Gay Liberation Network Protests Beenieman's Chicago performance ...

Firstly here is the so called apology earlier this year despite today being the International Day of Tolerance take into consideration his unease in doing it, while trying to mask it clearly he was only doing it to appease the community here and abroad to ease the pressure off his back as artistes have been feeling the stop murder music campaign's repercussions from our years of agitation.

I am in total support of this move against Beenieman as he has not been genuine with regards to his less than conciliatory apology obviously to get in on a show in Amsterdam and subsequently other gigs thinking the apology would simply appease the gay community and stop the vigilance. Here is the arrogant Beenie in July of this year on television Jamaica's program Entertainment Prime in clear defiance saying he never apologized at all as public pressure grew on him after the sorry to gays video so in a bid to save his face he responded tersely proving his hypocrisy.

I suspected he was less than honest just by mere observance of the original apology video, his body language tells all. Many are complaining why he is being targeted again when he apologized without seeing the follow up video as posted above.

Here is the Jamaica Observer article on the issue firstly then see the GLN's statement from their Facebook event page on the matter.

Gays turn up heat on Beenie Man

Gays target Beenie ...AGAIN

DAYS after a scheduled performance in northern California was scrutinised by a gay rights group deejay Beenie Man is facing more pressure from the gay community in the United States.

The Gay Liberation Network (GLN) is protesting his November 22 performance at The Shrine in Chicago, citing Beenie Man's past criticism of homosexuals.
In a letter posted on the windycitymediagroup.com website, the GLN demands that Beenie Man's show be cancelled.

"I wish it were possible to say that this artist performs music that is simply engaging entertainment with a great beat and sometimes gritty lyrics. Sadly, this is not the case due to Beenie Man's history of frequent calls for violence against gays and lesbians. Such calls are anything but 'entertainment' when directed against a vulnerable and oppressed minority," read the letter.

The Shrine event is promoted by Ephraim Martin, head of the annual International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA).

Beenie Man has made attempts to mend fences with the enraged gays. He was one of several dancehall performers who signed the Reggae Compassionate Act in 2007, and recently issued a video apology to gay activists prior to his performance at the Rototom Festival in Spain.

But the GLN is not buying the gestures, claiming they are not genuine.

"Because of his advocacy of violence toward our people and his chequered and inconsistent relationship to the global LGBT community, we respectfully request that management of The Shrine show its respect for our community and rescind its offer to have Beenie Man perform at its venue. We would be happy to sit down with you to discuss this matter further," the GLN stated in its letter.

Beenie Man's show in Trinidad, California, at the Ocean Grove Lodge attracted mild opposition from the Queer Humboldt group.

Dancehall artistes Buju Banton, Capleton, Elephant Man and Sizzla have also had run-ins with gay activists in Europe and North America.

Sustained pressure from groups in both continents forced promoters to cancel several of their shows.

According to the GLN .........

Free speech is one thing, inciting MURDER is another. The notorious "kill the gays" performer Beenie Man is being given the stage at a near South Side venue called "The Shrine" at 2109 S. Wabash Avenue, Chicago.

Call / email / facebook "The Shrine" and demand that they cancel!

312.753.5700 / info@theshrinechicago.com

We wish it were possible to say that Beenie Man performs music that is simply engaging entertainment with a great beat and sometimes gritty lyrics. Sadly, he has a long history of frequent calls for violence against gays and lesbians.

Such calls are anything but "entertainment" when directed against a vulnerable and oppressed minority. Two of Beenie Man's songs call for "hanging lesbians with a long piece of rope," and "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays."

Despite years of appeals to change course, he has not repudiated these lyrics, and continues to sing them. In 2009 he performed a "kill the gays" song in the capital of Uganda, a country that has seen a wave of anti-LGBT violence stoked by local politicians and Western evangelists.

Under pressure, in recent years Beenie Man has at times sounded a conciliatory note. He even signed the anti-violence statement, The Reggae Compassionate Act (RCA), in 2007. However, he later denied signing the RCA.

As for any apology to gays, in a May 23rd video statement Beenie Man said, “I Never Apologize To Gays.” (http://urbanislandz.com/2012/05/23/beenie-man-i-never-apologize-to-gays/) . This summer, in what was billed as an "apology," he granted an interview to the national gay magazine, The Advocate. However, in the same interview he said that the only homosexual activity in his native Jamaica involved older, wealthy men preying on heterosexual youth. This narrative is not only directly contradicted by LGBT Jamaicans, but also uses the pretext of protecting youth from sexual predators as an excuse for the country's endemic anti-LGBT violence.

The Shrine has so far ignored the Gay Liberation Network's offer to meet with them to discuss these issues.

We urge you therefore to call and email them today to express your disgust with their giving a venue to a performer who repeatedly calls for lynching LGBTs or any minority. Please demand that they cancel the November 22nd performance of Beenie Man.

312.753.5700
info@theshrinechicago.com

For more information on Beenie Man, his lyrics, and the twists and turns of his often hateful relationship with the global gay community, go here:

http://my.firedoglake.com/heathen07/2012/07/06/who-is-beenie-man-and-what-is-he-doing-now/

Here is my audio commentary and the defiant Beenie.

a cartoon supposedly making fun of the issue

Meanwhile the venue had responded to GLN: go HERE

Another cartoon has come this time from The Observer's Clovis