We are all aware that homophobia is a very real and very serious problem, even in the liberal bastion that is Brighton. A kiss-in at Sainsbury’s is not the way to change this.
As stated by Mr Segalov in a Guardian piece, the protest is to raise awareness that homophobia has not been abolished and to stand in solidarity with those in the 81 countries where it is still illegal to be openly gay.
I fail to see how a load of ‘activists’ snogging in a grocery store achieves any of these objectives.
It is patronizing and reeks of first world privilege that a group can overrun a grocery store to show their affection in public without any fear of retribution whatsoever, whilst LGBT people in Russia or Uganda face real and dangerous consequences if they were to show the slightest form of affection.
This is the opposite of solidarity.
What began as an unfortunate incident between a loving couple and an uppity customer has become nothing more than a self-aggrandizing publicity stunt.
It is lazy, short-sighted activism and serves no purpose but to trivialise the very real persecution LGBT people face across the world.
Joseph Rutenberg,
Gloucester Road,
Brighton
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