Betty Ann Blaine on the big gay lie ..........

Typical as one starts they all come flying out the cracks, it all started with Les Green parting shot as he departs for his country of origin now this .................... from Betty Ann Blaine, while I concur in a sense the veracity of some of the cases and whether they were truly homophobic to loop same sex paedophilia in her opinion without proper proof is down right publicly mischievous and smacks also on a kind of intellectual dishonesty and there seems to be loads of that coming from all sides of this vexed issue of homosexuality in Jamaica.

Have a read of her article from the Observer:

The report in the July 8 Sunday Observer in which outgoing Assistant Commissioner of Police Les Green spoke openly about gay-on-gay crime in Jamaica, is not only timely but also important, given the orchestrated campaign against Jamaica. And when Les Green speaks people listen.

If there is a single police officer whose name has become publicly synonymous with integrity and truth-speaking, that police officer is Les Green. That is not to say that there aren't many more like Les Green in the Force. The fact is, however, that Les Green became the face of anti-corruption within the JCF, earning him the respect and admiration inside and outside of the police force.

In addressing the concern of the murder of gay men in Jamaica, ACP Les Green is quoted as saying, "All of those murders that I have investigated have been in relationships and are victims of gay attacks, domestic situations." The Sunday Observer report stated that Green flatly rejected the line of reasoning being promulgated by JFLAG (Jamaica Forum For Lesbians All-Sexuals and Gays) about the violence and discrimination levelled against gays in Jamaica, admitting that all the murders of gay men he had investigated, only one was not committed by a member of the gay community. "That was Steve Harvey and that case was a robbery," Green said.
What Les Green has divulged is what most Jamaicans already know to be a fact. Jamaicans are not violent homophobes as JFLAG and the international gay community have been advertising. What Jamaicans do not accept is the open, "in your face" displays of homosexuality in its various modalities.
For far too long the homosexual lobby has been perpetuating the big lie about Jamaica's violent homophobia with little evidence to substantiate the claim. What the gay lobby refuses to talk about is gay-on-gay crime, especially murders, and the levels of sexual violence perpetrated against the most vulnerable in the society, including children.

The international gay lobby must be made to understand that for Jamaicans homosexuality is both a deeply cultural and a deeply spiritual matter. Jamaica is not a country where sex and sexually explicit behaviour are openly displayed or tolerated, whether it involves heterosexuals or homosexuals. You don't see, for example, couples kissing or caressing openly in Jamaica. That is just not our culture.
Open displays of homosexuality are even more unacceptable to Jamaicans, not only because people are unaccustomed to seeing that type of public display, but Jamaicans are a Bible-believing people, and are clear about what the Good Book says about homosexuality. For most Jamaicans, God's word is paramount, even while they admit that sin abounds in the lives of all men - whether heterosexuals or homosexuals.
From what I see and understand, and contrary to what JFLAG is promulgating, gays in Jamaica have a tremendous amount of power and latitude. I am aware that many sit in very high and powerful places and wield a lot of influence both inside and outside of the country.

But JFLAG is not satisfied with the collective and financial power that the homosexual community possesses and the advancements it has made in Jamaica in recent times. What it appears determined to achieve is the wholesale societal acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle, even if it goes against the country's cultural norms and Christian beliefs. In order to achieve the goal of "homosexualising" the Jamaican society, the strategy, it appears, is to affect legislative change as well as to marshal powerful external governmental forces to pressure Jamaica into compliance. It is important for the homosexual community to know that as far as Jamaicans are concerned, God is more powerful than governments, even when the majority of the governed are poor and dependent as is the case of Jamaica.

It's interesting how selective and strategic the homosexual lobby is in its information and communication campaign. One of the issues not talked about are the levels of HIV/AIDS within the MSM (Men who have sex with Men) community. Are those cases increasing, and what does that mean for the wider society? As the homosexual community expands to include not just gays and lesbians, but bisexuals, transgender, transsexual, transvestite and intersex groupings, the question must be asked, is the lifestyle good and healthy for society? It seems to me that that conversation is not only imperative, it is urgent.

For me personally, I want to reiterate my deep love for all of God's creation regardless of sexual orientation, and it is the Word of that same God on which I stand. What I find unacceptable, however, are the dishonest and exaggerated stories that are being bandied about to support claims of the wanton murder of homosexuals by Jamaican homophobes. It is time for Jamaicans to fully debunk the big lie, and the factual information coming from ACP Les Green should be duly noted and documented.

With love,
bab2609@yahoo.com

ENDS

Here is a vox pop from the Jamaica Observer on what persons perceive of "gay murders"

also see:

Gays Take Aim at Betty

also see the response from J-flag on TVJ's morning show Smile Jamaica

Other responses:
A Gay's Life is Not an easy road
The Big Gay Lie is a Fact (an alleged police officer wrote)

Response to the article “The big gay lie is a fact”. (AGFC Blog)

also an interesting Facebook exchange on her profile with a LGBT community member reveals much disturbingly:

And she finds it offensive when the AGFC (antigayfactcheck) called her an anti-gay activist?

What does she mean by “Just know that the rights you are fighting for will not go anywhere because of me in particular“? Is that a threat to attack our free speech?
This is the woman that wants to be Prime Minister with her political party, New Nation Coalition? 

Is this how she will treat the fight against AIDS as the leader of our country? As something gays have because of their “nasty deprave [sic] acts“? 

To think of AIDS as something to laugh about?

Is this what her indulgence into the anti-gay agenda turned her into? What happened to the human rights and child rights activist we knew of?

More HERE 

Meanwhile here is some audio commentary to contemplate on

Wheel and come again, ACP Green ...... but

Someone has responded via a letter to the Observer as to the trope from outgoing former assistant police commission Les Green who basically berated the gay lobby's agitation on gay murders in Jamaica, where he has postured that it is not true. It would seem in the article there is some truth but our intellectual dishonesty is worrying to me as well. The specific June 13th double murders of the homeless men was NOT a homophobic incident and also a few others since the start of the year. We must take each case on their own merit.

Here is my audio as well:

meanwhile the Letter writer wrote:
Dear Editor,

Les Green's comments in the July 8 Sunday Observer are misleading! I don't understand his comments, but the media seem to be running away with them

Jamaica is a very intolerant society when it comes to gays, no question. The buggery law itself is anti-gay, making men who have sex with men (MSM) actually illegal, so how could he say otherwise? While it would seem that most gay murders on the island might be gay-related, usually following similar gruesome patterns, murder is still murder. Is he saying that because it is gay-related, it's not as big a deal? Clearly, these murders are a symptom of a much bigger problem, when you have a society so filled with violence .

Murder is usually inspired by intolerance anyway, so regardless of the specifics I don't see how this former senior police officer could suggest otherwise. Ironically, he is also suggesting that cross-dressers in Jamaica are too contrived, I suppose too bold, by being themselves and going out in public in "drag". If Jamaicans are so tolerant, why would he make this comment to warn cross-dressers? Is it illegal to cross-dress? Why should I care, or be bothered if someone want to walk the streets in women's stockings? It is their lives, their way of self-expression, their art, not mine. I have seen cross-dressers in many major cities elsewhere, and though some may get a few stares, even laughs, generally there is no fear or prejudice.

Also, it is not just gay cross-dressers who are attacked in Jamaica, any sign of looking different or seemingly effeminate can inspire a random attack. I have read stories about bullying in schools of effeminate young students - this is totally unacceptable, another sign of cultural intolerance. I witnessed a mob attack in broad daylight on Oxford Road, where two guys who were perceived to be gay, just by their sense of style or mannerisms, had to run for their lives.

I have friends from New York who were visiting the island as tourists who also had to flee New Kingston Shopping Centre, because they dressed differently. Luckily a woman driving by saw what was happening and opened her car door to rescue them, and warn them of what exists even in those areas. So Les Green needs to think again. His stay in Jamaica has been relatively brief; he did not grow up in Jamaica, or experience all aspects of life there, to be making such generalised comments.

And I don't understand that recent police raid in St Ann either. It is one thing to go after criminals if they are involved with illegal stuff, but playing up the cross-dressing part seems like targeting a certain group, and this seems extremely odd to me. While one would agree that Jamaica has changed a lot over the years, due to the media, internet, TV and films which help societies in some ways to become more aware, it is very unfair to say that Jamaicans in general remain tolerant to issues pertaining to sexuality; this is very misleading. 

It wasn't too long ago our own former PM publicly stated in a BBC interview that gays could not serve in his Cabinet. Gays who don't even cross-dress are still subject to ridicule, bullying, prejudice, hate. I therefore urge the former Assistant Commissioner to seriously rethink his comments.

Pete Delisser

Pdelisser 1988@yahoo.com

ENDS

Here is a video vox pop from the paper as well about supposed "gay murders" and possible causes.

Here is an older video from 2009 that gives some insight as to the early beginnings of the explosion of homeless men on the island separate and apart from the existing populations.

Violence and venom force gay Jamaicans to hide 

This was when the organizations meant something but since all kinds of politics has clouded our advocacy structures roles and responsibilities.

Peace and tolerance

H

Labour Ministry Launches HIV Workplace Education Campaign

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS) has launched an HIV in the Workplace Public Education campaign, aimed at sensitising employers of the need to adopt policies on HIV and AIDS.

The initiative being undertaken by the Occupational HIV Unit in the Ministry’s Safety and Health Department, falls under the United States President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), being implemented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

In his address at the launch held on July 3 at the Mona Visitor’s Lodge and Conference Centre in St. Andrew, portfolio Minister, Hon. Derrick Kellier said HIV/AIDS is an important workplace issue and impacts significantly on production and national development.

He said there are increased costs on companies through decline in productivity, increased labour costs and expenses, costly treatments and loss of skills and experience.

He pointed out that the most critical segment of the workforce (15-49 years) is most at risk for contracting HIV, and with a prevalence rate of 1.7 per cent, with two of every 100 persons infected, it is important for the country to respond seriously and urgently to the epidemic.

“It is necessary for all sectors to respond appropriately to HIV and AIDS in the workplace, and put policies and programmes in place,” he stated.

He said the MLSS is leading the national response through a rights-based approach aimed at reducing HIV-related stigma and discrimination.

He informed that the national HIV/AIDS Workplace Policy, which was developed in 2007, will inform regulations to be appended to the proposed Occupational Safety and Health Act, which is being implemented to address health and safety concerns in the workplace.

The Minister therefore gave the undertaking that the country should have an Occupational Safety and Health Act by the end of the current financial year.

Meanwhile, he said the Ministry continues to be proactive with its voluntary compliance programme, encouraging employers to provide safe work environments in order to reduce stigma and discrimination. “Companies are also being urged to implement educational and training programmes that can contribute to behaviour change,” he said.

 

In her address, Mission Director, USAID, Denise Herbol said stigma and discrimination continues to drive the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Jamaica, and that the partnership between the USAID and Jamaica, along with other donors, multilateral organizations, non-profit groups, and people living with HIV, work to make positive resource and programmatic investments to save lives, which otherwise may be lost to the disease.

“Through PEPFAR, we are working with Jamaica to address the negative impacts of stigma and discrimination, creating equal access of quality care and services for those living with HIV. A partnership with the Ministry of Labour in addressing and combating stigma is critical,” she stated, noting that activities include strengthening the voluntary compliance programme in the private sector.

Discrimination by cops while carrying out duties ??? ..........

While cops have their responsibilities to carry out they must do so without open stigma being displayed, the alleged lotto scamming activity is said to be also in the same sex community resulting in a crack down on a party at Club Heavens last weekend at a popular socialite's birthday party. The cops appeared on the scene with anti gay remarks blaring even as the article below that appeared in the Gleaner yesterday portrayed a clean crackdown procedures ignoring the actual sequence of events as since told to me by several upset patrons hours after being processed and released.

Here is the article firstly

Kenrick 'Bebe' Stephenson (right) awaits processing by the police while two cross-dressers strike a pose for the camera after they were detained by the police

Scammers Party In Drag

Several cross-dressers, some suspected to be involved in the illegal lottery scam, were taken into custody and a number of items, including motor vehicles, seized by the police yesterday during an intelligence-driven operation in St Ann which targeted scammers from western Jamaica.

Head of the Lottery Scam Task Force, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Leon Clunis, and his team raided a nightclub on the border of St Ann and Trelawny early yesterday morning and discovered scores of men dressed in women's apparel, some proudly displaying their get-up.

According to Clunis, two of the men held were wanted by the police.

They were identified as Kenrick 'Bebe' Stephenson, an alleged mastermind of the illicit lottery scam who was wanted for absconding bail, and a man from Kingston who the police did not name but said he was wanted for housebreaking and larceny.

Charges were also laid against a man in connection with a quantity of illegal drugs found at the club.

"We took in more than 130 patrons, and confiscated a number of phones, and about 15 vehicles, including Skylines, and we are presently sifting through to determine the ones we need," Clunis told The Sunday Gleaner.

"At this nightclub party, we thought that there were many females, but in reality there were not more than 11 females; most of them were males dressed as females," added Clunis.

"We have no interest in one's sexuality or sexual preference, we are dealing with crime and criminality in general. As long as it is committed, we are coming after you."

In May this year, Stephenson was charged with unlawful possession of property and abstracting electricity from the Jamaica Public Service Company.

The police were also probing his alleged involvement in the lottery scam after he was held by members of the task force during a raid in St James.

But Stephenson has reportedly failed to attend court, prompting the issuing of a warrant for his arrest.

proper documentation

"We are doing our jobs, and ensuring that what we do is properly documented," said Clunis.

"What is very important is that corporate Jamaica is on board and they have been giving us assistance in terms of intelligence and quick information to which we can respond."

In the meantime, Clunis disclosed that during an operation last Friday, another alleged major player in the lotto scam was arrested in the Santa Cruz area.

He was taken to a remittance service facility to collect some $250,000 which is believed to have been obtained through the purported sweepstakes.

ENDS

I was absent however in my capacity as a disc jock for events there but I have been kept abreast by some disgruntled members of the party who felt they were grouped with everyone else as guilty before proven Innocent or without any evidence to the effect.

Allegations such as:

Persons stigmatized as HIV  positive were searched with some cops wearing two pairs of gloves

Profiling and sexually inappropriate suggestions that the cross dressers be searched in a fondling manner

A patron while waiting to be processed had an asthma attack and was left to suffer for some time without any assistance until one officer intervened

Police officer on the crackdown operations had no numbers on their person as is required by law

The disc jocks on duty at the time of the event were ruffed up by the cops and one reportedly was hit on the head 

Veiled threats and suggestions that we are to die as homosexuality is wrong

Alleged verbal abuse by some members of the patrol with selected members of the party

Patrons felt rather uncomfortable as they saw what was described as hate in the cops eyes, the patrons were taken to the Trelawny All Purpose stadium for processing.

Yes, if there is evidence that lotto scamming is happening then do whatever in a legal and transparent procedure in nabbing the accused persons with the relevant evidence but to stop an entire event using typical homophobic and homo negative tactics especially on the strength of ACP Les Green parting shot as he returns to the UK that the gay lobby is embellishing calls of homophobia, SEE MORE HERE persons should be free to congregate and entertain themselves and to think the club is situated far from any populated areas in a bid to avoid interference and yet still we ended up with this invasion without a warrant or proper explanation upon entry as to the reason for the patrol and searches.

Also of importance is what is going to happen to those persons who maybe involved in this activity and now have been falling from grace, will they be made displaced and subsequently homeless adding to the already problematic set of circumstances including murder and internal strife with overlapping communities such as the hypermasculine types.

All the gains it seems we were making with the police and the interactions and cooperation have been eroded here just by the two most recent issues and the problematic homeless populations and the deaths is worrying to me and some influentials. Where do we go from here?

Peace and tolerance

Also see: Cross-dressers held at St Ann fete on the Observer site

also see:

CLICK HERE 

and a subsequent letter to the Gleaner as well: The Club Matter – Unprofessional Police Behaviour Must Stop

H

Gay lobby claims not true, says Green ......

Source: Jamaica far more tolerant of homosexuals than the public hype’

A day before former Assistant Commissioner of Police Les Green left the island at the end of his eight years of service, he rubbished a common claim by the gay community and international rights groups that homosexuals in Jamaica are victims of wanton murder, mob-mauling and marginalisation.

His pronouncement came just weeks after gay lobby group Jamaica Forum For Lesbians All-sexuals and Gays (JFLAG) suggested that two men killed in the New Kingston area were slain because of their sexual preference.
In an interview on Thursday with the Sunday Observer, Green said despite claims by JFLAG that Jamaicans are intolerant of their lifestyle, and are targeting them for death, his experience during his tenure here was totally different.


JFLAG has, for years, contended that gay people have been marginalised in Jamaica, but Green said while that may have been the case in the past, the country has come a long way in tolerating the homosexual lifestyle.

“I think Jamaica is far more tolerant than the public hype. There is a vibrant community in Jamaica and there isn’t the sort of backlash that some people say. I think we are much more tolerant and accepting. Just go around and you will see they are more flamboyant in the way they dress and behave as if they are comfortable with it. If that’s the case, why are they stigmatised?” Green said.

“It’s just the hype from some who claim Jamaica is very anti-homosexual, but the reality is far from that. There are many homosexuals who live and work freely in Jamaica,” he said.

Green explained that as a homicide investigator he worked closely with the gay lobby group which referred him to several incidents in which members of their community were murdered.

However, the former Scotland Yard detective said his findings show that the majority of gay killings are carried out by members of the gay community.

“All of those murders that I have investigated have been in relationships and are victims of gay attacks, domestic situations,” he said.

On June 13, the badly mutilated bodies of Winston Ramsey and Jermaine Thompson were found in an open lot on Trafalgar Road. Since the gruesome find, homicide investigators have reported that the killings had all the signs of a gay-on-gay crime. However, days after the killing JFLAG, in a release to the media, used the murders as a launching pad to call on Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller to look into the plight of homeless gay men.

“Among the most recent attacks against the gay community was the savage killing of two young men. The men were apparently brutally murdered with blunt instruments in the vicinity of the intersection of Trafalgar Road and Lady Musgrave Road. People who are homeless frequent this area. Among them are young gay men who have been made homeless because of the continued intolerance of homosexuality in Jamaica... We call on the prime minister and the ministers of national security and labour and social security to listen to the cries and needs of members of our community who continue to be subjected to discrimination and violence, have nowhere to live and no food to eat because of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” the JFLAG release read in part.

However, Green flatly rejected that line of reasoning and said of all the murders of gay men that he has investigated only one was not committed by a member of the gay community. “That was Steve Harvey and that case was a robbery,” Green said.

Harvey was a Jamaica AIDS Support employee who was abducted from his Duhaney Drive, Kingston 20 home by gunmen and later found dead on Pinewood Terrace. Harvey’s ATM card and other items were taken. His vehicle was found parked at a football field in Grants Pen, St Andrew.

In 2002, the body of self styled psychic and television show host, Safa Santura, was found badly bruised and slashed at Cavaliers in St Andrew. Police say he was also murdered by his jealous lover who was later sentenced to life in prison.

Two years later, gay rights activist Brian Williamson was chopped and stabbed multiple times with the murderer leaving his remains inside his house at Haughton Avenue in St Andrew. At the time police reported that Williamson’s home was a hangout spot for gays. His killer, Dwight Hayden, was also sentenced to life.

In December 2006, the decomposing body of Wayne Pinnock was found in an upscale apartment owned by late Trade Ambassador Peter King. His nude body had eight stab wounds and his throat was slashed.

A member of the gay community who was present at the murder scene admitted to the Observer that Pinnock was gay and was in fact killed by his male lover.

King was himself the victim of a gay-on-gay murder. His nude, mutilated body was found in a pool of blood in his bedroom at Waterloo Road, Kingston 10. His killer, Sheldon Pusey, was sentenced to 15 years for manslaughter.

At the time of his sentencing, his attorney pleaded with the judge that his client stood a great chance of being sodomised due to “rampant homosexuality” in Jamaica’s prisons.

At least one foreign national has also fallen victim to the vicious blades of a gay killer.

Former British diplomat John Terry was found strangled at his home in Mount Carey, St James in September 2009. His body was wrapped in a sheet. Police reported at the time that a hand-written note was found in the house which suggested the reason why Terry was slaughtered.

Green, who at the time was the head of Serious and Organised Crime, was forced to refute claims by the British media that Terry’s death was a hate crime.

“I don’t think it is a homophobic attack, although it’s been run in the UK press. It isn’t consistent with the information that we have. It is unlikely,” Green said at the time.

A security guard was arrested, charged and convicted of Terry’s murder.

While Jamaicans are becoming more tolerant of the gay lifestyle, most are not willing to allow public displays of affection or cross-dressing as obtains in Europe and North America.

In February 2007, three cross-dressing men were saved by the police from an angry mob outside a pharmacy in a St Andrew plaza. A similar incident occurred a few weeks later in downtown Kingston.

“I am not into gay-bashing, but the problem is cross-dressing and going downtown. Do they do that to create a media blitz? That just seems too contrived,” Green said.

original article ENDS

A response from Maurice Tomlinson:

It is clear that ACP Green has been infected with the same malaise (or he probably brought his low-grade homophobia with him from the London police force) which typifies the Jamaica Constabulary Force. He therefore believes that gay Jamaicans should not be seen and definitely not be heard. He also seems very content to identify with those who strenuously argue that gay Jamaicans are engaged in some kind of suicide pact and most, if not all the attacks against the Jamaican gay community are self-inflicted. However Jamaican television station, CVM TV, reported that in the early hours of the morning of October 18, 2011 armed thugs invaded the home of 16 year old Oshane Gordon and chopped him to death because of his "questionable relations with another man." On June 21, 2012, the same station reported of the mob invasion of the home of suspected gays in the community of Jones Town, Kingston. There have been numerous attacks in between, few of which have been reported to the police because of attitudes such as exhibited by ACP Green’s. Even in their homes gay Jamaicans are not safe from attack because of their sexual orientation. Yet, Mr. Green paints a rosy picture of what it means to be gay in Jamaica.

We therefore ask ACP Green that if he really believes his own views about the human rights situation for gay Jamaicans could he please dress in drag and go downtown Kingston (or Ocho Rios, Falmouth or Montego Bay) for just one day?
In response to Mr. Green’s statement that gay Jamaicans are attacking each other, some homosexual Jamaicans engage in acts of domestic violence, just like some heterosexual Jamaicans. This is a function of our national problem with conflict resolution. The critical difference is that straight victims of domestic violence have the protection of the country’s Domestic Violence Act while gay Jamaicans do not. Is it any wonder therefore that some gay relationships end in death because of the sense of powerlessness, decades of psychological abuse spawning internalized homophobia and a general feeling of being trapped?

Les Green demonstrates the classic signs of someone who is woefully deficient in critical thinking skills. Thankfully his tour of duty with the Jamaican police force is coming to an end. The Jamaican government has said that more UK police are coming to the country. We sincerely hope that Green’s replacement is more familiar with basic human rights principles and has the capacity to really think for himself, instead of being sucked into the anti-gay group think of the monolithic Jamaican police force. But we doubt it. Chances are the Jamaican Police Force will not wish to accept someone who will rock the boat too much. And the British government (still smarting from the remarks about aid conditionality made by Prime Minister David Cameron) will likely hesitate before sending a true “homo-lover” to the Jamaican police.

ENDS

my two cents:
So the intellectual dishonesty continues in a sense, with flowery narratives and intellectual masturbation, the June 13th matter concerning the two homeless MSM by Trafalgar Road definitely was NOT a homophobic killing and the lobby needs to be careful how we go crying wolf, we can't fool the public, there are homophobic murders yes but there are also non homophobic murders as well that involve MSM/Trans individuals as victims. JFLAG et al are sometimes too quick on the draw the cry out and not check each case on its own merit and make sure before making demands on government. The RJR retraction by ED Dane Lewis shows us the aftermath of such repeated missteps.

Here is some more on audio, WE MUST BE TRUTHFUL AND SURE IN OUR ADVOCACY