Russian foreign minister now goes a step further and accuses the Western countries of the EU of "aggressive LGBTQ propaganda.
This is far from the first time that Lavrov has spoken negatively about the community. In the past, too, he repeatedly incited against queers.
What is in the current "reproach" text?
Lavrov has written an essay about how Western European countries deal with the issue of "same-sex love" or queerness. The lines are quite something. Among other things, because it is not "only" about homosexuality, but also about the accusation that they want to shape the world order with their own handling of the topic.
Propaganda would be used as a tool for this. The essay can now even be read in German. It was published on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry, among others.
So there is sometimes talk that children in the Western countries of the EU would learn that Jesus was bi. The offspring must be protected from LGBTQ issues. However, politicians who advocate this "protection" would be harshly criticized.
In addition, the Western countries are very stubborn when it comes to enforcing their will or the corresponding rights. The goal is to impose their own rules on the rest of the world in order to prove that they themselves are cool enough to resist "authoritarian opponents.
Accordingly, the essay offers a lot of information, but - especially in the important places - no evidence for the corresponding statements.
The fronts are hardened
Letters like the one from the Russian foreign minister keep adding fuel to the fire. Currently, LGBTQ-friendly and anti-LGBTQ countries are not expected to converge on this issue in the coming weeks and months.
On the contrary! The tone became sharper and sharper. Thus, in many sections, the essay is no longer "only" about the topic of "same-sex love," but rather about the accusation that the EU has made it its business to impose its opinion on others, to enforce it and to subjugate it.
Unfortunately, the will for self-reflection is lacking in many parts of the essay. Problems within the country's own politics or dealing with people who have a different opinion than the Russian government are not addressed at any point.
However, the fact that Lavrov actively speaks out against queers and instead exclusively defends the "classic family image" is not new. In the past, there have been many actions of this kind, in the context of which it became clear again and again how difficult it must be for homosexual people to stand by themselves in Russia.
Critical voices are getting louder
Even though the situation for queers in the Eastern countries was not good in the past, it seems that the world public is taking a closer look - among other things, since the "anti-trans laws" in Hungary.
Accordingly, those responsible are reacting sensitively to the criticism, which is also being voiced in no uncertain terms by Ursula von der Leyen, among others.
At the same time, LGBTQ communities in countries with homophobic legislation are gradually growing. More and more people decide to fight for their rights and thus put pressure on the respective governments.
Therefore, it is certainly a bit short-sighted to speak here exclusively of "LGBTQ propaganda" of the West. Those who stand up for their self-determination are also fighting for their way of loving at home. The revolution in people's minds seems to be more tangible nowadays than it was a few years ago.
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