My blog

In May of this year, a gay couple from Warsaw organized a happening in the market square of the proud and LGBT-free city of Łowicz. They collected signatures for a petition to introduce a ban on the sale of homogenized cheese. Although many people refused to participate in the protest, they still managed to collect quite a large number of signatures. "It has ambiguous connotations. Well, I'm an adult, but children..." - said one of the women signing the protest.

You probably wouldn't say that and you wouldn't sign such a petition. It's true - Poles are different and not all of Poland thinks the same. However, it doesn't change the fact that as a nation we are intolerant, and all these paeans about Poland - a centuries-old stronghold of tolerance, respect and inalienable human rights - can rather be dismissed as fairy tales.

Our lack of tolerance is most clearly demonstrated by our attitude towards non-heterosexual people, fueled by the cynical chatter of Kaczyński's acolytes about the leftists flooding our country and the need to defend our families against nihilism and gender ideologies.

I often come across the view that the state's acceptance of non-heterosexual orientations, the sanctioning of civil partnerships and same-sex marriages, is a denial of our tradition and will quickly lead to the downfall of our civilization. Nothing could be further from the truth. I think that such opinions are merely a smokescreen for the lack of tolerance and respect of the people expressing them. What is really hidden behind them is a fear of otherness and a lack of openness to change. For me, acceptance of other orientations, allowing civil partnerships and same-sex marriages is a true testament to the tolerance, openness and respect for others shown by societies.

Today, people with progressive views on gender, orientation and sexual education are often accused of breaking with our tradition and harming the Polish family. This is a false accusation. Accepting different orientations does not harm the Polish family in any way, respect and tolerance are not a denial of our traditions, sexual education cannot be confused with sexualization, and from the provisions of our Constitution, on special protection of marriage, understood as a union of a woman and a man, it cannot be concluded that non-heterosexual relationships are prohibited by the Constitution.

There are many prejudices in our society that are difficult to understand. A non-heterosexual person is defective. Homosexuality is a disease that can be contracted and cured. Being non-heterosexual is a shame that must be hidden, because what will people say? It is better not to have a son than to have a homosexual. Homosexuality is abnormal. Sex education is harmful. Every homosexual is a pedophile. Every pedophile is a homosexual. These prejudices to some extent stem from ignorance, to some extent they were acquired from the family home, and to some extent they are rooted in our history and tradition and are evidence of our lack of tolerance.

The biggest scarecrow used by those who think "conservatively" in order to prevent a complete collapse of values is the issue of adoption of children by same-sex couples. In their opinion, if this were to happen, it would undoubtedly indicate the complete defeat of our homeland in the fight against the leftists lurking beyond our western border. The belief that raising a child by two men or two women harms the child, causes irreversible damage and inevitably leads to a change in its sexual orientation is nothing more than evidence of a deep lack of tolerance, lack of respect and envy. In any case, I would sign with both hands under regulations that would allow adoption by same-sex couples in Poland.

Homosexuality has been considered a disease, deviation and perversion for centuries. The global depathologization of homosexuality did not take place until the early 1990s. In memory of this event, May 17 was established as the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. Today, there are 14 countries in Europe that recognize same-sex marriage, granting them the same rights as heterosexual marriages, including the right to adopt children. These are: the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Germany, Slovenia, Ireland, Finland.

What is the reason for our Polish lack of tolerance for people of a different orientation? I don't know.

For me, tolerance is very strongly linked to respect for others and openness to other people and curiosity about the world, and we, Poles, are not doing very well in these areas.

Jarosław Kaczyński has perfectly and cynically exploited this national lack of tolerance. Thanks to this, among other things, he gained and still maintains power in Poland. He has also slowed down, or maybe even stopped for a moment, the changes that have been taking place in our country for three decades towards greater openness and tolerance.

Sad that we are so intolerant. Different is not abnormal. Different is interesting.