Posted on 03/29/2014 9:48:27 PM PDT by nickcarraway
TBILISI, Georgia—Halfway through an otherwise coherent conversation with a Georgian lawyer last week—the topics included judges, the court system, the police—I was startled by a comment he made about his country’s former government, led by ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili. “They were LGBT,” he said, conspiratorially.
What did that mean, I asked, surprised. Were they in favor of rights for sexual minorities? For gay marriage? Were they actually gay? He couldn’t really define it, though the conversation meandered in that direction for a few more minutes, also touching on the subject of the former president’s alleged marital infidelity, his promotion of female politicians, his lack of respect for the church.
Afterward, I worked it out. The lawyer meant to say that Saakashvili—who drove his country hard in the direction of Europe, who pulled Georgia as close to NATO as possible, who used rough tactics to fight the post-Soviet mafia that dominated his country—was “too Western.” Not conservative enough. Not traditional enough. Too much of a modernizer, a reformer, a European. In the past, such a critic might have called Saakashvili a “rootless cosmopolitan.” But nowadays the insulting code word for that sort of person in the former Soviet space—regardless of what he or she actually thinks about gay people—is “LGBT.”
It was an eye-opening moment. Like Ukraine, Georgia is a post-Soviet republic that has tried to pull itself out of the sphere of Russian influence. Unlike Ukraine, Georgia does not have a sizable Russian-speaking population, and Georgians even have cause to fear Russia. Since their 2008 invasion, Russian troops have occupied the Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, about one-fifth of the country. Russian tanks are parked a few hours drive from Georgia’s capital.
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
Ever get the feeling leftist authors are single issue minded.
It’s gay gay gay 24/7.
I thought colonialism was bad?
Idiot. And I just said that we are in serious trouble in foreign policy on another thread.
The Georgians loved President Bush, named a street after him, went all out to entertain him. I am not sure they will lean to Russia but we have lost a good friend in them.
When I was there in 2005 we had military everywhere helping them get up to speed to enter NATO. Now? Probably not.
It is becoming more and more sad to be American these days. Run Ted Run.
Conservatives east and west are cozying up.
No wonder Slate is terrified. A new specter is haunting Europe.
Its not Communism. Its all that scaredy-bogedy right-wing caveman stuff.
That liberal parents scare the living daylights with out of their kids.
LGBT just might describe the GiBLeT Government we have in DC. Seems like most of it is homosexual, Muslim, dirt-worshiper, or some other demented group.
A nationalist Russia is simply not the reincarnation of the USSR. Russia is not a serious ideological or military threat to the West. The West should be more concerned with its own economic, political and social well being.
I thought Communism was bad. Now its religion, the traditional family and good old fashioned common sense? C’mon now.
Slate is embarrassing itself!
.... And just who do you think is starting all of the Anti-Western Rhetoric? Our dear leader, his mate and spawn aren't exactly the biggest cheerleaders for pro American values.
Obama and his ilk do not believe the West is exceptional, enlightened and unique.
They don’t believe in the superiority of the West! Me thinks Anne Applebaum needs to go look in the mirror.
They say now the axis of evil is us, Saudi Arabia, and Israel.
Well, John Kerry let us know a while back that the number one job of the State Department is to promote gay rights world-wide.
I have no doubt that any western installed leadership was probably pro LGBT. We’ve got to face that fact that the America we knew is gone - and in it’s place is some sort of monstrous pro-gay, pro-abortion bully.
Let the chips fall where they may.
The new axis of evil is the EU, the US and the Climate Change-Cross-Dressing Left.
.... They actually believe that once America caves and submits to all external influences and pressure .... the world will actually achieve .... World Peace.
In the snippet above, she's quoting someone in Georgia who brought up gays when it had nothing to do with the topic. She's pointing out that this is how those who oppose a more integrated Europe in Eastern Europe slur people who want a more open society. Notice I didn't say a more gay society. You can have freedom without having LGBT crammed down your throat. Freedom and the gay agenda (political and cultural power for gays based on their sexual preference).
I've seen the same thing with these slurs on FReeRepublic. Point out that Putin is a former KGB thug (a Colonel with sixteen years of service), or that he's stealing from the Russians (he's worth $75 billion), or that he's a phony on religion, and you're called a fag, or worse a McCain supporter.
There are illogical conservatives who sadly cannot see that they're being conned by Putin. They think because he claims to be a nationalist (is stealing from his nation not the best evidence that he loves his country they must think), and he hates the gay agenda enough to make it his dominant concern, means for the dilettante conservative that he must be a swell guy working towards a conservative utopia. Never mind that autocracy and conservatism, don't go together. Never mind that if Putin were such a great Christian he wouldn't be helping Iran get a nuclear weapon.
But the point is that Putin makes Obama look like a 4 year old. We need a president with class, poise, and the ability to be out there with other world leaders and represent us well.
Run Ted Run.
While I’m sure the Georgians can be wonderful people, there is no way in Hades we should go to war for them, up to and including nuclear war with the Russians. Which is really what NATO is about.
The Georgians are not so much anti-Russian as they are unwilling to rejoin a Russian (especially Putin) led empire. They want autonomy. Putin aspires to drag everyone back under him.
With the proper training and equipment, most of these nations could kill enough Russians with asymmetrical warfare as to make Putin’s empire building end very quickly. They’re is enough hatred for Russian brutality, arrogance, and imperialism that no one will have to inspire the many former conquered Soviet states to fight back. Unfortunately, Obama thinks he can get rid of Putin’s threats and malice with rhetoric and fairy dust.
I suppose your efforts here are not just to align FReeRepublic's conservatives with Putin but with all the cranks and weirdos on the right in Europe.
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