Over the years, we've encountered some pretty hot takes from the Washington Post. Scorching, even. And while we're not exactly sure where on the heat spectrum this one falls, it's gotta be somewhere in the "thermonuclear" part of the band.
Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado:
LGBTQ+ communities in the Middle East face a growing crackdown, mirroring efforts by American conservatives to restrict the rights of gay and transgender people. https://t.co/SdgBWB0emA
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 3, 2023
Woooooow.
And if you think the tweet is bad, you'll be pleased to know that the article itself is even worse. More from the Washington Post:
In the Jordanian capital of Amman, a movie screening with a gay male lead was canceled recently on orders from the governor. In Lebanon, a beer commercial that appeared to include a gender nonconforming person was met with widespread derision online, similar to the backlash faced by Bud Light in the United States after it partnered with a transgender TikTok star. “Just like BudLight...go woke, go broke!” read one comment on Twitter, now known as X.
Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey have always stood out in the region on LGBTQ issues. All have queer scenes, all have hosted Pride parades or similar events. But in all three places, the community exists in a legal gray area — neither criminalized nor protected by the law. As anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment intensifies and is championed by some of the region’s most powerful figures, gay and trans people feel more vulnerable than ever.
They're just following American conservatives' lead, obviously. Before American conservatives (and even liberals who are nonetheless protective of their kids) started pushing back against radical LGBTQ+ activists, Lebanon and Jordan and Turkey were the places to be for members of the LGBTQ+ community.
And yet, at the same time, Hezbollah thinks that the U.S. is super-duper gay, which makes WaPo's thesis a bit confusing:
In Lebanon as well, LGBTQ issues have been seized on by political heavyweights. Hasan Nasrallah, the leader of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia — the country’s most powerful political and military force — claimed in a televised speech in March that the United States was spearheading a campaign to change curriculums around the world to “promote a culture of homosexuality in schools and universities.”
Last month, he went further, lashing out against cartoons that promote acceptance of LGBTQ people and telling viewers that “sodomy” should be punished by death. He warned about “children’s books promoting this deviant culture” and called on the Lebanese Education Ministry to intervene.
The leader of the Iran (yes, that Iran)-backed Hezbollah militia (which is not, contra WaPo, just a powerful political and military force; apparently no one whose hands were on this article at any point is capable of referring to Hezbollah as terrorists) is railing against homosexuality. Is that guy "mirroring American conservatives," too? Because by the way, stateside, it's American conservatives who are most likely to acknowledge that Hezbollah is a terrorist group. Is WaPo trying to kind of suggest that the United States is currently engaging in crackdowns on the LGBTQ+ community in order to push back against the reputation that they have with Hezbollah? That's really the only way to interpret those two paragraphs and still have them line up with the message WaPo is going for.
This is all very weird. It's just weird, guys.
This bit is interesting as well, and it's buried in the article where readers are likely to just skim right past it:
Although the talking points about protecting the family echo those espoused by some right-wing politicians in the United States, there are other influences closer to home, specifically Russia.
Well, in Russia, they actually are cracking down on the LGBTQ+ community. And U.S. state governments prohibiting "gender-affirming care" is not equivalent to the Russian government's hostility toward homosexuals. But it's still not because Putin hates homosexuals that Middle Eastern countries speaking out against and cracking down on homosexuality. Middle Eastern countries aren't "mirroring" Russia when it comes to LGBTQ+ issues; the Middle East has spent a lot of time cultivating their own unique brand of anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment and policies. The much-maligned-by-American-leftists State of Israel has stood out as a lone exception to the rule that the LGBTQ+ community isn't safe in the Middle East. Because — and apparently this bears repeating — the rest of the Middle East is and has long been openly hostile to the LGBTQ+ community. The more we think about all of this, the more insane it comes across.
Not only did someone write this "article," but someone else presumably edited it and said "Send this to the presses and get it out there, pronto!"
This is art.
— Chad Felix Greene (@chadfelixg) August 3, 2023
Possibly the most beautiful X in all of Xer history. https://t.co/FBN5nE40Nt
The kind of art that's so hideous that you can't quite bring yourself to look away.
— Damin Toell (@damintoell) August 3, 2023
✍️uh✍️oh✍️ https://t.co/y1Nd5A8YVo pic.twitter.com/BrCd1WvIjH
— The List (@ListComesForAll) August 3, 2023
Uh-oh, indeed.
— Enguerrand VII de Coucy (@ingelramdecoucy) August 3, 2023
We did it!
— Enguerrand VII de Coucy (@ingelramdecoucy) August 3, 2023
Sure did. Because WaPo's tweet really sucks. And the article, too, of course. The whole damn thing is just one big dumpster fire of suck.
— siraj hashmi (@SirajAHashmi) August 3, 2023
Heh.
But seriously, though. We get that WaPo has a hate-boner for American conservatives, but this is really gross, even for them.
"Mirroring" Jeebus Christopher, what a bunch of f'ing hacks. https://t.co/e8yasBlm4I
— IncognegroKamalaHarris 🇯🇲🇺🇸 (@FormerlyCBM) August 3, 2023
Iran hangs gays from construction cranes because America still has separate sports leagues for men and women. Tremendous content.
— Seth Mandel (@SethAMandel) August 3, 2023
When you equate banning exposing your dick in a women's locker room to being stoned to death. https://t.co/bTmwBwefq3
— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) August 3, 2023
US conservatives: maybe children shouldn’t take puberty blockers and hormone therapy
— Logan Dobson (@LoganDobson) August 3, 2023
Islamists: gay people should be stoned to death
Washington Post: the similarities are striking https://t.co/tZKdPfKgvv
This is insanely insulting. Absolutely insanely insulting to not only those who have been fighting for basic human rights, you know like not being castrated and/or killed, for gay people in the Middle East, but also to the intelligence of all carbon based life forms. https://t.co/kacahYx17L
— alexandriabrown (@alexthechick) August 3, 2023
The Washington Post itself is an insult to the intelligence of all carbon-based life forms.
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