Over the weekend the US Embassy in Kuwait posted a message by President Joe Biden in support of Pride Month and as you can imagine, that didn’t go well.
As of this post, there are over 21,000 comments under that Instagram post with the majority of people being really upset about it. The story was picked up by the international press and is now making its way around the Internet.
I was curious about whether the US Embassy in other Arab countries also posted a similar message supporting Pride Month, and if they did, what kind of reaction people had to it. Below are two lists, one relating to Instagram posts and another relating to Twitter:
US Embassies Pride Post on Instagram
US Embassy in Bahrain – Yes (633 Likes – 4.8K Comments)
US Embassy in Egypt – No
US Embassy in Jordan – No
US Embassy in Kuwait – Yes (2,930 Likes – 21.8K Comments)
US Embassy in KSA – No
US Embassy in Lebanon – No
US Embassy in Qatar – No
US Embassy in the UAE – Yes (609 Likes – 1K Comments)
US Embassies Pride Post on Twitter
US Embassy in Bahrain – Yes and Banner (18 Likes – 73 Comments)
US Embassy in Egypt – No
US Embassy in Jordan – No
US Embassy in Kuwait – Yes (1,009 Likes – 2.3K Comments)
US Embassy in KSA – Yes (560 Likes – 1K Comments)
US Embassy in Lebanon – Yes Retweet (39 Likes – 99 Comments)
US Embassy in Qatar – No
US Embassy in the UAE – Yes (41 Likes – 156 Comments)
A few interesting things. Firstly this wasn’t a universal message posted on all the embassies’ social media accounts. The US Embassy in Bahrain went a step further and replaced its Twitter banner with a Pride Month one. Finally, one thing is pretty apparent from the lists above, Kuwait’s social media response completely shattered the other Arab countries when it came to comments and likes. I’m now curious to see what’s going to happen next if the US Embassy doesn’t remove the post, are we going to boycott US products? Doubt it.
53 replies on “Kuwait Protests US Embassy Gay Pride Post”
It’s been an eventful past 2 days! Can’t wait for all the lovely comments
Bruh I’m ready for this. lets goooo 🍿
@Mark, I fixed the image for this post.
https://imgur.com/a/QYxJIJ1
hahahaha I forgot to do that
Not funny. Extremely disappointed in you Mark.
Take a joke! He doesn’t want any trouble like the embassy
If you’ll stand for anything, you stand for nothing
If you’ll stand against anything, you stand against nothing.
If you stand, then you’re not sitting.
Breaking Bad Right GIFfrom Breaking Bad GIFs
Did they post in China or Russia?
I don’t think they really care about what Russia thinks right now, but I checked both accounts in any case and yeah, both embassies have posted in support of gay pride.
This is a joke. Year after year it’s being shoved in people’s faces. Here in Canada the flag is at every government building and every school year round.
It has become a must. Every company has to support or they are consider transphobic.
Daddy chill:
https://youtu.be/i2gNx4-REIA
“If you don’t like it, you can leave”
Over 21K comments?? Are there not bigger issues in this world lmao
The comments from Americans in the Kuwaiti post are way worse because they helped in the war. They just see us as some servant colony ever since the war concluded. They think because of the war, they want us to accept their morals. So yeah it’s quite stupid honestly and I wish the American Embassies never posted such immoral stuff because they know how we’d react
Well to me it doesn’t make sense why people are this upset. Embassies can pretty much do whatever they want inside their property which is how some in Kuwait have full fledged bars serving alcohol to staff and their friends. So the US Embassy in Kuwait posting on a US based social media account that they support gay pride is a major issue, but importing alcohol into Kuwait and selling it at their bar is not? I’m the kinda guy that’s either all in or not so for me this controversy seems weird.
US Embassy in Kuwait … importing alcohol and selling it their gay bar*
https://youtu.be/-XNFokmDKrE
US Embassy in Kuwait … importing alcohol and selling it at their gay bar*
https://youtu.be/-XNFokmDKrE
lol wtf
Instead of accepting their morals, have you tried ignoring them? That’s what I’ve been doing for years now with whatever I disagree with and it works pretty well.
And the last time I checked, the US embassy serves and represents American citizens in Kuwait which means all of their social media posts would be directed to Americans, not any other nationality.
Then why did they post it in Arabic?…
The majority of American citizens in Kuwait are not Arab.
If most of their Instagram posts have both English and Arabic, I guess it’s how they roll but if only this post in particular included the Arabic translation, then you have a valid point.
Yes I’m interested how those 21,000 couch warriors will escalate their objection further
It’s the US embassy after all, I doubt they care. Though you don’t seem to realize the power of social media or just in this particular instant cause you’re biased?
Well it’s great at canceling people (the appointment of the Kuwaiti originally egyptian woman), and removing shallow ads.
What confuses me is that they posted “Happy Pride” in the Kuwait and UAE US embassy accounts, but not the Jordanian US embassy account. Homosexuality is not illegal in Jordan.
Strange but not so strange. It’s clear what they’re trying to do. And the publicity they drummed up was 100% intentional.
+1
Stirring the pot, right?
It’s not like every US twitter account is controlled by one person. The embassy admin probably decide what is right for their country, and yes they are trying to make a statement (as is their right, they are a branch of the US government not the Kuwaiti government)
It bothers me because we have bigger issues than this. Biden should seriously shut the f up and start thinking about basic human rights- it’s easy to talk about Pride month because it doesn’t require him spending any money or losing it. But God forbid he stops selling weapons to countries that kill Yemenis and Palestinians. pride month is a just a diversion so they can ignore their bigger issues for a month which is killing Arabs. Why don’t Americans have a month where they acknowledge the homeless, the orphans or their veterans? Because it requires actual afford and money. I’m sorry but lgbqt are already more accepted than the average evicted american. But hey as long as we raise a rainbow flag everything will be ok
I don’t know if you’re actually ignorant or choose to be ignorant about the fact that gay rights are basic human rights. What’s bigger than being killed, beaten, and imprisoned for being gay? You cry over issues that do not relate to gay rights, classic whataboutism. I don’t see anyone posting about gay people getting killed or imprisoned in our Arab world under every online post relating to the Palestinian issue. You know why? Because it has nothing to do with it. Direct your energy to helping the Palestinian cause instead of attacking gay people ok? They are not mutually exclusive.
Live in the west and you’ll see what Layla means. The issue has just become a marketing issue. In fact, the only company that have the LGBT support before they even named themselves the LGBT is actually Subaru.
In regards to the east, even if laws change people won’t. The middle East is is too small and too old. There are places here in Canada and in the United States that the LGBT has problems living.
Heck if the president was a Republican they wouldn’t have posted anything.
I say this without malice, and as a person who is half Kuwaiti (mom’s side) people should not wait for the middle East to change.
Leave. You only have one life. Even our prophet didn’t stick around and left mecca.
You can fight and change laws, but you can’t change people all that much.
+1
+1 to Wadha*
The only ignorance is thinking companies actually care about lgbqt- everything is a business. And I didn’t say anything disrespectful to people in the LGBQT community – I’m simply saying that US just distracts you with pride month so you focus on something else instead of caring about your muslim brothers and sisters. People in Yemen are dying of starvation because of Biden and I’m supposed to be thankful he said happy pride month. You obv only follow mainstream media and have no original opinion. And don’t make it seem like I attacked lgbqt when I was attacking Biden.
Have you completely forgotten that the US has Memorial Day and Veterans Day?
Wow one day to acknowledge years of sacrifice for soldiers who are now homeless – that’s so grateful
It’s ironic how these people will complain about this, but will have no problem travelling to, studying in or living in countries where things like this are common place. What happens when these people encounter an actual LGBT+ person? Probably ignore it, just like they should with that post.
As a straight person in Kuwait who has gay/lesbian friends, their preferences haven’t bothered me at all. I just dont care. It doesn’t make up their whole personality and I treat them just as any other friend.
Need more people like you.
I’ve met more gay people here than when I have travelled and I did not mention I had a problem with them. I mentioned that I was annoyed that Biden decided to focus on pride month. Read properly
People living in squalor and you guys focusing on dumb sh**
Wait, Mark, for the Twitter list there is a distinct difference between tweeting something and a retweet.
The Saudi embassy just retweeted something from another general US account.
People would be more hesitant to post their objections in a retweet compared to an outright tweet.
I think the Kuwaiti Twitter also took it a step further and changed their background pic too, not sure if it’s still there
of yeah just saw, they’re doubling down! lol
No they have their own post since 5 days ago. Pride is pride. Anywhere. America and their politics are hella messed up. But I’m sorry gay rights are human rights 😘🤷♂️
Yeah, I believe, regardless of anyone’s or country’s beliefs, that an embassy’s sovereignty extends to social media. Typical… always focusing on things that are not really impacting society…sexuality is a personal issue.
A personal issue that unfortunately could get them jailed/killed etc. Honestly, just decriminalize it and have everyone move the hell on.
And to answer ur question, nothings gonna happen. People will forget about this in a week
Even though most Kuwaitis physical needs are provided for, Kuwait is dystopian in that most Kuwaitis live in a state of silent resentment and desperation because their lives have no meaning. They attempt to fill the void with mindless consumption (shopping, food, medical cosmetic procedures, drugs) or religion to no avail. For many, the default underlying state is outrage and a lack of agency, and any transient political topic serves as a punching bag to express that.
This is literally everyone in the world right now btw, not specific to Kuwait. Look up global stats on teen depression
Fair point, but I think the key word is teens. There’s an argument to be made that Kuwaitis are in a perpetual state of adolescence because of limited freedoms while basic needs are taken care of.
The US embassy has the right to state US government points of view. Right now their point of view is equality for their LGBT citizens. They know Kuwait doesn’t see this as a priority and are using their voice to gently push the conversation