LGBT Voice Clearly Missing in Civil Society’s New Found Resolve

Since the deep disappointments with the present Jamaica Labour Party administration’s errors in the Manatt Phelps Phillips fiasco and subsequent issues straight to the present set of circumstances of a powerful alleged drug lord on the run ever eluding the security forces, a set of 6 crime bills that are to passed in effect taking away more rights from ordinary citizens while tearing us apart and every talk show host suddenly becoming political and social problem solvers, psychologists, anthropologists and moral dictators overnight offering all kinds of ways forward in their versions of solutions the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgendered rights and advocacy voice is clearly missing in the new found resolve.

Commendable though somewhat late in coming is civil society’s new found energy in becoming far more participatory in our democracy by leaps and bounds following the above mentioned problems we do have an integral role to play in shaping how we do business as a nation however a dangerous precedence seems to be in motion within the movement as when one peruses the letters in the newspapers, examine the points of views espoused by some and listen to particular talk shows especially those skewed towards a religious right agenda these hosts have a theocratic view of fixing Jamaica’s ills in their eyes forgetting person’s freedoms to choose.

Words and phrases such as re-socialization, social re-engineering, regaining manhood, transplanting of ideas of the family, removing homosexuality, re-education of garrison community residents are used next we may hear such terms being applied to the LGBT community in a bid to straighten us out. It seems Jamaicans who do not fit the mould of how persons should act or even dress specific solutions are offered daily on the airwaves with pastors, specific callers who call daily (one wonders if they are set up to do so) and so called moral leaders interviewed on a regular basis evangelizing and damning non compliant persons to hell who basically aren’t Christian like in nature. The “REs” as offered above are supposed to fix the cancerous crime problem but their ideas of solving the issues also stretch to include how women should dress in public, the stopping of ganja smoking by men, the prohibition of tight pants wearing men, the prohibition of bleaching creams, the censoring of performing and recording artistes, the stopping of supposed loud music listening culture and of course last but by no means least stopping the so called scourge of homosexuality and the powerful gay agenda as one so called psychological expert who was interviewed as recently as June 16, 2010 on radio said as it is a threat to masculinity and the family. They complain about everything that irks them that they can find whilst devising a “wipe out” type of solution to them. The family where one man and one woman is the structure is the only way to go and must be held up as the model for our society as one pundit for the proposed change (in their eyes) puts it. It is clear the Christian right is seizing the moment to mount its theocratic agenda.

Yes I agree that there needs to be changes to how we do business in certain respects, crime being a main factor and political de-garrisonization of inner city communities that have long been held under such an awful grip from firstly corrupt politicians to now independent powerful rich and clever dons. Holding politicians accountable as well is also of great importance, we all know it’s partially their fault why we are where we are, the very quality of how they debate and do business in parliament on our behalf is atrocious as just recently on June 15th we heard the shouting match between both sides on the cancellation of the local government elections yet again which have been moved to mid 2011 a poor show of representation for a dazed public who have become tired of the tomfoolery in the name of democracy.
In as far as entertainment and music are concerned censoring of lyrics maybe needed in certain respects where it’s directed towards violence to a specific group as we have seen in the Stop Murder Music campaigns against anti-gay artists who promote death and where it concerns public broadcasting such as radio but to take it also to the slightest sexually suggestive song and prohibition in an adult space and from adult ears as suggested is going too far in my view, persons must be allowed the right to choose where they wish to consume that kind of material in a private setting despite the musical content. We must tread carefully here.

But whilst we seek solutions to these issues freedom of choice specifically personal freedoms seems to eroding right before our eyes, if we don’t guard this one inherent right we may find ourselves under the thumb of a few though they say they are the majority but that is questionable as saying one is Christian or a country being so and actually living the life are two different things. Clearly tolerance is being crushed and will be thrown out the window if we don’t join the voices that are already loud and imposing just now. There seems to be no sign soon of a lull in this quest to push for change on their terms, one radio show now has a permanent feature which started recently in having an anthropologist present who has a Christian agenda on his pronouncements. I am not anti-Christian by no means but it is the way the points are being hoisted unto the public by such proponents as if everyone else who aren’t so are somehow deviant or deficient in thought and therefore do not qualify to exist, when one listens to the contemptuous tone taken by these voices then they say we are all God’s children.

The steady stream of letters to the Editor that came from a certain gay gentleman from the legal fraternity in western Jamaica have dissipated since following a Walk for Tolerance (or hidden gay rights march as some call it) and a silent protest by JFLAG for IDAHO with had a whose who in Human Rights with ambassadorial level support but our limp wristed advocacy representatives have gone silent again, probably there are no more instructions at this time from the powers that be to continue the short new found zeal to agitate which is not surprising. Rise and sleep phenomenon.

We shouldn’t stop now but be consistent throughout seeing there was a reawakening.

The sixth anniversary of Brian Williamson’s murder on June 9, 2010 and his valued contribution to the formation of Jamaica Forum for Lesbians Allsexuals and Gays, JFLAG of which I remember well the early meetings at his home, his appearance on National television thus putting a face to gay rights with his subsequent open challenge to homophobia in Jamaica were not even recognised by the said group not even so much as a press release as is customary or then again maybe there is a fear of the continued labelling of them as the press release factory hence no action to avoid same.
Maybe they are too concerned about the decor of their new offices they just moved into which coincidentally is the now defunct controversial MSM homeless shelter space. There has been private commentary on face book and other social networks as concerned persons question what is their purpose and how can we move forward together when they profess to be LGBT advocates yet cannot produce any substantive results overall not since the submission to Parliament over a decade ago. They have gone as far as to censor persons who host such comment threads on face book by writing letters to them demanding their removal in a bid to save face or to hide the political drama and dirty linen behind the scenes from us and the international community. Only on June 16, 2010 a former resident of the homeless shelter who is still homeless following the closure and subsequent displacement went to seek some help from the group of organizations housed on the property and he was rebuffed and the security team called to escort him off, he tried calling others in tears and disbelief as he couldn’t believe he would have received such a reception as they refuse to entertain his requests, further proof that the LGBT cohort overall and particularly the lower socio economic sections of the community are representation-less with a self perpetuating bureaucracy at work.

The very few persons who may call in to talk shows or write letters or blog are not enough to pack a serious punch into the wide theocracy web slowly engulfing us there has to be a cohesive effort with intent to reach tolerance and understanding between the sides involved or who may become so. Other persons are terrified in a sense of taking on such a task of publicly speaking out fearing repercussions and possible life threatening occurrences. One cannot be forced into action though but I implore us to think about where one can fit in the scheme of things.

I suggest we don’t just read blogs, newspapers and listen talk shows but participate become your own active advocate no matter how small so as to create some balance in the struggle or we may get lost in the crowd and loose the small strides made in terms of visibility and tolerance over the turbulent years. Sadly we have to now also be vigilant in regards to those who say they are our advocacy representatives who in turn should be vigilant for us out there in the first place, what a mess? It is true that we are at a different place in terms of impact of homophobia and tolerance towards us from general society but that can slip at any time all too easily I fear as the anti-gay movement from a Christian right sense is on the move and the dancehall community may not be far behind given the perceptions still out there that the gay community is responsible for Buju Banton’s current legal woes in the United States.

Stand up speak out.

Peace and tolerance.

H