Pole-itics

As the media barrage me with mournful stories about the death of the Polish president, I wonder how much American know about this man and his twin brother, former child stars in Poland. Celebrating the life of this man is comparable to celebrating the life of President Botha of South Africa or Yasser Arafat of the PLO. As an American with Polish genetic roots, I am all too familiar with homophobia in Polish Catholic culture.

Lech Kaczynski and Theodore Kaczynski were not closely related, but, in the minds of gay rights activists, they might as well be. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the President's brother and former Prime Minister, is a well known closeted homosexual, who, like many Gestapo Gays before him, preaches against any legalization of gay rights in Poland. All this homophobia has been loudly supported by the too-powerful Roman Catholic Church in Poland.

Fascists always can depend on kicking gay people to gain popular support. And, it seems, the U.S. media continues to turn a blind eye to LGBT rights when it comes to reporting obits of politicians.