Queer without fear
[crime doesn’t pay?]
We’re "Stop Bullshit" – we’re a radical, feminist and queer collective.
We work for LGBTQ+ – smart, educated, brave, and most of all- with a causative power. We differ from the rest of LGBTQ+ groups in Poland on account of our shameless mugs, unapologetic nature. Everything we’ve done here results from the anger in response to the cruel, harmful, iIl-conceived actions of the fanatics. You can learn more on our instagram and facebook, by watching videos on our youtube or by reading this whip-round.
What we need most is monthly – cyclical support (you can do it with Patronite or Patreon). They will allow us to estimate the budget and organize activities – better than single payments (you can use Zrzutka and PayPal for them).
2021: crime doesn't pay?
The bill of indictment of the prosecutor of the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw has been sent to the District Court for Warsaw-City Centre and it covers two activists from the anarchoque collective Stop the Bullshit – Łania and Margot. The charges relate to the events of 27 June 2020, when a van belonging to the Stop Paedophilia Campaign was stopped in front of a squat on Wilcza Street by a bullhorn proclaiming homophobic slogans. People staying there stopped the van and attacked the foundation’s employees and the van itself (among other things, the homophobic tarpaulin, a mirror and the car’s tyres were destroyed – the losses were estimated at PLN 6,000).
Margot was charged with „committing a hooligan act involving participation in a rally, brutally attacking a pro-life foundation activist and destroying property belonging to the pro-life foundation”. – handed over by Aleksandra Skrzyniarz, a spokeswoman of the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw. Łania is to answer for her active participation in the described rally – Margot faces up to 5 years in prison, while Łania up to 3 years in prison.
ABOUT US:
The beginings of our group take place in the spring of 2019. We stopped next to the Foundation Pro (close affiliates of Ordo Iuris- organisation led by extremaly influential people in Polish catholic church), which pits people against the LGBTQ+ community, compares it to paedophilia, fights for the penalisation of abortion and a complete ban of sex ed. Totallly screwed up – we couldn’t let this slide.
We organized a series of dancing protests in response to the homophobic tents in Warsaw’s downtown. With our friends, acquintances and people we just met, we partied to the queerest of the songs. With music and shoutings we drowned out the harmful messeges of the Foundation Pro. We showed that there is no space for homophobia and hate. We also showed that we’re here – and when we get there it’s with fun and colours.
We explained, that homosexuality does not equal paedophilia, that sex ed is OK. We’ve had a thousand conversations explaining the benefits of sex ed as means to fight sexual abuse and rape of underage people. We’ve made a website explaining the lies and manipulations of Fundation Pro, distributed leaflets and explained the manipulations on site.
POLAND:
We organised with the QueerTour collective protests in response to the homophobic statements of Polish president Andrzej Duda („LGBT aren’t people, it’s an ideology”) was called Provocation of the LGBT ideology – it was cool – the rain did not spoil our plans and the police did not break our solidarity!
OUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE POLICE:
During our actions we faced police brutality multiple times – on the first day one of us was brutally thrown to the ground by the cops , handcuffed and taken to the police station. Her case was taken up by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. The D.A’s office doesn’t like us very much, because they ignore our complaints about police brutality, but they would gladly f*ck us up.
AFTER 2020
Since 2020, in order to protect ourselves from further media and police attacks, we have spread out across feminist, trans, pro-abortion, pro-sexworker and anarchist collectives to continue our work away from media attention. We raised around €100,000, for grassroots group activities and took part in dozens of queer initiatives.
2020
Zbigniew Ziobro, the polish Attorney General, pushed for Margot to be arrested for two months before her trial. She let herself be taken to jail, and, smiling, asked her supporters to riot in the meantime. However, the LGBTQ community didn’t allow her to be taken without a fight, and started rioting. In response, the police detained about 50 protesters, and physically and sexually abused them.
Yet again, the queers did not give up – they organized an enormous demonstration of solidarity. Dozens (hundreds?) of protests were held abroad, and many of the world’s most prominent intellectuals, artists and clergymen from around the world written and signed letters in Margot’s defence.
Three weeks later the court of appeals overturned the decision of Margot’s arrest, and she was released. As a free person, Margot reminded her neoliberal critics that she still doesn’t like them (meaning: her spirit wasn’t broken in jail). Now she’s slowly getting back into activist work.
What we need most is monthly – cyclical support (you can do it with Patronite or Patreon). They will allow us to estimate the budget and organize activities – better than single payments (you can use Zrzutka and PayPal for them).
THE STATE DOES’NT LIKE US:
On the morning of July 14 2020, police in plain clothes came to the flat in which Margot stayed in as a guest. They first threatened to bust the door, and when they were let in they didn’t give a reason for their intrusion, nor allowed their information to be written down. Then they brutally dragged Margot out of the flat in her pyjamas (without shoes, socks or a sweatshirt), and took her to an unmarked car, threatening her with abuse and death, calling her a f*ggot and a loser. Only after countless of people and NGOs intervened, did the D.A. reveal that Margot was charged in connection with the destruction of a homophobic truck.
The activist was held up all night, and released the next day by the court, without arrest.
HOW AND WHAT WE COMMUNICATE:
We provided queer kids with stickers multiple times – absolutely for free. We supported more than 2 thousand places in Poland and distributed over 50 450 thousand stickers. You can see them – at least we hope so – everywhere. Until now, we’ve made about 30 100 custom pieces.
As a collective we would like to discuss the topic of internalised homophobia and transphobia within the LGBTQ+ community. We’d like to fight some of the problems plaguing our community (inaction, hiding, fear, loneliness). We know we live in a sad reality, and that’s what gives us the power to go forward. No more day longer in the closet. We fight with the passive discourse in our community.
See photos of our actions!
What is this whip-round for?
So far we have raised well over 300k PLN, the vast majority of which has gone to support grassroots activist groups other than our own. The money from this fundraising will go both to our needs and to all the other initiatives we support (support funds for trans people, sex-work positive, queer-feminist).
We are trying to raise a large amount so that we have a little less to worry about. We need for medication, transitions, food, living expenses (and we will spend a small portion of the amount on that). But we also need funds to support our community and funds for our own activities.
- Cost of living of the members of the collective – 80 thousand PLN
- Artistic projects – PLN 40,000
- Foundation for „projects” – 750k PLN – Establish and run a foundation to research the relationship between anarchist practices and Christian theology on queer (LGBTQ community) grounds – a foundation that will ultimately serve as a public benefit – which will, among other things, protect queer people and Christians from discrimination from the anarchist tradition.
- Sisterhood initiatives – 80k PLN – As in the case of the previous droplet, we want to distribute part of the funds among other non-profit organisations and social initiatives operating in similar areas to us.
- In addition – PLN 50,000 budget for adapting the space for the Stop the Bullshit collective’s work
What we need most is monthly – cyclical support (you can do it with Patronite or Patreon). They will allow us to estimate the budget and organize activities – better than single payments (you can use Zrzutka and PayPal for them).
Read more about our acitivies, actions and work:
Foto: LAPP FOTO, AP.ART , Kubis , JohnBoB&SophieArt and Spacerowiczka we love you.
– Margot and Doe should be acquitted. This is what LGBT+ people deserve from Poland
– Margot and Łania will stand trial. The activists face several years in prison
– Margot and Łania from Stop Bullshit will stand trial. It’s about a damaged homophobe
– „Stop the bullshit” accounts for the drop. PLN 200 thousand will go to villages and small towns
– Legal Protection Programme for activists in the LGBT+ community
– Police are trying to intimidate LGBT activists. Brutal arrest by plainclothes policemen.
– The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights intervenes in the case of Stop Bzdurom activist.
– Stop Bzdurom activists interrupted their studies and their lives to act against homophobia.
– Stop Bzdurom activists talk about sex education and the fight against disinformation.
– Stop Bzdurom organizes rainbow dances – a protest against disinformation.