Are They Delusional? An Anti-Gay Lebanese Ad Thinks Homosexuality Makes Children Cry
Dr Nas Mohamed, a prominent LGBTQIA+ rights activist, posted an ad comparison on Instagram featuring one video promoting the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Lebanon and a following video responding to the first.
The first video makes the point that violent crime is not comparable to the “crime” of a same-sex relationship. The response video suggests that LGBTQIA+ relationships make children cry!
“There is crime. Then there is love”
As shown in the video from Dr Mohamed’s Instagram, the first ad calling for an end to LGBTQIA+ criminalisation shows two men in an elevator when another walks in. The man in the forefront pulls out a gun and gets off on a floor with the implied intent being to hurt others. The two left in the elevator begin to hold hands when a message pops up saying, “There is crime. Then there is love.” This is the first ad of its kind to be disseminated in the nation.
The follow-up ad stitched into Dr Mohamed’s post opens similarly to the first with two men seen riding an elevator. When the second man gets in, he takes out his gun and walks out. He is followed by the gay couple holding hands. Behind them is a family huddled in fear (ostensibly due to the couple). The tagline reads: “Some crimes kill people. Other crimes kill society.”
In Lebanon, LGBTQIA+ rights are regressive with male homosexuality being a crime punishable under Article 534 of the Penal Code. Throughout Lebanon’s history, the enforcement of this law has fluctuated in severity. But as of July 2023, secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah of the Hezbollah (Party of Allah) denounced homosexuality calling for a cultural war against LGBTQIA+ people.
Safe to assume that the creators of this ad believe two consenting people in a relationship is akin to a crime that would make a child cry. There are few words to even respond to that, but Dr Mohamed sums up our feelings.
“Of course the right wing people came up with a (not so interesting) counter ad,” he writes in his caption. “Who did the two guys holding hands in the elevator hurt? Also, one of them could be your own child. I don’t [know] why they think LGBT people are aliens that descended on earth that they need to protect themselves from. We are your own children. Stop hurting us!”
