This week’s Ctrl Alt-Right Delete is devoted entirely to how threats from the far right affect LGBT+ communities in the U.S. and abroad.
We’ve been planning to do this issue since April but this past month there have been multiple reminders of why this issue is necessary. From the far-right’s attacks on Vox reporter Carlos Maza, who spoke out over continued homophobic and racist harassment he received on YouTube, to organizers of Boston’s Straight Pride Parade having ties to white supremacist and neo-nazi groups, to far-right extremists organizing protests of a library’s Drag Queen Story Hour that includes calls to harass and doxx parents who bring their children to attend.
We have an article from HOPE not hate’s Simon Murdoch outlining two trends in the far right’s attacks on or co-option of LGBT+ politics common to the US and Europe that you should know about. And to bring attention to the threats further afield, we also have a guest contribution from the Russian LGBT Network on the current situation for LGBT+ people in the region, and the need for all of us to continue to fight for LGBT+ rights.
This is our second thematic issue, and we’re excited to do even more. We’re committed to deep dives that arm you with everything you need to know. These issues are made possible by CARD’s sustaining members. You can support our work by joining our Patreon page as a monthly donor.
In Solidarity,
-Melissa
The targets of far-right hatred are rarely novel, but far-right messaging is varied and changeable, often adapting to current trends in an effort to recruit. Notably, there has been a shift within some Western far-right groups regarding LGBT+ people, which has seen the far right alter their ugly messaging to modify their attacks on LGBT+ people or, in some case, to cynically co-opt their causes.
As we mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots and rightly celebrate the advances made since, we must also not lose sight of the changing nature of the contemporary far right’s attacks on, and co-option of, LGBT+ politics today. To this end, we’ve examined some key trends in this vein: ‘Gender Ideology’, ‘Homonationalism’ and far-right ‘Pinkwashing’.
By Mikhail Tumasov, The Russian LGBT Network
This week is 50 years since the Stonewall riots, the moment when a small group of people rebelled against the existing order and resisted the well-established traditions of New York society. Since then, the LGBTIQ movement has achieved a lot and not just in the United States and Western Europe: the Prime Minister of Serbia is an open lesbian and prides are held in Chisinau and Kiev, for example.
However, the fight is hardly over. Read why here: https://www.hopenothate.org.uk/2019/06/28/50-years-stonewall-fight-lgbt-rights-goes/
Want even more links? Support us on Patreon to receive a second ICYMI post just for CARD members.
Longtime readers know that I’m fairly obsessed with /r/the_donald, reddit’s largest pro-Trump community, and a continualproblem for the reddit community overall. I’ve written previously about Trump’s 2016 campaign and now White House’s relationship with the_donald, and how much they rely on that community to galvanize supporters.
This week, after Media Matters found mutiple calls for violence towards law enforcement, reddit quarantined /r/the_donald, issuing a warning to anyone wishing to access the group and preventing the group from appearing in search results and popular feeds on other parts of reddit.
I’ll be interested to see what effect the quarantine has on /r/the_donald’s ability to spread pro-Trump content online, and whether or not the Trump Administration and reelection campaign continue to work closely with the community if their reach is impacted. We already know that in the short term conservatives will do their usual whining about censorship but the long term impact of the quarantine on #MAGA-land is less clear. Worth keeping an eye on…
Enjoy this week’s newsletter? Help us spread the word. Forward it to a friend or colleague who might be interested. Direct referrals are still our #1 source of growth.
Did someone forward you this email? You can subscribe here.
Talk to you next week!
A Reform Party candidate fantasised about deporting “millions” of British citizens to “rid itself of the foreign plague we have been diseased with”. UPDATE: Reform…
