The lie about the global gay plot

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

In the US, in Russia, in East Europe, and of course in the Arab countries and in most of Africa both outright homophobes and lots of ordinary people alike are genuinely convinced that the gays and lesbians are weaving some monstrous plot against humankind. Around the Internet forums that serve not so much as places for sharing information, as much as hubs for spreading ideas and "alternative explanations" of what's going on around the world (read: conspiracy theories), the fundamental features of that conviction are being shaped out.

For many conspiracy theorists, the homosexual people are secretly taking over the key positions around the world, and the recent years must have provided the irrefutable evidence for all that. In politics, in the economy and in sports, i.e. in the Holy Trinity of heterosexual masculinity, innumerable gays seem to have suddenly popped up and stolen the glory of poor oppressed "normal" people. A number of professional male athletes have "come out", and also politicians and top businessmen. Like German football player Thomas Hitzlsperger, recently. And also Apple CEO Tim Cook. And Latvian foreign minister Edgars Rinkevics, the first high-ranking politician in East Europe to openly declare himself gay. That's a unprecedented thing for the post-Soviet space.

Meanwhile, in "Older Europe" the examples abound. Germany already has a gay foreign minister, and now the minister of ecology has come out as lesbian. And my country Iceland has had a lesbian prime minister. In the established democracies, the roughly 1/10 gay people are considered part of the norm, and this has ceased being an issue for a time. But still, if you look around the Internet, you'd keep seeing the stupid prejudice that these people who are like anyone else in any aspect of life, are plotting to take over the world in some way.

The adherents to this hateful and deluded conspiracy theory believe that the world gay community is actively pursuing some nefarious goals of theirs. In other words, gays and lesbians are not just people who happen to be homosexual, but they're all part of a gigantic evil plan. That they're trying to "convert" more "normal" people to the "homosexual agenda", which is to destroy the traditional family, undermine the foundations of religion and the Church, and even legalize pedophilia.

That's what many Protestant preachers and activists believe, including all those radio hosts who have millions of listeners and followers on a daily basis. These Christian Fundamentalists believe that the homosexuals around the world are participating in a giant plot, and the evidence is obvious: they're constantly occupying the public with their sexual orientation, and presenting themselves as innocent victims of homophobia; they're purposefully smeaing their detractors, uniting themselves into unions and organizations, and raising funds for their agenda. If that's not a plot, what else could it be!? IT'S A CONSPIRACY!

But these delusions are not just a monopoly of US fundies. Even a brief look at Putin's Russia would suffice to realize that terms like "Gayropa" and "tolerast" are very fashionable, they're recited by young and old all across the board (including by high-ranking public figures), and they're used to express the "concern" that the traditional Russian values are being threatened somehow. Just look at the Eurovision music pageantry that's ongoing in Austria as we speek. Last year's victory of drag-queen Conchita Wurst was a powerful trigger in places like Russia. It unleashed gigatons of hatred. For instance, Putin's staunch ally, the director of the Russian state railways Vladimir Yakunin has compared homosexualism to global pollution, and has accused homosexuals of trying to turn the human community into an obedient flock of sheep, which blindly follows the orders of some sort of global financial elite - which is rather ironic, coming from someone from Putin's regime.

Curiously, with statements like these, Yakunin has managed to merge three groups of his disillusioned contemporaries under one narrative: homophobes, anti-liberals, and the new critics of capitalism. The same views are also shared by the immensely popular Orthodox priest Alexander Shumski, who believes even professional football players are involved in the conspiracy, which is evident from the fact that they're coming out on the pitch with pink shoes - and let's not forget Cristiano Ronaldo's metrosexual shenanigans. To those conspirators Shumski recommends to put a bra and lipstick, and he describes the purported plot as follows: "The liberal ideology of globalization is assaulting Christianity through football". What are we to do, people? We're obviously all fucked in the ass! Quite literally!

But the picture wouldn't be complete without reluctantly holding your nose and having a look at the situation in Africa and the MIddle East, where being gay is outright dangerous for your life, and where the vast majority of people do indeed believe that homosexuals are forging a global plot against the rest of humanity. The pattern is that the more backward and ignorant a society is in general, the easier it's prone to indulging in such preposterous notions. Things have reached as far as to presidents of theocratic countries declaring that "there are no gays here" - hopefully, that doesn't mean that they've all been hanged.

But that's not all. The conspiracy that's being ascribed to the gay community offers easily digestible explanations to otherwise complex processes in a dynamic world. Why is the Western family in crisis, why fewer people are getting married, why is the number of divorces increasing, and that of newborn children diminishing? But of course - it's obvious! It must be the gays! Especially in countries and societies going through crises, homosexuals are easily turned into an imaginary foe, which is conveniently used to divert attention from the real problems. We see that in the Arab despotic regimes that've been cracking up from within in recent years. We see it in "modern" Russia, which is voluntarily sliding back into international isolation, and succumbing to economic and financial crisis. The image of the enemy always tends to consolidate people and provide the rulers with a breath of fresh air - at least for a while.

The conspiracy theory about the evil gays plotting to take over the world is not just stupid, but it has a fundamental flaw. If the gays and lesbians were really "recruiting" more and more heterosexual people, wouldn't that mean that the share of homosexuals in society would be constantly increasing? But that's not what's happening. The homosexuals are not increasing, they're just becoming more visible. Especially in the more open societies. Which may be causing quite a few feathers to ruffle. But they won't go away. They better not. If for anything, at least for the sake of sanity prevailing.