The Gay Rights Campaigns regarding the Olympic games in Sochi, could cause more harm than good

Firstly I owe an apology and a thank you to Con for providing the context for this particular debate with regards to Russian law and Politics. However a key, one could even say defining, element of this context was omitted, no doubt unknowingly as the full context with regards to public sexual acts and protest acts within Russia is not a particularly known or pretty one. In 2008, a self defined "Art Terrorist Group" named Voina staged an incredibly graphic protest at the Biological Museum of Moscow in which several heterosexual couples engaged in public intercourse. ( http://www.liveleak.com...) Equally in 2010 Voina won a state funded award of Innovation for an illegal Graffiti drawing of a Phallus on a draw bridge. "When the bridge was raised the erect phallus faced the local headquarters of the FSB, the successor to the KGB." (http://www.theguardian.com...) Again in 2010, in a most impressive and equally disturbing physical feat, Voina posted a video of one of their female members stealing a Chicken from a supermarket by hiding it within her genitalia. (http://dangerousminds.net...) After 2012 Voina had all but vanished due to arrest warrants being issued and many of the group going into hiding. Yet several of its key activists formed separate organisations, the most internationally famous of these has to be, thanks to Amnesty International, Pu*sy Riot. Whilst I completely agree with Con that the loosely worded "Anti-propaganda Law" is not in anyway an acceptable or responsible way of tackling/preventing the above from happening, the Russian public do deserve to have enforced (as is in all western countries) some form of indecency law that is not simply referred to as generic hooliganism. This was an imperative part of the context leading up to the passing of this law and I say this to highlight that whilst many of the factors that led to this bill passing were shades of homophobia at best, there were also some factors that were legitimate public considerations and these have not been addressed by this bill or by the mass media. However, I am digressing from the original premise so please allow me to return. To rebut your assumption that I am advocating Silence. You are wrong, I advocate protest within the limits of personal safety. This is where I see the issue being, that there are those in Russia who are protesting well outside of the bounds of their own safety and there are those in Europe/US who are, whilst trying to force LGBT Equality through actions such as boycotts, driving the LGBT Communities in Russia to be even further shunned as they (the LGBT Communities) are accused of damaging the perspective of the Sochi Games. In regards to extreme Violence, I refer you to one of the most harrowing documentaries on Russian LGBT life entitled "Hunted" (http://www.channel4.com...) where the crew of channel four's Dispatches program follow Russia's "Occupy Paedophilia" group, an anti-gay organisation which actively lures gay men into ambushes where they are violently attacked, forced to strip naked, give their name and address and often have piss poured over them whilst the whole encounter is filmed and then posted on-line. It's an abominable way to treat another human being and this group is still posting a new "captured" video, daily. Human Rights Watch have also created similar documentaries detailing this group. In the climate of such violence and knowing full well that the Russian Police will do nothing to help you or stop the violence against you, acting as if you had already obtained the rights you are fighting for and in turn having no hesitation to publicise yourself within these campaigns is reckless, doubly so if you have dependants such as children or other relatives that rely on you. Points 2, 3 and 4 that you raise are all interconnected though Point 3 is very easily dealt with. Simply put, you are categorically incorrect when you write "Violence isn't always bad". In fact violence is always bad. There is not one western country that does not have a law stating violence against others to be illegal. Neither do I accept the idea that if someone unprovoked, came up to me or you, out of the blue and committed a violent act upon us, that we wouldn't attribute that as being bad (or at least more bad than good if we are to consider the two as opposing ends of a spectrum). As for point 2, you state calmly that the approach of these campaigns is likely to yield the desired changes. Russian society is notoriously resilient to external influences. It is also deeply rooted within Russian Orthodoxy which considers homosexuality a Mortal sin and the legalisation of gay marriage as a sign of the apocalypse (http://rt.com...). The campaign techniques which are being employed now have been used extensively for the last 15 years in Russia, with still little to no effect. Point 4 is with regards to Russia's position in the international community, however Russia's greatest allies are middle eastern countries, many of whom expressly have laws criminalizing homosexuality, and China who are also lagging far behind in terms of Gay Rights (there are no anti-discrimination laws with regards to sexual orientation and gay couples are forbidden to adopt). I fail to see either of these regions waging in to defend gay rights or levying sanctions. The backlash after the games by groups such as the one mentioned above, as well as by the police and the FSB and any one challenged by the LGBT Community, I can only see that causing more harm than good and this backlash is being brought about as a direct result of these campaigners and their lack of responsible precautions to protect themselves and others.