Russian TV Cuts Off Gay Reporter for Protesting Anti-Gay Laws

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Max Read

08/21/13 10:52AM

Filed to: russia

Reporter James Kirchick was supposed to be on Kremlin-funded English-language news channel Russia Today to talk about Bradley Manning. Instead, he decided to talk about Russia's terrifying new anti-gay laws—and got kicked off the program. They then refused to cover his car service home:

True fact: @RT_com just called taxi company that took me to studio to drop me off on the side of the highway on way to Stockholm airport
— Jamie Kirchick (@jkirchick) August 21, 2013

The following replies are approved. To see additional replies that are pending approval, click Show Pending. Warning: These may contain graphic material.

Jong Max Read 08/21/13 10:58AM

I'm sorry but he was just being a troll. I'm all for gay rights but he was just being obnoxious.

hilikusopus Jong 08/21/13 11:49AM

"I'm sorry, but he was just trolling the state-sponsored repression and abuse of gays. I can't listen to this. Trolling is so bad, guys. C'mon, don't troll." You are not all for gay rights. You are all for no trolling.

EyeHeartPie hilikusopus 08/21/13 12:42PM

What's the point of trolling the state-sponsored repression of gays during a news show about something completely unrelated? To make people feel like supporters of the repressed are obnoxious?

hilikusopus EyeHeartPie 08/21/13 12:52PM

I'm not concerned with how this person conducted himself during a television interview, but I understand his behavior as a principled protest of a domestic policy that is garnering very negative international attention. One could argue that, as history may attest, enough social pressure can lead to change.

What I commented on was Jong's disingenuous statement, and I hinted at the absurdity of dismissing a "troll" because it "trolls" a known human rights abuser. Who is the troll, and who should we be dismissing?

WillaCatheter Jong 08/21/13 12:59PM

I don't think you know what a "troll" is.

(Try looking in the mirror.)

Al Laf Max Read 08/21/13 11:02AM

I watched it twice to see at which point he was cut off. He wasn't cutoff, he was reminded that he was part of the panel to discuss Bradley Manning. He acted like a troll and hurt his cause.

sharpsticks Al Laf 08/21/13 11:18AM

Wouldn't say that he hurt his cause. BUT, I think that framing this as him being censored or "cut off" when he was there to talk about Bradley Manning and went off the rails and attacked the reporters and such, and the conversation ended only after he stated that he would not talk about Bradley Manning, which they put him on the air for.

That said if they really did have the taxi company ditch him on the highway, that was totally unclassy.

Brian Fender Al Laf 08/21/13 11:35AM

In an environment where there is degradation of a group of people and the people who are not within that group sit by silently, there needs to be someone to stand up and break the silence. How you can equate him as a troll is confusing, unless you hold the views that Putin has set into motion. This is absolutely no different than the beginning of the Holocaust when Hitler started marginalizing Jews and this is not an isolated incident. Uganda has been persecuting and killing gay people. This is history repeating itself. Which is ironic, considering the Russians were the ones to free Berlin and kill Hitler. Of course they raped a lot of the women of Berlin after they freed them from Adolf.

PoopiesAF Brian Fender 08/21/13 11:39AM

How you can equate him as a troll is confusing

No it isn't. He was on a panel regarding Bradley Manning. That's kind of a big deal. And he hijacked it to discuss Russia's awful gay propaganda law. This is a show that's shown in the English speaking world. We know Russia's got awful gay propaganda laws. If he was on a Russian show, that is actually watched by Russians, then perhaps he'd move the ball forward on equality. Instead, this was for domestic (english-speaking world) consumption. It's an opportunity to beat our chests and show off our moral superiority, even though, the queer in question, is a neo-con piece of shit, who advocates numerous policies that are just as immoral as the Russian gay propaganda law.

MisterHippity Al Laf 08/21/13 11:45AM

Yes when people are being beaten and killed because of whom they choose to love — and a government not only condones that activity, but makes it illegal to even speak out against it — that's the time worry about BEING VERY POLITE ON A TALK SHOW. Priorities, people! Let's keep our priorities straight!

Gabrielle Cynique Max Read 08/21/13 11:23AM

Kirchick has a history of this. It's exactly like the time he was on Kremlin TV and was supposed to play "Less Than Zero" and ended up playing "Radio Radio." Asshole.

Keisertroll Gabrielle Cynique 08/21/13 11:40AM

Don't forget all those Toyota commercials where he played "Saved By Zero".

Gabrielle Cynique Keisertroll 08/21/13 12:20PM

I can't tell if you're trolling me! "Saved by Zero" is the Fixx! Such an old lady with my new wave bands.

Keisertroll Gabrielle Cynique 08/21/13 03:07PM

I was trolling you. They played a lousy cover of that song ad nauseum during the 2008 World Series.

MisterHippity Max Read 08/21/13 11:41AM

I'm surprised how many commenters here are tsk-tsking this guy for being "rude," and a "troll," and not discussing what he was invited to discuss.

Folks, what this guy did was a protest, designed to be disruptive and focus attention on a horrific injustice that's being perpretrated on Russia's gay population. And it succeeded brilliantly: this clip is now being watched all over the world, probably inside Russia too. I say more power too him!

When a country's gay teens are getting beaten up by roving packs of thugs and the police just stand by and watch — or even participate in the beating — I don't think that's the time to worry about being "polite" and "respectful" on that country's government-funded talk show. FUCK THAT.

PoopiesAF MisterHippity 08/21/13 12:05PM

1. RT does cover the gay propaganda law.

2. RT's audience isn't the Russian population. It's the English speaking world. He's protesting to the wrong audience.

3. He was on a panel to discuss the horrific injustice faced by Bradley Manning. RT's one of the few stations that will actually cover it, for more than a few seconds. And he instead jerked off to the English speaking world to rep his LGBT bonafides. Meanwhile, as a neo-con, he's advocated countless policies that are just as immoral as the Russian gay propaganda law.

MisterHippity PoopiesAF 08/21/13 12:16PM

Yes, this station is for an English-speaking audience, but it's also the propaganda arm of the Russian governmeet, which makes it an excellent forum for this kind of disruptive on-air protest. And trust me, the Russian government's leaders will see this video, and many, many people inside Russia will see this video too, thanks to the viral nature of the Internet. So he's reaching the right audience, one way or another.

Regarding Bradley — so THAT's what this is about? You're mad because you support Bradley Manning? Do you think the two minutes this guy took to stage this protest were the only two minutes in the world that anyone could see a discussion of Bradley Manning? Please. And for the record, I fail to see what "horrific injustice" Manning is facing. Even if you agree with what he did, you have to recognize that the government has no choice but to send him to prison — he revealed classified state secrets. If the Army just said, "Well, if soldiers reveal state secrets for a GOOD CAUSE then they can stay out of jail," how do you suppose we could keep any intelligence classified? They have no choice but to punish him — and he knew that when he revealed this stuff. So that's a sacrifice he chose to make — to face prison for the good of a cause. So now he has to pay that sacrifice. That's not "horrific injustice" —that's just life.

But regardless of that, this guy's other political views — and how you feel about the treatment of Bradley Manning — is irrelevant to the subject at hand. Are you saying only people who hold liberal political views in all topics should be allowed to protest human-rights abuses against gays? That doesn't make much sense to me.

captain_spleen PoopiesAF 08/21/13 02:49PM

"He was on a panel to discuss the horrific injustice faced by Bradley Manning"

Manning is trans. He'd suffer far worse if he were in the Russian military - just for being trans. He wouldn't even need to leak any secrets.

PoopiesAF captain_spleen 08/21/13 03:17PM

Manning is trans. He'd suffer far worse if he were in the Russian military - just for being trans. He wouldn't even need to leak any secrets.

He already suffered plenty in the military for being trans. I don't think he'll have it easy in federal prison as a trans individual. That's a real issue. Our prisons aren't set up for addressing the needs of our trans citizens. This would've been the perfect time for Jamie to make that point. But what does Jamie actually think of Bradley Manning? He thinks Manning should be executed.