Are gay rights advocates protesting Iranian policy in earnest or is this just another political strategy to get us to hate Middle Easterners?
Last week marked the anniversary of the execution of two teenage boys in Mashad, Iran. While both boys were charged with raping a 13-year-old boy, there has been much speculation that, in fact, the two boys were executed for being gay. Some suggest that the two boys had an exclusive relationship with one another and were outted by one of the boy's families.
In response to the event, July 19th was declared the International Day of Action Against Homophobic Persecution in Iran. Many gay rights advocates have called for worldwide protests against the “murderous homophobic Iranian regime." Heart-wrenching photos of the boys' execution have been posted all over the web. The images are horrific and sad and the story is certainly provocative and worthy of outrage.
Still, one can't help but wonder about the timing of all of this. Some would argue that there's nothing coincidental about the campaign to demonize Iranians and Islamic law at a time when the Middle East is both imploding and exploding as a result of U.S. foreign policy. Is it possible that the anti-Iranian rhetoric flying around is less about homophobia and more about condoning imperialistic military actions in support of the "global war on terror?" Could it be that well-intentioned, but poorly informed, gay rights activists may be inadvertantly, or in some cases, explicitly supporting the Bush administration's push towards regime change and the occupation of Iran?
This is one story that's worth taking the time to check sources and get it right. Sure, "I hated Iran and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" is a clever slogan - but let's all agree not to jump on the anti-Iran bandwagon too prematurely. Everything we read is worthy of suspicion and remember... there are plenty of homophobic governmental policies worthy of our outrage right here at home.
Posted by Jenn on July 25, 2006 9:50 PM
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