Re: Lua Workshop 2014 in Moscow?

[Paige DePol <lual@...>]

On Dec 30, 2013, at 11:33 AM, Coda Highland <chighland@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Mon, Dec 30, 2013 at 9:13 AM, Paul Merrell <marbux@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hi, all,
>> 
>> Add the U.S. to the list of nations where LGBT community members still
>> suffer hate-motivated violence, including murder.
> 
> This thread has, of course, been extremely political from day one, but
> let me point something out.
> 
> This happens EVERYWHERE.
> 
> The US isn't alone.
> 
> ...
> 
> You're going to find stories about anti-LGBT violence all over the place.
> 
> Don't look at the stories. Stories by their very nature suffer from
> confirmation bias -- it only takes one story to put a black mark on a
> country, regardless of the size of its population or its political
> leanings.
> 
> I accept that people aren't going to want to come to the US due to the
> absurdity of our so-called security policies. But when judging a
> country for its social behavior, look not at the exceptions but the
> norm.

I agree with what you are saying, however, at the current moment Russia is currently a higher risk country for LGBT people.

I also want to be clear, I am not saying "never visit Russia", but rather given the current state of things it may be wise for some people to exercise caution. I would say the same thing for a number of countries currently, for a variety of reasons. 

It would also appear that Canada, the Unites States and Australia have issued travel advisories warning LGBT persons travelling to Russia; including keeping your sexuality "covert" and not participating in any demonstrations. As detailed by these advisories there have been a number of murders and attacks on LGBT people since this law was passed.

I hope the Workshop is successful and all participants have a great time, I also think people should be careful. :)

~pmd~