Image: Дмитрий Ларичев - Getty Images
Ukraine and Pride flag
In the confused early hours of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the flurry of news from the battlefront may have obscured one particularly disconcerting report. Presuming a successful Russian military campaign and the replacement of the democratically elected government with a pro-Russian one, it described the anticipated Russian actions to purge Ukraine of its democratic political officials and, specifically, LGBTQ activists. US intelligence even reported the existence of a hit list that included LGBTQ individuals to be liquidated. Given Russia’s long history of violent, brutal and barbaric repression of its own population and its enemies over its history and its current deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and schools, there can be no doubt LGBTQ+ Ukrainians at are extreme risk.
In solidarity with Ukraine and of its LGBTQ population, most of my social media friends have uploaded a Ukrainian flag to their profile photos. Disappointingly our major LGBTQ entities, however, have not. Only Milwaukee Pride posted a message of solidarity. Written by MKE Pride President Wes Shaver, it read: “the recent invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine has shocked and stunned the world. And for LGBTQ+ people, the fear of persecution and more attacks on human, civil and LGBTQ+ rights rises by the minute. We cannot lose sight of the magnitude of this situation and we must do our part to support and remain connected to those impacted. We will do our best to stay informed and take action to support the preservation of LGBTQ+ people and rights in Ukraine. From all of us at Milwaukee Pride, we stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian LGBTQ+ community.”
Dream of Freedom
In my interview with Shaver earlier this year, he made a point of mentioning his experience at the International Pride Conference he attended in Athens, Greece in 2019 and the profound impact it had made on him. He pointed to the reality that throughout the world, many LGBTQ people can only dream of the freedoms and rights enjoyed by their brothers and sisters in more progressive countries. So it should be of little surprise that this insight into the repression of LGBTQ communities like those in Russia demands the very response expressed by Milwaukee Pride.
Why Milwaukee’s other LGBTQ organizations have not even made a minimal effort to show some solidarity is a riddle. Given the plight of the general population of Ukraine and the prospect of Russians imposing severe repression of the LGBTQ community there, it seems unfathomable that there has been no hint of support. It’s shameful and embarrassing.
The thing is, the danger to our own LGBTQ community is as real as it is in Ukraine. It is, in fact, a similar scenario. Comparatively, of course, life for Ukraine’s queer population is not optimal. They enjoy far fewer freedoms than in other democracies but progress is being made. The specter of a Russian occupation imposing its own anti-LGBTQ policies on Ukraine means even those rights will be abrogated and activists persecuted, imprisoned or worse.
Pro-Putin?
Meanwhile, while our LGBTQ organizations may be oblivious to the dire straits in which our Ukrainian brothers and sisters find themselves, even more stunning is the expressed support of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin by extremist Republicans. Actually, it isn’t stunning at all. As I have written over the years, the GOP’s elective affinity for Putin is easily explained as their platforms are essentially the same, namely the destruction of democracy, the pursuit of autocracy founded on principles of racism, nationalism and religious fanaticism in opposition to inclusion, equality and, in particular, LGBTQ rights.
Even former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently expressed the idea that Republican’s fawning awe of Putin was based in great part in their shared animus towards LGBTQ people. Right wing provocateur Steve Bannon praised Russia’s anti-LGBTQ (and particularly anti-transgender) policies even as its tanks rolled over the Ukrainian border in the opening phase of the invasion. Just this week, as if on cue, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, blamed the war on the Ukrainian people on Pride parades.
Coincidently, speaking of the destruction of democracy, Russia’s repression of its independent press and a new law threatening up to 15 years in prison for calling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine an “invasion” came at the same time our own Trumpnik Senator Ron “Vladimirovich” Johnson is running a TV spot attacking freedom of the press.
With the 2022 mid-term election in the offing, the Russian invasion of Ukraine should be viewed in the context of a warning. Our local Putin apologists, or, better said, agents, are finding their inspiration in his human rights atrocities. We need only look at Texas, Florida and even Wisconsin (among many others) where anti-LGBTQ legislation is moving forward.
So while posting a Ukrainian flag on a social media page or lighting the Hoan Bridge in its colors may seem insignificant, it sends a hopeful message to those under siege and a clarion to our own community. It should also be a warning signal to those in our own country who are poised to attack us. We can only hope we have leadership like Ukraine’s heroic President Zelensky when we need it.
