Christine Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Unfortunately in Italy the homophobia is still very strong and, almost always, there is also the silence on the many cases of violence, assaults, insults and homophobic discrimination, and it is well known why. A huge round of applause to the reaction of Mika. How is scrawling something in huge black letters on a poster "silent"? It's there for all to see and that's what the person who put it there intended. I don't understand this at all. Everyone knows there is homophobia in Italy - and everywhere else in the world, to some degree or another. What is the purpose except to wind up a bunch of Mika fans? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarolinaAsh Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 How is scrawling something in huge black letters on a poster "silent"? It's there for all to see and that's what the person who put it there intended. I don't understand this at all. Everyone knows there is homophobia in Italy - and everywhere else in the world, to some degree or another. What is the purpose except to wind up a bunch of Mika fans? I think Charlie means that people are silent about the treatment of homosexuals in Italy. Not reporting assaults, harassment etc. Not standing up for them. Because it is so bad. It sounds like so many things in the past and present here. From people averting their eyes during desegregation because they don't want to be involved in any investigation to even campus rapes and sexual assaults not being reported because of some places having a mentality and system that makes it hard on the victims to get justice. It's a shame. That's the silence to be broken, no longer letting people getting away with vulgar, hurtful, vicious and violent acts against humanity just because people are scared to speak up. But together the silence can be broken. With a support system. Also someone, somewhere, almost always knows something about who what when and why etc. And they need to break the silence. (That last bit comes from personal experience. 2 years ago a young girl who had worked with my dad went missing here. They still have not found her body. They did find enough evidence to charge a couple with her kidnapping and murder, but no body yet. Her dad actually runs a print shop and makes the fliers and banners and such, and the big slogan has been Break The Silence because someone knows something. They just either won't come forward or don't realize what they know.) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 (edited) I think Charlie means that people are silent about the treatment of homosexuals in Italy. Not reporting assaults, harassment etc. But this is nothing like any of the things you describe, it is not an act of violence. The person who scrawled the graffiti is the one who made a loud statement and amplifying their statement by ensuring it receives an even wider audience is not breaking any silence. You are just giving them exactly what they want. Surely there is a more effective way for Mika to lend his support to a gay rights movement in Italy than to wind up a bunch of his fans on Twitter with a hashtag that seems nonsensical to me. He is preaching to the converted about an issue many of them have zero say in anyway since they don't live in Italy. Edited August 9, 2015 by Christine 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyara Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 (edited) Italian fans decided to start the hashtag on their own and I think it was just a symbolic form of protest against this kind of mentality. Yes, they gave that pic more visibility and maybe that's the side effect, but it was done with good intentions to show support not only to Mika but to all the people treated like that or even worse everyday. In a country where silence because of fear has been normal for so many years, breaking the silence is actually the first step in the right direction. The pic was just what caused the protest but then it extended against the whole homophobic mentality, not just against the single stupid person who had nothing better to do than write that thing. Edited August 9, 2015 by Alyara 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarolinaAsh Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 But this is nothing like any of the things you describe, it is not an act of violence. The person who scrawled the graffiti is the one who made a loud statement and amplifying their statement by ensuring it receives an even wider audience is not breaking any silence. You are just giving them exactly what they want. Surely there is a more effective way for Mika to lend his support to a gay rights movement in Italy than to wind up a bunch of his fans on Twitter with a hashtag that seems nonsensical to me. He is preaching to the converted about an issue many of them have zero say in anyway since they don't live in Italy. Him cancelling his concert would be giving them what they want. And he tweeted in Italian, so he's clearly aimed it at his Italian fans who do have a say and can spread the word. Plus it's received media attention there now; not only the act of vandalism but his response. So the word will spread and give people a reason to talk about the topic. Sure hash tags in general are silly and I am not a big fan. However, they are useful when following topics of major importance or significance to a person. And while it's not life changing at this exact moment and hasn't shown any direct results of changing minds it is something in a positive direction that is simple enough to do. Plus his elegant statement about going against his instinct to run and the nature of love is inspiring not just to those in Italy facing the same persecution but even others in difficult situations. So while it may not change the society's views and Italy's homophobia it could be just the encouragement that some young person living there needed to go on fighting their struggle another day. Sure, you and I can't do anything about it. But I don't think it was intended for us. I do have to say though that the vandal may have gotten their word out or whatever but they're a coward hiding behind illegal (I assume in Italy it's still illegal?) graffiti. If they had truly wanted to fight for their cause they would have... I won't say because I don't wanna give anyone ideas. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlight Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 For those who don't understand the latest tweets: some ***** has written the italian word for "faggott" across mika's posters in florence. And instead of ignoring it, mika's putting it out there with the hashtag that means sth like "let's break the silence" (someone who speaks italian pls correct me if i'm wrong ). He's so right - i ignored those pictures first as well, those haters don't deserve any attention. But ignoring won't change anything. Putting it out there shows a lot of strength, and it makes many show their support. It made me so angry when I saw this pic first on instagram...! Sadly there are still too many homophobic people out there... I will never understand what's their problem. They're just ignorant and stupid. What's the purpose of insulting other people? It's their private life and nobody should be judged cos of their way of life. I guess Mika noticed cos there were so many fans sharing it on instagram. I also agree that his reaction was perfectly right. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julia Welcomes Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 The only positive aspect of this all - is Mika seeing support of his fans, nothing new though. Apart from this the incident should be forgotten and buried in depths of Twitter.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellody Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Ah, i didn't know it wasn't mika who started this. I don't think i'd have started it as a fan, as he's the one who got insulted, it should've been up to him how to deal with it. Under the given circumstances tho, i think he reacted in the best possible way. He showed a lot of strength with his reaction. I'm sure the insult must've hurt him, and well, don't we all just want to ignore things that hurt us, instead of putting them out there for everyone to see? I don't say either way is better, standing up against homophobia surely is a good thing. But as i said, i would've left it up to mika himself how he wanted to deal with it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellody Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 In other news, apparently there was a private gig yesterday, this twitter user periscoped it: https://twitter.com/danielamartani/status/630158988718555136 https://twitter.com/danielamartani/status/630162285542154240 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krysady Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 In other news, apparently there was a private gig yesterday, this twitter user periscoped it: https://twitter.com/danielamartani/status/630158988718555136 https://twitter.com/danielamartani/status/630162285542154240 Yes,it was in Sardinia: http://lanuovasardegna.gelocal.it/regione/2015/08/08/news/mika-canta-per-fawaz-gruosi-festa-di-compleanno-dorata-1.11904790 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn Mastin Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 This is the sort of thing I mean when I say about how brave Mika is. I think his reaction to the poster is the right one. It's showing that, even though he's Mika, a celebrity in Italy, he's not getting let off the hook by homophobes. They are targeting him. As a fan I would not have drawn attention to the poster, but since it happened anyway, Mika has turned the insult on it's head. It's not safe to be gay in a lot of places. It's not so bad in the UK, which is, I suppose, why Mika's out-there new album and his more open stance, hasn't turned him into an icon for British gay people and a very brave man, for everyone else in the UK, but he travels a lot, and not every country is so tolerant. So like I say, Mika is one brave good guy! Pity the UK can't see it that way when they talk about him, and his music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elwendin Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 (edited) Break the silence about what? That there's homophobia? That's no secret is it? This whole thing seems very ill conceived to me. I am sorry that someone would deface a picture of Mika that way and even sorrier that anyone told him about it. But this is nothing like any of the things you describe, it is not an act of violence. The person who scrawled the graffiti is the one who made a loud statement and amplifying their statement by ensuring it receives an even wider audience is not breaking any silence. You are just giving them exactly what they want. That was exactly my first thought as well. I was like "no way I'm spreading this s**t, it's pointless and I don't want him to get to know it" Then I saw that Giulio (his manager) was very into it, so I thought that Mika already knew and probably agreed on some level, so I just joined the buzz, cause I found it fun. Yeah, I had no high moral purposes, as I don't think that a Twitter campaign will change minds. I was just enjoying some Twitter game like tweeting and retweeting. When Mika changed his profile pic I was a little bit confused but then I saw what he was doing. And that was smart. It would have been stupid if it was me, as no one would care, but since he's famous and has connections, he got newspapers and VIPs to notice this thing, and that's the only relevant outcome both for him as a VIP and for the subject. Now it is spreading for real on socials, outside the fandom, and might even become kind of huge for a few days, especially since famous people and different news accounts are joining in. Unfortunately in Italy the homophobia is still very strong and, almost always, there is also the silence on the many cases of violence, assaults, insults and homophobic discrimination, and it is well known why. I NEVER watch the news nor read newspapers but even me learned about an assault on a gay the other day. Which means that this silence isn't that strong. At least this is my percetion. People around me are from very to quite ok with the subject and it's not like I live in a blessed town or something. Of course old people, or frustrated wannabe alpha males, still don't accept homosexuality, like they don't accept foreigners or that women are clever beings, or that animals do suffer both emotionally and physically like we do, or A.R.T., or whatever. But it's not like people are scared to talk about such things. Society is changing, and these people's world is falling apart. That writing on the poster was more likely to reassure the writer than to insult Mika, at the end of the day. Aggressiveness almost always springs out of fear. And it's not through some tweets that people are going to change that. It's through news papers (well done, mission accomplished), daily life, little things and events that change the unusual in ordinary, and through love. I do think that Mika appealing to so many people in Italy helps the gays acceptance. They love him, hence they accept what he is. Briefly, Mika is helping gay rights to be spread in many ways, and I think he's very good at turning an assault into a strong point. I was translating this the other day: "- So, Mika, if anyone attacked you in the street, what would you do? - It depends. I hate violence. But it depends on why they would attack me, cause it's.... the reason is actually all what matters. It's not about the assault itself, it's about the reason." He has a very good reason, and he's turning out to be quite a good fighter. But I don't think it's about to break the silence, as I don't see much silence around, except for our politicians who still are reluctant, but they will come around, eventually. It's showing that, even though he's Mika, a celebrity in Italy, he's not getting let off the hook by homophobes. They are targeting him. They are not targeting him. There's plenty of random posters around which get ruined through insulting doodles. It's not like there's a "let's pick on Mika" movement. That was one single guy's act, it happened before and it will happen again. Some months ago a guy took a pic with Mika who had lunch in his restaurant, then he started to write insults to him in the comments just cause his friends were all winding him up and telling them that Mika is gay, so why did he take a pic with him. It wasn't about Mika, it was about his little unsure macho-man ego which was shaking when he realized that his clique wasn't approving the pic. There is no anti-Mika conspiracy. Edited August 9, 2015 by Elwendin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggie112 Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 yes, Mika is the least gay person who is harmed by this episodes, imho. He often says that he knows he's a privileged person, who can do what he loves and he can say in the press that he's gay and he wants a family in the future, but he knows it's not the same for many "common" people who still have to struggle with this issue. For me, the hashtag has to be for all the "common" people who still feel rejected, hoping things will improve soon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellody Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I didn't understand Marylin's post in a way that they specifically target him. Just that the homophobes don't treat him differently than other gays, just because he's famous. So yeah, maybe it helps others to see that they're not alone. Or maybe not, guess it's different for every individual how they perceive it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mag_Belgium Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 We don't live in a fairy tale, and unfortunately there are so many people who can't accept the differences. Whatsoever gays, foreigners, different religions ... they will always be a target as long as mindsets will not change and it will take a long time. It's a good thing that some people can denounce it and try to change minds. I'm so sad that Mika has been a target by a f*** stupid 'man' , so I hope he is strong and will not be too affected by this incident. I'd like to send to him all my love (I don't have tweeter or instagram) not because I'm a fan but just human and because it hurts me . It's as if someone hurts my brother (he is also gay) because of his preference. I will never understand those people 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn Mastin Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 That was exactly my first thought as well. I was like "no way I'm spreading this s**t, it's pointless and I don't want him to get to know it" Then I saw that Giulio (his manager) was very into it, so I thought that Mika already knew and probably agreed on some level, so I just joined the buzz, cause I found it fun. Yeah, I had no high moral purposes, as I don't think that a Twitter campaign will change minds. I was just enjoying some Twitter game like tweeting and retweeting. When Mika changed his profile pic I was a little bit confused but then I saw what he was doing. And that was smart. It would have been stupid if it was me, as no one would care, but since he's famous and has connections, he got newspapers and VIPs to notice this thing, and that's the only relevant outcome both for him as a VIP and for the subject. Now it is spreading for real on socials, outside the fandom, and might even become kind of huge for a few days, especially since famous people and different news accounts are joining in. I NEVER watch the news nor read newspapers but even me got to know about an assault on a gay the other day. Which means that this silence isn't that strong. At least this is my percetion. People around me are from very to quite ok with the subject and it's not like I live in a blessed town or something. Of course old people, or frustrated wannabe alpha males, still don't accept homosexuality, like they don't accept foreigners or that women are clever beings, or that animals do suffer both emotionally and physically like we do, or A.R.T., or whatever. But it's not like people are scared to talk about such things. Society is changing, and these people's world is falling apart. That writing on the poster was more likely to reassure the writer than to insult Mika, at the end of the day. Aggressiveness almost always springs out of fear. And it's not through some tweets that people are going to change that. It's through news papers (well done, mission accomplished), daily life, little things and events that change the unusual in ordinary, and through love. I do think that Mika appealing to so many people in Italy helps the gays acceptance. They love him, hence they accept what he is. Briefly, Mika is helping gay rights to be spread in many ways, and I think he's very good at turning an assault into a strong point. I was translating this the other day: "- So, Mika, if anyone attacked you in the street, what would you do? - It depends. I hate violence. But it depends on why they would attack me, cause it's.... the reason is actually all what matters. It's not about the assault itself, it's about the reason." He has a very good reason, and he's turning out to be quite a good fighter. But I don't think it's about to break the silence, as I don't see much silence around, except for our politicians who still are reluctant, but they will come around, eventually. They are not targeting him. There's plenty of random posters around which get ruined through insulting doodles. It's not like there's a "let's pick on Mika" movement. That was one single guy's act, it happened before and it will happen again. Some months ago a guy took a pic with Mika who had lunch in his restaurant, then he started to write insults to him in the comments just cause his friends were all winding him up and telling them that Mika is gay, so why did he take a pic with him. It wasn't about Mika, it was about his little unsure macho-man ego which was shaking when he realized that his clique wasn't approving the pic. There is no anti-Mika conspiracy. I wasn't meaning it is an anti Mika conspiracy. I only meant that, just because he's famous, he's not immune to that kind of thing. You see, this is why, when I write posts, I often say, "this is just my opinion". I know people recently are saying that they don't understand people putting things like that, because of course it's your own opinion. But sometimes posts get taken out of context. It might be the language thing, because not everyone here gets the nuances of the English language. But I said nothing about a conspiracy, or that it's just about him. I only meant that, just because he's a popular celeb in Italy, that doesn't stop people targeting him because he's gay. But I never said anything about him being the only target or anything about a conspiracy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I just joined the buzz, cause I found it fun. Yeah, I had no high moral purposes, as I don't think that a Twitter campaign will change minds. I was just enjoying some Twitter game like tweeting and retweeting. I guess I missed the "fun" part and just saw a bunch of outrage and platitudes that usually accompanies these slactivism campaigns. I was impressed to see some younglings debating whether this was a good idea or not though instead of mindlessly joining in. It would have been stupid if it was me, as no one would care, but since he's famous and has connections, he got newspapers and VIPs to notice this thing, and that's the only relevant outcome both for him as a VIP and for the subject. Now it is spreading for real on socials, outside the fandom, and might even become kind of huge for a few days, especially since famous people and different news accounts are joining in. Spreading what? Noticing what? That some asshole in Florence thinks Mika is a faggot? Why does anyone want this spread around? Why would anyone want to dignify the actions of one anonymous asshole with a reaction? People say trollish things on Twitter all the time and Mika never takes the bait. Just because some troll put their message on a poster instead of into his timeline doesn't make it worth addressing. In fact it is even more perplexing to me that he ignores it happening on Twitter but raises this incident on Twitter. I understand the desire to turn it into something positive and to gain attention for gay rights by using Twitter but I don't understand how "break the silence" achieves this. All I have seen in the media is that they are now reporting that some asshole wrote faggot on a poster in Florence and, surprise, surprise, Mika was offended by it and so are his fans. What does that accomplish in terms of gay rights? Mika's fans also would have been offended and tweeted all night if someone wrote "ugly" on a poster of his face. Aggressiveness almost always springs out of fear. And sometimes people are just assholes. They will call someone fat, not because they fear fat people and not because they even dislike fat people in general, but just because they want to hit someone where they think it will hurt them the most. And it's not through some tweets that people are going to change that. It's through news papers (well done, mission accomplished) Again I am not sure what having this reported in papers accomplishes. They would have also reported if Mika got involved in some Katy Perry/Taylor Swift Twitter drama. If some supportive editorial comments and calls to action or investigative reporting on hate crimes against gays come out of it that would be great. But if it's just "Mika was called a faggot and check out the drama on Twitter" I don't see the point. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn Mastin Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I didn't understand Marylin's post in a way that they specifically target him. Just that the homophobes don't treat him differently than other gays, just because he's famous. So yeah, maybe it helps others to see that they're not alone. Or maybe not, guess it's different for every individual how they perceive it. Well I've answered it. Sometimes I wonder why I voice my opinion on here when it gets taken out of context. The fact that they scrawled on the poster and then tweeted it, means that they targeted him. But it was a one-off. I never said it was an anti Mika campaign or that they shouldn't target him because he's famous. I said they targeted him, despite him being a popular celeb in Italy. I never said anything about a conspiracy against him. It was just some mindless individuals who did it. I was actually trying to say how brave Mika is, because there are homophobes out there. That was the point of my post. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Italian fans decided to start the hashtag on their own I don't believe that. But that's another story. Anyway I agree with Ash that this was aimed at Italian fans and since non Italian speakers were purposely excluded I found it all the more irritating to see the bandwagon jumping of fans all over the world. I still don't see what good will come of it but I don't live in Italy so I guess I will leave it at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggie112 Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Now the Florence major tweeted that the poster will be removed... of course this episode won't change ignorant people mind about this issue, butof course this "twitter battle", which now are joining other famous Italian people, is better than events like "Family Day" which are really against human rights ...but this is another story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellody Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I don't believe that. But that's another story. Anyway I agree with Ash that this was aimed at Italian fans and since non Italian speakers were purposely excluded I found it all the more irritating to see the bandwagon jumping of fans all over the world. I still don't see what good will come of it but I don't live in Italy so I guess I will leave it at that. I didn't know what was going on before, and i told my opinion about it here. But as soon as mika tweeted it, and even changed his twitter profile pics, i think it was the right thing for his fans to react and show their support, no matter what country they're from. If they understand enough italian, or care enough to use google translate, then why not support the hashtag that mika had decided to put out there at this point. The least i'll do is send him a virtual hug, if from his tweets i get the feeling that he's hurt by those insults - and imo that was obvious, even if he wrote about it in a language i don't speak and hardly understand. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I didn't know what was going on before, and i told my opinion about it here. But as soon as mika tweeted it, and even changed his twitter profile pics, i think it was the right thing for his fans to react and show their support, no matter what country they're from. If they understand enough italian, or care enough to use google translate, then why not support the hashtag that mika had decided to put out there at this point. The least i'll do is send him a virtual hug, if from his tweets i get the feeling that he's hurt by those insults - and imo that was obvious, even if he wrote about it in a language i don't speak and hardly understand. I had absolutely no idea what was going on and completely tuned it out until someone mentioned it to me on Facebook. I don't want to waste my time trying to translate tweets that are irrelevant to me. How am I supposed to know this is some horrible incident that hurt him and not some rubbish about XF likw he had tweeted before that? Even when someone mentioned it to me I still couldn't translate the grafitti or the hashtag through my app. Why do I have to speak Italian or know Italians or painstakingly type everything I see into Google translate to try to figure out what is going on in order to support Mika? I just have to assume he does not want my support or he would ask for it in English and/or French since virtually none of his fans outside Italy understand Italian. I am certainly not going to jump on any slactivism bandwagon without knowing exactly what is going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamy_Queen Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I didn't know what was going on before, and i told my opinion about it here. But as soon as mika tweeted it, and even changed his twitter profile pics, i think it was the right thing for his fans to react and show their support, no matter what country they're from. If they understand enough italian, or care enough to use google translate, then why not support the hashtag that mika had decided to put out there at this point. The least i'll do is send him a virtual hug, if from his tweets i get the feeling that he's hurt by those insults - and imo that was obvious, even if he wrote about it in a language i don't speak and hardly understand.I totally agree with you, and actually I came here to write almost the same.I saw this pic on FB earlier that day, and my first reaction was to ignore it, but as soon as Mika reacted on it (I was quite surprised that he saw it as well) my immediate intention was to support him. He wrote these 3 last tweets a bit later and it was a good sign of what he really expects from his people. I don't care what others think about it, I care only of what Mika needs and wants. And it's clear that silence won't do any good, I witnessed in some other situations (in general) that the silence is a crime - people just close the eyes to the awfuil things that happen and afterwards feel surprised when they need help themselves and all the others just silently hide their eyes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerMoment1608 Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 (edited) At first I thought it was stupid to share this picture as indeed it just gives these people attention. But than this whole thing turned around with the hashtag and Mika tweeting himself a bit later. It's not the message on the billboard that gets the attention anymore but the anti-homophobic reactions that do. From a lot of people, from the media, from some Italian celebs. We had one loud homophobic statement. But countless loud anti-homophobic statement followed afterwards. It's about visibility, people doing statements, showing that there are many - and some influential - people who think different. Such things do have influence on people. Not on the nutcase who did the graffiti. But on "normal" people out there. Edited August 9, 2015 by DerMoment1608 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elwendin Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 (edited) They are targeting him. I didn't understand Marylin's post in a way that they specifically target him. It might be the language thing, because not everyone here gets the nuances of the English language. Yeah, it must be about the nuances of the English language. Anyway, don't take my words too literally. Of course there's no conspirancy. Edited August 9, 2015 by Elwendin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts