RUSSIA WILL BE HOLDING ELECTIONS VERY SOON AND THERE ARE SOME
VIDEOS THAT ARE GOING VIRAL ON SOCIAL MEDIA, ONE OF WHICH
HAS A HOMOPHOBIC MESSAGE FOR VOTERS.
THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS VIDEO IS TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO VOTE
EVEN THOUGH IT DOES NOT REALLY MATTER.
PUTIN IS GOING TO WIN:
LET ME SET THIS UP FOR YOU AND GIVE YOU A LITTLE CONTEXT
WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE.
AT THAT POINT THE HOMOPHOBIC FEAR MONGERING BEGINS
TO
TAKE A LOOK.
SO THE POINT OF THE VIDEO IS IF YOU DO NOT GET OUT THERE AND
VOTE, THE POLITICIAN YOU DO NOT LIKE IS GOING TO PASS LAWS
THAT ALLOW GAY PEOPLE TO STAY IN YOUR HOME?
I DO NOT GET IT BUT WHAT DOES NOT SURPRISE ME IS THAT
THERE WAS A HOMOPHOBIC MESSAGE BECAUSE FOR EVERYONE WHO
THINKS RUSSIA IS THIS GREAT PLACE AND DOESN'T EVER
DESERVE ANY CRITICISM, IF YOU CAN REMEMBER JUST BACK IN
2012 THEY HAD STARTED PASSING LAWS THAT ESSENTIALLY
PERSECUTED GAY PEOPLE SO THIS IS JUST A SYMPTOM OF THAT.
BY THE WAY, HOMOPHOBIA IS NOT THE ONLY ISSUE IN THAT AD.
I DO NOT KNOW IF YOU CAUGHT IN THAT LITTLE SNIPPET THERE
AT A DIFFERENT PORTION OF THE ADDED, THE MILITARY GENERAL
SHOWS UP WHAT YOU SEE HIM AND THE TWO GUARDS.
ONE OF THE GUARDS WHO SHOWS UP WITH THE GENERAL IS BLACK
DOT IN RUSSIA.
THEY ARE GOING TO SEND BLACK PEOPLE TO YOUR HOUSE TO
ENFORCE THE LAW IN RUSSIA.
AND THEN THEY'RE GOING TO PUT GAY PEOPLE IN YOUR HOUSE AND
IN THE AD EVENTUALLY ENDS WITH A GAY GUY IN BED WITH THAT GUY.
HE SEEMS LIKE HE IS WAKING UP FROM A DREAM BUT IT IS A
GAY GUY IN HIS BED.
WHY BOTHER IS A GOOD QUESTION BECAUSE YOU THINK WE HAVE
RIGGED ELECTIONS?
YOU SHOULD GET A LOAD OF RUSSIA.
WILL LITERALLY NOT ALLOW THE MOST POPULAR OPPONENTS OF
HIM TO RUN IN THE ELECTION.
HE JUST SAYS YOU ARE BANNED AND I'M DONE WITH THAT.
THAT MUST BE CONVENIENT.
THEY WILL MAKE UP NONSENSE CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST
HIS OPPONENT, THE OPPONENT WHO ACTUALLY HAVE A SHOT AT
WINNING AND THEN THAT PERSON IS UNABLE TO RUN AGAINST PUTIN.
AND SOMETIMES THEY DON'T EVEN BOTHER MAKING UP CHARGES,
THEY JUST SAY YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO RUN.
MOST OF TIMES THE POLITICAL OPPONENTS ARE IMPRISONED.
SOMETIMES THEY ARE KILLED MYSTERIOUSLY.
I'M SURE PUTIN HAS NOTHING TO DO IT.
JOURNALISTS COVERING THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCES
ALSO ARE KILLED OR DECIDE TO COMMIT SUICIDE BY DROPPING
A PIANO ON THEIR OWN HEADS.
SO WHY BOTHER DOING THIS AD?
PUTIN WANTS TO HAVE BIG NUMBERS SO HE CAN GO OUT THERE AND GO,
BY THE WAY, HIS MAIN OPPONENT WHO IS NOT ALLOWED IN THE RACE,
THE LEADER OF THE PROGRESS PARTY IS URGING VOTERS TO, HIS
SUPPORTERS, NOT TO VOTE.
IT IS A SHAM ELECTION, DON'T EVEN BOTHER.
SO THEN PUTIN WANTS ALL OF HIS SUPPORTERS GOT THERE AND
SAY WHAT, 80% OF THE COUNTRY IS ON MY SIDE.
TOTAL NONSENSE GARBAGE.
I GET WHY THE RIGHT-WINGERS LIKE THIS DICTATOR.
HE IS FRIENDS WITH TRUMP AND HE LIKES TO FIX OUR ELECTIONS
LIKE HE LIKES TO FIX HIS ELECTIONS BUT THERE ARE
SOME PROGRESSIVES WHO STILL DEFEND THIS GUY.
WHAT I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THOSE PROGRESSIVES IS, DID
THEY DEFEND HIM WHEN HE SENT MEMBERS OF PUSSY RIOT TO PRISON
BECAUSE THEY HAD THE AUDACITY TO PROTEST AT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH?
WERE YOU SUPPORTIVE OF HIM BACK THEN?
ARE YOU SUPPORTIVE OF HIM WHEN HIS ALLIES RUN ADS LIKE THIS?
CREATING DEMAGOGUERY TO RILE UP HIS BASE TO HATE OTHERS
LIKE GAY PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRY.
WHAT PART OF THIS RIGHT WING DICTATOR DO YOU ENJOY AS A
PROGRESSIVE?
NO, LET'S IMMEDIATELY DISTRACT FROM THE
CONVERSATION BY TALKING ABOUT EVERYTHING THE U.S. DOES THAT
WE DON'T LIKE EVEN THOUGH IT IS COMPLETELY UNRELATED TO
THIS STORY.
BY THE WAY, YOU CAN TELL THAT WE ARE A LITTLE FRUSTRATED
ABOUT THIS ISSUE.
AGAIN, REPUBLICANS I GET, I UNDERSTAND.
THEY WOULD LOVE A STRONGMAN LIKE THIS THAT BLAMES BLACKS AND
GAYS IN THIS COUNTRY FOR THEIR PROBLEMS.
THEY WOULD CELEBRATE IT AND SO I UNDERSTAND THEIR MOTIVATION
COMPLETELY.
IF YOU ARE A PROGRESSIVE YOU ARE ALLOWED TO DO AND THINK TWO
THINGS AT ONCE.
YOU ARE ALLOWED TO SAY THE U.S. HAS DONE A LOT OF TERRIBLE
THINGS
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO FIXING THEM AND HERE'S THE POLICY
POSITIONS TO FIX THEM AND AT THE SAME TIME SAY HEY, MAYBE PUTIN
AND THIS CURRENT RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT DOESN'T HAVE THE
BEST OF INTENTIONS FOR ITS OWN PEOPLE, FOR US, FOR ANYONE ELSE.
THE GUY MURDERS POLITICAL OPPONENTS AND JOURNALISTS.
HOW COULD ANY PROGRESSIVES SAY THAT THEY ARE IN SUPPORT OF
THIS GUY?
HE IS NOTHING BUT PURE EVIL.
OH NO, YOU GUYS ARE DOING RED SCARE, FEAR MONGERING.
LET ME GUESS, SOME RUSSIAN BOT TOLD YOU THAT THE AD
IS ACTUALLY NOT RUN BY PUTIN ALLIES EVEN THOUGH IT SEEMS
TO SUPPORT PUTIN 100%, IT IS ACTUALLY RUN BY HILLARY CLINTON.
WHATEVER.
AND BY THE WAY, THE PERSON WHO PROBABLY CONVINCED YOU OF
THAT ONLINE WAS PROBABLY A ROBOT.
ENJOY THAT.
IF YOU TAKE OFFENSE, IF YOU DO NOT THINK ANY OF THAT STUFF
THEN DON'T TAKE OFFENSE.
SAY YOU KNOW WHAT, WHETHER PUTIN IS A BAD GUY OR NOT IS NOT
RELATED TO THE DIFFERENT ISSUES THAT I CARE ABOUT.
NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT STANCE.
IT IS NOT RELATED, A GROUP WITH YOU.
THOSE ISSUES ARE MONUMENTALLY IMPORTANT.
USUALLY THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA DOESN'T COVER THEM ENOUGH.
THE DEMOCRATS ARE USING IT AS AN AXIS OR LOSING THE
ELECTION, ABSOLUTE RIGHT THAT IF YOU ARE IN THAT CAMP, WE
HAVE NO BEEF AT ALL.
IF YOU ARE IN THE WEIRDO CAMP THAT YOU THINK PUTIN IS A
GOOD GUY AND THAT ANY CRITICISM OF HIS GOVERNMENT IS
SOMEHOW AGAINST THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE AND IS MEANT TO
DISTRACT BECAUSE WE CAN ONLY FOCUS ON ONE THING AT A
TIME, MEANT TO DISTRACT FROM ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE GOING
WRONG IN THE WORLD, THEN WE DO NOT AGREE AND
THAT IS THAT.