Interview with Poland's first openly gay MP
07/11/2011
Submitted by
ILGA-Europe
Original article: http://www.wbj.pl/article-56755-i...t-openly-gay-mp-part-ii.html?typ=ise
After talking about Palikot's Movement here, Robert Biedroń, newly elected MP for Palikot's Movement, Poland's first openly homosexual lawmaker, tells WBJ.pl what led him to politics at a young age and how he became a central figure in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights movement in Poland
Alice Trudelle: At 35, you have already spent half of your life in politics. How did you get involved in the first place?
Robert Biedroń: I come from a family involved in politics. There was a culture in our family of reading newspapers and magazines, which is rare in Poland. Only 400,000 people read Gazeta Wyborcza, the main newspaper in Poland. That's about one percent of the population. Although low levels of political participation are common in Eastern European countries, Poland is still very different from the rest of Europe. In Poland we are less informed, we participate less. It influences politics, society, culture, education, and how important we think it is to invest in them.
As a kid I was lucky, my parents bought me books and newspapers. My friends from high school will all tell you that I was a geek, reading newspapers while they were playing. It was a passion from the very beginning, and it was natural that I would get involved in politics.
At which point did LGBT issues become part of your political activism?
I am gay, and to find myself was not easy. It was a terrible process, not understanding yourself and negating your personality for fear of how people will react.
I grew up in Krosno, a very small town in southeastern Poland. It was a very hard time for me. I was not in an environment where homosexuality was well-perceived. My friends used the word faggot, my father said gay people were perverts. When I discovered that I was gay, I decided to read about it and went to the library. There I read in the encyclopedia that homosexuality is a perversion and a sickness. Around that time I tried to commit suicide.
Then I told my best friend, and he accepted it, which was a fantastic thing because I didn’t feel alone anymore. Then my parents found out. It was a shock for them. My mother said I would die of AIDS, that I would be alone, and was very worried about what the family and neighbors would say. It was a process for them to learn about homosexuality and overcome their prejudices. I was very lucky, it’s still very rare in Poland to find acceptance. My father has passed away, but my mother is very proud and very supportive.
Regarding politics, I was first involved in [leftist party the Democratic Left Alliance, SLD] as a student. In 2000 I was elected to go to the SLD congress, and I had the idea to include an article against discrimination, including for reasons of sexual orientation, into the party constitution. It was surprising for many but a lot of people, including ministers, supported it. It was very progressive for the party, and when the media found out, I became famous for a while.
I was given an award by some gay-rights organizations for that, although I didn't consider myself a gay activist at that time.
At that time, gays were not present in the media. When I started to become active in LGBT issues, I was so naive I thought that people would come out on the streets and say, “We're here. We're queer. Get used to it.” But it wasn’t like that. People said it was a personal thing – being gay is not political, but private.
At this point people didn’t understand that to fight discrimination, systemic changes are needed, and minorities need to be visible, to become a partner of the media. Things changed because we created strong organizations. It wasn’t easy, but we managed, and me being elected is the result of all this work by all those people.
There are still issues concerning the LGBT community you say need to be addressed. Which are they?
The most pressing issue for the Polish LGBT movement is definitely a bill legalizing civil unions. This is one of the first issues we will tackle in parliament. Another important issue is homophobic, transphobic and sexist hate speech. We have a lot of that in public life and it needs legislation. We also need changes in education.
Poland also has a really serious problem with police violence in general. I think we must address the way the police interact with civilians. Police violence is taboo in Poland. People don't report police abuse.
Speaking of which, you are currently involved in a trial in which the police accuse you of assault, and vice-versa. Can you tell us more?
On Polish Independence Day in November 2010, a group of people and I went to protest against a fascist demonstration in the streets of Warsaw, which is organized every year. The police were pushing us away to make way for them. At one point the police pushed us on cars and we could not move forward. They were asking us to move forward but we could not. They took us to a police car and they beat me there. There were other people who were beaten, some much worst than me, but no one officially complained.
I did. But I have tools; I have lawyers; I have the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights behind me in this case. I think the trial will go on probably for four of five more years, which is a pity. But it shouldn't affect my activities in the Sejm. I am very optimistic about the outcome.
After talking about Palikot's Movement here, Robert Biedroń, newly elected MP for Palikot's Movement, Poland's first openly homosexual lawmaker, tells WBJ.pl what led him to politics at a young age and how he became a central figure in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights movement in Poland
Alice Trudelle: At 35, you have already spent half of your life in politics. How did you get involved in the first place?
Robert Biedroń: I come from a family involved in politics. There was a culture in our family of reading newspapers and magazines, which is rare in Poland. Only 400,000 people read Gazeta Wyborcza, the main newspaper in Poland. That's about one percent of the population. Although low levels of political participation are common in Eastern European countries, Poland is still very different from the rest of Europe. In Poland we are less informed, we participate less. It influences politics, society, culture, education, and how important we think it is to invest in them.
As a kid I was lucky, my parents bought me books and newspapers. My friends from high school will all tell you that I was a geek, reading newspapers while they were playing. It was a passion from the very beginning, and it was natural that I would get involved in politics.
At which point did LGBT issues become part of your political activism?
I am gay, and to find myself was not easy. It was a terrible process, not understanding yourself and negating your personality for fear of how people will react.
I grew up in Krosno, a very small town in southeastern Poland. It was a very hard time for me. I was not in an environment where homosexuality was well-perceived. My friends used the word faggot, my father said gay people were perverts. When I discovered that I was gay, I decided to read about it and went to the library. There I read in the encyclopedia that homosexuality is a perversion and a sickness. Around that time I tried to commit suicide.
Then I told my best friend, and he accepted it, which was a fantastic thing because I didn’t feel alone anymore. Then my parents found out. It was a shock for them. My mother said I would die of AIDS, that I would be alone, and was very worried about what the family and neighbors would say. It was a process for them to learn about homosexuality and overcome their prejudices. I was very lucky, it’s still very rare in Poland to find acceptance. My father has passed away, but my mother is very proud and very supportive.
Regarding politics, I was first involved in [leftist party the Democratic Left Alliance, SLD] as a student. In 2000 I was elected to go to the SLD congress, and I had the idea to include an article against discrimination, including for reasons of sexual orientation, into the party constitution. It was surprising for many but a lot of people, including ministers, supported it. It was very progressive for the party, and when the media found out, I became famous for a while.
I was given an award by some gay-rights organizations for that, although I didn't consider myself a gay activist at that time.
At that time, gays were not present in the media. When I started to become active in LGBT issues, I was so naive I thought that people would come out on the streets and say, “We're here. We're queer. Get used to it.” But it wasn’t like that. People said it was a personal thing – being gay is not political, but private.
At this point people didn’t understand that to fight discrimination, systemic changes are needed, and minorities need to be visible, to become a partner of the media. Things changed because we created strong organizations. It wasn’t easy, but we managed, and me being elected is the result of all this work by all those people.
There are still issues concerning the LGBT community you say need to be addressed. Which are they?
The most pressing issue for the Polish LGBT movement is definitely a bill legalizing civil unions. This is one of the first issues we will tackle in parliament. Another important issue is homophobic, transphobic and sexist hate speech. We have a lot of that in public life and it needs legislation. We also need changes in education.
Poland also has a really serious problem with police violence in general. I think we must address the way the police interact with civilians. Police violence is taboo in Poland. People don't report police abuse.
Speaking of which, you are currently involved in a trial in which the police accuse you of assault, and vice-versa. Can you tell us more?
On Polish Independence Day in November 2010, a group of people and I went to protest against a fascist demonstration in the streets of Warsaw, which is organized every year. The police were pushing us away to make way for them. At one point the police pushed us on cars and we could not move forward. They were asking us to move forward but we could not. They took us to a police car and they beat me there. There were other people who were beaten, some much worst than me, but no one officially complained.
I did. But I have tools; I have lawyers; I have the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights behind me in this case. I think the trial will go on probably for four of five more years, which is a pity. But it shouldn't affect my activities in the Sejm. I am very optimistic about the outcome.
