Dear Mr Mayor,

We are writing to you with a deep sense of disappointment and sadness regarding your comments following the city parade held as part of the Ceramic Festival, in which we took part as representatives of Bolesławiec’s rainbow community.

We were at the head of that joyful group of LGBT+ people. I, Mateusz Machowicz, was holding the rainbow banner “We are all made of the same clay” while dressed as a clay figure. I, Witold Chudy, walked right at the front with a Homokomando rainbow flag. We chanted “Love, music, ceramics”.

We are a married couple living near Bolesławiec, not political provocateurs who wanted to disrupt the Ceramic Festival. We feel connected to Bolesławiec: we shop here, bring our friends to museums and restaurants here, and spend winter evenings here.

We are proud of Bolesławiec and of the beautiful, diverse, open, European city it is.

As part of a grassroots initiative, we joined the ceramic parade with smiles and rainbow flags. This may surprise you, but we received an extremely positive reaction from residents—many applauded us, chanted along with us, and we felt fantastic among the crowd of friendly people. The positive reactions to our rainbow presence confirmed our belief that taking part in the event was worthwhile and that the rainbow presence was appropriate.

The entire parade was exceptionally colorful, in fact. It included employees of municipal companies, firefighters, allotment gardeners, soldiers—including the particularly diverse group of American soldiers—nursery schools, pensioners, and ceramic artists: a full cross-section of society. We were there too, LGBT+ people together with our friends. By carrying a banner with the meaningful slogan “We are all made of the same clay”, we wanted to remind everyone that, regardless of our differences, we are all part of the same community. Like the other groups, we were, are, and will remain part of it. Surely you will admit that the slogan fits the rainbow flag perfectly.

Unfortunately, despite the warm welcome from residents, we were confronted by an aggressive group of hooligans wearing FC Bolesławiec shirts. In addition to shouting vulgar and threatening slogans at us, they threw objects at us. We particularly remember the rhetorical question chanted in a hooligan-like tone: “How are you going to get home?”, which was a veiled threat of assault. There was neither police nor security on site, and we felt genuinely at risk of being beaten by these thugs. It was truly a step away from tragedy.

Meanwhile, we did not hear a single word from you condemning the hooligans’ aggression—instead, we heard many bitter words directed at us. Not only did you accuse us of provocation and ruining the festival, but you also referred several times to “some kind of ideology”. This is especially painful because it directly invokes a vile, dehumanizing expression coined by circles associated with the previous government. There is truly no such thing as LGBT ideology—it is a slogan invented solely to spread hatred, which you, we believe without malicious intent, are repeating.

It is also hurtful that you used the presence of a few rainbow flags as a pretext to cancel the event next year. As we have already mentioned, we were, are, and will remain part of the community. We want to live here. And the parade is such a colorful event that six more colors do not harm it.

We would like to draw particular attention here to a fact that you so readily use in promoting the city. As a laureate of the Europe Prize awarded by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Bolesławiec is obliged to promote values such as equality, human rights, and openness.

However, your statements suggesting that we ruined the Ceramic Festival “in the name of some ideology” not only fail to reflect that message, but also contradict the values that should form the foundation of our city. Instead of supporting the idea of equality and respect, your reaction deepened divisions and sent a dangerous signal that the city authorities ignore acts of hatred such as those committed by the hooligans.

We attempted to meet with you so that we could get to know one another, present our perspective on the events at the city parade, and simply clear the air after unnecessary tensions. Unfortunately, no one from your office responded to our proposal to meet, despite promising to call us back.

We appeal to you to clearly stand as our ally in promoting equality, openness, and respect for every human being—values that suit Bolesławiec far better than a gang of aggressive hooligans.

We hope that, as mayor, you will support initiatives that foster dialogue, tolerance, and mutual understanding, which are the foundations of a strong and united community. As LGBT people, we were, are, and will remain part of it, and we will work for equality. And we do not want to do this in opposition to the city authorities, as you may perceive it, but with your support.
We assure you that we are neither hostile nor politically motivated; we would, however, be happy to meet with you and help strengthen Bolesławiec’s image as an open, European city.

Yours sincerely,

Mateusz Machowicz
Witold Chudy

Cc:

  • Katarzyna Kotula – Minister for Equality
  • Piotr Borys – Member of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland
  • Zofia Czernow – Member of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland
  • Krzysztof Śmiszek – Member of the European Parliament
  • Nonpartisan Local Government Officials
  • Marshal of Lower Silesia
  • Lower Silesian Voivode
  • Wrocław Mayor’s Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment
  • Kultura Równości
  • Campaign Against Homophobia
  • Love Does Not Exclude
  • Lambda Polska
  • Marching Cities Coalition
  • Homokomando
  • Gazeta Wyborcza
  • OKO.press
  • WP.pl
  • Replika
  • Istotne.pl

Media context:

  1. II Equality March at the opening of the 30th Bolesławiec Ceramic Festival
  2. Bolesławiec mayor changes the format of the Ceramic Festival. There will be no parade
    3. Aggressive hooligans among the participants of the ceramic parade. They set off flares and attacked a woman