Is The political group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid Important To Toronto’s Gay Pride Or Not?
Some people are upset at the political group Queers against Israeli Apartheid, they believe the group is hijacking Toronto’s gay pride. What do you think?
Here are some comments from NOW Magazine’s website some people are very angry at the group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid.
The QuAIA can lick my fat, juicy clit. Pride is supposed to be about LGBT acceptance, not Israel/Palestine bullshit. Instead of having a nice Pride week this year, it has to be infected by Middle East garbage. If these people dislike Israeli apartheid so much, why don’t they travel over there and do something about it?
Get Middle East Politics out of my Pride! It has no business being here. The inflamed rhetoric being used by both sides is the reason we don’t have free speech.
I wish Pride had just ignored the Apartheid people because their fucked up politics is ruining an amazing event.
Give it up already! This isn’t a free speech issue! QAIA is more than welcome to tell the world what they think. They’re just not welcome to march in a specific parade run and funded by a specific group (the City and the Pride organizing committee) that doesn’t believe in their position.
Guess what, a group which wants to tell kids that there’s no Santa Claus won’t be welcome in the Santa Claus Parade either! Nor will Nazis be welcome at a holocaust memorial. Nor would Sri Lankan military have been allowed to march with Tamil protesters.
Get over it!
@DJ What you fail to appreciate is that QAIA can deliver all the free speech it wants, just not in a parade which is heavily financially supported by the City. They have not been denied the right to speak, and, in fact, are doing a lot of it and getting plenty of media coverage!
The City has every right not to fund the participation of political groups that it doesn’t agree with. The right to free speech does not include the right to public funding of every viewpoint! The City is not funding a parade which includes Queers in Support of Israel, or some such similar group.
Of course, Pride had every right to tell the City to shove off. However, without the City’s support, the parade’s existence would be threatened or at least its finances would be drastically affected. It looks like the Board decided that the better course was to exclude one group in order to avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
The Israeli consulate has plenty of space near and around it where Qu-AIA can go protest. No? Not good enough. Then it never was about free speech and Ms. Cole you fell for it. This isn’t about the poor abused gays, lesbian and trans communities in Israel because they have rights in that country. Yes the march and the Parade are about political protests and community protests, after all the march started when the guys got pissy because the lesbians wanted equality, but that’s not what this group’s agenda is about now is it. This group should be all about the G-20 and those protests because that is the proper arena to use. When Israel starts being abusive to it’s queer communities then the proper protests can be made. Until then I commend the government and Pride committee for not allowing Pride to be used to further a NON PRIDE agenda that is politically motivated, and not to further the rights of the Israeli queer community.
I agree keep this middle east use ageist them bashing out of pride. Dont bring your political hate/racial hate here to Canada. You came here for a new life, your only alienating your selfs by making everyone resent your presence not only at Pride, or in this city but in this country. These people like the Tamil protesters who threw bikes at the Toronto Police fuel an intolerance towards new Canadians.
Gayblackcanada 