As Poland's election heats up, so does anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. Why?
| Le艣niewo, Poland
Marcin Nikrant, the mayor of this village just a few miles inland from Poland鈥檚 northern coast, is angry.
Not at the people of Le艣niewo, to whom he has devoted nearly nine years. Mr. Nikrant is openly gay, something uncommon in conservative, Catholic Poland. But he has proven popular, leaving his mark with neat road signs and decorative bus stops.
But now, after winning over his village of 1,700, he sees his efforts at bridge-building being undermined by negative rhetoric coming from the highest levels of Polish leadership. In August, the archbishop of Krak贸w warned the country was confronting a 鈥渞ainbow plague.鈥� Polish politician Jaros艂aw Kaczy艅ski 鈥� widely viewed as the nation鈥檚 de facto leader 鈥� said Poland was 鈥渄ealing with a direct attack on the family and children.鈥� He called the entire 鈥淟GBT movement鈥� an 鈥渋mport鈥� that threatens Polish identity and national survival.
Why We Wrote This
Poland has never been an easy place for the LGBTQ community to get by. But they are feeling a new level of persecution as the ruling party turns sexuality into a political issue ahead of parliamentary elections.
It has never been easy for people who don鈥檛 conform to heterosexual norms in Poland. The country recognizes few of the rights that the rest of the European Union does, like same-sex marriage or civil unions, adoption rights, and protections from hate speech. But these are particularly tough times, as Poland鈥檚 spiritual leaders and ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) have turned sexuality into an issue ahead of parliamentary elections on Oct. 13. And the Polish LGBTQ community is struggling to find ways to respond to the increased pressures that the campaign is stirring up.
鈥淚 am really angry,鈥� Mr. Nikrant says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what words I should use to talk to people, to tell them [the LGBTQ community] is not your enemy. ... The most annoying is that the Catholic Church takes part in this propaganda.鈥�
Targeting the LGBTQ community
Many feel as if the clock has been dialed back two decades. The first LGBTQ Pride parade was held in Warsaw in 2001 鈥� a landmark moment in the staunchly Catholic, former Communist bloc nation. Mr. Nikrant says it helped get important conversations going among families and the wider nation. Since then, the event has been observed annually in the Polish capital and spread to other towns.
But this election, PiS has opted to use the debate over sexuality as a way to get its supporters to the polls. And the party 鈥渉as a history of scapegoating lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people ... under the rubric of 鈥�,鈥欌�� notes Human Rights Watch.
Mr. Kaczy艅ski, the leader of PiS since 2003, 鈥渢ells everyone that it is wrong to hold [Pride] parades,鈥� says Mr. Nikrant. 鈥淗e gives people [an incentive] to attack. People think, 鈥極K, if he can say these things, why can鈥檛 we?鈥欌��
The mayor sees that himself on Facebook. 鈥淚t鈥檚 behind my back, but I can read it,鈥� he says, listing off the kind of insults he comes across. 鈥淭here are people who do not have a problem writing these kind of things under their name. Even here in Le艣niewo. And when we see each other in the village street, it鈥檚 like this conversation did not take place.鈥�
For now, such people are the exception rather than the rule in the village. While some of his voters were upset when they learned that he was gay, he easily won another two terms. When he goes to the senior ball, he does not hesitate to dress up like Elvis or dance with his long-term partner, Jarek. And he is quick to fundraise for a local boy's medical operation 鈥� even if the local priests won't allow him to do so on church grounds. Besides being gay, Mr. Nikrant is also an atheist.
鈥淭he attitude has changed because he works a lot in the community and the village,鈥� says Anna Lanc, one of several churchgoers backing the mayor. 鈥淗e did a lot of things all on his own. They used to look at him in a very bad way because he is gay. Now they accept him.鈥�
The power of conversation and direct contact
Anna Ekielska, a board member of Gda艅sk-based association Tolerado which provides workshops and counseling for members of the LGBTQ community, considers herself a hard-wired optimist. But she says that the growing flurry of emails from young people who are struggling with rising homophobia as they try to understand their sexual identity gives her cause for concern.
Indeed, the far-right, ultranationalist All-Polish Youth group has unleashed homophobic rhetoric at counter-Pride rallies at several towns across the country. Sporting plastic overalls and blue gloves, they 鈥渄isinfected鈥� the streets after the first Pride march held in Katowice this year 鈥� part of a broader聽鈥淟GBT-free zone鈥� concept being pushed by right-wing organizations and publications.
While such views are far from a majority, Poland still lags behind the rest of Europe in terms of acceptance of its gay community. About half of Poles (49%) believe that homosexual or bisexual people should have the same rights as heterosexuals, compared to three-quarters (76%) of Europeans, according to Eurobarometer.
鈥淥ur mission is for the LGBT society to be considered part of the broader society,鈥� says Ms. Ekielska. 鈥淭hat should be the default set-up. LGBT has existed, still exists, and will exist. Maybe this is a step. Before the LGBT issue was not visible, that had a good side and it its bad side. Now it is visible. Maybe it will turn out all right.鈥�
Most members of the community worry about the implications of another PiS victory 鈥� the most likely outcome according to recent polls. The most alarming scenario for those defending LGBTQ rights would be a PiS supermajority in parliament which allows them to change the constitution.
鈥淲e are afraid that not only will there be consent to aggression and violence against us, but also there will be no legal framework for monitoring such crimes,鈥� says Misza Czerniak, a board member of the Faith and Rainbow Foundation, which advocates for acceptance of the LGBTQ community in both churches and society. Mr. Czerniak is a Russian native, but found love in Poland and founded an LGBTQ church choir in Warsaw.
Urszula, a Polish lesbian who declined to give her last name, prefers to keep a lower profile, but says she is determined to keep up the fight for LGBTQ rights even if things turn sour. She helps young people prepare for the confirmation sacrament in her parish. Her family does not know she is a lesbian, but some people in her church do. 鈥淚鈥檓 not ashamed of it, but I am afraid that it may be misunderstood and that people might disown me,鈥� she says.
One of the priests she directly works with accepts her identity, but another, who is responsible for the broader church community, asked her to keep it quiet 鈥� or at least not to flaunt it 鈥� if she wishes to remain a member. So far it hasn鈥檛 been a major issue, not even at confessions, in large part because she has never been in a same-sex relationship. That could change.
鈥淚 told the priests because I believe in the power of conversation and direct contact with another person,鈥� she says. 鈥淢y personal experience shows that when someone gets to know us better, they often change their minds about our community. People start to be positive about us.鈥�
Editors note: The story has been updated to correct when Mr. Kaczy艅ski assumed leadership of PiS.
