QATAR CUP AND THE GAYS: A DIFFICULT UNION!

QATAR CUP AND THE GAYS:

A DIFFICULT UNION!

I have seen, with the start of the Qatar Cup and the games in progress, many news that fans were barred for carrying an object/utensil with the colors of the rainbow, a reference to the LGBTQIA+ community. Many people, in the comments, have complained about the way of life of society in the country, pointing to repression of homosexuality.

 

Let's go to two points of view:

 

01. How difficult is it to follow rules? How difficult is it for you to know that you are in another country, another culture, another type of experience? I live in a condominium with approximately 4 thousand people. In the WhatsApp group, the issue was raised that children over 10 years old cannot play in the playground. It's the norm! It is an old rule of the Residential Park. If you want to change, take the agenda to the next meeting and try to change it. And what was seen in the group was a lot of parents saying “I pay for the condominium and my son is going to play in the playground, yes!”. The Brazilian's problem is that we don't obey. For us, everything is carnival, whoring and football. Everything is mess. Here everything can. While the Japanese clean up the mess in the stadium, we have sex in the street during Carnival.

 

It is worth mentioning: what kind of citizen are you creating and do you want to see in the future with this kind of attitude where everything they want is possible, will happen!?

 

In short: Respect the culture of the country! Respect the laws/rules/norms of Qatar! Respect the sovereignty of the country!

 

02. Right at the beginning of the Qatar Cup, a proposal was made for players to enter the field with a bracelet with the colors of the LGBTQIA+ community. Some countries supported it, others denied it, like Brazil. What would this attitude do for gay men in Qatar? Probably nothing. But that would be the beginning of a possible future change in society. In fact, I analyze that the purpose of this project was not to affront society and the country's politicians. The objective was to demonstrate to the homosexuals there that they are being seen, that they have people here in other places who support them, who embrace them. But everything has to have a beginning. For example: Homophobia was not a crime according to our Constitution. And only the one who had the power to change this was Congress. However, the STF (Federal Court of Justice in Brazil) analyzed that Congress would never vote on this project. So he walked in front, picked up the agenda and voted. Today, homophobia is a crime in Brazil. Everything has to have an initiative.

 

In short, unfortunately in these countries, homosexuality is still wrong. In these countries there is still a lot of repression. And we can do almost nothing. In my opinion, this proposal to put on the bracelet and show support for the cause would be ideal for the moment, since it neither affronts the politics there nor is it too exaggerated. But, for sure, behind a simple “I don't want this bracelet!”, there is a lot of hypocrisy, prejudice and, of course, money.

 

And finally, it is worth noting that you do not need to be homo affective to try to understand the cause, respect and even defend it.

 

Let's go and see what happens!

I hope that all countries manage, one day, to become free from the shackles of politics and fundamentalist and extremist religiosity!

November 22nd, 2022

Raphael Paiva