Stop Bullshit () was a queer anarchist collective in Warsaw with the goal of fighting homophobia and transphobia, founded in May 2019 by Małgorzata "Margot" Szutowicz and Zuzanna "Łania" Madej, opposing the actions of the .
A series of direct actions carried out by the collective in the summer of 2020 provoked a wide media attention and a deeply polarized social discussion on the rights of LGBT+ people, attended by, among others representatives of the world of culture, science, the highest levels of Polish politics or the hierarchs of the Catholic Church in Poland.
The organization disbanded itself in 2021.
Views
In a BBC interview in September 2020, Szutowicz explained: "I want to show my community that we no longer have to live in fear [...] For years we've been asking for minimal provisions and legislation that would protect us - if not from discrimination, then at least from physical violence." Regarding whether violence was a valid method of resistance, she answered: "People who have not lived the lives of the LGBT community in this country shouldn't judge us [...] And nobody should be surprised if we are eventually forced to take things into our own hands."
While detained, Szutowicz went on a hunger strike and requested a New Testament, later stating that Christianity is too serious a matter to be left in Polish Catholics' hands. Margot also stated that she is a Christian.
Activity
The collective started its activity in May 2019, in opposition to the activity of the Pro Foundation, whose volunteers collected signatures under the civic legislative initiative Stop Pedophilia Act, for which the collective is named. The draft act assumed increased penalties for pedophilic acts, but also, under the pretext of counteracting these acts, penalized sex education. The impulse for an organized action, and at the same time a clear turning point, marking the transformation of current activist activity by Małgorzata "Margot" Szutowicz and Łania Madej into the Stop Bzdurom collective were the repercussions after a verbal skirmish between them and several passers-by with the Pro Foundation volunteers, which took place on May 15, 2019 at the Warsaw "Pan" (the square in front of the Metro Centrum entrance). As a result, there was a struggle between passers-by and members of the Foundation and the police. Several people were arrested at that time, including Małgorzata Szutowicz.
After the events in the center of Warsaw, Łania Madej and Małgorzata Szutowicz decided to set up the Stop Bzdurom collective. Initially, its aim was to oppose the activities of the Pro Foundation, as well as to create more theories about anti-LGBT rhetoric, and fight against disinformation regarding sex education. The collective advocated a radical and grass-roots fight for the rights of LGBT+ people. It often expressed its attachment to anarchist ideas and skepticism towards mainstream politics.
The collective initially organized a series of dance events in front of the stands of the Pro Foundation. They aroused interest in the public space, thanks to which the collective engaged in further activities; launched a website and a fanpage on Facebook, through which it denied the information provided by the Pro Foundation. Leaflets explaining what sex education is and explaining some of the terms related to it were also printed and distributed. The collective was involved in many other educational and support activities for the LGBT community in Poland.
In June 2020, during the election campaign preceding the presidential election, the collective organized an event in front of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, entitled "A provocation of LGBT ideology", which was supposed to be a response to the statement of President Andrzej Duda, who said during a rally in Brzeg that LGBT people are not people, but ideology.