Poland's gay pride and prejudice

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 24 September 2020

⏱️ 26 minutes

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Summary

A number of small towns in Poland have been campaigning against what they call 'homosexual ideology'. Local authorities in the provinces have passed resolutions against perceived threats such as sex education and gay rights. LGBT activists complain that they are stoking homophobia and effectively declaring ‘gay-free zones’. Both sides argue that they are protecting the universal values of free speech and justice. But the row has attracted international condemnation. The European Union has withheld funds to six of the towns involved, and some of their twinning partners in Europe have broken off ties. Meanwhile, politicians within Poland’s conservative ruling coalition stand accused of exploiting the divisions to further a reactionary social agenda.

Presenter: Lucy Ash Producer: Mike Gallagher

(Image: A woman wears a rainbow face mask at a pro-LGBT demonstration in Poland. Credit: European Photopress Agency/Andrzej Grygiel Poland Out)

Transcript

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0:00.0	So they're clapping,
0:04.0	they're clapping because a guy went past on a bicycle and he's got a Polish flag on the back.
0:09.0	And so I assume they think that... They're saying, They're saying, Shrievna!
0:15.0	Shrievna!
0:18.0	They're saying, Shrievnik is free from the rainbow people.
0:22.0	Welcome to assignment on the BBC World Service.
0:26.0	So I'm going to talk to this guy in the blue shorts.
0:28.0	He's got quite a lot of tattoos.
0:30.0	So why are you here today?
0:32.0	Explain. Because we don't want ideology.
0:35.0	What's wrong with the ideology?
0:37.0	I don't like it.
0:38.0	They represent aggression against other people.
0:42.0	They don't want to fit in in society.
0:50.0	One side of a street in a small town in eastern Poland, a crowd of young men, some with shaved heads,
0:56.8	are railing against a group of people on the other side, against people like this man. We are not aggressive.
1:04.0	Our balloons are not provocative.
1:05.0	Our flags are not provocative.
1:07.0	Our donuts are not provocative.
1:09.0	Bart Stashevsky is also young, also Polish.
1:13.3	He and about a dozen others are giving out colourful leaflets, stickers, and yes, donuts,
1:19.7	to persuade the citizens of Svidnik that they're not a danger to the nation.
	...

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