LITHUANIA – A HAVEN

OF TOLERANCE?

(Armenian proverb)

I hear about, and I would very much like to see a far more open and tolerant attitude from many groups of the Lithuanian population. It worries me to see that violence, robbery, fraud and economic crimes continue to plague this country. It worries me to see that neo-Nazism, anti-Semitism and homophobia do not seem to subside. Sometimes I feel as though the repressed anger that developed during the many years of Soviet oppression, later mismanagement by corrupted leaders, and finally the financial crisis that has hit this country so extremely hard, now seems to burst out into a sad and worrying sort of ‘retribution’ within certain groups in the population and among some individuals. I am genuinely concerned that this country, that was once characterized by tolerance between races, religions and cultures, now stands on the brink of an internal ‘upraise’ characterized by aggression, xenophobia and lack of interpersonal love and respect.

The gay pride parade which took place in Vilnius two weeks ago, was in my opinion a step in the right direction towards a more open and democratic Lithuania. Admittedly, it took considerable pressure for the march to be permitted, which to us from West Europe, today seems incomprehensible. But the march took place, in spite of protests and attacks by neo-Nazis and others, and that is a good sign. And to compare these two 'movements' in today's Lithuania, I quote a friend:

“Neo-Nazis march to show who they hate. Gays march to show who they love.”

'The gays' is a recurring theme when I meet Lithuanian friends. Those of my friends who are strongly linked to the Catholic church, always persistently claim that the Bible does not accept homo-sexuality. My answer is usually that on this and all other areas there are different interpretations and perceptions of what the Bible and other religious Scriptures actually say. I also tend to remind my friends of a phrase from another Bible verse (John 8:7), which for me is far more important:

"Let the one without sin cast the first stone." 

I am not trying to say that homosexuality is a sin, only that one should be careful to judge others for anything in life. I also agree with what Arturas Bakanauskas says in his letter to the editor below, that "…if more Lithuanians understood that for many or most gays, homosexuality is not a choice, but something they live with as best they can, the general public would accept it better.”

Another group of my friends belong to the more liberal category. They claim to have nothing against the fact that some people prefer sex with their own gender, but what they cannot accept is that the gays seem to have such a great need to demonstrate this orientation openly through parades, etc. My answer is that those with homosexual orientation through their parades are getting more focus on the problem of lack of acceptance and recognition from society and government, and I also think these kind of parades give the gays a good opportunity to get rid of some of the frustration they must feel in not being fully accepted in this country. I also tend to mention that gay parades in western countries usually are very colourful shows that makes one feel happy. To make people laugh and smile is also not to despise, or?

In his book, God’s Playground a History of Poland Part II, British historian Norman Davies states:

 “Throughout nearly all its history, Lithuania was more tolerant of Jews and other minorities than most of the neighbouring areas.” 

Let’s have those times of acceptance and tolerance back again…

Aage Myhre

Editor

"Let the one without sin cast the first stone."