Dirtying the mantle of Pride

The activist community in Stockholm has been roused to anger and action this week by an upcoming event - a two-hour Pride march through Tensta and Husby, two northwestern suburbs of the city. This is, however, no ordinary Pride march; it is being organized by one Jan Sjunesson, former editor of Samtiden - the paper of the right-wing racist Sweden Democrat party - and currently collaborator on the homophobic hate site Avpixlat.

Despite Sjunesson's claims that this is a defense of LGBT rights in neighborhoods where a Pride parade has never been held before, the timing and location of the event indicate this is intended to be a clear Islamophobic provocation. Tensta and Husby are two districts with a heavily immigrant and Muslim population, and the march is scheduled for next Wednesday, July 29th, at 12:00 noon. The only people who would be around to witness the event - and possibly confront it - are schoolchildren, high-school students, stay-at-home parents and the unemployed.

It's not hard to out Sjunesson as an unrepentant racist and Islamophobe; his Facebook page is littered with all kinds of hate-filled propaganda. Word about this march and who's behind it will certainly spread through Tensta and Husby like wildfire and people will turn out to protest - as well they should. But as noted, it is likely to be largely immigrants and Muslims who will be able to come out at that time; Sjunesson will no doubt use it as fuel for his arguments that Muslims are an intolerant bunch of homophobes who have no business coming to a peaceful country like Sweden that embraces diversity and living off its generous welfare benefits and refusing to integrate.

The rest of the Swedish far right has predictably rallied to Sjunesson's cause, expressing bewilderment that the main gay rights organization in Sweden, RFSU, has officially distanced itself from the event and decrying the left as hypocrites for organizing to protest the march when they supposedly stand for the defense of gay and lesbian rights. (They've also accused the organizers of the annual Stockholm Pride march of hogging all the glory for themselves, afraid to let others stage Pride marches when and where they wish.)

This event is a thoroughly disgusting mockery of everything the real fight for gay rights has ever stood for. Anyone and everyone who supports LGBT liberation should, if they are able, turn out to counterdemonstrate along the route of the march and attend the Pride picnic organized by genuine LGBT activists at the location where the march is planned to end.

There are surely residents of Tensta and Husby who are both gay and Muslim. Perhaps this would be a good opportunity to call Sjunesson's bluff and organize an openly Muslim LGBT contingent to jump in at the front. Tensta and Husby are their districts; why should they not be represented?

I'll be taking the day off to protest. If such a contingent comes into being and gets into the march, I will most assuredly be with them.