Russia—the new leader of Christian civilization?

[Gay pride] events not only destroy the moral foundations of our society, but also purposefully provoke disturbances that will threaten the lives and safety of Moscow residents and guests.
— Moscow City Hall spokesman Sergei Tsoi, quoted by ITAR-Tass news agency Saturday.

- end of initial entry -

Paul K. writes:

Unlike the view of homosexuality promoted in Western societies, that of Russia is rooted in an unabashed understanding of what is normal. An op-ed in Pravda that discussed the rapid slide of America into socialism contained the following gem:

Barney Frank, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked-down-upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort.

LA replies:

We don’t know if this critical Russian view of homosexuality is based in ordinary cultural aversion resistant to modern liberalism, or in Christianity, or in attitudes left over from Communism. The Communists were negative toward homosexuality, seeing it as product of the decadence of the ruling class. Thus in Howard Fast’s novel Spartacus, on which the movie was based, the homosexuality-ridden Roman upper class, which is portrayed in very negative terms, is contrasted with the virtuous slaves led by Spartacus. And of course the main villain, Marcus Crassus, played by Laurence Olivier, is a soulless homosexual predator preying upon the young slave Tony Curtis (!). This was complete fiction by the way. Marcus Crassus was one of the wealthiest men in Rome and a member of the First Triumverate along with Julius Caesar and Pompey until his mad quest for military glory in Mesopotamia resulted in his humiliating defeat and death at the hands of the Persians. Crassus as portrayed by Plutarch bears no relationship to Crassus in the novel and movie.

The left’s radically altered view of homosexuality over the last fifty years is a good example of how the specific characters in the leftist script keep changing, while the overall story line—the oppressors versus the oppressed—remains always the same.

LA continues:

In fact the author of the op-ed, Stanislav Mishin, sounds like a traditionalist, anti-statist, conservative. I’ve copied the op-ed in a new entry.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at May 16, 2009 05:20 PM | Send