You Call America Oppressive. Nice Try.

The take

“America is an oppressive country for women and LGBT people,” said by people who, in the same breath, cheer for Hamas, Iran’s government or the Taliban as the brave resistance.

The receipts

Being gay can get you killed, legally, in 11 countries. Every one of them applies Islamic law: Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Mauritania, northern Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Since 2023, Christian-majority Uganda also allows the death penalty in some cases. In America, gay marriage has been legal nationwide since 2015. (PinkNews / ILGA Asia, AP on Uganda)

Iran hangs men on sodomy charges. In January 2022, Iran executed two men, Mehrdad Karimpour and Farid Mohammadi, on “forcible sodomy” charges after six years in prison. Human rights groups said the charges were how Iran prosecutes gay men. (NBC News, Times of Israel / Amnesty)

Iran polices women’s hair. In September 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in the custody of Iran’s morality police, who had arrested her over how she wore her hijab. (NPR)

Hamas killed one of its own commanders over gay sex accusations. In February 2016, Hamas executed Mahmoud Ishtiwi, a senior commander in its armed wing, after accusing him of gay sex (and theft). (LGBTQ Nation, FDD)

The Taliban ban girls from school. Five years after the Taliban took back Afghanistan, about 2.4 million girls are shut out of secondary school. The UN says it is the only country in the world that bans girls from it. (PBS NewsHour)

The other side’s best point

Most people at pro-Palestinian protests say they support Palestinian civilians, not Hamas, and that you can oppose a war without endorsing the people who started it. That’s fair, and it’s not who this post is about. This is about the people who wave the flags of the regimes themselves, or call Hamas “resistance,” while telling Americans they live under oppression.

The verdict (opinion)

In America, you can be gay, trans or a woman with opinions, and say on a public street that your country is oppressive. The places some activists cheer for would jail you for that sentence, or worse. Criticize America all you want; that freedom is the point. But if your heroes would hang you, you’re not fighting oppression.

Nice try.