Argentina, the land of silver and the smouldering tango, has come a long way since the dark days of deified bottle-blonds, military juntas and bankruptcy (wasn’t Madonna shocking in Evita?). The country is a rising star, economically and socially. Progressive liberalism has taken root and social attitudes are being transformed. Argentina was the first country in South America to adopt full marriage equality for lesbian and gay people.
The equalities campaign was boosted by a clever and slick video campaign with a simple message of fairness. A sterling effort all round. Maybe Buenos Aries should be the next stop on our pansy trail? A breath of fresh air.
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Perking the Pansies – Jack and Liam move to Turkey
Perking the Pansies 
Way to go, Argentina! I’m so glad you posted these. They are intense and illustrative of basic human rights. Wow, am I impressed. Well done!
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They are fantastic, aren’t they? Well done to Argentina.
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Viva Argentina! Amazing ad campaign. Thanks for sharing it.
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Excellent news. Our side of the planet (what we call the Western Hemisphere in the State Department) has started to adopt some amazingly liberal policies considering that machismo is very much alive and well. Brazil is another great example. I remember chatting with a gay Canadian couple in Rio who were very happy there. Alas, this has not spilled over (yet) into the English-speaking Caribbean, where the jolly islanders are as bigoted as ever. Ironically, we inherited this from our colonial masters, the British – who, thankfully, have moved on. David Cameron’s recent comments on the topic have shocked Jamaicans rigid – the “mother country”!! And a black President, Barack Obama, expressing the same sentiments. Shock, horror! (Please see my latest blog on the awesome Maurice Tomlinson, a great Jamaican campaigner – and very brave too – who has just won the inaugural David Kato Award). Meanwhile, “big ups” to the Latin American countries that have finally seen the light!!
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Slowly, slowly, change will happen. The imperial legacy is ironic isn’t it? Same applies to much of ex-British Africa. The David Kato Award is one of the many things that are bringing the winds of change to much of the old Empire. About bleedin’ time!
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Yes, we are right in the same mindset as somewhere like Kato’s Uganda. We have inherited many of the negative attitudes of colonial days, except they are now held by the ruling black administrations who ought to know better. It amazes me that black people who should know the meaning of civil rights are so strongly opposed to those rights for others – although Jamaicans all greatly admire Martin Luther King, they don’t have much in common. But then, Jamaicans didn’t have to fight for their independence – they were just handed it on a plate, no choice in the matter either. So we are just stuck in this mid-1950s backward thinking. Yes, it will be SLOW.
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Thanks for sharing Jack. Argentina seem to have got it right. I have a very simplistic view of life. We all came into this world as equal human beings. We all have the right to love other human beings and make our own choices. Hate and prejudice have prevented so many from leading happy and fulfilling lives. Attitudes are shifting, but there’s still a long way to go.
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Amen to that!
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maybe one day turkey will also. but not with this fundamentalist minds
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Maybe. I’m a great believer in the humanity of man and an optimist for the future. I think the events in the Middle East may put a brake on any authoritarian tendencies.
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good for them! Another candle lit in the darkness! And what a tour it could be . . bare-back riding, leather chaps and eight-banded armadillos! 😀
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That’s barebacking in the riding horses sense, obviously!
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