July 2021 - Page 3

Pseudo-Christianity is The Greatest Evil – Archpriest Zaza Tevzadze

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In the TV program “Real Space”, Archpriest Zaza Tevzadze assessed the ongoing processes in the country:

“Since 5th of July I have been feeling restless. I hadn’t anticipated that such a thing would happen. I guess I misunderstood the situation. The most important thing right now is that events are unfolding right in front of our eyes. We are talking about church, Christianity. People have gotten used to the hateful and aggressive rhetoric carried out in the name of Christ and accepted it as something that can happen and is allowed.

Each person, as an individual, represents the highest value, for whom the Lord Jesus Christ came to be crucified, and to bring his freedom to this country. What right do we have to evaluate people from a judgmental point of view?! And to Quantify: – “It’s no big deal, it’s just one person…”

The murder of that one journalist is the murder of all of us. All of us were murdered and will be murdered again, because if we say something different, or something that the mob dislikes, we will be simply met with death. Christianity is the best example of this – The creator himself, after showing humanity the true nature of humans, was crucified by people and the ministers of religion.

Who killed Christ? He was killed by the church and society acting in the name of God. Just imagine, how big of a controversy there must be within the person, when they do not view reality as real, and their views of god and the god himself are as different from each other as the sky and the ground.

All of us are responsible for the things that happen in front of us. We have to face the reality as it is. Minorities, people that are different, the most vulnerable ones, are those that need us to protect them; why would “the strongest of us all” need any protection?

The majority claims that they need protection from minorities. Do they mean that minorities are a threat to them? This is complete nonsense and it is mentioned in such a way, that would make one think that this is the ultimate truth. The society should not accept such things. This is easier to understand that 2×2=4.

The way out of this situation is taking action: Christ is not a preacher of passivity. Search and you will find; Ask for and you will be given; Knock and the door will be opened. Without this, we will just stay at this same point.

Each of us can do so many things. Jesus didn’t come here to demonstrate how cool he was. He said that people were capable of changing the world. This is crucial. This is something that we cannot live without.

Numerous misanthropic consciousness and their subordinate and inspired groups have been tested by the earth. However, nothing is worse than Pseudo-Christianity. This is the greatest evil, as well as its source. It is truly a great horror when Christ’s name is associated with evil and brutal sources.

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Faith is When You Believe That All People Are Children of God – Maka Chichua

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”All people, regardless of gender, skin color, etc. Have the right to express their opinion, out loud and, of course, without violence.

In general, our children today are very colorful and free, they love life. I do not want them to be depressed, scared, and unable to style their hair the way they want, wear whatever they want, and because of this, parents shouldn’t be afraid that the child will go out in a colorful t-shirt. Isn’t this madness?! Doesn’t this drive us to the very dark side?!

If you look at the history, the minorities won everything by fighting. It should be, of course, bloodless, of course, without violence. But with strong faith. Faith is exactly that, faith is that you believe, all people are children of God and everyone has the right to breathe and walk freely under this sun.

 

Do not corrupt and obscure the doctrine of Christ.”

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This is a Bluff and a Lie – Giorgi Tabagari

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Today, law enforcement officers searched the homes of Alt-Info founder Zurab Makharadze and pro-Russian ultra-right-wing violent group leader Guram Palavandishvili. After the search, the people mentioned above were taken to the police station.

In this regard, the director of “Tbilisi Pride”, Giorgi Tabagari writes on Facebook:

”This is a bluff and a lie. They were summoned for questioning before July 5 to tell us and the ambassadors that they are investigating the case. They had enough grounds to arrest Makharadze at that time, but they did nothing and together contributed to the July 5!

I have no doubt about that! ”

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Today Our Hearts are Broken – Giorgi Vazovsky to Kakhi Kaladze

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”Mr. Kakhi, greetings …

I salute to you and address you as an ordinary, law-abiding citizen of Georgia, a patriot of the country, an honest person, a worker, a straight A student, a scholarship holder.

I am a brother, son and grandson, I am a best friend!

I am my mother’s sun and she is my moon!

I am in love with all people, I believe in God and I always fight injustice! I am suffocated by anger today, nothing can calm me down!

My friends were almost killed! They killed Lekso! Your fellow citizen!

Our hearts are broken!

Can you really not feel it? Can you really not understand?

Your prime minister has encouraged violence, and in the city, in the country, there is “brespideli”. Your Prime Minister brought back the 90s, with the light brought by Misha and not by Shevardnadze’s candle.

The city is collapsing, everything is falling apart, my friends can’t go out! Can’t you see what you brought to Tbilisi? Can’t you feel it?

I am a colleague of your spouse, representatives of LGBTQ community have been serving her brand in a variety of ways. This isn’t news for anyone.

Her AD reels were filmed by homosexuals, lesbians took part in her shows, she has gay buyers, she knows a lot of minority members, she likes them, they respect her! She has her place in our field, because of LGBTQ members!

Do not forget what happened to Miraslava Duma!

You probably don’t know, but if not for LGBTQ people, many fields would be unsuccessful today, this community has the largest share in the promotion of Georgian name, economy and tourism!

“A city full of love”, “A city full of solidarity” – these are your well-thought-out slogans of our city, do not forget that. Don’t forget, in 2015, the gay prime minister got married in Luxembourg. Do not forget, homophobia is very bad and the result of ignorance!

After July 5-6, living in the capital has become very dangerous for LGBTQ + people: they are cursed, spat on, beaten, thrown out of yards, threatened with death …

I’m afraid some more horror will happen! I’m afraid of losing more of my friends! What did we do wrong? Why? Why do they kill children?

I call upon you

1. Admit mistakes!

2. Apologize!

3. Protect our LGBTQ community members!

4. Immediately fund (even on your own budget) and open an LGBTQ shelter! We do not have it in the country, we do not have a gay shelter in Tbilisi! Its existence in the hands of your government has become extremely necessary! Open the shelter! Today, the most vulnerable group in the country is in danger! People are being killed in the streets, violence has increased!

5. Enough! You better resign now!

There is still so much to say.. I have a headache, I am tired!

Resign! Get away from us! Protect the people! ”

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Alice Austin’s Different Women

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“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” – George Orwell

History is memory, a collection of subjective

recollection. History is made up of stories – written, narrated, sung stories, but who creates these stories?  In a heteronormative, patriarchal, socially and racially unequal world only the voices of certain groups are heard, only certain groups speak. And how does time keep all the stories? History, political, social and religious changes alter or forget some story altogether.

The queer narrative is found in the very first civilizations – ancient Africa, the ancient kingdom of Egypt, ancient China, Japan and Greece. However, a more or less objective history of queer people and the beginning of the research can be related to the particularly intensified queer movement in the late 1960s.

In terms of social change, the XIX-XX century is a very important era. There are also interesting materials for queer history in this epoch.

Manhattan, 1896

Finland, 1909

Migrants in quarantine, 1903

World Columbian Exposition, Chicago, New Jersey, 1893

New York Bay, 1886

Staten Island, Ferry, 1890

These pictures were taken in the late nineteenth century by the American photographer, Alice Austin. Alice was born in New York City in 1866 and has been interested in photography since early childhood. Through daily hard work, Alice created up to 8,000 works – Alice’s paintings shattered Victorian, traditional boundaries and made it possible to see the world from a new – different women – perspective, which in the nineteenth century required great courage. Alice was taking pictures with friends and in these pictures a new vision was felt, a new era that would soon replace the Victorian era and traditional views.

Alice Austin with friends

From Alice Austin Archives – “Trudeau and Me” 1891

Staten Island, Coast, Alice Austin Right, Top, 1886

Alice Austin on the left, 1886

Alice Austin on the left, 1891

In 1899, Alice met Brooklyn dancer and kindergarten teacher Gertrude Tate, with whom she spent the remaining 53 years of her life. Before the 1940s, Alice and Gertrude were able to make ends meet in the crisis and war of the 1930s, but in 1945, they lost their homes due to bank debt. Eventually, Gertrude moved to Queens to live with relatives, and Alice went to several shelters. Despite resistance from relatives, Gertrude visited Alice weekly until 1950, when a young historian, Oliver Jensen, discovered some 3,500 pictures of Ellis and with the money raised, Alice was able to move to a private shelter. Shortly afterwards, on June 9, 1952, Alice died at the age of 86. The couple’s wish to be buried together was not granted by Gertrudes family.

Gertrude Tate, 1899

Alice Austin and Gertrude, 1905

Alice Austin and Gertrude Tate, 1944

Alice Austin and Gertrude Tate

Alice Austin in New York, at home, on the porch, 1900

Today, the house where Alice spent his entire life and most of his life with Gertrude has memorial and museum significance, and along with the nearby park, bears the name of Ellie Austin, which you can visit while in New York.

Author: Anamaria

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We Are Not Only Involved in a Political Fight, But a Cultural One – Levan Sutidze

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Journalist Levan Sutidze expressed his opinions on the “Formula” Channel.

“My condolences to the family (of Lekso Lashkarava), to all of my colleagues and, first of all, to the Georgian society that is in danger.

Unlike November 7, there was an additional element – Church, which is the most authoritative organization in Georgia according to every survey. Whatever happened then, in the center of the capital, was done according to the church’s encouragement and planning. They have been doing this for weeks, using openly Putinist organizations they have created for themselves.

These groups should not be confused with the homophobic attitudes of the Georgian society. There are homophobic attitudes in Georgia, they exist, they are real and this is the problem of our society, but Russia capitalizes on it and does it openly – Dugin supports these murderers, collects money for them…

Well, who sponsors these people? None of them are far from the church. For years the church has revolved around these people. It is impossible to find any pro-Russian edition that does not say that it comes out with the blessing of the Catholicos-Patriarch of Georgia; All of the Facebook pages of the representatives of these Pro-Russian Putinist groups have posted one or two photos of the Patriarch, etc. It goes without saying, this hatred works in their advantage and I know the government is using it.

I consider it my duty to balance any center of power, including the most authoritative and sacral – Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia, he is responsible. Patriarchate isn’t just an organization: it’s not like we criticize the President’s administration; we criticize the President. They are the creator of all of this, they appointed the new coroner and a new administration that has already entered the marathon of this bloody election for Patriarchate, along with Prime minister Gharibashvili, who often uses this to his advantage before the elections; Gareji topic is a good example of this.

According to this narrative we are the anti-Christians and they are conservatives. They want to use this to oppose the classical ideologies of the west. They are the fascist Russians and we are the Georgian society with our differences. They are not conservatives. You will be surprised to find out, I am a conservative – western conservatism today focuses on freedom of expression. They are not conservatives; they are Putinist trash.

The answer should be demanded from Prime Minister Gharibashvili, this pit of intellect and now also a murderer; And that senseless idiot, Tea Tsulukiani, who sat down yesterday and talked about media restrictions.

We are in a situation in which the Georgian society is not only in a political fight, but also in a cultural one. In this fight we will either survive as a society – the society of Ilia Chavchavadze, The society of Kirion, the society of true Georgian Christians.

Let’s say, you disagree with LGBT groups. But when you are told that no one attacks them, isn’t that stupid? Isn’t it obvious, that people do attack them? Isn’t it obvious, that you might also attack them a little bit? The prayer was organized at 5 o’clock because they did not know when the Pride would take place and then they moved it to one o’clock. So the priests were supposed to be out there just in case 2 colorful-haired girls tried to sneak out to Rustaveli; For this to happen afterwards, and they are now saying that they didn’t know, that they are distancing themselves from violence… Seriously?

If this was happening back in 2013, when you don’t know that you cannot arrest the monsters you have created all by yourself, that have been training in gyms, wearing some kinds of fascist illustrations on their shirts, with craze and Russian elements, classical Putinist, Chauvinist and Nazi aesthetics, and you just look at those people. Having this experience and then taking this people out there, what do you think will happen? Who caused all this hatred for media? Was it not them?

All of this has invisible victims as well – people that were beaten in the streets and suburbs because of their appearance, that are even scared to go to the police. The main victims of this are again, LGBTQ+ people, that have to endure hell caused by the patriarchate of Georgia and of course, the state itself. People are beaten in the streets and they are too scared to call the police.

This is a fight with media, being different, and Georgian tradition – the Georgian tradition of peace.”

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People Have Never Been so Gray

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“5 503 and 382 734 – These are statistics, people depicted in numbers.

5503 people have died in the last 18 months, and next to that is a colossal number – 382 734, any of their lives could end at any moment, right now, at this moment. This is a disaster caused by the coronavirus.

In the first days, when the virus was not yet spread in Georgia, I remember how scared we all were, the whole of Georgia was in a panic and somehow we were cheering for the world. Soon, Georgia was also infected with the virus and we all rallied together – we mourned for each other, we felt the pain of our loved ones, which became a part of everyday life, the death of the people who were announced at the briefing every morning at 11 o’clock. We hurt for each other, for complete strangers.

11 people died due to corona this morning. In the last few days, an average of 20 people have died.

What then? Where did this support go, this sympathy. We became incomprehensible creatures. When did we turn into cold-blooded killers?! Instead of taking care of each other, we kill each other with our own hands, as if we do not have enough dead, we add others to the list ourselves. As if the misfortunes upon us weren’t enough, we kill, accept evil and hatred.

Yes, we are this – the patriarchate, the government, the state, the nation and the priest, in the community or beyond the community. We are removing the bricks with our own hands, from what is already collapsing. Maybe it will fall to the end, hatred and enmity will destroy us.

I am very sad today. This city has become so gray, I would walk around the city and cry. How long should this exclusion, this aggression, the gaze of the people, who distrust just because I am not like their icon continue, why do I spend my precious time in this country? For people for whom kindness and love are not essential. For those that believe that a person is the most valuable, cannot stay where they are killed because of a different color, vision, belief or orientation.

The time will come and this hatred will become disgraceful, you will regret that you killed Lekso, that you beat my photographer friend, that you oppressed my queer friends, that you oppressed the weak ones.

One day, you will look around and you will be the only ones left and then? “Then, like those abusers, like the unfortunate Davit Kutaladze, they will have fun with you: first they will provoke you, make you do their dirty work and then they will imprison you.”

Kristine Ergemlidze Photo: Vakho Kareli

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We Condemn and Distance Ourselves fromHomophobia, Violence and Anti-Western Sentiments! – Winemakers

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Pro-Western winemakers of Georgia issue an appeal:

”Georgian winemakers, who join this letter, address you all, our fellow citizens, our wine drinkers, connoisseurs and people who know our way of life, our friends, people who know and share the nuances of our work, partners, professionals, amateurs, old or new generations. We address you as the people who continue, create and represent one of the most important traditions of our country, winemaking as an important part of our national identity and the business card of the country.

Most of the signatories to this letter are winemakers who own small wineries, for whom, the main goal of this business was never to make money. We follow this line of work with the love of our country, traditions, with interest that is in our blood in viticulture and winemaking and the realization that we play an important and valuable role in the development of our beloved country, where we honestly lay our share of the bricks.

We create the present and the future of Georgia, with people of different professions, we develop and demonstrate the best of our fields. Our society, each of us, needs peace, economic growth and development to create the long-term conditions necessary for our well-being. Any civil strife, intolerance of each other, internal tensions affect both winemakers and every sector of our economy. The problem is not so much the damage to our pockets as the delay in the development of each sector, the collapse of the image built over the years, the loss of market place and the death of tourism, which will ultimately affect the pockets and well-being of our citizens.

Going to Western markets was crucial for the development of winemaking. Forced reorientation from Russian markets has done an excellent service to the development of our industry. Today, not only do we sell wine at a higher price, but we produce a much better product and firmly establish ourselves in the world winery, from which we were unjustly expelled after the Bolshevik occupation. Today we feed a much larger segment of the Georgian economy than we could 10-15-20 years ago. The development of our field depends on our value and business connections with the West, which is a source of knowledge and nourishes Georgian winemaking with ideas and new creative impulses.

The development of both the economy and society in general is directly dependent on the degree of freedom in the country. Freedom is crucial in all aspects – as a moral and philosophical principle as well as giving special dynamism to any sphere of public life. Diversity, tolerance, peace, social capital … is an incomplete list of all the benefits that freedom brings to society. It is dangerous and in principle completely unacceptable for the country when the image of Georgia, from a dynamically developing, very interesting Western country, turns into a symbol of internal division, intolerance, chaos, backwardness. It will eventually bury all sectors of our economy, severely hurting our society and state.

We are signing this letter in the hope that the public will see other similar responses from various professional circles. We believe that it is our duty as a part of the society, together with other professional groups, to state our position and show that we, the business and creative part of the Georgian society, strongly distance ourselves and condemn homophobia, violence and anti-Western attitudes, which, unfortunately, the current government endorses.

We believe that our biggest enemy is intolerance toward minorities, which has had dire consequences in the past and will only threaten us with destruction and stagnation in the future. We also believe that the state must strictly protect the rights guaranteed to citizens by the Constitution and hold those accountable before the law who show signs of homophobia, intolerance, commits or calls for violence, be it a secular person or a clergyman, a government official, a businessman or a layman.

By signing this letter, we declare that the most precious thing for us is the development and identity of Georgia, the freedom of each of our citizens, the provision of constitutional rights, the protection of civil peace and unwavering integration with the West, where historically our civilized place has always been. We, Georgian winemakers, will always make personal decisions in the public arena according to these principles! “

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We Are Georgia, We Are the Wealth of This Country – Levan Tonaganyan

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“I would like to make a video appeal for Gharibashvili and “Georgian Dream”, but I cannot do that, because I cannot speak. But I can write; Writing is my power. So I am addressing Gharibashvili with this post:

Remember it well, that this country is not your property; this country is a country of Armenians, Azerbaijanis; This is a country of simple people, of the LGBTQ+ community, of religious and non-religious people, of hungry children, the poor, the addicts, sex-workers, miners, people with disabilities; This is a country of people that have different political views, this is a homeland of all of us.

You have to get used to this. You have no right to list these people as secondary. We have to live together in this country, we have to build this country. We have the right to demand our rights, we also have the right to everything. Me demanding the protection of my rights does not violate the rights of the majority. You cannot silence us.

We are Georgia, we are the wealth of this country.”

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Metropolitan’s condolences to Lekso Lashkarava’s family and colleagues

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Metropolitan of the Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia, Malkhaz Songhulashvili responds to the recent events and expresses his condolences not only to the family of Lekso Lashkarava, but also to all of his colleagues and friends who lost their son, friend, a loyal person and a professional:

“Ungodly people!!! How did you manage to kill a person by beating him? – these are the words that come to me naturally, from my heart. But I understand that such tone is not appropriate for an official statement.”

According to the Metropolitan, everyone is guilty in the death of Lekso Lashkarava: the state that did not defend him; those people that either silently or loudly justified the aggressive attacks.

“In the form of Lekso Lashkarava, the whole society has lost the greatest person who stood on the side of freedom and justice. Today he is one of the victims who sacrificed their lives for Georgia’s independence and freedom,” – said the metropolitan, recalling the heroes who died on April 9, who sacrificed themselves for the future of the country.

“Let this be the last bloodshed, the last violence in our homeland, which does not deserve to have its citizens abused in the name of religion, God, the Church,” wrote Metropolitan Malkhaz Songhulashvili.

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