A marriage and another activist seeks asylum .............

According to the 

Jamaican gay activist, Maurice Tomlinson, married a Torontonian

Catherine Porter

The day after Jack Layton’s funeral, eulogist Stephen Lewis and pastor Brent Hawkes congregated again for a different holy ritual: Maurice Tomlinson’s wedding.
Tomlinson is a leading gay activist in Jamaica — the only country in the Western hemisphere where gay sex is still illegal.

In Toronto, he married Tom Decker, a police officer-cum-pastor in the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto.
The UN’s former special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa was the best man. Hawkes married them. Tomlinson wept with joy throughout the ceremony, but he didn’t invite any of his family out of fear.

Talk about a double life.

“In Canada, I have a husband,” he told me from their little red-brick row home in Toronto’s east end. “In Jamaica, I have a good friend.”
In the past year, Tomlinson has received three death threats for speaking out against the country’s virulent homophobia.

He’s stopped going to parties and bars and public beaches, he says.
He’s right to be scared. Vigilante justice against gay men is common in Jamaica, a country where 82 per cent of people self-identified as homophobic in one recent survey. Last year, two men were chopped to death with machetes because they were gay.

Former Prime Minister Bruce Golding was openly homophobic: he said he’d never appoint a gay person to his cabinet. According to the law, consensual sex between two men in Jamaica will get you 10 years of imprisonment and hard labour. Any “act of gross indecency” — like kissing — will get you two years.

The law is rarely enforced. More often, police use it for extortion, Tomlinson says. But its very existence fuels the mobs, machetes in hand, since gays are legally criminals. Even the police officer who recorded his first death-threat report “went on a tirade that he hates gays, who deserve to die,” says Tomlinson.

For two years, Tomlinson has collected victim reports as a legal adviser for Lewis’ international advocacy organization, AIDS-Free World. Now, he’s taking them to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, since the Jamaican charter protects the laws against “sexual offences” from constitutional review.

“There’s an African proverb: you are mopping the floor while the tap is still running,” says Tomlinson, 40. “If you don’t change the law, you’ll never change the attitude.”
The commission is likely to hear his petition this spring. Even though it has no authority over Jamaica’s parliament, it will be a big moment for the island’s underground gay community.

Dirty laundry for all to see.

There is other good news. On Jan. 29, Tomlinson will be in England to receive the inaugural David Kato award for gay human rights activism. Kato, a Ugandan gay activist, was murdered last year. The award comes with a $10,000 grant that Tomlinson plans to use to give Caribbean police officers anti-homophobic training.

And, last week, Jamaicans elected a new prime minister, Portia Simpson Miller, who pledged to put the country’s anti-sodomy law to a vote in parliament.
“Justice will out!” Lewis wrote me in an email. “I genuinely believe this would not have happened had Maurice not spent the last two years on a personal crusade to convert Jamaica to tolerance.”

Tomlinson is less optimistic. He is sure parliament will be swayed again by the powerful evangelical churches and that machete mobs will continue unabated.
Change both seeps and charges. Just think: 11 years ago this month, Hawkes performed the country’s first gay wedding, wearing a bulletproof vest under his clerical vestments.
Looking at the freckles that splash down Tomlinson’s left cheek like sugar grains, I wonder how anyone could hate a man this breathlessly beautiful. He’s worried he’ll be dead by the time gays are no longer criminals in Jamaica. He’s applying for Canadian citizenship, he tells me. We’d be lucky to have him.

But I hope he stays in Jamaica.
That country needs him more.

Catherine Porter’s column usually appears on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. She can be reached at cporter@thestar.ca.

ENDS

two cents

One would have thought that in the middle of the struggle and the gift for some by the new administration to review the buggery law and seeing how Mr Tomlinson has thrown himself in the public eye as the face for LGBT advocacy at his own re-cognisance even appearing on local television only last evening on CVM TV (I missed it) this would be the last thing we would see, what a perfect gift for the homophobes to latch on to now? oh see they (gays) don't need to be here, they can go abroad and marry, let them get asylum and leave here as we don't want no battyman here in Jamaica are some of the thoughts I presume they must be saying after seeing this, thoughts and sentiments by the way that have been said before. Perfect too this showcase of the wide class divisions in the community as the more affluent can always escape direct homophobia but FIRE!!! or hell for a gay man who is found or even suspected to be such in the lower socio economic strata of Jamaican society even though there is a perception that homophobia is lesser today that years gone by and as is typical with many such as Maurice they seek asylum afterwards running away leaving the rest of us to face the music, another activist flies the coup, why am I not surprised? yet another activist runs off. 

Local papers have also caught on to the news as well. 

Some of us realised very early in the day that the buggery review tag was a nice election trick and a great way for any politician to escape scrutiny when tackled about buggery as knowing that it may not get a positive vote in the proposed conscience vote by Mrs Simpson Miller. If and when it happens as well, as many suspect in won't for a while to come however the results may come with negative majority, then any PM or representative can say well the vote was run and the people through their representatives have spoken and that is the end of the matter.

To finally having to see the true feelings from Tomlinson on the possible outcome of a conscience vote on the buggery law review from a FOREIGN publication also again raises the importance or lack thereof of the regard to the local LGBT community on the ground and relevant forumatic discourse needed. 

Knowing the invented gay marriage ploy used to castigate the so called homosexual lifestyle especially by the politicians including the newly elected Prime Minister Mrs Simpson Miller in 2009 when during the Charter of Rights Debate October 20th she said ""Mr Speaker when we accepted the final report from the joint select committee that were looking at the bill we were completely satisfied with their recommendation of a provision to restrict marriage and like relationships to one man and one woman within Jamaica and that the provision should be specifically spelt out so that there could be no ambiguity .......... yes one man one woman (laughter in the house) and if you are Jamaican and go overseas the same applies ..........."

We also saw restorative therapy advocate and raging anti gay pastor Rev Al Miller who also talks about marriage and family life being threatened by the homosexual lifestyle what a way to rile up the opposition now when our hands are still in the lions mouth, it's like the mistakes keep a coming only days before we saw the goodly JFLAG laying down an expectation as it is called by them for the buggery matter to be discussed within 100 days of the new administration of the PNP. Yes, I see the timing of this public marriage as a mistake at this important juncture which may greatly affect our position in the struggle on the ground. Strategy here anyone?

As representatives what and how we do or conduct ourselves is subjected to public scrutiny and it also leaves a strange feeling for some persons on the ground as in a conversation I was privy to on this news where persons questioned the legitimacy of the persons who put themselves forward as advocates on behalf of the rest of us supposedly. More and more cynicism is raising its head and motive is being looked for when all there is or seems to be is self aggrandisement and attention seeking in the eyes of some.

We may never know the truth as to the representation as is being put forward supposedly on our behalf sans any real honest consultations with the LGBT body politic. Again as I said in a previous post ” ….. yuh hand inna lion mouth u tek time draw it out,” (your hand is in a lion’s mouth you take your time and pull it out)

Peace and tolerance

H


UPDATE 30.01.12

Remarks by Maurice Tomlinson, AIDS-Free World’s Legal Advisor on Marginalized Groups, upon receiving the inaugural

‘David Kato Vision and Voice Award’

London, UK, January 29, 2012, 6:00 PM


more on audio (Feb 1, 2012)

 Ethical Professionlism & LGBT Advocates 01.02.12 by glbtqja4 

New Shepherd, Same Old Sankey, Carolyn Cooper on Buggery & such ..........

Carolyn Cooper, 

Unlike Bruce Golding who strayed from the fold of the JLP looking for greener pastures, Andrew Holness has been a faithful sheep. Groomed by the shepherd of all shepherds, Eddie Seaga, Andrew unquestioningly stayed in line in the flock. Perhaps he was always too young to pluck up the courage to challenge the authority of the shepherd. As Holness pointedly observed in his inaugural address, he was a mere babe in arms when Golding became a member of parliament in 1972.

Incidentally, Golding remains the youngest person ever elected to Parliament - at the age of 24. But, as the final years of his political career have proven, an early start is no guarantee of a glorious end. Andrew Holness had better learn that lesson. Prematurely elevated to the rank of chief shepherd, Holness has become Jamaica's youngest prime minister.

I'm sure that some of the older heads in the JLP are quite vexed that 'di bwoy bruck di line, fly pass im nest an dust dem out. But dem ha fi bow. A young people time now, an hair dye naa no swag. If dem waan try win election, dem better simmer down an follow backa im'.

Antiquated ideas

For a relatively young man, our new prime minister has some rather antiquated ideas about sex, gender and politics. In his inaugural speech, he made a particularly pompous statement that struck me forcefully: "The ancients saw politics as the highest calling of man. It is what men do in the interest of the public good without thought for their personal benefit or threat of sanction; it is what we do because it is right, not because it is expedient. In this regard, our leaders must lead."

Who are these ancients that Prime Minister Holness cites so authoritatively? I suppose he means the Greeks. Not the modern ones who haven't been able to balance their national Budget and whose bailout is threatening the stability of the Eurozone. Mr Holness' 'ancients' are long dead and their grand rhetoric has little value these days. You can't take ancient Greek political philosophy to the bank. Certainly not to the European Central Bank.

Modern Greek politicians like George Papandreou are no different from our own leaders who like to spout platitudes. 'Personal benefit' often appears to take precedence over 'public good'. Papandreou threatened to call a referendum over the rescue package cobbled together for the Greek economy. It was a gamble to gain support for the austerity measures and so protect his own political interests. Then he flip-flopped and backed down. After all the fancy footwork, Papandreou was forced to resign. The ancients must be turning in their collective grave.

Politics - a man's game?

Quite apart from the emptiness of Mr Holness' holier-than-thou political moralising is the troubling issue of gender. If politics really is 'the highest calling of man', where does that leave women? Out in the cold? Or do women have a higher calling than mere politics? Who is the 'we' to whom the prime minister appeals in his inaugural address? Men? And what is the gender of the leaders who must lead? Masculine?

The Jamaica Women's Political Caucus must be quite alarmed by the prime minister's gendered politics. Established in 1992, the caucus vigorously challenges the stereotype that politics is 'what men do'. Its mission is to increase the number of women in politics at the highest levels. Putting its money where its mouth is, the caucus pays the nomination fees for all female candidates.

UNESCO's Inter-Parliamentary Union ranks Jamaica at No. 86 of 188 countries in the world, based on the percentage of women in Parliament. Only eight of the 60 members of our Parliament are female. This is not a good ratio. We are way below Cuba (No. 6), Guyana (No. 25), Trinidad and Tobago (No. 28) and the Dominican Republic (No. 53). But we're doing much better than Barbados (No. 103), Brazil (No. 110), Haiti (No. 125) and Belize (No. 136).

Why is it that more women don't enter representational politics in Jamaica? Is it because we ourselves believe that it's a man's game? Or have we been deliberately excluded from the men's club? If our youthful prime minister can speak as if representational politics is still a male preserve, what hope is there to transform the patriarchal culture and create opportunities for a fresh crop of women leaders?

Taking the bull by the horns

On matters of sexual politics, new Andrew Holness sounds a lot like old Bruce Golding. Holness hasn't come out and said, "Not in my Cabinet." But it's clear that he's not prepared to take the bull by the horns and initiate the repeal of Jamaica's outdated buggery law. It was the 'ancients' who conceived the Buggery Act of 1533. Not the Greeks, this time, for whom homosexuality was an accepted practice.

Almost 500 years ago, the English parliament passed a law that criminalised 'unnatural' sex acts. These included anal penetration and bestiality. The punishment for buggery was death by hanging. This act takes us right back to the primitive Old Testament theology of the Book of Leviticus.

The buggery law was repealed in the UK in 1967 but remains on the books in many of Britain's former colonies, including Jamaica. A recentSunday Gleaner article, 'Not ready for gays', reports the following: 'Despite renewed pressure from Britain for Jamaica to repeal its anti-buggery law, Prime Minister Andrew Holness says it will be up to Jamaicans to signal such desire.'

So why not call a referendum on the repeal of the buggery law? Perhaps Jamaicans are ready for change. Politics is not about expediency. It's what we do because it is right. Our prime minister needs to practise what he preaches. Otherwise, all of this talk about youth and change is nothing but the same old Sankey.

Carolyn Cooper is a professor of literary and cultural studies at the University of the West Indies, Mona. Visit her bilingual blog at http://carolynjoycooper.wordpress.com/. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and karokupa@gmail.com.

Study shows street youths more accepting of gays according to the Jamaica Observer

BY AINSWORTH MORRIS

HOMELESS youth are more tolerant of homosexuality than their counterparts who live with their families at home, according to the 2010 Jamaica National Youth Survey (JNYS) released earlier this month by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN).
"Street youths proved more tolerant of homosexuals. A quarter (25 per cent) of the street youths interviewed indicated that they had friends who were homosexuals, compared to 11 per cent of youths in households," said senior statistician in the STATIN's surveys division Leesha Delatie-Budair, as she revealed the summary of findings of the study recently.

The 2010 JNYS, the first survey of its kind in Jamaica focusing on street youth, was conducted by STATIN in association with the National Centre for Youth Development (NCYD) and the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture. The research and data collection was sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank and the Jamaican government.

Two types of street youths were interviewed -- youths of the street (street-wise), and youths on the street (homeless).
Between 150-200 youths from ten parishes across the island were polled, most of them between the ages of 15 - 24 years who were from cluster areas or street corners where youths normally congregate, or who were living, eating, working on the streets and were detached from households. These youngsters were found on the roadsides, bus stations, parks, abandoned houses and other public places.

A total of 5,426 youths participated in the 2010 JNYS including 2,726 females (50.2 per cent).
Delatie-Budair also noted that in addition to admitting to having friends who were homosexual, the street youths surveyed were just generally more accepting of the lifestyle.
"In relation to accepting friends who were homosexuals, 31 per cent of the street youths indicated that they would, compared to 25 per cent of youths in households," she said.
Of those youth who had homes, the survey said, "When respondents were asked if they had friends who were homosexual, approximately 85 per cent said "No" and 11 per cent said "Yes"."
It went further to report on the reactions of youth in households.
"When asked if they would accept a friend who is homosexual, the majority (68 per cent) said they would not accept a friend who is a homosexual, while 25 per cent stated that they would accept such a friend."

Director of NCYD, Roberta Brown-Ellis, emphasised that although more street youths proved more tolerant of homosexuals, there is no evidence from the JNYS to brand them as homosexuals.
"The survey did not speak to the issue of them engaging in homosexual activities. So I don't believe the street youths that responded were engaging in homosexual activities," Brown-Ellis told the Sunday Observer in a recent interview.
"I believe street youths were more tolerant of homosexuality than household youths because they are more exposed to the realities of life. They are on the streets more often and, by virtue of that, they have become more open-minded and tolerant," Brown-Ellis added.
NCYD, the organisation that Brown-Ellis heads, is the arm of the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Culture that executes the National Youth Policy through its various programmes and initiatives. The NCYD is responsible for implementing and overseeing the JNYS and will use the survey's findings to inform the revision of the current youth policy.

Gender specialist, Danielle Toppin, is in agreement with Brown-Ellis. She says that street youths are more widely exposed than youngsters who enjoy the comforts of a stable home, hence the responses they gave in the survey.
"I think there are a number of dynamics that could be at play. It could be that the issue of survival would lead greater numbers of street youths to engage in sexual activity, both heterosexual and same-sex for money, rather than a child whose material needs are met by parents or guardians," Toppin said.

Toppin currently works with Sistren Theatre Collective -- a non-governmental group that serves the inner-city communities of Allman Town, Fletcher's Land, Hannah Town, Barbican/Grants Pen, Rockfort, Parade Gardens and Tivoli -- communities whose youths have a vast knowledge and understanding of the streets.
However, the experts feel it is not unlikely, that given their greater tolerance of homosexuality, these youths could adopt the homosexual or bisexual lifestyle, especially if they are pressured to sell their bodies for economic reasons.
Brown-Ellis said that to prevent them falling prey to this, the challenges facing the country's homeless youth should be aggressively tackled.

"We need to create preventative programmes with opportunities to empower the street youths. Those programmes need to be more tailored and designed, unlike programmes for household youths. We need to find their parents and get them off the streets. We have to look at their literacy levels and how they currently earn an income," she added.
Toppin said that there needs to be greater cohesion of programmes between governmental and non-governmental groups that cater to the needs of not just street youths, but youths on the whole.

"Street children are preyed upon by adults -- male and female, gay and straight. They (sexual predators) use power to take advantage of children. That is a crime, no matter who is doing it and whom they are doing it to," Toppin said.
The JNYS was conducted to highlight the economic and social condition of Jamaican youths. Its findings will inform the revision of the existing youth policy as regards health, education, training, employment, entrepreneurial opportunities, participation and empowerment, care, protection and living environments.
STATIN, in association with the NCYD and the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture will host a series of workshops to address the findings and challenges presented by the survey.

The "outing" on a Sunday morning ....

The life of a fifty plus year old married man from a middle class suburban community in St. Catherine will not be the same again following a most embarrassing outing and temporary displacement incident on of all days a Sunday morning April 10th as he returned from early morning exercising to prepare to go to church with his family. The man who was described as very active in his community and a member of the neighbourhood watch team among other social outreach work is also a father of two male teenagers but as it turns out he also may have had another side to him that was discovered by accident allegedly by the wife who reportedly burrowed the cellphone that was left as he went on the usual early morning exercise routine as many do who reside in that scheme.

It was upon his return according to eyewitness reports that things got out of control as his wife and two other relatives on her side created an embarrassing scene at the home much to the shock of the neighbours, as in cases such as this the audience usually gathers very quickly as word spread that Mr. So and So was a battyman so animated the issue became that prayer warriors allegedly from his church congregation who may have been called also converged at the home during the initial heated exchange between the couple and relatives to supposedly pray the gay away. The teenage boys were reportedly stunned as they watched the incident unfold. The prayer warriors reportedly passionately called on God to strike down this evil spirit out of him as he was a good man and just strayed, they shouted frantically and some were said to be "in the spirit" with a view to fix Mr. So and So. The homosexual relationship as it was belted out by the woman, his wife of some twelve years now supposedly started when their house that was upgraded had several thug looking typed characters working on the construction activities she said she was told only some time afterwards that something looked suspicious as there was one particular guy who would hail her husband and her also when he passed by the home on his bicycle and was very friendly but she didn't take it as a gay relationship instead she thought he was just being polite, she also suggested that one particular neighbour who is known to be very nosy (there is one in every community, village lawyers) said the young thug came by the house more than once when she was travelling but she never took it seriously and maybe thought he was just coming to ask for some money or assistance seeing that they were familiar with him from before. He is described as very masculine, muscular and handsome with a very cool yet dreaded demeanor.

Things came to a head however when the "alleged thug lover" in question turned up at the home with other men on bicycles saying it was a lie that was told on him and that he was called and told that his name was being mentioned that he was a battyman and involved with Mr. So and So, they hurled expletives at the woman insisting she stopped pushing her unfounded accusations, the reported damning text message that was the evidence the victim's wife relied on could not be found by this time to substantiate her claim and it's not yet known what actually occurred between the man's arrival from exercising and his access to the phone which he had in his possession during the heated exchange, he may have deleted the text, interestingly enough it was the alleged "thug lover" who drove off with the outed man in a car that was parked on the sidewalk when things cooled down, both men along with others returned in the afternoon with a moving truck to take out the man's belongings with other thugs seemingly guarding the truck and entrance to the home. They also reportedly chased away some onlookers and the prayer warriors who had calmed down from the praying exercise by this time but who were still expressing shock at the allegations. The thug in question apparently also left a veiled threat that if anything should happen to "bossy" (a common term used to show respect from hyper masculine types to older men especially if they are able to get jobs or money when they make requests of them) he would sort out who is to be sorted out (not in such kind language). On lookers were said to be mum yet fearful to condemn or make anti gay sentiments based on the type of men who at the scene in an indirect way defending Mr. So and So but there were whispers non the less.

Things have calmed since and my sources tell me that community seems quiet on the surface. If there are any new developments there will be updates.

Even if the allegations are not true this also show how quickly a situation can develop from just mere assumptions with no time to defend oneself for a retreat or an amicable solution.

Notes:

Whether there is any truth to the allegations we may never be sure unless we get really close to the situation or if the man in question is willing to speak on the issue. It is interesting however if the men who arrived on the scene to deny the allegations and to guard the removal process were defending the outed man because they too are gay or bisexual as well but have an image to protect seeing working class types must adopt hyper-masculine or "heaviot" aesthetics or they were defending him because they didn't believe the allegation or because they can "nyam a food" (favours or money they can get from literally free loading on more affluent men in a non sexual relationship) or all of the above.

One thing I am happy it never turned out any more violent that it may have if it were different circumstances and a more depressed community we know all too well the outcomes of said outings elsewhere.

The matter of downlow rears it head again in this incident and begs some questions:

1) when if ever are we going to have any discourse on clandestine relationships seriously in the public domain?

2) in this case are we to assume the thugs were or are gay for pay types but deny publicly the accusations?

3) given recent happenings in certain inner city communities where so called thugs/heaviots/hyper masculine types are caught in the act, are you surprised?

4) did de man dem a protect dem ting cause man haffi nyam a food nuh matter wah?

Sure it is when stories like this are highlighted properly that we get the opportunity to examine the issues of down-low living better although each case must be taken on it's own merit.

A similar incident happened in another section of St. Catherine as well several years ago and while some neighbours expressed outrage and anti gay sentiments it was some of the so called thugs in the area who said the outed man should remain and no one was to touch him, they since retracted that line and he had to remove from his home and selling the property.

Peace and tolerance

H

Call for Submissions: Theorizing Homophobia(s) in the Caribbean Project

Caribbean IRN (International Resource Network)
Call for Submissions: Theorizing Homophobia(s) in the Caribbean Project

The Caribbean Region of the International Resource Network (IRN) seeks to connect academic and community-based researchers, artists, and activists around the Caribbean and in the diaspora in areas related to diverse sexualities and genders. The IRN is housed at the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the City University of New York, funded through the Ford Foundation, and located on the web at http://www.irnweb.org/.

Homophobia in the Caribbean has received a lot of given international attention recently. Certain Caribbean countries have been targeted by international organizations because of publicized violence committed against LGBT people and the apparent absence of public condemnation. However, the public and international human rights discourse that describes Caribbean homophobia rarely includes the larger contexts of poverty, structural adjustment, neocolonialism, and violence in general within the region. It has been accepted that homophobia in the Caribbean has its roots in laws, religion, and social perceptions of gendered identity. But LGBT activists and others living in the Caribbean have also recognised that there is a complex range of viewpoints and attitudes that must be accounted for in our defining of homophobia. Some scholars and activists have argued that what we need is a new set of theories, writings, and understandings of the kinds of homophobia(s) that exist across the region, and clear distinctions among Caribbean island-nations in terms of the work being done on the ground and the various cultural landscapes and shifts regarding LGBT identities. These theories, writings, and understandings should necessarily include discussions about gender performance, hetero-sexism, and transphobia that encompass homophobia(s), as well as the economic and social contexts mentioned above.

Questions we hope to address in this project include: How is homophobia perpetrated and experienced in different Caribbean communities? What have been the strategies for organizing against homophobia and homophobic violence? What are the successes and challenges in this work? What new strategies do we need? How is the Caribbean shifting in terms of tolerance and acceptance of diverse genders and sexualities? And why? How do we bridge the gap between theory and practice, home and abroad/diaspora, policies/law and cultural norms?

To that end, we propose a collection of articles / essays, non-fiction, fiction, stories, poetry, activist reports, visual art, music, interviews, and other works that will reflect on the complexities of homophobia(s) in the Caribbean and to expand awareness about Caribbean LGBT lives, experiences, and activism in the region and its diaspora. We seek to disrupt the divide between academia and community, while locating theories and knowledge in multiple sites and discourses.

This collection will be edited by the Caribbean IRN coordination consultant Vidyaratha Kissoon and its board members Natalie Bennett, Rosamond King, Angelique Nixon, and Colin Robinson.

Themes that may be addressed in the collection include:
Caribbean Sexual Minorities, Citizenship and the State (Island-Nation)
Religion and LGBT citizens in the Caribbean: Condemning the Sin or the Sinner
Contextualizing Caribbean Homophobia: Religion, Colonialism, Neocolonialism, Poverty, and/or Structural Violence
The Impact of Global LGBTQ Movements on Homophobia and LGBT activism in the Caribbean
The Language of Homophobia: Caribbean Nuances, Silences, & Stigmas
Politics of “coming out” and being publicly LGBT: concerning safety and visibility inside the Caribbean and its diaspora (Can we be safe and visible?)
Symptoms of Homophobia: violence within institutions and popular culture (ex. music specifically Dancehall as scapegoat, often seen as cause of violence itself, without nuance or discussion of other aspects of Caribbean culture, particularly outside the region - i.e. “murder music” campaign)
Costs of homophobia in the region: violence, gender-based violence, hypermasculinity, heterosexism, transphobia, bi-phobia, lesbo-phobia, etc.
Caribbean LGBT anti-violence work, community organizing, and human rights discourse
Migration and Diaspora: Politics of Asylum Discourse inside and outside the Caribbean
Intersectional Analysis of Caribbean LGBT Violence (relationships among various kinds of violence - patriarchal violence, youth violence, child abuse, sexual abuse, LGBT violence, bullying, etc.)
(Emerging) Queer Caribbean Diaspora(s) and its relationship to home
Imported Homophobia: how non-Caribbean movements against homophobia are targeting the region

Works can be accepted in digital text format, digital audio (mp3 or OGG format), digital image format or digital video. Abstracts of no more than 500 words should be submitted in MS Word or Open Document Format by April 30th with a short bio of the authors/producers. Please submit proposals via email to caribbeanirn@gmail.com. If accepted for detailed review, the completed work will be due by July 1st and it will be shared/published through our Internet platform in the Fall 2011. Eventually, we plan to approach a journal and/or publisher for a print publication.

America far safer for gay Jamaicans (Observer Letter/Column)

Dear Editor,

It was satisfying to see the February 12 headline, "28 gay Jamaicans granted asylum in US last year" because indeed, gay Jamaicans are running for their lives. They seek refuge from some in academia, the self-righteous, political grandstanding and poor policing.

Where one, two, three or more of these "institutions" are gathered touching anything concerning the "funny-man" or "she-man," then "Father Hate" and "Uncle Murder" are in the midst to do Jamaica's good.

Who will deny the usefulness of the frequent islandwide homophobic rhetoric in uniting "Holy-Ghost tongue-talking" Jamaicans, rude boys coming together to salute with guns, some politicians standing in oneness to applaud because there will be a Gomorrah-free Cabinet, and lousy music artistes firing up a crowd, not with lyrics but with "fire bun them"?

And where are the academic divas and wisdom rebels to inject logic, to water down the fire, clean up the blood and bury the gay murder rate?

Are the divas and rebels in an intellectual fowl coop hiding?

Jamaica is not the only murderous country. The problem with much of Jamaica is that it seems to be obsessed with violence. Inflicting blood, pain and shame give too many Jamaicans a consensual mood which appears to have become a cultural thrill.

Indeed, it would be naïve of anyone to think that America is paradise for those gay Jamaicans whom it has granted refuge. America has many cases of homophobia where there is a higher level of alarm when it's homophobia against whites and a lower level for other races.

That is something America should be ashamed of. There doesn't seem to be much evidence that America has sufficient conscience on that matter.

However, Immigration Equality rightly understands that America is nonetheless far safer for gay Jamaicans.

Pity that most Jamaicans are still in such denial!

Dadland Maye
New York, New York
dadland@gmail.com

ENDS

My notes:

The two questions highlighted in bold above in the letter are fundamental ones for us and especially those in advocacy in particular , they ask in essence why aren't the intellectuals and those in academia who are gay and who know better and are even friends with some of the same politicians who know better that the Buggery Law should be scrapped but grandstand in parliament but privately have different views due to fear of political suicide. The letter writer is directing the criticism where it belongs which I and a few others have gone against the grade and not tow the line.

As for the "gay murder rate" referred to there are issues that are misconstrued even by the community itself I fear, the conflation with downlow/clandestine homosexual affairs gone wrong vs abuse to include power differentials and the homo negativity from paedophilia with the psychology of sexual abuse are issues the community and experts are going to have to carefully sift through solve and then present to the nation to get the discussion going properly late as it is, better late than never.

More to come on this though in the meantime see the tabs linked to this post below to see previous posts on downlow issues and related matters.

Peace and tolerance

H

Who's In Your Closet ???

The same brother who gave us that excellent piece some time ago entitiled Jamaica Homophobic Yet Homosocial is back with another great article looking at our problems of homo-negativity, hypocrisy and downlow/closeted issues some of which appeared in the Star News over time here is an excerpt from the previous artcle by playright, actor and comedian Blakka Ellis:

"Some Jamaican brethren love to run off mouth about how dem love woman and brag 'bout dem nuh pet man. Yes, big man, start counting the number of activities that you participate in, exclusively with other 'man friends'. Calculate the amount of time you spend with members of your own sex.

Now, compare that with your quality engagement and time spent with the opposite sex. I'll bet all the money I lost in Cash Plus that when the situations are objectively compared, many men will find that they spend more time and energy dedicated to activities with other men than with women. Isn't that funny? But, as I'm never tired of saying, we are a case study in contradiction. Is true, man! Many Jamaican men seem to be violently homophobic, yet passionately 'homosocial' at the same time. Check it, dem burn fire on men who sleep with men but di only company dat dem keep is men.


Some roughneck, macho men seem totally happy to spend 20 hours of one day socialising with a bag a man and then share the remaining four hours with a woman. And, those four hours are likely to involve maybe 15 minutes of talk, 45 minutes of sex and three hours of sleep. In fact, one man made it clear to me that, as far as he's concerned, the main thing to do with the opposite sex was sex."

added image from the Gleaner in 2007 of the then Attorney General AJ Nicholson on the Buggery Law.

here is a flashback to a statement he made while he was Attorney General on Same Sex Unions:

Here is the entry related to this post as published in the Jamaica Star February 9th 2011

with Blakka Ellis

Tell me that Jamaica's not a case study in contradiction and home of hypocrisy, and I'd probably punch you. But, I'm not a violent man, just a passionate Jamaican.

Hey, I read a letter to the editor printed inthe Gleaner on Saturday, February 5, that I found very interesting. The writer, identified only as 'Gay and afraid' from a Tivoli address, bemoaned the departure of Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, and suggested that with Coke's protection (or approval), a gay person could walk in the community without fear of being called names or being beaten to death.

According to the letter writer 'I simply went to Dudus and told him that I am gay and just wanted to live in peace." Interesting eh? They can live without danger or discrimination in the 'President's' community, while the world is arrogantly told that gays wouldn't be allowed in the prime minister's Cabinet. Of course, the PM must have made his statements with the assurance that the kitchen where he keeps his cabinet has no hidden closets!

And talking about closets, I've been noticing a series of news items in the past weeks that seem to point to an interesting trend. The tides, it seems, are turning and the doors of many closets are falling. Yeah man, some of the stories are sad and some mek yu haffi laugh, but more and more, certain man closet door a pap aff!

naughty gush of breeze

Yu ever notice how sometimes a naughty gush of breeze can just suddenly lift up the skirt of a passing lady, causing her brief embarrassment and creating momentary pleasure for every idle male on the corner except the blind man? Well a wickeder wind seems to be blowing away some veils and curtains these past days, and further exposing some of the hypocrisy inherent in the attitude of some Jamaicans to homosexuality.

The most interesting story in this series that I call 'closet door pap aff', is the one I read in last week Monday's paper about the three thugs allegedly caught in bed in the Denham Town area. The entertaining part for me is the report that residents were alerted, but when the mob assembled and called for a beating of the men, they had to make a hasty retreat because the 'gay' thugs allegedly drew guns at the crowd. Is like how dem so bright? Dem neva hear say might beat right?

And there was another 'closet door pap aff' report in the STAR on Monday, this time about a Portmore pastor who had to flee both the church and community after words started spreading that he was seen in explicit photos with a church brother, and was also reportedly discovered in the church's office engaging in an alleged sex act with another brother. Yeah, that pastor read the words about brotherly love but decided to 'tek it another way'.

a compromising position

Then, according to another story in yesterday's STAR, 'the police on Friday had to prevent persons in the Half-Way Tree area of St Andrew from beating two men they are said to have discovered in a compromising position. Unlike the alleged thugs in last week's story, these men had no gun and bad-man status to protect them from mob justice, so, luckily, the police who discovered them were a professional set who chose not to be discriminatory with how and who they serve and protect.

The STAR said a team of officers had to shield the men from an angry crowd for about five hours. But who's in that crowd? Nuff hypocrites; many self-righteous liars with violent looks and homophobic cries, but look inside their closet is enough contradiction and lies, to mek you say in your Bounty Killa voice 'mi cyaan believe mi eyes!'

box-mi-back@hotmail.com

Peter King's Murderer Seeks Help To Pursue Appeal

Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter

THE MAN who was convicted in 2009 of manslaughter arising from the fatal stabbing and chopping of 64-year-old Ambassador Peter King is pursuing his appeal against his conviction and sentence.

Sheldon Pusey, 25, waiter and carpenter of Hopewell district near Gordon Town, St Andrew, was convicted by a Home Circuit Court jury on March 16, 2009.

When Pusey's appeal came up for hearing on Monday, the court was told that his appeal could not proceed because he was seeking the services of a senior lawyer to assist with the appeal.

The case was taken off the court list for another date to be set.

King was fatally stabbed at his home at Waterloo Road, St Andrew, between March 19 and 20, 2006. The body had 30 stab wounds.

Evidence was given at the trial that King led a homosexual lifestyle, but the prosecutors asked the jury not to have any sympathy or bias in the case. Pusey had admitted in a question-and-answer interview, conducted by Superintendent McArthur Sutherland, that he killed King because he was trying to "rape" him.

Pusey is contending in the grounds of appeal which were filed by attorney-at-law Berriston Bryan (now deceased) that none of the 460 videotapes showing King's homosexual activities had been tendered in court.

Potential trauma

He is contending that the defence had formally requested that "the jury be shown at least two or three of the videos that were recorded by the said Peter King in his homosexual activities, from the more than 460 videos that were in the possession of the prosecution or the police, which could have explained the gravity and graphic extent of the danger and traumatic condition that the appellant (Pusey) would have been subjected to in such an encounter," but the request was denied.

Pusey is also appealing against his conviction on the grounds that two knives taken from the home of the deceased had not been tendered in evidence.

After Pusey was convicted, Justice Marva McIntosh (now retired) sentenced him to 15 years' imprisonment.

Bryan, 72, was badly beaten and fatally stabbed at his home in July 2009.

barbara.gayle@gleanerjm.com

ENDS

My notes:

this looks like another attempt at a fishing expedition again to see who's on those alleged tapes that were said to be found at Peter's house under the guise of an appeal, a who unu a try fool ? gay panic defense and we all know everyone even after so many years is itching to hear or see who was or are on those tapes that were supposedly seized from Ambassador King's home after the gruesome find.

I strongly suspect Sheldon Pusey the accused as gay or bisexual and maybe was in the Ambassador's company as gay for pay which is not surprising. When some of these characters are caught they deny down to the ground that they were ever involved in any homosexual activity whatsoever to save face.

What you think?

Peace and tolerance

H

2010 The Year that was .... Entertainment Perspective part 1

Hello readers and a Happy New Year to you and thanks for waiting for the review, I must apologise for the lateness in preparing it as it was a surprisingly tedious task going through all the happenings some of which I had totally forgot (thank goodness for record keeping and the posts remaining up) and the unusually busy party scene at the end of the year where I wore my hats as DJ and party promoter as well kept me busy. Please remember to donate via the PAYPAL buttons. I do wish all of you the best for 2011 and stay on track with me as I make some changes as we go along. I decided to split the review into parts (don't know how many yet) which will appear on all three blogs so look out for them dealing with aspects of the happenings interspersed with any new stuff.

Entertainment Perspective part 1 - Dancehall etc

If we thought 2009 was anything to go by then think again 2010 was busy from only days into the year, the first infraction came from the entertainment arena through dancehall act Bounty Killa at superstar's Shaggy's fundraiser for children in Kingston. Carrying over from 2009 was the Buju Banton saga and the subsequent arrest and trial that ended up with the case scheduled for a new trial in February 2011. The Stop Murder Music campaigns each in their respective regions were more than active with very good results in particular in France where reigning dancehall prince and bleaching king Vybz Kartel signed the Reggae Compassionate Act albeit for political reasons as speculated in local entertainment circles.

Please bear in mind all the posts will remain for you to view at anytime. Other acts who came under pressure were Sizzla who has now relocated some of his base to Africa, Capleton whose shows were picketed and cancelled where enough stink was brought to bear on his recordings about his anti homosexual stance, see more cancellation news HERE, see also the Tjenbre Red Protest in pics HERE. Beenieman shows were also cancelled in parts of Europe and other dancehall acts faced mounting pressure in the Caribbean due to the concerns about the lyrical content of some of their materials.

A gay German MP also joined the movement to campaign against homophobic lyrics but many including myself thought that innocent Reggae and not dancehall acts were made to suffer unfairly at this move though welcomed. Meanwhile at the Reggae Conference at the University of the West Indies in February a German magazine asked advocates to answer several allegations among which were that Jamaican LGBT people were not really suffering from abuse as is put out there and that advocates were trying to score cheap shots. Not to be outdone were the tabloids take on the pressure on the music industry see HERE for more from the Xnews.

See also Capleton's Dichtomy - perceptions vs reality in lyrics

The airwaves no doubt was far more accommodating last year in allowing more discussion on LGBTQI issues thankfully allowing for some more balanced exchanges on the murder music campaigns, lifestyle issues and transgenderism but as always there are the sensationalized moments such as the TVJ interview on gay lobbyists and dancehall which was biased as it could get and the relocation of Dr. Kingsley Raggashanti Stewart to his original home on Nationwide FM where he has been on a steady campaign if you will of homo negativity and lesbophobic tinged topics in the name of entertainment or ratings at any cost. He attempted to defend his position HERE

On the opposite side of the coin popular roots play personality Shebada made in roads in his own right in combating the stereotype of effeminate men be they gay or not, remaining very popular in 2010 with sold out performances of his plays and his image on the Jamaican psyche more entrenched than ever, it may be argued that he has helped to soften the public's perception towards effeminacy thus dealing with effemophia in a cute way, his now infamous birthday bash is a calendar event and he makes no bones about being himself in full view of everyone much to the patrons delight. He has since launched successful tours of his plays in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom where large Jamaican populations exist.

The flip side of the coin to effeminacy that of masculinity, bleaching and associated stigmas was also a highlight at intervals during the year with the unapologetic king of bleaching Vybz Kartel bringing the subjects right in our faces with his own bleaching exercise tied in with the cake soap marketing ploy. He too some have argued has helped to challenge a homo negative perception that only gays bleach their skin. In fact so hot was this topic it ended up being the most read post on this blog clocking over 1400 hits and counting from its original post date of November 16, 2010.

The fire storm is ongoing as many other dancehall acts, radio and entertainment personalities have weighed in on the gay male bleaching perception. Vybz also found himself in another controversy as well with FAG T-shirt he was said to have worn to an event where he performed. Was it deliberate ???

Another dancehall powerhouse who got into some hot water for a song he penned and performed was Busy Signal whose "I Love Girls Who Love Girls" track earned the anger of many DJs, sections of the public and critics who suggest homosexuality is being snuck in through the back door. Mr Busy Signal by the way is not new to Gay typed controversy as many may recall he had recovered from the whole mix up with the line in a song he recorded called "One More Night" it was a spin off from Phil Collins' eighties smash hit of the same name. The line that caused the brouhaha then was 'BABY GIRL GIVE ME ONE MORE NIGHT” while some persons said they heard "“GARY GIVE ME ONE MORE NIGHT” in the recording some questioned if it was a gliche during the post production and mixing process while others have suggested it was deliberate to create controversy and attention to the song which incidentally went to the number one spot here in Jamaica and reggae charts overseas and is a staple now on some radio formats. The song has since been remixed and re-released.

History of sorts was made around October when a song promoting tolerance from a veteran not so known Reggae Act Major/Majah P released a track and subsequent video entitled "Rights" Mista Majah P was born in Kingston Jamaica, but migrated to Canada at an early age. He was the recipient of the Canadian Reggae music award on several occasions. P now resides in the United States.
Majah P is the first ever Reggae artist to make a song that promotes love for gays. The song “Rights” might create some controversy in the Reggae community, but Majah is an artist on a mission to change the face of reggae music, according to his manager Tony T. Tony also added, “The motivation behind this song is Mista Majah P believes that these artist who are talking so strongly and discriminating against gays are hypocrites, they say one thing in Jamaica and do another thing when they are out of Jamaica, when they come and perform in Canada or the state, especially in California ninety per cent of their audience is gay, or the club they are performing in is own by the gay community, they close their eye and collect the money and go back to Jamaica or where they come from and pretend and to me that is a double standard. Don’t spew hate and death on gays and close your eye and take there money. That is not right”

More to come.

Peace and tolerance

H

Out a Road: DJs who "hit out" hiding something? ......

I had the fortune of being in the presence of a heated discussion by a popular pharmacy in Half Way Tree earlier today where a group of persons had gathered prior to my arrival it seems discussing the trust factor in several local dancehall DJs in respect to their sexual preference. I am only sorry I never arrived sooner when it began to get the full gist of the arguments.

Several big names were mentioned though and many questioned their sexual preference of course using the stereotypical ruler to measure or gage the possible answers. I wasn't able capture the points in any formal way or record it on my phone as my memory chip is full but from what I could remember here are some of the more important pointers.

Of course the recent controversy with Vybz Kartel and the Tag/Fag t-shirt where it was said he was wearing a shirt at an event with "fag" written on it was debated, in the meantime here is an entry linked below on a popular dancehall blog regarding the said shirt:

Click here: Vybz Kartel in FAG shirt?

His alleged bleaching techniques also came into question in the exchange with several of the women present defending him vigorously and saying he looked good with his even toned skin and exaggerated tattoos (my words).

The men as expected were not so accommodating at all and had harsh retribution for the dancehall star, some questioned what is he promoting as a black man lightening his skin?

Some of the males questioned if when the DJs who hit out publicly at homosexuality if they themselves have something to hide, of course the issue of oral sex or bow cats was married with that argument and the lone male who openly says he enjoys oral sex was vilified by the rest of the male participants with some females in support while others interestingly seemed intrigued.

Even that made me question if the women who hit out were doing so because they were in the minority and didn't want to have to defend their position on the issue, a kind of desire to conform thing.

It was with great interest I observed this exchange as I am always amazed by us Jamaicans even though we collectively "bun battyman" it is when one comes into the occasional discourse such as this you get to hear some of the real underlined opinions of some of those same so called homophobes.

Other DJs whose sexuality came into question surprisingly were Beenieman, Babycham, Wayne Wonder, Frankie Paul even Elephant Man and Tanya Stephens based on her strong or imposing persona and so called butchness. What is even more interesting is the knowledge base of the persons involved in terms of LGBT descriptions that were readily used that one would not normally hear in everyday conversations. "Butch" "Queer" "Dyke" and "Queen" (gay men) were used over and over again which set me straight in terms of not to underestimate the average citizen out there, they are indeed exposed far more than most of us in advocacy would like to believe.

Not to be outdone was the perceptions of downlow dons or area leaders, one woman said she was reliably informed of her area leader where she resides and was clearly upset that he was the first to punish anyone in his community who was deemed gay or proven so. Yet he known sexual relations with young girls in and around the community of which he presided according to the woman. The coinage "bad man battyman" which came from an old Beenieman song was used repeatedly to describe those who carry out a similar practice. Then other big names came up for mention there as well such as the known don who is now serving time for a murder he allegedly commit some years ago while the victim was performing oral sex on him which formed part of testimony during his trial.

see: TRIAL SHOCKER - Court told of oral sex act with man

Stories like these over the years have helped I feel to have persons arrive at this new found "cautious tolerance" towards homosexuality in as far as quietly practicing gays are concerned or ordinary gays and lesbians, I got the feeling from this particular instance that what upset persons is the hypocrisy of it, the hide and lick or downlow dishonesty as a front to cover what really is happening behind the scenes.

Buju Banton's woes were not left out of this heated and sometimes funny exchange not about his sexuality but about his authenticity as a Rastafarian with his involvement with cocaine and the underworld. There are those who still believe that he was set up by gays while others such as a taxi driver said he was disappointed that he got himself in that kind of dealings for a Rasta. Many said the Boom Bye Bye song is justified but he stopped singing it and was now singing clean lyrics. One woman went on to say he apologized but because he didn't go on to work with the gay community he is now being punished for it.

They concluded that he may have realized he was being watched as during the conversation about the warehouse he didn't see the yacht as he was to see when he accompanied the informant, so he slowly tried to back out of the deal but he was already recorded by the hidden cams. One thing was clear during the discourse is that most persons seem to conclude he is definitely involved drug dealings and may have been in such activities for some time.

Clearly this matter is in no way going to die down soon or persons minds are going to change from their strong beliefs but it is instances like this I like to use to test the temperature if only a small hint as to what's out on the road in the court of public opinion.

Peace and tolerance

H

Public Comments: Writing against the epistemological colonization of Jamaica by Homo-Activists

by Coddy Burru

The following is a critique of an article by Thomas Glave titled "Towards a Nobility of the Imagination: Jamaica's Shame" published in Small Axe, 7 March 2000 pp122-126. Glave's article marks a growing trend by gay and lesbian activists of trying to shape public opinion in and of Jamaica. My critique recognizes the epistemological dangerousness of this trend and is an act of critical counter insurgency. It is a modification of a paper I wrote in Grad School.

Thomas Glave's defence of his homosexual compatriots in Jamaica deploys the same name calling, sweeping generalisations and non sequiturs he deplores when deployed against his comrades. Therefore, this writer feels no obligation to be civil towards him. According to Glave, Jamaicans are ignoble, cowardly, brutish, hypocritical, smug, lacking in compassion and shallow in reasoning. Hypocritically, he purports to advocate tolerance, charity and consideration towards his group, even as he stereotypes Jamaicans as subhuman: "In truth, we, as a society barely know what the word 'humanity' means. For in failing to love and support our fellow humans who are gay and lesbian, we are hardly human." (123) If he believes this to be true, his call for compassion and love is a lost cause. After all, one cannot hope to persuade brutes to act like humans. Furthermore, Glave's central argument is manifestly shallow and invalid: Because one does not support his chosen lifestyle one somehow becomes inhuman?


Instead of his whining, sententious, fake so-called 'humanist' argument that everyone should love everyone, homosexuals included; he might do better to argue their right to be different. Instead, he declares: "We are everywhere: like you" (124). So what? Anyone with any modicum of intelligence knows that homosexuality has long existed. Does that somehow legitimise and normalise it? Many Jamaicans find sexual congress between members of the same sex reprehensible. This is our right. We are under no obligation to love homosexuals, whether indigenous or expatriate. Those who choose to do so, that is their prerogative. Even the late Rex Nettleford, an acknowledged homosexual and former Vice-Chancellor at The University of the West Indies regarded the recently hyped homosexual debate as a waste of time. He said: "A great many productive people throughout the world are supposed to have that (homosexual) preference. What is the big thing? The wasting of time on the discussion is what will deflect us from (other important issues)..."[1] Contrary to what Mr Glave thinks, for most Jamaicans, embracing homosexuals and lesbians is not among the "critical matters" (123) facing the nation.


Like every one else, homosexuals have a right to live their lives according to their choices, so long as they don't try to foist their lifestyles on others. Homosexuals are indeed subjected to some vigilantism in Jamaica. But no more so than paedophiles, rapists, thieves and others who transgress 'social norms'. Glave is right when he suggests that Jamaica has a problem of endemic violence bequeathed by a legacy of slavery. However, Jamaica needs to address its social problems in their entirety. Mr Glave's special pleading for homosexuals will get him or Jamaica nowhere. Betty Ann Blaine has rightly observed: "Any writer who wants to examine honestly and objectively anti-gay violence in Jamaica, must place that discussion within the broader context of the staggering levels of violence that exist ... [W]ithin the context of this ... culture of violence, no particular group is immune."[2] Jamaica has to relearn the value of all life. It also has more pressing concerns of combating poverty and its offshoots such as human trafficking, child exploitation, and growing scourges of sex-tourism in general and "homo-tourism" in particular. What Glave fails to do, despite his superficial invocation of Slavery, is to contextualise his analysis within the plantation framework of economic and sexual exploitation, denial of fatherhood rights, and the concomitant so-called black male irresponsibility. He has not engaged how those factors may have impacted attitudes towards homosexuals, as well as their performance of so-called "alternative masculinities." As a poor substitute for intellectually rigorous analysis, Glave offers a maudlin plea: "With such a brutal past ... we should be the noblest people in the world." (123) Glave needs to do much better than invoking Slavery and the mantra of black victimhood and the fear these can instil. His words totally fail to convince and ring hollow: "we are quickly on our way to becoming worse off than what many have consistently attempted to make us." (123) Others have constructed Jamaicans in particular uncomplimentary ways and Glave cynically tries to manipulate these images towards his ends.


Mr Glave and his local and overseas homo-activist friends utilise pieces like this to stir up sensationalist fervour and to promote the exaggerated claim that the average "heterosexist" Jamaican is just waiting for the opportunity to murder some hapless 'battybwoy': " 'We shoulda kill you the first chance we did get,' they would say. Shot, stabbed, stoned. Boom bye-bye." (123) The truth is not as simple as this. There is no genocidal design against homosexuals. But Glave would have the overseas audiences he melodramatically panders to believe this: Jamaicans, he claims, are possessed of "a willingness to persecute and destroy...gay[s] and lesbian[s] ...." (123) Betty Ann Blaine has commented on a malicious article published by Times Magazine, Wednesday April 12, 2006 which declared Jamaica "The Most Homophobic place on Earth" in the following manner: "the fact that an individual could openly and callously use one broad brush to tarnish an entire nation of people is reprehensible at best."[3] This statement is also applicable to Glave and some of those who support his project.

What Mr Glave neglects to note is that a significant number of murders of homosexuals in Jamaica are reprisal against economically well-off homosexuals by the men they have exploited. For instance, the much publicised murder of Brian Williamson, a late homo-activist (compatriot of Glave) turned out to be a crack addict 'friend' of Williamson who regularly 'visited' him for money. Also, a couple years ago Ambassador King was found with his throat slit while four other men were found asleep on beds in the house and the murderer escaped. There were no signs of breaking and entering (of the house at least). Also, a collection of homosexual pornographic tapes involving King, prominent members of Jamaican society (including medical doctors, politicians and even a dance-hall deejay) and exploited men and children were found. Figure it out Mr Glave. Or must we spell it out again for you, Sir? Blaine rightly notes that "many of the murders of gays that have been reported in the press have been classified as crimes of passion committed by other gays who are known to the victims. Why has the writer disregarded that type of evidence?"[4] The trial and conviction of Mr. Pusey for Ambassador King's murder lends support to Blaine's argument. Mr. Glave, you claim on behalf of the homosexual community that "we are none of the terrible things many would have us be" (123). This is not quite true. Half the story has never been told, Mr Glave. There is something quite rotten in upper middle class Jamaica. And, as Bob Marley said: "If night should turn to day a lot people would run away."[5]

In a newspaper article titled "Boys for hire and desire"[6] Betty Ann Blaine documents the disturbing sexual exploitation of Jamaican children generally and the sodomy of vulnerable boys especially. She notes that "the issue of the sodomy of our boys is something that many people know about, particularly people from the upper echelons of the society, but choose to cover up." But Mr. Glave advances a spurious claim of special nobility in gays who participate in the Jamaican economy and society: "We process your loans and bank accounts and teach your children ... And in this there is a kind of nobility ..." (124) The fact of the matter is that gays are not a special noble breed. Like other humans, they are capable of both ignoble and noble deeds. Who is he trying to fool with his mythification?

Glave would have us believe that gays in Jamaica are under constant threat of being mobbed and gunned down. Overseas agitators with an agenda of discrediting Jamaicans to advance their cause make reference to "rampant violence against gays"[7] in Jamaica. What about the violence perpetrated by them against our children? Most homosexuals who get chastised or killed in Jamaica are not innocent, slaughtered lambs. The instances cited above and myriad other cases suggest otherwise. Many of them are sexual reprobates and predators who become victims of their own bedfellows. One recalls Cliff Lashley, the UWI lecturer, who was slain by his homosexual lover. Also, there was the case of the fake soothsayer of a TV personality, Safa, who suffered a similar fate. What about the former track and field coach of Kingston College High School who was fired after years of sodomising his charges? What about the once famous former sports presenter who tried to molest a track and field athlete from Jamaica College at the Penn Relays? What about other prominent members of Jamaican society, some of whom are married, who are known to prey on hapless street children? What about the mentally challenged boy whom a "volunteer from some other country fondled and kissed ... and proceeded to place his penis in the little boy's rectum"[8]? What words about "Nobility of the Imagination" do you have for him and his parents, Mr. Glave? You are so full of it!

Glave unctuously appeals for special treatment for gays and lesbians by invoking Bob Marley and God! If Glave were truly attuned to Jamaican culture as he pretends to be, he'd recall that Bob Marley sang: "Man to man is so unjust, yah don't know who to trust."[9] Those who are in tune know that Bob was "throwing words" against homosexuality and those who tried to assassinate him. Homosexuality is against the tenets of Rastafarianism and Christianity. But Mr Glave is willing to affirm whatever is convenient to advance his specious arguments: "Our greatest prophet singer admonished us: we must free ourselves from mental slavery." (125) Glave has elsewhere mocked Marley's Rastafarian faith by dubbing himself a Jamaican "Rasta Battyman."[10] But now he wants to hug up Bob Marley's lyrics? He reminds me of those Danish cartoonists who disrespected the Islamic faith with derogatory images and then expressed surprise when the Muslim community responded in righteous indignation. Glave's gesture also recalls the boorish insensitivity of American soldiers during the Abu Grabe prison scandal. One cannot claim to be promoting tolerance by disrespecting others' beliefs.

Mr Glave needs to know that Jamaicans who are aware of the real situation will not be taken in by his "drama queen" histrionics. We will not be bullied. Nor will we be swayed by fake emotionalism. UWI's urban anthropologist, Herbert Gayle, offers a useful perspective: "Jamaica has to be a target because you want the culture that is most visible on this issue to bow ... if you can get Jamaica to accept something, you have not (simply) made a dent, you have literally closed a chasm. And that is what it is all about; it is not primarily about so many people being mistreated, because it is not true."[11] Glave and other local and overseas homo-activists need to know that the average Jamaican refuses to be used to further their perverse cause. Any change that takes place in Jamaica will be determined by its people of their own volition within the national context. Not by a wolf in sheep's clothing oxymoronically self-styled as a Jamaican Rasta battyman. We will not be controlled by remote. We naw bow to spiritual bankruptcy and decadence neither! Glave and his compatriots need to tek wey demself!

Endnotes

[1] Rex Nettleford, quoted by Peter Williams, "The Gay Debate" The Jamaica Observer, December 5, 2004 www.jamaicaobserver.com

[2] Betty Ann Blaine, "Jamaica the worst case on earth" The Jamaica Observer, May 02, 2006. www.jamaicaobserver.com

[3] Blaine, "Jamaica the worst case on earth"

[4] Blaine, "Jamaica the worst case on earth"

[5] Bob Marley, "Who the Cap Fit"

[6] Blaine, "Boys for hire and desire" The Jamaica Observer, March 28, 2006

[7] Tim Padgett quoted Times Magazine, April 12, 2006

[8] Blaine, "Boys for hire and desire"

[9] Bob Marley, "Who the Cap Fit"

[10] Thomas Glave, quoted by Tanya Batson-Savage, "Thomas Glave, a man in between" Jamaica Gleaner, February 12, 2006 www.jamaica-gleaner.com

[11] Quoted by Peter Williams in "The Gay Debate"

Why hate your gay brother? (Gleaner Letter)

The Editor, Sir:

In 1992 the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses, putting an end to over a century of institutionalised homophobia in the medical field. In 2003, the American Psychiatric Association stated that "homosexuality is not a disease that can be cured or altered," it is just another expression of human sexuality". And while no "gay gene" has been isolated, there is evidence that homosexuality occurs in many species in nature.

Yet, many Jamaican churchgoers believe in and preach deliverance for homosexuals. Some go further and claim that the right of consenting adult males to conduct their sexual relations in private should not be recognised as a civil right. To these persons, Reverend Clinton Chisholm among them, homosexuality is fluid and unstable as gays choose to sleep with men or women as their desires dictate. The irony is that these same persons accept that religious expression is also fluid as you can be born into one faith/denomination and change many times over your lifetime. Yet, the right to such fluid religious expression is constitutionally recognised.

It is highly hypocritical to say that your freedom to worship an invisible deity should be recognised while your right to love and engage in private consensual adult sexual relations with a visible human being is not. But doesn't the Bible warn of such persons who claim to love a God who they can't see but hate their brother who they see everyday?

I am, etc.,

MAURICE TOMLINSON

maurice_tomlinson@yahoo.com

Montego Bay, St James