Queer Festival Severely Delayed By Violent Anti-Gay Protests In Incheon

[pearlychoco.livejournal.com]

The first queer festival held in the South Korean port city of Incheon was severely delayed throughout Saturday, as some 1,000 Christians staged an anti-gay protests on the scene, which led to physical attacks and verbal abuse against LGBT individuals.

In spite of the violent clashes and subsequent delays, the participants of the festival carried on with the event. While many planned events were canceled, the LGBT community persisted with and completed the queer parade, the last program of the festival, at about 9 p.m. -- much later than the schedule they initially planned.

“The parade, which was supposed to be 20 minutes long, ended up taking five hours to finish,” the organizers of the event wrote on Twitter. “(No matter what happens), our existence and our love cannot be denied.”

According to the police, some 1,000 anti-gay protesters physically blocked some 300 LGBT individuals at the Dongincheon Station North Plaza in Incheon, about 50 kilometers west of Seoul, making them stuck at the corner of the outdoor public property.

Witnesses said those who were stuck could not eat nor go to the bathroom for at least five hours throughout the day. Some participants in the event reported being physically assaulted by the protesters.

A total of three trucks, which carried items to be used during the event, such as musical instruments and costumes, also could not enter the plaza as the protesters blocked their way. The members of the anti-gay rally also deliberately punctured the tires of the vehicles, according to the event organizers.

As a result, the organizers could not set the stage for the planned performances at the plaza, nor were they able to establish some 40 vendors featuring LGBT artists and activist groups, among others.

When the LGBT individuals tried to start their parade, the protesters blocked their way by lying down on the ground. Many of them swore at the pride participants. Some demanded they “leave Incheon for good” and “stop wasting tax money on AIDS treatment,” among others. They also held signs that read, "We protest homosexuality because we love (humanity)."[op's note: i'm sorry, but this is by far the most hilariously ignorant thing i've ever read in my life. EVER!]

“Our flags and banners were damaged by anti-gay protesters, and we could not eat nor use the bathroom throughout the entire day,” said Rainbow Mama Papa, a group of parents with LGBT children, in a statement.

“We express our gratitude to those who stayed with us in spite of such violence, especially the festival organizers who made their utmost efforts to ensure our safety. We’ll always be with the LGBT community in future.”

The organizers of the Seoul Queer Culture Festival, on the other hand, accused the police of being complicit with the violence committed by the anti-gay protesters, by asking the LGBT Koreans to end the event early.

“The Korean society will have to acknowledge that (what happened on Saturday) is a form of violence against minorities, not a form of religious activity,” they said in a statement.

Homosexuality is not illegal in South Korea, but there is currently no regulation outlawing discrimination. Same-sex marriage remains illegal, while a number of sexual minorities have been subject to hate crimes in the past.

Incheon police on Sunday booked eight anti-gay protesters without detention on suspicion of violating the country’s assembly and demonstration act, among other offenses.

Source: Korea Herald

Comments

[cosmicdaze.livejournal.com]

religious people always cry about lgbt people ~flaunting their lgbt-ness but will never denounce or even utter a peep about the literal violence people of their own religion commit against lgbt people

[pearlychoco.livejournal.com]

+1

[cosmicdaze.livejournal.com]

i feel like i'm always the first to comment on your posts when you post stuff like this, sorry to set the tone of the comment section 💀

[daynr.livejournal.com]

or, frankly, violence they commit against anyone in the name of their interpretation of god

[ohbubbajoan.livejournal.com]

why they can't leave us alone jfc. go pray in our churchs or whatever. imagine if lgbtq+ people would do that with them,

[theweebdream.livejournal.com]

Ugh, fucking assholes. This shit is so stupid I can’t even think properly of anything to say rn.

[idlewilds3.livejournal.com]

As days go by, I find myself growing increasingly resentful of religion. Most practitioners use religion at best as a farce to hide their own weakness and immorality and at worst wield religion as a violent blade to strike at humanity and the fabric of society. I hope there is actually a higher being out there for these "believers" to answer when they meet their maker. I don't believe in Heaven but man, I sure wish there is a Hell.

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

I’ve thought this my entire life but I can’t say it publicly because Americans are super religious

[premonitioner.livejournal.com]

yeah. I grew up in Northern Ireland, where your denomination determined everything about you.....and my parents decided to raise me as an atheist 😂😂 got a outside view of a very weird sectarian situation. on top of that, I'm LGBTQ, so that was also fun.

[senshicalico.livejournal.com]

lol damn sis. bet you got some STORIES with that background. I thought growing up gay and areligious in my small american town was a trip enough.

[premonitioner.livejournal.com]

honestly, I know I could have had it much worse. My parents and I chose schools that were mixed denomination, so I was surrounded by people whose families were less sectarian and any shittalking was mostly just talking. Me and most of my LGBTQ friends were in our 20s before we came out, because most of us knew we just weren't safe to do so when we were younger.

[daynr.livejournal.com]

anytime there is intolerance or judgment attached, you know there is either insecure fragility or ignorance/stupidity....

there have to be some live and let live religious, but they sure seem drowned out by the threatened.

[rainstormraider.livejournal.com]

Very well stated!

This is where I am headed too.

[a-suitcase.livejournal.com]

I know this won't make any difference because so many religious communities really are intolerant, but there are really good ones out there. I mean, I'm a lesbian engaged to a (female, obvs) bisexual rabbi and have found a real spiritual home in progressive Judaism, which doesn't only accept but actually celebrates LGBT+ identities.

[swhyeon1991.livejournal.com]

This is me too lol.

[krissasaur]

I am extremely atheist, but this was what turned me into what I am. I just started to see religion as a tool to scare and control people under the guise of "love."

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

Definitely a case of violence against minorities. I hope everyone is ok.

[mjspice.livejournal.com]

This is so sad

[daynr.livejournal.com]

jeez, just let people live. They probably don't care if you go to church and pray and tithe and feel guilty over wet dreams, so let them seek equal freedom to live

[torontok.livejournal.com]

LMFAO, if they care so much about money being 'wasted" on AIDS treatment, they should work more on their good "god-fearing" hetro men who visit prostitutes and cheat on their wives without protection. Korea is one of the only developed countries where HIV rates are increasing and it ain't the gays responsible for that.

There had better be charges filed. I know there were protestors in Seoul Pride but they didn't get physical with participants/ suppliers.

[rainstormraider.livejournal.com]

When your faith interferes with the lives of others, you should be charged with human rights violations.

I hope they arrest all 1000 of this group of human filth.

[phililen3.livejournal.com]

Their god is violence and hatred of others. I hope people weren't traumatized by this.

[senshicalico.livejournal.com]

Nothing says Word of Jesus like gay-bashing and committing violence against others!