Ivan Okhlobystin
That’s what actor and former Orthodox priest Ivan Okhlobystin wants to do. He’s the star of “Interns” – the Russian version of “Scrubs” – and he thinks gay people are a “danger” to his six children:
“I’d put them all alive in the oven,” Okhlobystin told his fans according to quotes the Moscow Times. “It’s a living danger to my children.”
Queerty.com quipped in response, “So, okay, this guy feels that good parenting requires the adoption of the tactics of Adolph Hitler. That’s so awesome. His kids are lucky to have such a great dad.”
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Rather than actually BE a parent, however, Okhlobystin thinks it better to simply eliminate everyone he doesn’t approve of: “It’s Sodom and Gomorrah, as a religious person I can’t be indifferent to it, it’s a living threat to my children.”
He also said gay people should be stripped of their voting rights though it’s difficult to imagine how they’d vote while screaming in ovens. Maxx Seddon at BuzzFeed pointed out that,
He did not clarify whether gay people should be removed from electoral rolls before or after they were burned alive, but said that Moscow journalists should join gay people in the ovens for doing their work badly.
Naturally, there were some strong reactions to these words and Okhlobystin next said “sodomites” want to kill him and no wonder. Get him before he throws you screaming into an oven to be burned alive. Seems an easy choice to me.
The Hollywood Reporter says “The Russian gay community was upset by the actor’s remarks.” Ya think?
“Lately, [Russian] public figures have gone out of their way, competing with each other in their homophobia, ” Nikolay Alexeyev, leader of Moscow’s gay community, told the radio station RSN, adding that Okhlobystin’s remarks could be viewed as “inciting hatred and enmity toward a social group.” Alexeyev also suggested that the actor could be denied visas to “civilized countries” because of his remarks.
Sounds like a good idea but Okhlobystin will just see such moves as validation of his paranoia. In response to all the fuss over his remarks, Okhlobystin sounded like he should be speaking at a Rick Perry prayer fast:
For a man there are only two options available to have an attitude toward sodomites: either acceptance or rejection. Given the aggression with which sodomites dictate their will to the world, there can not be some middle way. If you continue to flirt with sodomites, citing the rules of international, civil or criminal law – it means to be cunning and violating the law of God. Putting it simple – to serve the devil. Even non-participation in the solution of this problem is a betrayal of God, whatever numerous and often conflicting “rights” claim. Plus the existence of official organizations which sodomites have in all their forms, from homosexuals to pedophiles – it is a direct insult to the feelings of believers in God, and therefore it should be prosecuted.
Okhlobystin might get his wish in Putin’s Russia. Thankfully, for now at least, we have a Constitution that says religious people can’t punish us for not agreeing with their beliefs. Of course, if the Religious Right had its way, we would follow Russia in short order and send the bully boys after the biblically unapproved and their sympathizers.
The truly sad part is the wild cheering these words elicited from his fans. Well, that and the no doubt joyously seasonal applause of the Religious Right in this country. As we all know, the Religious Right loves Russia more than America because those Russians know how to hate gay people.
Anyone who wonders how the Nazis could hate the Jews so much need only ask an anti-gay activist why they hate gay people so much. A half century after World War II, people are still people and haters are still haters. The Nazi era is less an anomaly and more the most recent example of what authoritarian haters historically do when they get into a position of power.
According to Buzzfeed, the Russian star also said, “I don’t want my children to think that being a [faggot] is okay.” Though apparently being a murderous bigot is. That’s a nice lesson for kids.
“It’s queer fascism! If a person can’t choose someone similar from the opposite sex for reproduction, it’s a clear sign of a psychic anomaly…” Okhlobystin said.
This from a person who wants to outdo the Nazis by burning people alive in ovens. And HE talks about psychic anomaly? Really? Dr. Phil would run screaming from the room.
Cue Religious Right cheers. After all, it was just yesterday we were talking about Texas GOP gubernatorial candidate Larry Secede Kilgore, who wants to kill gays because they should be dealt with biblically. The only difference between Okhlobystin and Kilgore is that Okhlobystin doesn’t recite the Pledge of Allegiance which promises “Liberty and justice for ALL.”
Hrafnkell Haraldsson, a social liberal with leanings toward centrist politics has degrees in history and philosophy. His interests include, besides history and philosophy, human rights issues, freedom of choice, religion, and the precarious dichotomy of freedom of speech and intolerance. He brings a slightly different perspective to his writing, being that he is neither a follower of an Abrahamic faith nor an atheist but a polytheist, a modern-day Heathen who follows the customs and traditions of his Norse ancestors. He maintains his own blog, A Heathen’s Day, which deals with Heathen and Pagan matters, and Mos Maiorum Foundation www.mosmaiorum.org, dedicated to ethnic religion. He has also contributed to NewsJunkiePost, GodsOwnParty and Pagan+Politics.
