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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
PEOPLE GATHERING AROUND A GIANT RAINBOW FLAG DURING KRAKOW EQUALITY MARCH (PRIDE PARADE) AT MAIN MARKET SQUARE.
Polarized Poland
Culture war in Warsaw pits the religious right against liberal LGBTQ.
STORY BY
STEVE PAFFORD
B
y virtue of its Central European geographical location, Poland has been prone to invasion from its neighbors on an alarming level throughout history, often leading to the elimination of the Polish state completely.
Despite this litany of annexations and occupations, Poland managed to adopt a written constitution in 1791, only the second valid legal document of its kind in the world. Sadly, it was only in eff ect for 14 months before it was partitioned for over 100 years.
So, let no one tell you this ninth largest country in Europe hasn’t been progressive. Unusually for a European nation, Poland had no specifi c laws against gays either. This was formally codifi ed in 1932, when Poland introduced an equal age of consent for homosexuals and heterosexuals set at 15; a younger age and a long time earlier than most European nations. At the other end of the continent, equalization only occurred, amazingly, in the whole of the United Kingdom just twelve short years ago, in 2008.
However, times change. Since this God-fearing Catholic country was admitted to the EU in 2004 it feels like Poland has willfully delighted in marching to a diff erent drum than the rest of Europe, taking the lead, ironically, from Putin’s autocratic, homophobic Russia than the leftish liberal minded community that has directly and indirectly pumped billions of euros into the Polish economy.
Nothing symbolizes that more than the country’s current president Andrzej Duda.
Anti-gay rhetoric has been at the center of Duda’s 2020 presidential campaign, including strong verbal attacks on Poland’s LGBT community, fueling prejudice and hate
crimes throughout the country. In an attempt to appeal to his conservative base, the incumbent referred disparagingly to an alleged Western “LGBT ideology,” even going as far as calling it more destructive than communism.
Consequently, in the past year, more than a third of Polish towns have informally declared themselves “LGBT-free zones.”
The conservative-leaning newspaper, Gazeta Polska, even boasted it was distributing “LGBTfree zone” stickers — showing a black cross superimposed on a rainbow fl ag — with an issue of its Law and Justice party (PiS)-supporting weekly in 2019. The ruling party — ironically named PiS for short — have pledged to fi ght this so-called “LGBT ideology” and protect the traditional Polish family unit.
PiS party leader and former Prime Minister, Jarosław Aleksander Kaczyński responded to the declaration, calling LGBT rights “an import” that threatens Poland.
If anything, it reminds me of the Thatcher government’s hated Clause 28 in the Conservative-dominated Britain of over thirty years ago, that was brought into law because they claimed local authorities were guilty of “promoting homosexuality.”
So this is progress, eh?
The move was criticized by the US ambassador to Poland, Georgette Mosbacher, expressing concern that the stickers were ostensibly a hate crime.
“I am disappointed and concerned that some groups use stickers to promote ha-
tred and intolerance. We respect freedom of speech, but we must stand together on the side of values such as diversity and tolerance,” Mosbacher tweeted.
In response, the rag’s editor, Tomasz Sakiewicz, said his own views and those of the ambassador should both be respected, tweeting that “being an activist in the gay movement does not make anyone more tolerant”.
“Poles love freedom and have known the word tolerance for centuries. That’s why they supported the rise of the USA,” he added.
Paweł Rabiej, the deputy mayor of Warsaw, said he intended to fi le a complaint about the stickers to
the Polish prosecutor’s offi ce.
“German fascists created Jewfree zones,” he tweeted.
“As you can see this tradition fi nds worthy followers, this time in Poland,” he said, adding that it was happening “under the umbrella” of the governing party and bishops.
A day earlier, several citizens had been arrested at a protest against the pre-trial detention of an LGBT rights campaigner known as Margot. Human Rights Watch described the government’s Soviet-style crackdown on activists as an attempt to crush democracy and dissent against state-sanctioned homophobia.
To hammer home the point, gay marriage and same sex civil unions are still outlawed in Poland, unlike in most of Western European countries and even former Eastern Bloc territories such as Slovenia and the Czech Republic.
When Nazi horrors such as Auschwitz happening within its borders, the shadow of the Holocaust hovering over everything makes the discussion diffi cult – but it’s impossible to ignore.
Nevertheless, Polish attitudes to homosexuality are evolving, and many commentators view gay or gay-friendly politicians like the current Mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski, and the current leader of the left-leaning party Spring Robert Biedroń as future presidential material. Hopefully they can drag Poland into the 21st century without too much kicking or screaming. — STEVE PAFFORD is an English journalist, actor and author of the acclaimed book BowieStyle. Having trained from the fl oor up in UK music titles Q, MOJO and Record Collector, he’s had his work featured in a wide variety of British, American and Australian media including the BBC, CNN, The Independent and the New York Times. Steve divides his time between Australia and the south of France.
