Stranded Stories Sunday 6/2/24
I apologize in advance for the length of this newsletter, but I do hope you read till the end!
Hi All!
This week’s stranded stories come from all over the globe. We will be traveling to Indonesia, Italy, Senegal, Kosovo and New Zealand, and a few stories from the US too. Don’t worry, I’ll have maps so you know where in the world we are.
Also, it’s the second day of Pride Month, so most of today’s stories are focused heavily on queer issues.
I think it’s just as important to talk about domestic stories at a local level, as it is to talk about international stories. TikTok doesn’t seem to agree, so here we are.
We begin in Indonesia.
Do you see that red dotted outline? That’s Indonesia. And it’s not nearly as close to anything as that map makes it look.
And, if you haven’t guessed yet, this story is about queer existence and visibility, as are many of this week’s stranded stories.
Indonesia mulls ban on investigative journalism, LGBT content - May 27, 2024 (Reuters)
In 2002, Indonesia made a broadcasting law. The first thing in that law reads:
that freedom of expression and access to information through broadcasting as a manifestation of human rights in the life of the society, the nation, and the state are carried out in responsible, harmonious, and equitable manners between freedom and equality to exercise rights based on Pancasila (state ideology) and the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia;
They are now working on revising this, and other parts of the law, but the new law seems to end the ability for investigative journalists to do their job.
In the new law, the government will regulate all journalism as they see fit. Up until now, they have regulated all media except journalism, which isn’t great anyway, but by regulating journalism, it makes it hard, or impossible for journalists do to their job. This is hugely concerning in regards to ethics, among other things. Most of this info I’m getting from an ABC.au article. All articles discussing this discuss how it’s bad, but only that one seems to talk about the actual contents of the law.
The Press Council in Indonesia put out this press release against the new revisions to the broadcasting law.
The second concerning part of the revisions involves LGBTQ+, but there are also many other things they deem unacceptable. From the Reuters article:
The bill has drawn criticism also because it seeks to ban content displaying violence, mysticism, LGBT or "negative behaviour or lifestyles that potentially harm the public".
Prominent filmmaker Joko Anwar slammed the proposal, describing it as "dangerous" and "impossible" to implement.
"The ban on such content not only impedes the creativity of the creative industry, and freedom of the press, but also undermines people's capacity to filter what they watch," he said.
There is no clarification of what any of these words mean. We don’t know if “violence” means in movies, or the news, though, given the parts of this revision that take away journalistic freedom, my hunch is it means both.
Sounds very “There’s no war in Ba Sing Se”
From Indonesia we travel to the US and a very strange decision made, and then reversed by the US Secretary of the Interior
National Park Service reverses Pride ban for employees in uniform after backlash from LGBTQ+ community - May 25, 2024 (Advocate)
I’ve read this multiple times and I still don’t understand why this is something that would have been approved in the first place. My only guess is that even though The Advocate and other publications are calling this a reversal, that it’s actually a clarification. If you have any other theories, let me know.
On May 17, Deb Haaland, US Secretary of the Interior sent this memo to those who work in the National Park Services. The memo doesn’t say anything about LGBTQ events, it doesn’t even mention the words “pride”, “LGBT,” or “gay.” Which is another reason I think it is a misunderstanding.
The memo does say
It also says that events and activities planned by the NPS have to be related to the mission of the NPS.
What this does mean is if someone else was president, say, Trump, then it probably would prohibit LGBTQ+ events and support, but for now, under Biden, the mission of the NPS does include
Special Emphasis Months, which have been identified by Presidential Proclamation, Executive Orders, and public law to ensure that federal agencies take affirmative steps to provide equal opportunity in all areas of employment,
This is a quote from an email Haaland sent internally.
You can find a list of Special Emphasis Programs here.
I don’t blame people like Pattie Gonia for misunderstanding, and I’m very glad Haaland clarified as quickly as she did. Special Emphasis Programs needed to be exempt in writing in that memo.
This is a great reminder that checking other people’s work is important. Misunderstandings are a fact of life, but we must check the source material before jumping to conclusions.
We now travel to Italy, actually the EU in general.
We are talking about the 9 countries underlined in red
If you can’t see them in that image, they are Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia and Italy.
Italy’s family minister explains decision not to sign EU LGBT declaration - May 19, 2024 (Euractiv)
I have to say it’s quite frustrating, but not surprising, that the only articles I can find are about why Italy didn’t sign the declaration, and include nothing about the other eight countries. Eastern Europe is just expected to be terrible in this regard so I guess it’s not newsworthy.
The Declaration was signed by most EU member states on May 17, World Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.
It began:
The European Union Treaties, the Charter and international law guarantee the enjoyment of human rights to all regardless of differences based on following grounds sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. Other grounds including gender, gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics are protected by national law in various Member States. The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission share a responsibility in ensuring the promotion and protection of equality and anti-discrimination. Affirming the principle of equality is imperative; putting it into practice is equally essential. This holds specifically true for LGBTIQ1 persons who remain at risk in this regard.
You can read the whole declaration here.
When asked why Italy didn’t sign it, Family Minister Eugenia Roccella said
Everyone can choose who they want to love or have sexual relations with. But the freedom to ‘be who you want to be’ advocated in the document is an ideological constraint and a denial of reality because the reality of the body and sexual affiliation cannot be changed to the end
There’s more, but that gives the general gist. Basically, it’s the basic TERF theories. And I’m going to assume at least some of the other countries who wouldn’t sign the declaration have the same reasons. Though, I also know, that some of the countries are also against all queer people in general, and not just trans people. What transphobes don’t understand is you don’t actually support the community if you can’t support trans people. It really is all or nothing.
I’m certainly not surprised by Italy, their current PM is part of the same party of Mussolini. And just like most other things I say, this also comes back to voting. Many people probably didn’t vote because they assumed it didn’t matter. It matters. It always matters, in every single country it matters.
We’re going to stay in Europe for this next story, and it’s kind of the antithesis of the last one, which is nice, first overtly positive story of the day!
That small circled country, which is red on this map, is Kosovo. It is a majority Muslim country, and if you’ve been hearing about it, even in passing, it’s because of a conflict between Kosovo and Siberia. Siberia is the country, that is colored in yellow, above Kosovo and it does not recognize Kosovo as an autonomous country. Anyway, back to this specific current event:
Kosovo could become first Muslim nation to allow homosexual unions - May 26, 2024 (5 Pillars)
Yes, you read that correctly. But the wording is also specific. This is about same-sex unions, not marriages. However, even though that doesn’t seem like it goes far enough, and it doesn’t, this is, as I said, a majority Muslim country, and no Muslim country has same-sex unions let alone marriage equality, so this is a huge deal. There will be a vote in parliament any day now.
PM Albin Kurti said this at a recent event in Berlin.
Kosovo will aim to become soon the second country in the Western Balkans… offering its citizens the right to same-sex civil unions. We will work hard to pass this in the very near future.
This same vote failed in 2022, but Kurti believes it will pass this time because he has the support of most MPs. That said, he doesn’t have the support of all the MPs he needs for it to pass, so, according to Reuters, he’s made a deal. If they vote for this and his energy and infrastructure agreements, there will be a “snap election” long before the already scheduled February 2025 one.
This also gives a glimpse into how bipartisanship, and government in general works. To get things done, the PM or president has to give up other things, unless their party has a supermajority. This is one of the reasons Biden does certain things to appease the republicans, for instance.
I will, of course keep you updated on if civil unions actually become the law of the land in Kosovo, and wouldn’t it be amazing if that happened this month!
From Kosovo, we move to Senegal. Senegal is the western most country in Africa (if you don’t count Cape Verde)
Senegal is the country outlined in a red dotted line. The Gambia is a country surrounded by Senegal on both sides, which is why the dotted line looks strange.
PM Sonko criticises French military bases, Western push for gay rights in Senegal - May 17, 2024 (France 24)
If I’m being candid, this isn’t really a story. Queerness has always existed in Africa. However, most countries on the continent have very conservative governments that have fallen prey to Western conservativism. This is thanks to Christian missionaries throughout the centuries. Rachel Maddow has phenomenal segments where she breaks down how anti-LGBTQIA+ American organizations have traveled to Africa to promote the idea that queer people and queer thought are evil and need to be destroyed.
Here is one of those segments from last year:
This segment is about Uganda, but it’s the same story for many of the countries in Africa. If you want to know even more about it, this article from Stonewall UK is a great summary of why this happened, two words, British colonialism.
Anyway, last month, Senegal PM Ousmane Sonko spoke at a joint conference with French politician and candidate for European parliament, Jean-Luc Mélenchon. Among other things, he spoke about western ideas of legal queer activity.
He is well aware that Western countries did not bring homosexuality to Senegal and that it’s always been there, but still requested that Western countries give “restraint, respect, reciprocity and tolerance” to their conservative ideals.
These include letting them continue to “manage” queerness found in the country.
"Senegal and many other African countries cannot accept any truth in legalising this phenomenon."
It’s almost funny. Queerness is not a Western concept, homophobia, on the other hand, is. If they really wanted to be independent from the West, they would legalize queer people existing publicly, at the bare minimum. That would show independence from their former British rule, and the American conservative organizations that keep pushing them towards those bigoted ideals.
We are now headed back to the states. Louisiana to be specific. Do I need to show you where Louisiana is on the map? Comment and let me know. It’s okay if you don’t know, but I want to help contextualize if that’s the case.
Eh, what the hell, here’s Louisiana
You probably know that on this map, it’s the state outlined in a red dotted line. But if you didn’t know, now you do.
Law placing 25 foot buffer zone for crime scene gets mixed reaction - May 31, 2024 (WDSU NBC Affiliate)
Louisiana has a new law, people have to stay at least 25 feet away from police officers while they are assessing a crime scene. If they don’t comply, they get 60 days in prison or a $500 fine.
This sounds like a great way to stop civilians from recording police.
The bill’s author Rep. Bryan Fontenot, insists this has nothing to do with why he introduced the bill in the first place
It sets a safe distance of 25 feet when an officer has asked you to retreat. So he can safely conduct an arrest or do his duties. Across America, you see these types of laws being enacted to assist police officers.
Sure. In this political climate that totally sounds like the reason.
Naturally, the ACLU immediately released a statement:
The twenty-five-foot buffer legislation fundamentally seeks to curtail Louisianians' ability to hold police accountable for violence and misconduct. If law enforcement officers were operating in a manner that safeguarded the well-being and constitutional rights of the public, there should be no objection to being observed. Moreover, HB 173 is impractical to enforce consistently and will exacerbate tensions in any situation involving law enforcement. We denounce the passage and signing of this legislation and urge our communities to stay vigilant and safe in response to these developments.
Like many other laws, this law can’t actually be enforced. Who will police how close someone is? Will they have measuring tape? It all seems very impractical.
But, I suspect, that’s the whole point. These types of laws are scare tactics. Most people will probably stay much further away, cause who knows how far 25ft is anyway? And, on the flip side, a police officer could insist that a bystander was within 25 ft in many, if not all cases. So if a police officer was out of line, and it went to court, the bystander’s testimony could likely be thrown out cause they were close enough and therefore breaking the law.
There’s no way Fontenot didn’t think of this when introducing the bill. This, again, is why voting matters. Fontenot is just a State Representative but this could have serious and long-lasting ramifications. State Representatives have much more power than most people realize.
This was a busy week, so we’re going to end this Stranded Stories Sundays a bit early with this, the 7th and final story.
This story comes from New Zealand, and it is completely devastating.
You know the drill, it’s the country with the red dotted outline, kinda in the middle of nowhere.
Transgender teen tries to cut off breast in self-mastectomy - Wellington doctors - May 16, 2024 (The New Zealand Herald)
I’m going to start with the good news. He is okay. The saddest thing is if it had been a red state or a country with a conservative government, I probably wouldn’t be able to say that.
This story was originally written in a report in the New Zealand Medical Journal. The authors said
The teenager, who had a background of gender dysphoria, was on testosterone treatment and was awaiting gender-affirmation surgery, had watched a “how to” video on YouTube, prepared appropriate equipment, marked the incision and considered pain relief and bleeding.
This was a teenager who lived somewhere where gender-affirmation surgery is legal, but it was taking too long. This should be proof to conservative governments why trans kids must be respected and given care.
It won’t be, but it should be.
As I hope you know, there were WAY more than 7 important stories that I saw this week, so here are other stories that I think are worth knowing about:
A transphobic Republican hired Dylan Mulvaney to mock his opponent. It severely backfired. May 30, 2024 (LGBTQ Nation)
St. Tammany library board members sue over removal May 20, 2024 (Louisiana Illuminator)
Louisiana House passes bill to make abortion pills a controlled dangerous substance - May 21, 2024 (NBC News)
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia registers as independent, citing ‘partisan extremism’ - May 31, 2024 (AP)
Protests inside NH State House over controversial transgender bills - May 30, 2024 (NBC 5)
Williamstown Town Meeting Passes Progress Pride Flag Bylaw Amendment -May 23, 2024 (iBerkshire)
Donnelly Public Library will become adults-only to comply with new 'library porn' law - May 20, 2024 (Boise State Public Radio)
Proposal to limit transgender youth rights fails to qualify for California’s November ballot - May 28, 2024 (LA Times)
12 people injured during turbulence on Qatar Airways flight - May 26, 2024 (WMUR 9) UPDATE FROM LAST WEEK’S TURBULENCE STORY
That was a lot, but if you want more, here are the stories I DID get to cover this week, and the links to all the research I did, so you can know more details or read things I read aloud for yourself.
Israeli Government is still trying to create their version of Project 2025
Governor Ron Desantis found a way to ban Rainbow bridges for pride in Florida
Prattville Alabama books are being removed from library shelves
Miami Meteorologist Steve McLaughlin tells audience about the climate crisis
The US Finally includes the trans representation in Paper Mario
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And finally, I promise this is the last thing for this week, I’m curious how many people got to the end of this newsletter, so if you’re reading this, comment your favorite fruit. Random, I know.
Very interesting, lots of sad news unfortunately. My favorite fruit is banana!