I think that the media is going too crazy over gay rights in Russia during the Sochi Olympics. Reporters from the United States who were sent to Sochi were sent to cover the Olympic games, not talk the issue of gay rights to death.
In an article on MediaBistro.com, an owner of a gay bar in Russia said that the gay community just wants western reporters to leave them alone.
I feel bad for these people because they are in a country that is not where we are when it comes to civil rights. I’m afraid that the Westerners visiting may be making life tougher for the gay community in Russia.
I don’t think it’s our place as a country to go into someone else’s country, as a guest, and tell them how to treat their people. Countries are going to evolve and change on their own. The United States has changed within itself, even as European countries have changed quicker right beside us.
Reporters are supposed to help people by telling their stories, but in the case of this bar owner, he’s told his story to over 200 interviewers in the last month. I know reporters are trying to get a story about a conflict between cultures, but story they are sent there to cover is the Olympics.
It isn’t nice to be so pervasive in the lives of the gay community because they already told their story (200+ times) and the world is aware of they are in. I hope Western reporters come to their senses and show some respect and let them continue their lives.
Article referenced:
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/reports-wont-leave-gay-russians-alone_b203018
