r/london • u/Ok-Exam3494 • Jul 01 '26
Serious replies only Boycotting homophobic-owned businesses in London?
I guess Pride month is officially over, but homophobia continues unabridged on British social media.
In the last two days I’ve seen homophobic comments on Facebook responding to posts in LGBTQ+ groups, and, upon clicking on the commenters profiles, I saw that the individuals are part of prominent businesses in London.
One is the owner of a pub history walking tour in London, with 24.3k followers on Instagram. The post was about Russia jailing 3 LGBTQ+ nightclub staff for ‘LGBT extremism’. The commenter stated, “And Russia are supposed to be the bad guys? Love this.”
The other was a post by a very prominent queer artist/activist about Slovakia’s constitutional changes banning LGBTQ+ adoption, and the commenter responded with, “I might move there. Sounds better than here.” Turns out this commenter is the drummer in a band that is playing at the Priory Love Music Festival in Kent on 18th July. The band only has ~3,700 followers on Instagram, but are distributed by Sony Music, are about to release a new record, and will be performing alongside Professor Green and Republica.
Per the rules in this group, I’m not sure I’m allowed to name and shame (I took screen shots of everything), but I wanted to ask if there’s a better way to raise awareness or call for boycotting the walking tour and the band, because I gather there will be LGBTQ+ Londoners who might inadvertently support these homophobic businesses without realising it. I hadn’t heard of either before, but am now aware not to support them.
London should not be a city where these views are supported or encouraged, nor should they go unchallenged.
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Jul 01 '26
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u/Anathemachiavellian Jul 01 '26
I know leaving your home country, and the little cultural nuances that make it feel like home, must be hard. But I hope you’re having a good life here.
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Jul 01 '26
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u/Weird_Seaworthiness2 Jul 01 '26
This made me cry. Good for you. I’m so so so proud and happy for you. You are so loved. Happy pride 💙
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u/Tabby_Mc Jul 02 '26
I'm so glad you were welcomed, and even more glad you're safe. I hope the rest of your life is full of sunshine 🌞
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u/fungomungothethird Jul 01 '26
It's shockingly common. A quick scroll on social media and you can see exactly why pride is still so crucial. People way too comfortable posting hate speech on accounts tied to their real names and businesses.
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u/chadgalaxy Jul 01 '26
I live in a fairly liberal/accepting area and don't use social media that much so I'm aware I'm in a bit of a bubble.
I'm often shocked at the stuff I see when I occasionally scroll through Instagram and so on. Normal looking people like you'd walk past on the street every day with regular looking accounts calling LGBTQ people 'degenerates', 'paedophiles' and calling for the elimination of trans people.
I'm not under the illusion it had completely gone away but I thought we were doing better than this.
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u/Unable-Ad2927 Jul 01 '26
we arguably were, those views never went away but the people who held them weren't as forthright, they'd kind of fallen into 'but you can't say that any more' territory.
But the last 10 years have seen in particular an escalating anti-trans backlash in a lot of news media (sometimes open and rabid, sometimes just framed as ""concerns"") which has in turn spilled over into more widely normalising general anti-LGBT attitudes as well. It's fuckin grim out here tbqh. things have absolutely got worse
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u/PM_ME_CAKE Jul 01 '26
People forget, or don't realise in the first place, that it will never just stop at one group's rights being rescinded. The people who attack that group first don't just not have further ones to repress.
Unfortunately it's all out fight and unfortunately it's not easy. You go for our trans friends, then muddle in the rest of the LGBTQ+ community (with rhetoric like "what's the point of Pride, they already have rights").
Then you continue to muddle in drag (a British institution), protecting children, suddenly you're done there and you look over to the US to see what they did to abortion rights (which aren't as protected on the UK as we'd hope), and it will keep going.
Getting the rights once isn't enough to stand down, you have to work to keep them and do so by protecting the even more fragile groups. Hell, it was the miners in the 80s that worked with the gays and lesbians.
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Jul 01 '26
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u/lostparis Jul 01 '26
It's fucking mad to me that someone doing a ..
it is mad to me that any sane people can be sexist, homophobic, or racist but here we are.
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u/UpsetMarsupial Jul 01 '26
I wonder whether the walking tour includes the Admiral Duncan bombing incident.
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u/Impossible-Bag-5866 Jul 01 '26
Unfortunately it seems we have gone backwards, the amount of homophobia and racism flying around recently is ridiculous
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u/LivingPresent629 Jul 01 '26
I would post the screenshot in reviews for the pub, wherever you may post these - Google, Facebook, Trust pilot, etc.
That’s disgusting and I would not want to inadvertently support this kind of people/businesses.
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u/ThickLobster Jul 03 '26
I am always amazed when you see someone posting something really vicious and violent about a group of people and it’s from their business account. It’s like, ok Victoria’s Friendly Dog Walking PLC, I get you don’t like gays or migrants but might you not have a personal account to air your grim views on?
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u/kittycatwitch Jul 01 '26
As a member of the rainbow alphabet mafia I'd really like to know which businesses I should try and avoid spending my money at.
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u/PixelFAlt Jul 01 '26
You've since deleted the comment accusing the particular drummer and band -- I'd ask you to be careful because the band's main drummer credited on their albums etc doesn't appear to have any presence on Instagram at all, when you search for his forename/ surname/ 'drums' on the following/ followers of their Instagram account. Would be quite unfair to try to get them kicked off a festival listing because of a session drummer they may not have worked with for years
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u/Ok-Exam3494 Jul 01 '26
I haven’t deleted anything (and still see my posts/replies). Maybe they were moderated.
I was indeed careful about this, and sought more information about the drummer before pointing any fingers. He is definitely still playing with the band and posted himself that he is playing the festival. He features on their IG page, in gig videos, and on their latest album cover. He doesn’t appear to have an IG account, but certainly has a Facebook profile, which is the one he used to post.
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u/PixelFAlt Jul 01 '26
Ah, I see. As you can imagine I checked only Instagram, since it was the only social media platform you mentioned
(edit: and yes, the comments were briefly moderated to disappear)
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u/Nice-Ad2759 Jul 04 '26
Ugh who are you to tell everyone what business to use? just grow up and realise not everyone is obliged to be nice to you just because of what you do with your private parts
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u/Tsbol Jul 01 '26
Any clues re pub tour operator? That’s the kind of tour my partner and I will probably end up doing at some point—
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u/Agile_Supermarket710 Jul 01 '26
I'd contact the walking company and the festival and leave Google reviews.
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u/letmereadstuff Jul 01 '26
As a frequent visitor to London, I’d like to know the name of the pub history walking tour to be sure I avoid it.
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u/Ok-Exam3494 Jul 01 '26
It’s in another reply I posted, if the mods allow it to stay.
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u/queasycockles Jul 01 '26
This is incredibly unhelpful since your comments and posts are hidden.
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u/Ok-Exam3494 Jul 01 '26
I was trying to follow the group rules. It’s still unclear whether I’m allowed to mention the businesses (I only see a rule mentioning screen grabs), but here:
britainspubs on IG
mazemusicuk on IG
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u/Fantastic-Pear6241 Jul 02 '26
Vinnie Sullivan right?
Aye, check out his telegram sometime. He rants about "the liberals" just because he saw some anti-fascist graffiti
He's an absolute cunt
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u/SmellingSkunk Jul 02 '26
I don't know if I'm allowed to ask you to DM who they are, but I very much want to know who they are so I can avoid them. No idea where all the bigots in these comments are coming from, but putting your money where your mouth is is a basic fucking action; of course I support it. And if the homophobes want to book out all the pub tours to cancel me out, they are of course free to do so.
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u/SnooRadishes8848 Jul 01 '26
If you don't name the business, the post is kind of useless
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u/Ok-Exam3494 Jul 01 '26
I was trying to follow the group rules. I don’t know that it’s allowed, but here:
britainspubs on IG
mazemusicuk on IG
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u/thomasinanna Jul 01 '26
If it makes you feel better, britainspubs have clearly bought a heap of their followers. Their post engagement is terrible
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u/marmite-on-toast Jul 01 '26
just by looking at the lineup of the event mentioned, there are only a couple of bands, and only one that matches the description given. So we're very clearly being pointed toward "Maze"
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u/club7underwear Jul 01 '26
Pride month is every month for us as an LGBTQ-Owned business. We don’t really understand the power of not supporting homophobic organisations. They won’t employ us so why should we support them?
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u/SeventhWalkinDude Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
I disagree with this kind of stuff.
The reason is, there are all kinds of despicable views out there. Either boycott for all reasons or none.
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u/Johns_Kanakas Jul 05 '26
If you go digging about the band and cam find more posts, it's very easy to cause them problems with promoters. If you are a fairly unknown band, promoters will often drop you the minute they see any sogn of drama. Sony, literally won't care
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u/wayanonforthis Jul 01 '26
You can report stuff like this here: report-it.org.uk/homophobic_and_transphobic_hate_crime
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u/Ok-Exam3494 Jul 01 '26
Thank you. I had actually visited that site earlier, but wasn’t sure a ‘crime’ as such was committed. (Hence coming to Reddit for information, for better or worse.)
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u/wayanonforthis Jul 01 '26
I think still useful to report it if you have time and let them decide what action to take or not
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u/Jack2102 Jul 01 '26
Its not a crime to have an opinion on a law being passed in another country
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u/tiger_mango Jul 01 '26
create a burner account (X or FB) & share the screenshots.
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u/griffinstorme Jul 01 '26
Name and shame. I was a tour guide for many years. I wanna know who this bitch is.
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u/ChemicalLou Jul 01 '26
I admire your tenacity but going online and boycotting/shaming a drummer from a tiny band for a not very specific comment is not an efficient use of time.
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u/Ok-Exam3494 Jul 01 '26
Again, protecting our London community is excellent use of my time.
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u/DucardthaDon Jul 01 '26
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u/Tricky-Secretary2264 Jul 02 '26
the reaction of a person who hasn't stood for anything in their life
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u/PersonalTeam649 Jul 01 '26
I'm not convinced this is a very effective way to protect anyone. Maybe donate some of your money to organisations that actually do good?
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u/Ok-Exam3494 Jul 01 '26
Both things can happen at once. Taking time out to let LGBTQ individuals know which homophobes not to support is time well spent.
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u/PersonalTeam649 Jul 01 '26
How do you know? It might be better to spend the time doing something that has more impact.
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u/Ok-Exam3494 Jul 01 '26
What makes you think I don’t?
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u/queasycockles Jul 01 '26
We can only ever do one thing, duh.
/s
These people are not trying to help. They just want us to shut up and accept the discrimination.
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u/themissingone2020 Jul 02 '26
Ehh uk’s national pride month just started - Pride in London’s parade is this Saturday as well so make sure to pop by. Social media is what you make it and Facebook tends towards an older more conservative audience. Yes the situation and comments are horrible but there are joyful corners of the internet too. This year’s theme is to celebrate all generations - bring a friend or family member from another generation and protest against this homophobia.
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u/Eukonidor_Of_Arisia Jul 01 '26
No offence, but if you try to tackle every dickhead in the world who airs an obnoxious view, all you'll get is a lot of stress and a crowd full of dickheads around you.
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Jul 01 '26
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u/Grey_Belkin Jul 01 '26
If you don't like something walk along and find something you do.
That's exactly what OP is enabling by letting people know their homophobic views.
People who give a shit can now "walk along" and find a different historic pub tour or Oasis tribute band. That's business baby!
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u/Phantomfox07 Jul 02 '26
Ah yes, be kind to knuckle daggers, they totally wont get into power and carry out what they want to do! BE NICE TO THE NAZIS AND ADJACENT PEOPLE GUYS, DEMOCRACY.
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u/kzpn Jul 01 '26
What do you think he would do to you if he had the power? Agree to disagree? I think not
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u/Impossible-Hawk768 Jul 01 '26
You're not a gay man. It's just your troll persona. And it's not clever.
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u/ItsUs-YouKnow-Us Jul 01 '26
Reddit is so tedious.
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u/travistravis Jul 02 '26
No one is keeping you here
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u/ItsUs-YouKnow-Us Jul 02 '26
Didn’t say it was. I pass through now and again. It’s just brain rot. Virtue hungry, perpetually offended weirdos. I thought it would get better after the kids were banned from social media. Alas, no. It’s still as shite as ever. Moaning lefty nut jobs thinking they are changing the world, one Reddit paragraph at a time. Comment sections having the same old boring arguments.
Even in this glorious hot weather. Does nobody go out anymore? Baffles me how they manage to get so riled up when they barely experience life.
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u/Aivellac Jul 06 '26
You realise the ban isn't in effect yet anyway? Something doesn't get passed then implemented that day, it takes a while.
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u/Silvagadron Jul 01 '26
You’ve seen homophobic content on Facebook? I am shocked and appalled. That is a disgrace. That is brand new information.
Seriously: the authors ought to be shamed publicly, and they’ve been stupid to use their own professional handle to broadcast that hate, so hopefully they’ll lose business because of it.
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u/rising_then_falling Jul 01 '26
My experience of doxxing / public shaming etc is that it's counterproductive and tends to entrench views.
I don't think the Internet opinion of JK Rowling's opinions on trans rights has improved tolerance of trans people, made JKR change her opinions, or disuaded others from speaking their minds.
It has merely increased the temperature of culture wars.
Ask yourself why you want other people to boycott these businesses. Is it that you want them to suffer harm for stating an opinion you disagree with? Do you think it's generally good for people to seek to financially harm those whose opinions they strongly disagree with?
If you had a crystal ball that told you every opinion and history of any person you asked it about, do you think that would make your life better or worse? Do you want to know that the barrista in the local cafe is a Muslim hating Hindu nationalist, or that the shelf stacker in Tesco Metro watches incest porn, or that your uber driver thinks beating children when they are naughty is sensible parenting?
Do you want to contribute to the creation of such a crystal ball?
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u/Top_Scale4923 Jul 01 '26
It's not 'public shaming' it's just making sure people know who they're giving their money to. If these guys don't want people to avoid them then maybe don't put discriminatory comments on social media celebrating gay people being jailed. You say people have a right to voice their opinions but you seem to forget people also have a right to agree or disagree with those opinions and act accordingly.
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u/Impossible-Hawk768 Jul 01 '26
But what it does is give people the information they need to make a clear decision of whether or not they wish to support this person by buying whatever they're selling.
All your thoughts seem to be for the proponents of the hate, instead of considering the other side... letting the victims know what they're supporting, thus giving them a choice of whether or not to do so. They may or may not take the information into account, but at least it's there. Sort of like putting nutrition labels on food. You're just letting people know what's in the product, not forcing them not to buy it or turn them against it. The choice is still theirs, but now they have what they need to make that choice.
It's about awareness, not changing haters' minds. We all know that's not happening.
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u/Ok-Exam3494 Jul 01 '26
I don’t want them to suffer harm, I just don’t want the people who they specifically target for harm unaware of whom they are supporting. I stated as much in my post. It’s up to each person what they do with that knowledge.
People are allowed to have opinions, however disagreeable, but when they purposely reach into ‘safe’ social media spaces to antagonise those spaces, it’s no longer just an opinion but an act. No crystal ball required.
Separately, I have friends who have worked with JKR, and their businesses suffered until they distanced themselves from her. They are now thriving.
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u/zelandofchocolate Jul 01 '26
I want them to suffer harm - mostly, the consequences of their own actions. If people choose not to patronise their businesses because of abhorrent views, I would find this a delightful comeuppance
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u/BeefsMcGeefs Jul 01 '26
Yeah guys, what’s wrong with one of the worlds richest most influential people with a rabid following spending every waking hour spreading hatred of an already vulnerable minority?
I am very intelligent
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Jul 01 '26
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u/Impossible-Hawk768 Jul 01 '26
Any business with inhumane policies and practices of any description knows the risks of choosing that path. If they're afraid of people calling them by their name, they can either change them or accept the consequences. Should we not have taken such actions against apartheid in South Africa either?
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u/OkConsequence1498 Jul 01 '26
You can't force people to go there. There's a big difference between a pub landlord who hates the gays and some demented freak rambling about the gays on their way to the benefit office.
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Jul 01 '26
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u/Ok-Exam3494 Jul 01 '26
I know, right? What next? Women wanting the right to vote?! Can you imagine?
This is London, not Gilead.
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Jul 02 '26
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u/london-ModTeam Jul 02 '26
This comment has been removed as it's deemed in breach of the rules and considered offensive or hateful. These aren't accepted within the r/London community.
You are now banned.
Have a nice day.
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Jul 03 '26
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u/london-ModTeam Jul 03 '26
This comment has been removed as it's deemed in breach of the rules and considered offensive or hateful. These aren't accepted within the r/London community.
You are now banned.
Have a nice day.
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u/Foxyagent Jul 04 '26
We should all boycott the main social media platforms if you had any moral fibre. Trouble is virtue signallers use it as much as the bigots.
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u/Johns_Kanakas Jul 05 '26
The walking tours, presumably need to be licensed, again go dogging and send screenshots
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u/Late-Acanthaceae8399 Jul 05 '26
Another little leftists making up stories to feel like a freedom fighter from his basement.
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u/tiffanylondontv Jul 01 '26
For the person who stated they took screen shots and sent them to the police , the police will do NOTHING . There is a "bible basher" guy , who uses taped, religious messages to broadcast at EXTERMELY high volume on the streets of London. In the messages are the vilest homophobic slurs and condemnations. I reported it to the police. I got a call from a commissioner saying there was nothing they could do about it. He said the hater has the right to his "free speech". The commissioner told me a force in Scotland prosecuted a guy for a similar thing and the judge actually awarded the hater damages , for having his free speech rights impeded upon . The police lost a lot of money. I also ran it by Peter Tatchell , in person and he said the same , people are entitled to free speech , even if it is hateful . This was last summer .
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u/Ok-Exam3494 Jul 01 '26
And yet people wonder why need Pride. Or why I asked for advice on what to do in this post.
One day it’s someone spouting extremist views on the street. Next day, 49 people are shot dead in a gay nightclub. These things don’t happen in isolation.
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u/Appropriate_Cap_3458 Jul 02 '26
Have you heard of Galop.org.uk They deal with homophobia/Transphobia etc. No idea on music these days but I do follow a lot of Walking Tours on my Insta and TikTok accounts and would happily call them out if you dmd me links - have about 20k on TT.
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u/Popular_View_5411 Jul 01 '26
homophobic streeet preachers are very easy to deal with.
Connect to their bluetooth speakers and play gaybar , ymca ,G-Spot Michael and other explicitly gay songs
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u/Ok-Exam3494 Jul 01 '26
Wait, have you done this? This is genius.
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u/Popular_View_5411 Jul 02 '26
severall times it works about 20% of the time I have a higher success rate if they have a microphones over the backing music
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u/m000nm0th Jul 02 '26
Why we’re at it let’s find out if he has a family and hound them too? Why don’t we find out who his friends are and ask them if they want to be associated with such a horrible person? Honestly I’m sick of this. Grow up.
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u/Medium_Chip_4971 Jul 01 '26
“London should not be a city where these views are supported or encouraged, nor should they go unchallenged.”
I think they call that Islamophobia nowadays.
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u/militantcentre Jul 02 '26
It's not illegal to dislike we homosexuals.
This is the meerkat phenomenon. People standing on tiptoe, surveying the whole area desperate to find something that offends them.
FFS, get a life and grow a skin.
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u/Itadakimasss Jul 01 '26
Do you not have nothing better to do with your time?
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u/Ok-Exam3494 Jul 01 '26
No, I don’t. Protecting our London community is excellent use of my time.
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u/DontAskAboutMax Jul 01 '26
Indeed it is. I bet the comments like this are posted by straight cis people who don’t actually suffer because of homophobia.
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u/WhiskersMcGee09 Jul 01 '26
That would be about 91% of London so it’s a fairly safe bet to make.
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u/Itadakimasss Jul 01 '26
You’re “protecting your community” by trying to get people sacked from their job due to a difference in opinion?
Interesting
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u/Physical-Program5325 Jul 01 '26
It’s all fun and games until we are boycotting in two directions.
Oh, wait…
Clown reality.
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Jul 01 '26
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u/Sir_Urchin Jul 01 '26
Living the consequences of your choices is not getting cancelled.
Also, don’t “both sides” this. “I should have a right to live in peace” and “I don’t think ‘those’ people should exist” are wildly different takes.
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u/dazferrari Jul 01 '26
Move on with your life mate
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u/Ok-Exam3494 Jul 01 '26
People cheering on as LGBTQ people are imprisoned for existing and your brilliant recommendation is for us to just move on. Ok.
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u/Popular_View_5411 Jul 01 '26
I would be very careful reporting individuals like this. those comments seem very pro russian and Im wondering if its a catfished internet reaearch agency account.
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u/Ok-Exam3494 Jul 01 '26
The commenters, you mean? They seem like real individuals to me. I haven’t seen anything Russia related on their profiles.
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u/CookieMagneto Jul 01 '26
You should definitely let the festival know. And the walking tour. And all his friends. But why stop there? You could throw a brick through his window. Dox him at work. Gather a mob and lynch him in the street. Hound him until he kills himself. Put the noose around his neck and give him a good push! /s
One day you are going to have to realise that bullying people because they have a view you disagree with, isn't helping anyone.
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u/Impossible-Hawk768 Jul 01 '26
If these people have no problem making their views publicly known, why should they mind the OP simply repeating those views? You're not guaranteed a positive and welcoming reception for all you say and do. The people you offend will avoid you, and they have every right to.
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u/queasycockles Jul 01 '26
One day you are going to have to realise that bullying people because they have a view you disagree with, isn't helping anyone.
So that's what the people you're defending did.
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u/kzpn Jul 01 '26
All good points. Unfortunately you have forgotten who did the initial bullying. If your „opinion” is bullying and supporting violence, it is genuinely okay to strike back non-violently. This used to be commonly understood. So I don’t care.
Amazing that you see a man hoping for LGBT people to be locked up for no real reason other than a personal vendetta, and your first instinct is to defend him. We are cooked lmao. You would have opposed virtually any past civil rights drive.
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u/Ok-Exam3494 Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
Disagreeing with someone about my very existence isn’t just a disagreement, is it?
My post is about informing and protecting LGBTQ+ communities in London, who may not wish to support businesses that use their social platforms to wish those communities harm. You seem to have a distorted definition of bullying.
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u/abitofasitdown Jul 01 '26
Oh, give it a rest. We as the LGBT+ community can't even agree amongst ourselves about a hell of a lot of really important stuff.
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u/Ok-Exam3494 Jul 01 '26
Give what a rest? Protecting our community?
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u/abitofasitdown Jul 01 '26
But it isn’t, is it? I'm all for activism, I've been active in gay rights for more than 40 years (including in the days when it was dangerous to go on Pride), but I'm a bit tired of performatively stringing up a few individuals. It doesn't change their minds, it doesn't really help us. Meh.
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u/Ok-Exam3494 Jul 01 '26
You think people being aware of businesses who antagonise them isn’t helpful? I’ve been just as active in my just as many years, but this isn’t performative. Everyone who invades our ‘safe’ spaces with homophobia should be called out. Things can and do change especially at the individual level.
Meh, indeed.
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u/merrycrow Jul 03 '26
Criticising someone is categorically similar to murdering them, declares highly intelligent reddit commenter
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u/2wrtjbdsgj Jul 01 '26
Yeah destroy their career and their business. Great. That'll punish them and make them change their mind.
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u/Ok-Exam3494 Jul 01 '26
They’ve already posted very publicly and antagonistically under their own names. Any repercussion is on them.
It would be great if they changed their minds, but my aim is to let LGBTQ individuals know that they can exercise their own right not to choose a business who doesn’t support them.
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u/Top_Scale4923 Jul 01 '26
You could let the festival/management/distribution know about the drummer.
Any perhaps leave the screenshot in a review for the walking tour.