Russian Priest: Multi-Colored Cleats Make World Cup a ‘Homosexual Abomination’ http://t.co/HlZGIZq6K7
— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) July 8, 2014
Enjoy the World Cup’s carnival atmosphere while it lasts: the next two tournaments will be held under joyless, autocratic, homophobic governments. A prominent Russian Orthodox priest has kicked off the hate well ahead of the 2018 cup in Russia by calling the multi-colored cleats worn by the players have turned the World Cup into a “homosexual abomination.”…. His extraordinary remarks follow the one-year anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s anti-gay propaganda law, which bans promoting homosexuality to those under age 18. The legislation contributed to the oppressive and violent environment for gay Russians and led to widespread calls for the Winter Olympics in Sochi to be boycotted earlier this year. The World Cup in Russia will be followed by a tournament in Qatar in 2022 where homosexuality is illegal.
It would seem the idea of “live and let live” isn’t a core belief of the Russian Orthodox Church. Nor is tolerance of diversity or the idea what happens between two consenting adults behind closed doors is none of their G———-d business. Like the American Taliban, the Russian equivalent feels their sex life is acceptable and moral while that of everyone else is dirty, licentious, and immoral…and therefore they have they absolute right to regulate the sexual conduct of others.
Sometimes this self-righteousness can morph from the sublime to the ridiculous. How can you NOT laugh at someone who honestly believes brightly-colored soccer boots are the precursor of the Homosexual Apocalypse? Perhaps the intricacies of marketing and the desire to promote a product on a world-wide stage escapes Alexander Shumsky. It’s as much about sexuality as I’m the Queen of England. It’s about market sure and money, plain and simple.
Try as I might, I fail to understand what it is that troglodytes like Shumsky are afraid of. As with the Radical Christian Right in this country, there are those convinced that homosexuals are out to forcibly convert our children, put heterosexuals in re-education camps, and all manner of silliness. What are they so afraid of? Perhaps if they turned their gaze inward, they might discover something that makes them profoundly uncomfortable…and so they repress those thoughts and direct their rage and anger outward toward those who possess the emotional honesty to lead a life of love and integrity.
There’s no need to deconstruct Shumsky’s argument; it’s absurd on its face. Adidas and Nike are engaged in a fierce battle for the hearts and minds of soccer players and fans the world over. Brightly colored boots are simply the current weapon of choice. If you choose to sexualize that, I think it says more about you and your fear and ignorance than it does the World Cup.
If Alexander Shumsky thinks he’s a shining example of the love, tolerance, and charity of Jesus Christ…well, it makes my unchurched ways significantly more sensible, don’chathink?
