Lublin, Poland, has never had much luck in regard to LGBT pride as last year violence broke out at a Pride parade that required police intervention. The violence continued this year when a couple was arrested for possession of an explosive device that could have caused a great deal of damage if it were detonated, according to Freedom News.
The pride demonstration was met with approximately one hundred counter protesters who attempted to thwart the event. The counter protesters were upset about the presence of LGBT people and chanted things like “Lublin free from deviations” while throwing bottles and rocks at the attendees and journalists that were covering the event. They also seemed to be aligned with neo-Nazis as one participant had a National Socialist Germany Workers party tattoo on his head. Other far-right groups were also present.
While bottles and rocks are horrible things to throw, what is worse is the fact that a couple brought a homemade bomb made of gas canisters and fireworks. Experts have said that if the bomb had gone off it would have presented a grave threat to human life. The couple has been jailed but any further details have not been released.
The hate of LGBT people in Poland is not anything new or unusual, as many people believe that homosexuality is a threat to family values. Members of the far-right group, Law and Justice, have said that “There will be no gay marriage and especially the adoption of children” and that LGBT people should “keep their hands off… children,” insinuating that LGBT people are predators.
Television in Poland also displays a degree of bigotry, with TVP, a Polish TV station, has called LGBT people “disturbed,” that homosexuality corrupts the minds of children, that the promotion of LGBT rights is the “most aggressive program of deprivation, it is harassment of our children, abuse, promotion of paedophilia,” and that there will be a person in every school that will promote LGBT ideology (whatever that is), effectively brainwashing young children.
Usually I like to end these types of articles with something positive but I can’t really see any way to do that, as anti-LGBT bigotry seems to be extremely pervasive in Poland, with the above-mentioned examples of assault and TV propaganda and certain cities declaring themselves LGBT-free zones. At least the bomb didn’t go off, right?
Source: Freedom News