"Keep it to Yuself mentality" on homosexuality part 3 .... stay in our bedrooms?

In part one we looked at a local female entertainer's take on homosexuality and her position on it via a stigma ladened song she released some time ago.  I also examined the general belief of Jamaicans on the keeping of homosexual tendencies private or to ones self as the only way people will begin to overlook the lifestyle to a certain extent and the music involved.

GO HERE for part 1 see also video on Ernie Smith's interview (MP who lashed out at gays in Parliament recently) where he expressed the same sentiments about gays keeping "filth" to ourselves. MP's Erratic Behaviour in Parliament using or abusing his parliamentary privileges to lambaste even the police. Just other examples of shoving us in the closet forcibly.

Also see popular Jamaican homophobic words and their use

People like Shirley Richards of the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship and others in the anti-gay lobby get easy opportunities in the print media to spew their homophobic rhetoric without fail or question by the respective editors even when it is clear that garbage is written for example see Jamaicans homophobic? That's a lie! letter to the Gleaner she wrote recently. These folks would prefer us disappearing or retreating in our selves and yet they are members of church congregations and christian organisations if they had magic they would make us straight and win in the end.

In part two I continued on the same trajectory while looking at ethical issues from the religious right and now comes part three which is a two subject post. One is a letter that appears in today's Gleaner entitled "Keep it In The Bedroom"  and the second is a talk show clip which hinted to an alleged predatory move by an alleged gay man towards a younger man that upset a friend of the man who expressed his upset of gays trying to change or convert other men towards homosexuality on the face of it. This is not the only letter of this kind from the newspapers wither but first here is the letter:

Keep It In The Bedroom!

THE EDITOR, Sir:

The dark, sordid, murky, foreboding, filthy and demonic world of homosexuality is not a lifestyle to be embraced and celebrated, even though no less a person than the president of the United States has given his approval.

What a person does in his private domain is his private affair and his privacy ought to be respected, but this celebration ought not to be forced upon an unwilling public.

All persons should be loved, but not all lifestyles should be embraced.

I am referring, in particular, to that wedding picture on the front page of your newspaper dated Monday, June 4. We are very upset at the prominence that it was given in your newspaper. We the citizens of Duncans are very angry. We do not support marriage between Eve and Eva, or between Adam and Steve.

It is also to be noted that in The Sunday Gleaner dated June 10, there is also reference to lesbian marriage ('I want to marry my gay partner'). Is this what your newspaper is promoting?
St Paul refers to this lifestyle as one embraced by people of a reprobate mind. Is this a healthy and decent way of living?

Love the homosexual, but NEVER embrace his or her lifestyle.

P. LOGAN

ENDS

My main question is how can you love the person without seeing them for who they really are and allowing free expression? ........ but you must be free to be you! oh really?!!!

See what you make of this readers.

Meanwhile here is the audio from BEST FM100 on Winston Babatunde's show where a caller  mentioned his supposed disgust as outlined above:

Clearly the male caller is frustrated but while I can concur that if one makes an advance or romantic gesture to another and the person does not reciprocates a threat is NOT the way to then enforce your feelings on another, this is precisely what sometimes makes the LGBT struggle problematic overall and inadvertently reinforces homo-negativity leading to homophobia in essence in the responses from the public. But to enforce homo-negative sentiments to castigate the entire LGBT community is also a NO NO in my book, not all same gender loving persons are interested in forced flirting or are in the business of "forcing" ourselves on persons, there maybe more to this than meets the eye or ear in this case.

One question lingers in my mind in this case despite the limited information provided by the caller, did the intended subject of this lust by the man who issued the threat lead the man on to believe there was some interest otherwise?

There are so many other variables at work sometimes with relationships and hookups especially with hyper-masculine types as was hinted to that the threatening caller is. It seems host Babatunde tried to not let the caller to his show jump to inciting violence on the airwaves but I think he was not on point with handling the call and it sounded a bit disjointed on the hosts part, judging by the monitoring as well by the Broadcasting Commission and rightly so.

Have a listen and see what you make of it.

also in today's Star News there is a letter to the Tell Me Pastor column on a similar story as outlined in the audio above, the letter is excerpted below:

Keep your gayness to yourself 

 

Dear Pastor,

I have great concern for what is happening in Jamaica. One of my great concerns is about gays who try to incorporate innocent lives into their group. And when they try to do this, they do it in a subtle manner, so if a person is not sensible enough to recognise or do some homework in order to find out who is who or who they are getting involved with, they are caught in the web.

This is Jamaica and I am a Jamaican and I would prefer if gays keep their gayness to themselves or declare themselves whenever they are seeking friendship from a female. A female like myself who is not aware of who is who because I grew up in a sheltered lifestyle can get caught in these type of scenarios where gays/lesbians try to manoeuvre their way into our lives.

being threatened

I feel overwhelmed right now. It is because of this reason why I am jobless. It is because of this reason why my life is now at stake. I am being threatened. It is because of this reason why I cannot go about my business freely. My past co-workers claim that one of my children's father is gay and they eternally taunted me with this and victimised me. If he is such, I honestly didn't know and I went to him as a woman to a man. I don't believe in same-sex relationships. I honestly don't support this type of lifestyle.

I am impressing upon these gays that it is better if they declare themselves before trying to manoeuvre their way into innocent people's life. For this, I am now paying the penalty just because I didn't know. I am impressing upon young ladies, especially, to be in the know. Whoever wants to live this type of lifestyle can live their lives this way or whoever wants to entertain this type of lifestyle can go ahead, but please remember don't push themselves into innocent people like that. I am so upset and angry right now and it is reflected in my letter.

Anonymous

Pastor's response

Dear ..,

You have said quiet a lot. Evidently you have had personal experiences with gays that have affected you. I do not mean to imply that you have engaged in anything that is immoral or sexual, but whatever has happened, has caused you much pain.

You said your life has been threatened. Remember that all threats should be reported to the police. I wish you well and I hope that the warning that you have given would be taken seriously by young men and women.

Pastor

ENDS

See what you make of it all folks
Peace and tolerance

H

more audio from me: