Foreign secretary advice to LGBT fans.... Be respectful
- Thread starter GaryLifo
- Start date
He's saying that people in the West campaigning for gay rights in Qatar are actually making things worse for the LGBT community in the region
Heard similar from other sources
Isn't that like an abused child placating the abuser so it doesn't get worse?
That really speaks of just how bad it must really be there tbh, ‘shut up or they’ll get it worse’ is such an utterly depressing message when talking about a basic human right that it’s almost surreal.
I think also it really needs to be stressed, the World hasn’t shown up at qatar and said, ‘change your ways immediately’… that simply has not happened.
What’s happened is the World has shown up at qatar, been told, ‘gays and women aren’t equal here, please respect that’, and Europe has said, ‘ok, fair enough, but we want to make clear by wearing an armband that they’re equal to us’, and qatar / fifa said, ‘no, you can’t do that’.
That is what has happened - no one has ‘disrespected’ qatar’s actual laws.
We should be honest about that and not allow the narrative to slide into dishonesty at the behest of an oppressive and unjust regime / media.
Maybe
Or maybe there is no abuse as the LGBT community there choose to stay underground so are left alone - but now this kind of spotlight makes them worried about being outed which makes problems more likely
I heard this idea that the Qatari gay community don't want to see rainbow flags, tshirts etc on this podcast - worth a listen:
Absolutely, and it's a danger if we just waltz in to any delicate situation, in a house or a foreign country, but none of this is saying there isn't a problem, just this is not the way to deal. Which is why soft pressure like saying you're not having the world cup with these laws in place is the way to go.
Expecting people who care once they are aware to stfu is unreasonable.
A wider selection of those guardian podcasts proves to be quite critical of the whole thing..
Yes exactly, it's a question of the right way to deal with the problems
But negative political reaction in the media to this football tournament is overdone in my opinion and the message here is that this will not help the cause
Of course there is criticism in the Football Weekly podcasts but there is a range of opinions and they go more in depth than superficial reporting elsewhere - then you form your own opinion based on the facts
Indeed. It was an attempt to deflect attention from the problem by blaming those who are shining a light on it.
To be fair I've seen you make a similar argument in the Israel/Palestine thread: calling the situation apartheid doesn't do anything to aid the situation and may make things worse.
My point there is specific to that situation where protests have clearly not worked and never will because of the power structure of the Israeli-US relationship. This is clearly not remotely in that category since the Qataris have already capitulated and will continue to do so to avoid further embarrassment during the tournament
Yep
That’s fecking disgusting. From the forces that are supposed to protect them - beating, torturing and oppressing innocent peaceful people for how they are born.
Anyone who can read that and then come back with, ‘they have different values’, or this vile, troll whataboutism that’s becoming commonplace is just a pathetic homophobe.
Seething reading that.
Personally I'm not sure you can call a media overreaction to human rights issues while they are still human rights issues. Isn't the media's job to highlight issues so we can fix them?
What's your take, that they've said enough, now stop banging on about it?
The idea that this highlighting human rights abuses makes things worse is the one media take you post here because it's the one you prefer, because it stops the negativity. It's grimly like many other scared oppressed peoples. Black people were terrified of people making a civil rights stand in the USA because they feared their oppressor. To take that as a signal to stop the human rights marches would have been your suggestion?
I'm interested in why you engage with the bad press on this world cup across the threads and want it to stop.
Just ignore it if you want to focus on the football? I'm wondering why it seems to bother you so much. I get not being interested in opposition but you have been constantly trying to quiten the criticism. Very odd.
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I think the issue is less with media overreaction but more with the western media. The messenger, not the message kind of thing.
The Western countries already got a bad rep in the region and justifiably so. And now their media comes in and try to change what they believe.
It's like hearing advice from someone who you already hate. The advice maybe sound, but there's no way you're gonna listen and follow it.
I think that poster who said changes must comes from within is right.
Unless the media are lying, I have no issue. Are the media disingenuous pricks? Yes. But if they are telling the truth then you can't ask for more in this instance. Media bias exists and I am very aware of it and critical of it but there does seem to be human rights issues, so lets just focus on that, for the sake of the oppressed.
Yeah, change from within would be the best scenario. But there is a bit of that that is out of context therapy speak, the reality is different. Throughout history, oppressive power has rarely been changed or defeated from within. Almost all of our human rights have been a violent struggle to achieve. Power is rarely conceded with a quiet word in someone's ear. Slavery wasn't ended from within it's cultural stronghold or led by black people. Irish freedom was pushed along by the educated Protestant class inspired by the French revolution, which in turn was a peasant Revolt inspired by aristocrats. None of that was accepted as right by the oppressors at the time.
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I'm not trying to quieten criticism at all - would I have posted that podcast if I was? I would encourage people to listen to it and actually learn more detail about the situation
Read my posts, I've been plenty critical of Qatar and the World Cup where I feel it is warranted but there is a huge difference between constructive criticism and a lot of the foaming at the mouth hysteria I see on here (not accusing you of that BTW)
Also I have no interest in discussing 1950s Black America in the World Cup forum, the situations are completely different so not comparable to me - Ive not posted much in here as the majority of the recent discussion isnt directly relevant to the World Cup, Qatar or the wider region
And I don't claim to have all the answers but I think it's a very important point being bought up regarding Western activism against this World Cup and what it might acheive which I why dipped back into this thread.
The idea that "doing X to prevent Y is actually an empty gesture that makes Y worse" is a really tired argument that gets trotted out about literally everything. Don't raise taxes because it'll cut GDP and government will have less money. Don't raise minimum wage because companies will just cut jobs. Don't protest because the backlash will set back your cause.
Imagine being so insecure in yourself and your country, your sexuality and your religion that you have to beat up some homosexual neighbors because some westerner said something.
On the bolded, that's fair enough., it's just that the oppressed rarely champions meeting the oppressor head on. Ever.
My only issues is with the idea that there is hysteria. Where ? Nobody is boycotting it. Keane attends as a pundit and speaks out and is called a hypocrite. There is no actual material opposition by anyone to actual human rights abuses.
What is the appropriate column inches for human rights abuses before it's hysteria? I'm appalled at the lack of action and you think there is hysteria with the exact same data available. Humans are a complicated bunch.
Also there is century old campaign for gay rights, so the idea that it's just to make the west look good is utter nonsense and disrespectful to the victims and the many people who have dedicated their lives at sometimes great sacrifice for gay rights. One tweet doesn't alter the reality of 100 years of slow hard won progress.
Well that's the crux of it! I guess it's all about perception and what angle you are coming from.
I was referring to hysteria on this forum - you asked why I post counter arguments and it's mostly to provide balance to that and to correct a lot of misinformation I see posted.
But this is extended into the wider media, perhaps not hysteria but I think the balance between football and politics has gone too far one way at this World Cup.
Plus some prominent players say they are boycotting from Cantona to a several Lionesses. And I personally think it's idiotic that the likes of Neville and Keane are accused of hypocrisy, I think they are doing exactly the right thing in going out there to see the situation for themselves and then report on it.
On a simple level I'm sure we can agree that the situation for LGBT in Qatar is not good and needs improving but then it's a question of how best to achieve that.
That's exactly what those Twitter posts are asking, he's not trying to shut anyone down either - it's a discussion point and surely the most important one in this case.
You suggested that Qatari LGBT+ people maybe aren't oppressed at all, that they're left alone to do what they like as long as they stay underground. This goes against all available evidence.
I remember you brought up Nasser Mohamed a while ago, saying that it's a huge step forward for LGBT+ rights in Qatar that he is openly gay - even though he was granted asylum in the US because of the fear of persecution. Mohamed is the campaigner mentioned in the following Guardian article: Gay Qataris physically abused then recruited as agents, campaigner says
Here his experience matches those from the human rights report I linked you yesterday, but also goes further: Not only are Qatari LGBT+ people spied on, they're sometimes forced to spy on their own community to avoid torture.
No I didn't - that's just your misinterpretation of what I was saying
I'd already read the HRW article you posted weeks ago
Ok, my bad. Do you mean that they are oppressed but not abused, or am I misinterpreting that as well?
I'm saying they try to avoid abuse by staying underground but the media spotlight is making that more difficult, hence making abuse more likely
In fact it's not even me saying it - I'm just repeating things from those with more knowledge from Twitter, the podcast etc
In fact it's not even me saying it - I'm just repeating things from those with more knowledge from Twitter, the podcast etc
What does it say?
Click the link mate. Translation is beneath.
What an asshole I am.
If it wasn't so sad & unfortunate, I'd fill my post with laughing emojis.
Try Babblefish by @Plechazunga
You ain't the only one based on that translation.
It's an important discussion to have, but El-Baghdadi doesn't really offer any alternative or even evidence that the Western media is actually making things worse. I don't doubt that he's noticing more outspoken social/online backlash against the LGBT community in response to the attention it's gotten, because for the average person in the region LGBT people might have been "out of sight, out of mind". But that homophobic sentiment existed anyway, outspoken or not. Any hypothetical "organic" or domestic push for a semblance of equality from the Qatari queer community would be met with even more resistance, ignoring the fact that any such push would be suppressed and cracked down immediately by the authorities with the Qatari public not even hearing about it.
However I disagree with the notion that this is merely a Western media campaign working against the interests of the queer community in the region. I imagine some LGBT people there would rather not have the attention out of fear of backlash, but many of the reports we're getting are based on accounts of gay or trans people who are telling their stories of abuse and oppression to human rights organisations and the media. Would it be right to ignore their voices because pragmatically it's possible it might make things worse in the short term? I think the people brave enough to come forward deserve to be heard.
It's probably true to some extent that for many LGBT people in Qatar life is bearable as long as they keep their heads down, but for many it's clearly not the case. El-Baghdadi seems to be arguing in favour of preserving the status quo in which living in the shadows is the best possible outcome, but blaming the West for upsetting that delicate and arbitrary status quo isn't that great of a point when clearly there are people in the country who don't feel that situation is worth preserving and wouldn't have a voice otherwise.
I can understand the idea that the Western media barging in with good intentions potentially might not be best course of action, and speaking for the silent/silenced Qatari LGBT community, parts of which would rather be invisible than become the focus of attention, could be seen as presumptuous and hubristic. But who are we to decide not to support the people that have spoken out anonymously because they fear for their own safety? What's the alternative here?
Besides, for the longest time the media focus was primarily on the abysmal treatment of migrant workers which is directly linked to the world cup. For better or worse, I don't believe there were any huge plans to protest for LGBT rights beyond fairly tame gestures of support like wearing those armbands and some rainbow flags in the crowds. The "hysteria" mainly started after FIFA's and Qatar's sudden and disproportionate departure from their own reassurances on the matter. It's worth discussing whether pushing for LGBT rights in this way might lead to a worse outcome, but on the other hand Qatar should have known that cracking down on benign symbols of solidarity would lead to huge Western media backlash.
I think you have probably misunderstood El-Baghdadi's intentions - it's a bit messy to follow but worth reading through all his Tweets on the subject. The limited nature of Twitter means it's not the best platform for nuanced discussion and he himself acknowledges this and it's an ongoing process with no conclusions reached as yet
I do agree that FIFAs heavy handed approach has made the hysteria worse, if they had simply allowed the captain's to wear the armbands I think there would have been less exposure for the whole issues than the way it has eventually played out
I do agree that FIFAs heavy handed approach has made the hysteria worse, if they had simply allowed the captain's to wear the armbands I think there would have been less exposure for the whole issues than the way it has eventually played out
I saw those tweets and I don't think I misunderstood El-Baghdadi's intentions. Admittedly saying "El-Baghdadi seems to be arguing in favour of preserving the status quo in which living in the shadows is the best possible outcome" was poorly phrased, but I somewhat disagree with the way he reasons in terms of cause and effect.
Mainly because I don't think there is a way to address LGBT issues, by the West or anyone else, that wouldn't initially lead to massive social backlash. Even in campaigns in football in recent years that weren't specifically about this world cup or LGBT rights elsewhere, for instance the rainbow laces campaign in the Premier League, social media abuse is absolutely vile. Of course a lot of that from within the UK, but also a lot from people outside of the country.
While El-Baghdadi might not endorse the views, using examples like
to support his point that western media is causing more damage seems somewhat disingenuous. I'm sure that narrative has gained traction more recently, but I don't think at any point were LGBT rights and the rainbow flag not seen as a Western thing in many parts of the world. Pretty sure Putin also has used similar rhetoric recently, implying LGBT issues are Western corruption or something along that line. Branding it as neocolonialism or racism is just a convenient defence; the actual attitude towards the issue remains the same whether you reject LGBT people on religious grounds, or supposedly in protest to Western self-righteousness.
Not everything I'm saying here or in my previous comment are directly tied to or opposing those tweets, and maybe I'm wrong on some points. I just think LGBT rights have gained a lot of traction and support in Western Europe over the past decade, and at least superficially as well in football. And as with most causes, more visibility often causes more outspoken reactions from people with differing viewpoints. Ideological polarisation, or at least the perception thereof online, is something we're seeing in many forms on different topics around the world. Maybe it's always been like that, the constant action and reaction back and forth between traditional values versus progressive (for lack of a better word) values, maybe it's happening more than ever. That's why I don't know if it's right to pin increasingly vocal anti-LGBT rhetoric that much on western media in connection with the world cup.
Of course it shouldn't be up to the West to decide to unleash that backlash on the local queer community, but as other tweets under his have pointed out, even as an experienced human rights activist El-Baghdadi also doesn't speak for the local LGBT community. It's a complicated topic for sure, and as with many things there's really no right answer. I'm curious to see what he has to say after speaking to LGBT Arabs
Charles Moore at the Tel wades in.
If Qatari fans dressed up in SS uniforms to watch a match on English soil how would we react?
If Qatari fans dressed up in SS uniforms to watch a match on English soil how would we react?
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/11/29/might-sunak-use-wealth-cut-national-debt/
I am still surprised on a daily basis at how thick people can be