Hometown Failure
Last Saturday, June 11th, my hometown of Split, Croatia, tried to organize its first Gay Pride Parade and failed immensely. For weeks, if not even months before the parade, the city has been plagued with hateful graffiti declaring ‘death to fags’ and similar messages.
Despite tensions, the organizers went along with the event. Some 250 people showed up to take part in the parade, including straight people who just felt it was okay to show support for other human beings. Those 250 were escorted by some 400 police officers, and all of them were greeted by a couple of thousand citizens fueled by hatred, who within minutes of the parade decided to throw tear gas, firecrackers, eggs, ashtrays from nearby cafes, one water cannon and plenty of garbage. Thus, the parade was not successfully completed, and was stopped due to ongoing attacks.
Their parents must be super proud.
Only a few people were arrested, and the police barely knew how to escort members of the parade to safety, as they were surrounded by an angry mob. A cameraman of RTL Croatia got hit in the head with a rock, and one local professor also got hit in the head. Luckily, that was pretty much it. But it was a disgusting showcase of hatred and violence, as the crowd yelled ‘Kill fags’ and ‘Kill Serbs’ at the parade for its entire duration. Even entire families took part in this, and the police just let it happen.
Now, the media pumped up the whole scene by stating that there were ten thousand hooligans wanting to kill everyone in the parade, while others claim that it was a handful of hooligans and thousands of bystanders. Judging by online comments on reports of the event, most citizens of Split and Croatia do not agree with such a parade, and propose various forms of capital punishment for homosexuals. Oddly enough, almost all of them bash ‘fags’, without even mentioning lesbians. That’s the funny thing about homophobes, they are really penis-oriented.
The mayor of Split, Zeljko Kerum, had this to say after the parade: ‘What happened in Split was not unexpected. I’d say that things even went better than expected. This is a conservative, Catholic town, and its citizens decided to go down to the waterfront [where the parade was forced to stop] to express their opinion. This city’s Government does not support the parade, but it also does not support violence’. The ironic thing is, Kerum – who points out conservatism and Catholicism – left his wife and kids after it became public that he got a student pregnant. He is living now with his new girlfriend and their out-of-wedlock child. Kerum, who owns a supermarket chain, made his initial fortune during the war era of the early 90s, by selling products that were taken from humanitarian aid.
C’mon everybody, let’s do it for Hitler!
People can now discuss endlessly whether those hooligans were actual citizens of Split or if the parade itself was too provocative, especially in such a country. But the fact remains that a bunch of people decided to hate another bunch of people and throw rocks at them – just for being different. You don’t choose where you’re born, your color, or sexual preference. I’ve never felt so sad about humans, because I’ve never seen our species fail so badly, so close to home.
The fact is, this is a conservative country, locked deep within the Dark Ages and moral codes of the Inquisition in so many ways. Apart from corruption, nepotism, negative selection and bribery – all of which are centuries-old traditions, now it has showcased its fear and hatred for those who are ‘different’.
If it weren’t for the recession, I’d already have my one-way ticket to a better place. Some things and some places never change, and cannot be fixed, particularly with such a high level of social toxicity. At least the truth has finally shown its face, and many illusions have been terminated.
My point is: don’t be a douchebag. Do good deeds for no reason, love humanity, love the Earth, respect life.
Vuk Oreb
