Scottish yoga teacher receives homophobic attacks after posting Pride video
By Ross Semple
A gay Scottish yoga teacher has received an outpouring of homophobic abuse after he revealed that he is attending his first Pride parade.
Finlay Wilson is a yoga teacher from Dundee who began practising the exercise techniques following surgery on both legs. He now runs a charity bringing yoga to kids for free, teaches classes to adults, and is the co-owner of two organic wholefood grocery stores in Scotland. Earlier this year he was selected as one of Attitude’s Bachelors of Year.
He is marching in Glasgow Pride today (August 19), his first ever, and released a video with BBC Scotland explaining that he wants to march in solidarity with the gay men who are facing detention and torture in Chechnya.
“For the last few months I have been sharing this on social media,” Finlay says in the video, “But now I am motivated to take march.
“I have never marched in Pride before, it never felt like it was for me but this year I am standing in solidarity with those who can’t march for themselves and it feels like it is more important than ever.”
Soon after the video was posted online yesterday, Finlay was targeted by a number of homophobic attacks. One commenter wrote: “Why do you need to parade gay? Do straight people march to prove anything? Be gay and get on with it, I don’t match to prove straight is better so………. get on with it and leave the rest of us in peace.”
Another comment under the video came from a man saying that straight people now have “no say” in Scotland, while another said that Finlay would be better off in church than attending Pride. “You’d get much better results if you marched yourself into a church where they really know and love God and prayed for all these men who are being kidnapped.”
However, Finlay has also received support from a number of Facebook users, with one noting: “The comments on this thread show just how important gay pride and visibility is.”
When Attitude asked Finlay for his response to the negative comments, he said that he has also faced attack from within the LGBT+ community. “I’ve had hate from the gay community shaming me for not attending pride before. It’s not restricted to the belligerent right.”
He went on to say that he wants to focus on love as he marches in his first Pride: “Today I stand with love as a human right, that means that we need to not attack our own.”
Watch Finlay’s video below:
Why I’m Marching At Pride For The First Time
Finlay has never taken part in a Pride march, but this year he will. This is why…
Via BBC The Social
Posted by BBC Scotland on Friday, 18 August 2017