I thought DU was pro gay rights??? (Genuinely hurt)

[Tigress DEM]

162. I'm simply saying if a world leader will make ANY positive move, let them.

Ironically, it is here on DU that I learned that despite a lot of awful things he did, Sadaam Hussein actually improved many things for his country as well. Does it make him the "best" kind of leader out there? Obviously not when you balance in the rest. BUT there is a huge contingent here on DU that is about the "facts are facts" and if there is something good about people they otherwise don't like or respect, they aren't going to gloss over it and pretend it does not exist.

Now would I vote for a Putin or Sadaam type if I had a choice, no. But if someone is already in office and you can work with them in a positive way, I think that increases the likelihood of being able to have discussions on issues that are complex and controversial.

It's hard here to get real facts about our own government and our journalism didn't used to be so full of propaganda. Russia has a longer history of managing the content of their news so I'm not sure what to think about those youth gangs or how much of the LGBT abuses are top down from the government and how much is entrenched in the society.

My thought is that we deal with our own stuff here. Provide the example that you can treat everyone equal and the world doesn't blow up, people don't start marrying their cows or cheating on their wives with llamas. Show the world by example that WE ALL DO BETTER when we ALL do better. By being the example we show that IT CAN BE DONE.

That puts the pressure back onto the world stage. IF it can be done without causing damage, then why don't you just do it? We keep telling the world and our own countrymen and women that Equality FOR ALL really is the best thing to do and that all this "imagined damage" certain groups fear is the hogwash coming out of unclear minds that need to keep their minds out of other people's bedrooms.