I cannot understand how it is possible for a demonstration against a project that aims to criminalize homophobia, and, more than that, to strengthen democracy and respect for human rights in this country, to gather around a thousand participants.
To mean. Being able to understand, I understand. Brazil is a very homophobic country. The champion in the number of murders of homosexuals, according to data from an NGO and not from a government survey. Here, prejudice and religious fundamentalism still prevail. And again: more than that. A certain hypocrisy and false moralism is also typical of the Brazilian people, let's be complicit. It is not difficult to walk the streets and find a crowd against homosexuality and homosexuals.
But what I really can't understand is how during the 1st National GLBT Conference, at the beginning of the month, a protest for the criminalization of homophobia managed to attract no more than thirty people.
Okay, the gay protest happened a long time ago. But an evangelical protest took place yesterday, which is worrying to say the least. A group of almost a thousand evangelicals spoke out against PLC 122, which precisely criminalizes homophobia. So far so good. At least theoretically we are in a democracy. Divergence of views is natural and freedom to express them in this regime team is guaranteed.
And now the case starts to get hot. Some of these protesters invaded the Senate. They managed to enter the Legislative House and were even attended by the interim president of the institution, Senator Magno Malta, who, for those who don't remember, compared homosexuals to pedophiles in an absurd speech of ignorant ideas. And the fact happened in plenary. More. A famous homophobic pastor handed the senator a document expressing the will of his religious followers that the project not be approved.
Is that what we have then? On one side, a very well-articulated reactionary movement, to say the least, brings together 1000 people. Some of them invade the Senate and are served with coffee, tea and cake. On the other, a movement without cohesion promotes a protest full of disagreements in which 30 people show up kicking high (which amounts to 3% of the total number of people present at the evangelical protest) and some press.
Can stop! There is something very wrong with all this. Or isn't it at least strange for the gay protest to be small and popular in the media while the evangelical protest is able to be big, no less popular in the media, enter the Senate pushing and shoving and still be received by the interim president of the house? I sincerely hope that this news has had a negative impact on evangelicals. After all, it is not by invading the Senate that a project can be approved or not.
It is known that there are several reasons that can be identified as the causes of such striking differences between the two protests. One of them is the lack of support and interest on the part of the GLBT population in issues related to rights, citizenship and politics. The other, my dears, forgive me in advance to those who are uncomfortable with what I'm about to say, it's the fault of militancy.
It's good that yesterday's evangelical protest at the door of Congress serves as a warning and as a slap in the face for the Brazilian GLBT movement to realize how disjointed it is/is and to start looking at its internal contradictions. Minutes before the gay protest took place in Brasília, few people knew who was organizing the demonstration, how the movement would take place, who was carrying the crosses, etc., etc., etc. The information was all inconsistent. Many, faced with so much disagreement and talk, decided to have lunch. Without wanting to get behind those who are less interested, the attitude is at least understandable.
Proof of the movement's lack of articulation is that instead of taking effective action, organizing a protest, strengthening the lobby with senators, the activists will forward this text to their contacts, they will discuss via email, exchanging accusations and it is They may very well end up on the lists, as has happened on other occasions. That is clear, if you read these words. Many don't even bother to follow the specialized press. It is much easier to receive "relevant" information via email, sent by "companions".
