King Charles III unveils memorial to British LGBTQ servicemembers

As far-right politics became increasingly influential across Europe, fueled by America’s attempts to spread anti-LGBTQ prejudice across the Western world, LGBTQ people in the UK launched a ferocious fightback.

Let me be clear: when I first came to the UK as a queer asylum seeker in 2018, the UK was one of the most LGBTQ-friendly countries I had ever seen. However, recently things have changed. Politics regarding refugees and transgender people has become even tougher.

On September 13th, nearly 150,000 people I participated Dozens of police officers were injured at a rally led by far-right influencer Tommy Robinson. American billionaire Elon Musk dealt with Demonstrators gathered in Whitehall via video link and called on the British people to stage a revolution against “too woke” behavior. This protest and this speech are still widely discussed on British television and social media, and more precisely, not the news itself, but the fear of the far right and the bigoted influence it has generated from across the ocean.

Many local LGBTQ groups worcester LGBTone of Worcester’s largest LGBTQ groups, issued the following statement to a local newspaper in response to these events:

“These movements often promote anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, and anti-LGBTQ+ views, threatening the safety, dignity, and human rights of many of the people we support.As a support network for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers and refugees, WLGBT We stand firmly against forms of hatred, racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia. We know from experience that far-right rhetoric can directly incite harassment, discrimination and violence, especially when people are at the intersection of multiple vulnerabilities.

And there was even more reason for concern.

On September 17th, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visited In the UK, many queer people in the UK have decided they’ve had enough. Queer groups have spread information and issued statements about anti-Trump protests.

Trans Kids Save Better, a British transgender advocacy group led by young transgender people, told the Washington Blade:

“Donald Trump is a fascist. He repealed laws that protect transgender rights for both children and adults in America, causing irreparable harm to the trans community. These protections were flawed, but important nonetheless. Trump’s repeals and rhetoric are especially harmful to transgender youth.”

Trump’s state visit to the UK from Keir Starmer really shows his morally reprehensible stance on transgender rights and human rights. Although we at Trans Kids Save Better have not directly organized anti-Trump protests, we have reposted calls for expulsion from schools (organized by Socialist Students) and marches organized by Stop Trump in the UK..

Some people like to pretend that far-right and anti-immigrant rhetoric has no effect on transgender people. Some of these people, like Blair White and Caitlyn Jenner, are actually transgender and hate looking more “presentable.” Elon Musk took to the stage to speak at Tommy Robinson’s recent Kingdom Unity Rally. Musk has made it his mission to eradicate the so-called “wake-mind virus” and has founded transphobic groups such as Gays Against Groomers, which argues that all transgender people are nothing more than deranged homosexuals. By allowing these transphobes to spread their hatred, Tommy Robinson becomes complicit in the hatred against all of us. ”

Hundreds of people protest Thousands of people, including Robinson’s recent rally and many LGBTQ people, protested President Trump’s visit, as the protests were widely promoted by local LGBTQ groups. stand up to racismThe group that organized the protests against Robinson and also called them anti-Trump protests has always supported LGBTQ rights and includes many LGBTQ people among its supporters, based on my own experience with the group.

LGBTQ organizations that support LGBTQ refugees are particularly concerned about the growing influence of the far right.

Leila Zadeh, Executive Director rainbow migration, An organization supporting LGBTQ people navigating the UK asylum and immigration system told the Blade:

“The far-right protests have been heartbreaking for us and the LGBTQI+ people we support to settle safely in the UK. Hatred on this scale is driving discrimination and abuse against people of colour, Muslims, immigrants, refugees and transgender people across the country, who struggle to buy food, heat their homes or get a dentist appointment. Instead of scapegoating marginalized groups, which successive governments and the media have been stirring up for years to distract from the real problems people face, such as people struggling with poverty, we must come together to demand an end to the divisive rhetoric and cruel policies that dehumanize people and put lives at risk. Most people in the UK welcome refugees, with 80 per cent of British people saying they want a fair and caring asylum system. ”

This rhetoric isn’t just trending in LGBTQ immigrant advocacy groups.

british screenwriter Russell T. DaviesThe writer of “Queer as Folk” and some episodes of the legendary sci-fi show “Doctor Who” echoed the sentiments of grassroots LGBTQ initiatives, accusing President Trump and Britain’s equally rabidly anti-refugee Reform Party of spreading anti-LGBTQ propaganda.

And perhaps this is the only positive outcome of the rise of the far right. That sounds controversial. They reminded the LGBTQ community that the fight for equality is not just about Pride and drag queen shows. They urged many in the UK’s LGBTQ community to unite against bigotry to prevent a repeat of what happened in the US.

He also encouraged mainstream LGBTQ groups, mainly made up of British-born people, to be more considerate towards their LGBTQ refugee brothers, as well as refugees, asylum seekers, Muslims and ethnic minorities in general. At the same time, some refugee organizations have become more aware of LGBTQ rights.

By attacking various minorities, the far right inadvertently forges alliances that are unlikely to advance people’s understanding of justice and solidarity. It has also brought LGBTQ people in the UK closer to the LGBTQ community in the US in our common struggle and support for each other. Ultimately, this could help make the world a better place. Because everything is connected.