News about LGBTQ + parade shocked Kaunas Puritans

Did the neoliberals appropriate gay symbolism?

Jurgis Valiukevičius, leader of the left-wing union on May 1, which submitted the permit application, assured that the march would march in the center of Kaunas, Laisvės Alley, and more than 3,000 people could participate. people.

According to J. Valiukevičius, the aim of this campaign is to draw attention to social problems, such as discrimination, exploitation of people, inequality. The campaign organized in Kaunas should become a counterweight to the traditional Baltic Pride organized in the capital, which, according to J. Valiukevičius, has been widely used recently for the dissemination of neoliberal ideas.

Therefore, according to J. Valiukevičius, Kaunas Pride will pay attention to the problems faced by ordinary people. By the way, the campaign should involve not only representatives of sexual minorities, but also various public organizations.

Although permission to organize the march has not yet been issued, the people gathered in the streets of Kaunas already have their own attitude towards the campaign that is still being organized, whose motto is “We are everywhere”.

Isn’t the real problem gays, but angry homophobes?

“It is really bad that minority marches take place. These people are part of our society, unfortunately they face their own problems and have the right to talk about them. And the biggest problem is public intolerance, the inability to accept the fact that we are all unique and different in our own way.

I studied abroad for a long time, there I have a completely different attitude towards “different” people. First assess the personality, questions about sexual orientation or religious beliefs are not accepted at all. In our country, society is still very homophobic. Does the self-defense instinct of the archaic community be activated here, when we do not want to accept “other” people? Thus are born the myths about gay kidnappers and other demonizing nonsense. As with anti-Semitism, he hates Jews, although they probably have not met any of them in their life, much less in an animated way, ”said a young Kaunas resident who works in one of the research papers of the Kaunas University.

A similar position was expressed by a group of graduates. In his opinion, we should look more widely at the people around us, get rid of fears. According to the students, this is the only way that everyone can live together in peace.

“I would probably not go to the Kaunas Pride myself, I just don’t want to cause problems for parents, because their circle of friends is quite hostile. But I support the idea itself, both gays and lesbians are the same people. Everyone has the right to live and love, ”said a Kaunas graduate.

Two of her classmates said she was devastated by the social media debate and the onslaught of hatred.

“All kinds of people have gone on the air, they are already organizing an anti-rally, they want to cover the procession with eggs. It’s a shame we have so many angry “friends” in town. And not only the “maros” on the street, but people who are nothing like them. This is how they want to wave the rainbow flag, “control” it to make it foam even more. It is cruelly regrettable that politicians use all this so much, intimidate the elderly, ask to vote, ”said high school graduates.

Russia offers to follow: allow to march not in the city center, but in the forest

If younger Kaunas residents have a tolerant view of Kaunas Pride, older respondents expressed a slightly different opinion.

“I really don’t understand why I need to prove my sexual orientation in public. For me personally, gays don’t care, but when they start promoting their lifestyle, it’s too much. Then they themselves scream that they are being abused, they call it ugly.

We have a lot of people on the team, maybe there are gays, but nobody raises their public orientation. Let them live happily for themselves, it is a personal matter. But go out on the street and scream that I’m gay, so love me, give me more rights, that’s too much, ”said a middle-aged Kaunas resident.

Another interlocutor expressed a much more radical position, appealing to the historic Lithuania of Kaunas, offering to organize marches of sexual minorities not in the city center, but in the forest.

“Kaunas has always been a patriotic Lithuanian city and there have been and will not be ‘blue’ parades here. Just think what they were thinking: in September they want to march down Laisvės Alley so that all the children and students can see them.

Very well done in Russia. Hiking is allowed somewhere on the outskirts of town. It is our municipality that could give you permission to walk through the Kleboniškis forest. There are good tracks to walk, screams. But they will not agree with that, they need to provoke people, they want everyone to see them. Because the real goal is to spread that gay propaganda. We will not have perverted festivals in Kaunas ”, said another interlocutor.

Parades not only in Vilnius and Kaunas, but also in all cities?

“It just came to our notice then. As soon as the march for traditional values ​​is over, for the families, they want to do their parade in Kaunas. After all, this is an obvious provocation,” said the Kaunas resident.

The woman said that the greatest evil of today is the “European culture” that is being contaminated in Lithuania, which is nothing more than “gender propaganda”.

“We are moving forward to allow children to decide for themselves which gender to choose. Imagine what will be here? It is difficult for me to figure out where society is going. During those parades, there is propaganda and there is already a desire to legalize marriages. homosexuals from those families so that they can adopt and raise children. Vilnius is not enough for them, they want to organize another parade in Kaunas. Perhaps then there will be such a parade in all cities? “The interlocutor reflected.

Recalling that the aim of the campaign is to draw attention to the social problems faced not only by members of sexual minorities, the woman resented the selective restriction of freedom of expression. Some are allowed to speak what they want, while others are restricted in their freedom of expression.

“Try to write something on Facebook against homosexuals or vaccines; it will be blocked immediately. And the Family March closed the main group. Now it is blocking everything that goes against gender, the media has been bought for a long time and only pushes propaganda, ”said the Kaunas resident.