Just be a human being
How can we reconcile the terror-filled daily lives of Russia's gays and lesbians with the
celebration of sports?
By Ravit Hecht | Aug. 21, 2013
The Russian parliament passed a law this year prohibiting “homosexual propaganda” among minors.
This is a continuation of the aggressive legislation in various parts of Russia, for example a law the governor
of St. Petersburg signed in March, that coming publicly out of the closet as gay is a criminal offense. These
laws, even if they do not sentence gays and lesbians to death or imprisonment, are a crime against human
beings, which no individual or democracy-loving country can stand for. These are laws that crudely and
ignorantly differentiate between one person and the next, which confines masses of people to a limited
existence, which automatically sentence a certain group whose only sin is the desire to choose who to
live with — to the shame of being second-class citizens.
That same Russia was the recent venue for the World Athletics Championships. The world’s best athletes
showed off to spectators and viewers around the globe the wonders of the human body and spirit, which
constantly stretch the limits of their abilities. That same Russia is also to host the 2014 Winter Olympics,
which will attract hundreds of athletes and tens of millions of spectators and viewers.
How can the contradiction be resolved between the ordinary, terror-filled daily lives of Russia’s gays and
lesbians and the extraordinary celebration of sports, which crosses cultures, peoples and countries? Such
a contradiction cannot be resolved — the hesitant condemnation by U.S. President Barack Obama, who did
not boycott the Winter Olympics, and the confused attempts of the International Olympic Committee to
create some sort of compromise with regard to gay and lesbian athletes, show this.
Such a contradiction cannot be resolved because something as damaging as Russian homophobia empties the
Games of their significance. The pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, who astounded fans when she retired in
perfect style with a gold medal at the World Championships, was asked shortly thereafter about the recently
enacted laws in her country. In broken English and embarrassed body language, she mumbled that in Russia
“we just live boys with women, girls with boys,” and that she supports the laws of her country.
In her response, Insinbayeva exposed the scam: She stands on the podium, tallest of all, closest to heaven
and to God, but she is neither a giant nor an outstanding figure. She is just a young woman who can jump
higher than other young women.
It was, in fact, the defiant kiss of the Russian team’s relay racers, Kseniya Ryzhova and Tatyana Firova,
who are less well known and whose achievements have not made them “living legends” in athletic terms,
which will be remembered from the World Championships in Russia as a wonder of humanity, a symbol
of the human spirit that remains undaunted in immoral human surroundings.
Like the historic salute by athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico
protesting discrimination against blacks in the United States, an act that would later be said to overshadow
any of their athletic achievements, the Russian women will be remembered for their kiss of protest against
the homophobic fascism of President Vladimir Putin. No one will remember Insinbayeva’s pole vault.
It was just a jump.
In a place where people are deprived of their natural rights, one cannot pole vault or figure skate and win
some prize. In a place where fascist principles permit, even indirectly, the protection of the law to be
withdrawn from a group of people only because of who they are — the greatest human achievement is
simply to be a human being. To show solidarity with others, to fight for their natural rights and to oppose
any initiative, governmental or popular, based on mass, blind injustice. That is true for Russia, and it is
also true for Israel and any place under the sun. If it doesn’t exist, all the rest is meaningless.
This is a continuation of the aggressive legislation in various parts of Russia, for example a law the governor
of St. Petersburg signed in March, that coming publicly out of the closet as gay is a criminal offense. These
laws, even if they do not sentence gays and lesbians to death or imprisonment, are a crime against human
beings, which no individual or democracy-loving country can stand for. These are laws that crudely and
ignorantly differentiate between one person and the next, which confines masses of people to a limited
existence, which automatically sentence a certain group whose only sin is the desire to choose who to
live with — to the shame of being second-class citizens.
That same Russia was the recent venue for the World Athletics Championships. The world’s best athletes
showed off to spectators and viewers around the globe the wonders of the human body and spirit, which
constantly stretch the limits of their abilities. That same Russia is also to host the 2014 Winter Olympics,
which will attract hundreds of athletes and tens of millions of spectators and viewers.
How can the contradiction be resolved between the ordinary, terror-filled daily lives of Russia’s gays and
lesbians and the extraordinary celebration of sports, which crosses cultures, peoples and countries? Such
a contradiction cannot be resolved — the hesitant condemnation by U.S. President Barack Obama, who did
not boycott the Winter Olympics, and the confused attempts of the International Olympic Committee to
create some sort of compromise with regard to gay and lesbian athletes, show this.
Such a contradiction cannot be resolved because something as damaging as Russian homophobia empties the
Games of their significance. The pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, who astounded fans when she retired in
perfect style with a gold medal at the World Championships, was asked shortly thereafter about the recently
enacted laws in her country. In broken English and embarrassed body language, she mumbled that in Russia
“we just live boys with women, girls with boys,” and that she supports the laws of her country.
In her response, Insinbayeva exposed the scam: She stands on the podium, tallest of all, closest to heaven
and to God, but she is neither a giant nor an outstanding figure. She is just a young woman who can jump
higher than other young women.
It was, in fact, the defiant kiss of the Russian team’s relay racers, Kseniya Ryzhova and Tatyana Firova,
who are less well known and whose achievements have not made them “living legends” in athletic terms,
which will be remembered from the World Championships in Russia as a wonder of humanity, a symbol
of the human spirit that remains undaunted in immoral human surroundings.
Like the historic salute by athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico
protesting discrimination against blacks in the United States, an act that would later be said to overshadow
any of their athletic achievements, the Russian women will be remembered for their kiss of protest against
the homophobic fascism of President Vladimir Putin. No one will remember Insinbayeva’s pole vault.
It was just a jump.
In a place where people are deprived of their natural rights, one cannot pole vault or figure skate and win
some prize. In a place where fascist principles permit, even indirectly, the protection of the law to be
withdrawn from a group of people only because of who they are — the greatest human achievement is
simply to be a human being. To show solidarity with others, to fight for their natural rights and to oppose
any initiative, governmental or popular, based on mass, blind injustice. That is true for Russia, and it is
also true for Israel and any place under the sun. If it doesn’t exist, all the rest is meaningless.
