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So, if someone attends with their partner, are you suggesting they "just... not" show any affection towards them while they're there? No hugging, no hand-holding, no pecks on the cheek? No resting a head on a shoulder?
"Stating your sexual preference" is more nuanced that standing at passport control and blurting out "I'm gay!". Not stating it can involve changing the whole way you behave around the person you're closest to in the world.
...where straight people do not have to make any such changes.
> Where I am from, it is considered impolite not to respect the host's rules while attending as a guest.
That kind of assumes that the hosts rules are at least somewhat fair. If straight people can act naturally around their partners, but people with other sexual preferences have to police all their normal behaviours all the time, lest they are impolite enough to break the hosts rules, should those rules really be considered worthy of respect?
Yes, I expect that absolutely. We also expect that behavior from students in high school during class. There's a time and place for things, and attending a conference in a country where such things are considered illegal is neither.
> That kind of assumes that the hosts rules are at least somewhat fair. If straight people can act naturally around their partners, but people with other sexual preferences have to police all their normal behaviours all the time, lest they are impolite enough to break the hosts rules, should those rules really be considered worthy of respect?
I am terribly sorry and I get how you feel and yes, this is unfair, but those are the rules made by the country. If a software conference is the hill you want to die on for your values, I respect that, but please also respect that most people just don't care or are fine with respecting the rules, so the conference can take place with or without you. And no, there is no magic country that has no unfairness towards any group, there will always be groups that have it easier in some countries than in others, so in my opinion it's fair to conduct conferences in different countries. There will never be 100% fairness in the world.
First, let me say I agree with this, as with the rest of the points made in the Python Africa letter. It's spot on.
> There's a time and place for things, and attending a conference in a country where such things are considered illegal is neither.
My issue is, saying "can't you... just not?" (IMHO) massively trivialises how much of a sacrifice you're asking non-straight people to make. "can't you... just not?" seems to imply an incredulity why this would be any kind of imposition for non-straight people, and they should, like, get over it, man.
It is a reality that LGBT+ people have to face, and make their own decisions about, but that doesn't mean it's fine to make it out like no big deal.
> this is unfair, but those are the rules made by the country.
I get that. And also, that anyone attending needs to respect the fact that publicly disobeying the rules can have serious consequences.
Should the rules be obeyed? Probably. But are they worthy of respect? Fuck no.
> most people just don't care or are fine with respecting the rules,
I think you mean "most people not affected by the rules just don't care...". The same could be said for any civil rights struggle in the past. For a long time, most men didn't care or were just fine with respecting rules that discriminated against women, and most white people didn't care or were just fine with respecting rules that discriminated against people of color.
When people who are not affected by such rules stand up against them, that really helps.
sure, but then shouldn't organizations like PSF take that into account when considering funding? by sponsoring the event they're endorsing it. so you could also see how it's not that great to endorse an event where you should warn attendees "hey don't gay it up bro they will beat you down here. just hide your shameful activity until you get back home."
"Don't be a woman or if you are a woman just mask that and subject yourself to men while in the country that discriminates against women. Please, women, don't make this a political thing. When in Rome..."
I very much agree with the point of your post. I will also say that in many of those same countries, even as a straight person, you're not getting a hotel room with your partner without marriage, either.
A person in a same-sex relationship has the extra burden of having to think about those things, or miss out on those experiences (and even that in itself has detrimental mental effects for many in the long-term).
At some point you have to scan your passport.
The US already had cases where travelers have had to disclose social media use [1]. I don’t think it is a stretch for this process to be copied for more nefarious uses.
1. https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/31/20837448/social-media-dhs...
> no one is going to ask your sexual orientation at the airport
This is not ensured, even if the Tanzanian people are themselves renown for their hospitality.
Is reality really that hard for some people? I geniunely don't understand how navigating society can be so difficult?
The point with many of these questions is so that they can detain you on suspicion of being dishonest on your visa questionnaire, and then investigate more thoroughly.
You also have (if a non-citizen) extremely few, if any rights at points of entry. A lot of laws around searching of persons and devices are if not void, substantially loosened.
So you may lie. You should probably also hope that somewhere in your photos there's not a picture of a magic mushroom you saw last year while walking your dog...
Even in most western countries, tolerance for that is weak now, and was absent in living memory.
You... probably should refresh your memory of the centrality and significance of militant activism, particularly in the context of the AIDS crisis by groups like ACT-UP, in the gay rights movement then.
> but the majority of the hard work was done via cultural insertion using movies and so on.
No, much hard work had to be done to acheive the level of influence in powerful institution to do “cultural insertion using movies and so on”.
At least Western governments have the idea of Universal Human Rights ( https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-huma... )
And being 'accepted' or not is wholly different than 'executed' or 'jailed for life'.
And for me, it's simple: don't go to most of Africa or anywhere in the Middle East. They're shitholes not worthy of my money or my presence.
Here in the US there are states that, sadly, aren't that supportive of human rights. And rather than handwring over "should we hold an event there?" they just never consider those places. Because there's no such tension.
And of course, while suppressing all that, don’t forget to enjoy local “hospitality”, the Python event - networking, creativity, conversing with your peers, learning and exchanging ideas.
Why is what the parent said offensive? Is it necessary for everything to never offend anyone ever?