COLUMN: Think Again – Forced conformity is not tolerance

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This article was published 26/01/2023 (828 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“Ivan Provorov went to a hockey game, and a culture war broke out.” That was the headline of a recent Wall Street Journal article.

The headline summarized quite well what happened when Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov chose not to participate in the NHL’s “Pride Night” where players wore LGBT-themed jerseys and had rainbow tape on their sticks. Media commentators wasted no time going after Provorov for his alleged bigotry and intolerance.

For example, NHL writer Rachael Millanta angrily tweeted, “Being LGBT+ is not a ‘choice.’ Being ignorant, obnoxious, and homophobic is a choice.”

Other commentators went so far as to suggest that Provorov should go back to Russia if he won’t participate in Pride events. Social media was filled with angry rhetoric by people who would no doubt describe themselves as supporters of diversity.

It’s interesting, however, how quickly some people drop their support for diversity when faced with viewpoints that they find offensive. Like it or not, there are still tens of millions of people in North America who hold traditional views about marriage and sexuality. This isn’t going to change anytime soon. That’s because for many of them, their position is rooted in deeply held religious beliefs.

This appears to be the case with Provorov. When reporters questioned him after the hockey game, Provorov simply stated “I respect everybody, and I respect everybody’s choices. My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion. That’s all I’m going to say.”

It’s important to note that Provorov was not seeking attention, nor did he engage in any sort of protest. He didn’t even say anything critical about Pride Night when speaking to reporters. In fact, the only reason he spoke about the issue at all is because reporters cornered him and demanded to know why he didn’t participate in the event.

Fortunately, Flyers head coach John Tortorella defended Provorov. As Tortorella explained, it would have been unfair to bench Provorov for adhering to his religious beliefs. Similarly, the NHL released a statement saying that hockey players are free to decide for themselves which social initiatives to support. That is how it should be in a free society.

Sadly, much of our society seems to have lost sight of the fact that celebrating diversity means coming to terms with the fact that people are free to hold and practice their religious beliefs. Not only that, but these beliefs directly impact the choices they make in their lives.

However, some journalists seem to think that religion should be nothing more than a big costume party where people gather, eat food, and celebrate holidays. What they don’t understand is that religious faith goes to the core of a person’s being and affects day-to-day decisions in a big way. Saying that Provorov’s religious beliefs about marriage and sexuality are unacceptable today is basically the equivalent of telling the tens of millions of North Americans with the same values that they are no longer welcome in the public sphere. That would be a travesty.

I also cannot help but wonder whether there would have been the same uproar if Provorov had been an observant Muslim who cited his religion as the reason for not attending Pride Night. Of course, since Provorov is a member of the Russian Orthodox church, it was easy to condemn him as a bigot. When it comes to the media, Christianity is an obvious target.

In the end, we need to recognize that forced conformity is not tolerance. If media commentators really want to promote diversity, they can start by accepting that everyone has a right to practice their religious beliefs without harassment.

Michael Zwaagstra is a high school teacher and a Steinbach city councillor. He can be reached at mzwaagstra@shaw.ca.