Are
the carefree days over for gays in the
West?
Within the space of a fortnight
an unknown gunman has attacked a community
centre for gay teenagers in Tel Aviv,
and another unknown man has ignited
a bomb in a stadium in Copenhagen during
a gay athletic tournament. Are these
incidents unrelated or are they symbolic
of a growing hostility to gays in the
West? Incidents like these will probably
occur more often in the future as several
factors come together to make violence
towards gays more likely.
Although the majority of Western people
seem accepting of gay lifestyles, a
growing minority is not. Religion appears
to be on the decline in the West (less
people than ever go to church) but the
reality is that religion is returning
in different and sometimes more extreme
forms. In many cases this new religious
fervour is anti-gay. In Russia, the
US, Israel and several Eastern-European
countries, old and new religious authorities
have been known to passively support
gay bashing, thus creating a climate
in which aggression towards gays seems
to be legitimised.
Ageing is also becoming a serious issue
in the West, with many couples choosing
not to have children. This is seen as
a huge problem for the future. But young
straight couples are the invisible face
of the problem while gays, seen by many
as a tribe that does not breed, bear
the brunt of the hostility for the problems
of our ageing society. And for some,
adding insult to injury, gay couples
with no kids will sail through the current
economic crisis more comfortably than
many families. During a recession such
as the one we are now experiencing,
that can cause jealousy and anger.
Added to these factors, we are currently
in a period, according to NASA, when
the position of the sun is causing sunspots.
These periods of increased sunspot activity
seem to make men more aggressive, and
so more likely to act out their prejudices
in violent ways. In the current climate,
it seems probable that more acts of
violence against gays like the ones
we have seen this week will follow. |
