Same-Sex Marriage A Misnomer, Fraud (Gleaner Letter)

The paranoia is crazy as this letter brings to bear, a no point did anyone in the struggle locally JFLAG or otherwise have asked for gay marriage rights or rights similar to those heterosexual couples get after tying the knot or related state recognition when we can't even get passed privacy and consensual sex matters. Even so I doubt churches would be forced to perform gay weddings similarly as they choose whether to wed divorcees or not, a point raised recently on a radio show discussing the attitudes to homosexuality study released September 5, plus the LGBT constituents have not issued such a mandate as yet. What is this fear that gay marriage is going to be next on the agenda if buggery is repealed or at best decriminalization so same gender loving persons can practice intimacy in the privacy of their own homes without prying eyes or nosy neighbors calling the police as is possible in modern day Jamaica, one can still be held just on suspicion of the act, proving it is a whole other matter via a doctor's report etc.

have a read of the letter and see what you make of it:

 

THE EDITOR, Sir:

The increased discussion and acceptance, here and abroad, of the so-called 'same-sex marriage' calls for a face-to-face discussion of the issue. To begin with, the term 'same-sex marriage' is a misnomer; it is a fraud, it is a farce, it is an aberration of human nature, it is a perversion.
Marriage was instituted by God for the orderly development of the human race in a family structure. In Genesis 2:8, God said, "It is not good for man to be alone." So He gave him a WOMAN; not another man!
Matthew 19:3-6 clearly says that marriage is a joining by God of a man and a woman, and it says, "Let a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and they shall be one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder."
Biblical marriage is holy. So-called same-sex marriage is not joined by God, and it is not holy matrimony. It is sin. Marriage is God-made. Same-sex marriage is man-made. It is man's invention in opposition to divine ordination.
Clearly, it is a farcical imposition on society of what, at best, is a personal and social arrangement or contract, which seeks to demand legal approval and general acceptance in normal society.
In any case, it is a bad example for our children and young people who seek to pattern their lives from grown-ups.
Romans 1:19-32 is very forthright in stating that because of man's rebellion, God gave them up to reprobate minds and vile lusts, practising unseemly things, "both their females changed the natural use into that contrary to nature; and in like manner, males leaving the natural use of the female, were inflamed in their lusts towards one another, males with males working shame and receiving in themselves the recompense of their error, which was fit".
Much sympathy, love and compassion need to be shown to individuals who feel trapped in these unnatural urges, and who are desirous of change. Professional psychiatric counselling, as well as spiritual, prayerful counselling, is available and should be sought.
The condition should be treated; not excused as being 'in the genes'.
Many lives have been changed, with victory experienced, by yielding to Jesus Christ as healer, helper, forgiver, and friend. There is victory in Jesus!
MARRIAGE OFFICER
Kingston 8

ENDS

Pity the writer never left a proper contact so the discourse could continue, this last lick and run business is the strategy these days with these religious zealots. With approximately 120 countries that have decriminalized buggery only twenty or so have gone the route to legalize gay marriages, one does not necessarily follow as is feared by some including this letter writer above. There is a lot of public education that is needed as to the rights, privileges, stages and responsibilities of couples especially if children are involved either by surrogate mother or adoption.

As for the high divorce rates in Jamaica why defend an institution that clearly is not being engaged properly by heterosexual couples yet via religious imposition deny other who want to make their lives together permanent?

check out the latest figures from the Statistical Institute last updated May 2012 a fact overlooked in the letter.

The hint to reparatve therapy is also an issue for me and the recent study hinted to above also seems to confirm the believe gays can be changed by professional help as in this case prayer which many have tried but have not seen the change occur, we also have the dubious ex-gay accounts from overseas to prove the falsehood of that notion that sexual orientation can be changed:

recent study details carried on local television.

Here is a recent undercover investigation with a hidden camera at an ex gay camp in Minnesota:

Live and let live I say, think on these things.

Peace and tolerance

H

XXXTRAA - my message just in case gay marriage rights is called for later on  

Taboo Yardies documentary ..... some international screening dates ......

Here are some more upcoming dates as producer and ally Selena Blake continues her trek around the globe showing a different side of life and positions regarding LGBT issues in Jamaica to include homophobia, homo-negativity and the gay straight alliances that can work.

Selena Blake 

Preview:

What People are saying about TABOO… YARDIES;

"Taboo Yardies is such a timely and relevant documentary that will become a part of the rational discourse towards the rights afforded to human beings being able to be themselves without judgment or vitriol. I was most riveted from the beginning to the end of the film."-Bruce George, Co-Founder of Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam (HBO)

"It is crucial to watch Taboo Yardies for those who want to understand the problem of violence against gay and lesbian people in Jamaica. This is a thoughtful, well-balanced, entertaining and finely layered examination of this topic. Selena Blake has filmed a must-watch documentary that should be seen by everyone. Only through the education provided in Taboo Yardies can we overcome the fear and foreboding surrounding this issue, and end the wanton violence."-Wayne Besen, Founder and Executive Director –Truth Wins Out

Since 1999 we have received hundreds of submissions of films to be screened in our series. We only select the best for screening; films that invoke passion, shed important information, or touch our audience in a particular way. We have screened over 100 films as a part of the 'Film & Cultures Series' at Medgar Evers College and no film brought forth the type of deeply personal and emotional conversation that the film Taboo Yardies created. A single film can not answer all the questions or address every issue, but this film challenges how some people relate to each other as humans on many levels. –Miles McAfee, Producer of the 'Film & Culture Series'
Meanwhile It took four years, cost her friends and family and almost the roof over her head, but Queens based documentary filmmaker Selena Blake got her latest project done.

The film, “Taboo Yardies,” about homophobia in Jamaica, West Indies, and its costs to the island nation, is well worth the wait.

It’s a powerful collection of haunting images, each more powerful, and memorable, than the last: the anger in the voices of two pre-teen boys lounging on the steps of a darkened house as they disdainfully assert that gay men should be stoned; the middle-aged man who describes how he, newly arrived in New York, saw two men kissing near Penn Station and his amazement when his brother stopped him from looking for a brick to throw at them, saying “they don’t do that here.”

There is the painful story of a lesbian who tearfully tells how she has been the victim of “corrective rapes,” by men who believe such attacks will make her heterosexual. Police refuse to help her, so she in her anguish has taken to cutting herself and attempted suicide, the latticework of healed scars on her forearm visible proof of her efforts.

Dates/Places:

Oslo Gay & Lesbian Film Festival:

September 16th @ 3pm Cinemateket (The Cinemateque) in Filmens Hus, street address: Dronningens gate 16 www.cinemateket.no

Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival:

Sept 22, 3.30pm- MovieTowne POS followed by Q&A

Monday Sept 24, 11.30am, UWI.- Running time-79mins.

www.ttfilmfestival.com

 

Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Film Festival:

Screening Saturday Oct 6th, 2:00pm - Running Time:79mins

Gateway Theater 4. Please get your ticket/s before it is SOLD OUT!http://www.flglff.com/

For more information please go to www.tabooyardies.com watch the trailer, like us on facebook and follow us on twitter.

Thank you for your support in advance and I look forward to seeing you J.

Taboo-forbidden & Yardies aka Jamaican

What more People are saying about Taboo Yardies:

Victor M. Gimenez Co-Programming Chairman for MGLFF & FLGLFF: TabooYardies shows you what it is like

to live in perpetual fear and to be treated as a second class citizen. It shows you when a government doesn't

defend all its citizens, then acts of hatred and brutality occur with impunity. From the mouth of a Jamaican,

“Anytime you is a known faggot in Jamaica you are going to get beaten, if it’s not today it’s tomorrow.”

Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival: JAMAICA HAS a notorious reputation for homophobia and violence against gays.

This groundbreaking documentary goes beyond the headlines to look at what life is like for Jamaica's LGBT community 

and the origins of the country's attitudes towards homosexuality. Interviews with gay and lesbian Jamaicans both on the 

island and in the Diaspora, as well as gay-rights activists and prominent Jamaicans form the basis of this brave, important film.

 

Bard Yden- Program Director -Oslo Gay & Lesbian Film Festival- Norway: I thought I was aware of the situation for LGBT people in Jamaica, but this was a real eye-opener! It's direct, brutal, nuanced, and honest, and gives you the full picture of Jamaican society. Taboo...Yardies is definitely a must-see documentary!

Jason Fiddler- Director of Durban Gay & Lesbian Film Festival: "I have seen your documentary and it's POWERFUL!

It's by far the frankest, most intimate exploration of this issue from within Jamaica as I've ever seen and directly relates to many attitudes here in Africa and South Africa".

MayNov Productions L.L.C.
www.tabooyardies.com
Follow on twitter
twitter.com@tabooyardies
Like on Facebook
www.facebook.com/TabooYardies

World Suicide Prevention Day ...... some thoughts

See discussion HERE from TVJ but the entity named is a faith based one and may not offer LGBT specific interventions to deal with the attendant issues however some salient points were brought out, in a subsequent radio interview with the gentleman above he said Choose Life International had a mix of psycho-social, spiritual and other support mechanisms to handle cases that he says almost come in on a daily basis. Men seem to be more inclined to commit suicide and employ more drastic measures in ending their lives as females being the social creatures they are tend to seek some sort of closure before actually planning their exit.

The LGBT community just going from memory as there are no formal statistics available on the suicide rates specific to us locally has had its share of persons resorting to ending their own lives, cases or persons who I knew seem to have hinted to or successfully ended their lives because of some of the following reasons:

1) rejection from family members and feeling as outcasts

2) very little social support from friends

3) lack of social services towards the LGBT community in developing social intelligence so persons can gage challenges early and seek help

4) lack of proper pyscho social support to address depression, stress especially those persons who are victims of homophobia, lesbophobia and homo negative trauma

5) the poor skills of some faith based persons and entities in engaging suspected suicidal tendencies 

6) feeling dirty and filthy after a corrective rape or sexual abuse episode as experienced by same gender loving females

7) the taking for granted hints to suicidal tendencies expressed to friends as they are sometimes dismissed as a joke then comes the bad news after the fact

8) feelings of being a burden to friends and family post a homophobic episode while recovering in the company of others

Loss of my friend surprisingly:

Some years ago I lost a good friend to suicide that left sections of the community asking how come or why? he locked himself in his Mercedes and attached a hose from the exhaust pipe to the interior of the car overnight as he was found by the household help in the morning. Robert Cork was an ally for me in my early years of advocacy and we worked closely at the time in some programs with an array of NGOs. There were no visible signs to us or at best to me at the time that he was undergoing some trying issues in his life when one judges he was socially upward with all the materialistic trappings, his businesses seems to have been going on fairly well yet he took such a final decision. This was a man who would counsel other persons in their own personal challenges so it was really a surprise as the news spread then. Many were angry including myself and we asked why didn't he say something maybe we could have helped but it was not to be. I won't share the subsequent reasons that were revealed but it shows the challenges that sometimes it is hard to tell or predict when this may strike from someone close to us

more reading here:

Suicide rate by age, sex and population, 2002-2006

Source: Statistics Department of the Jamaica Constabulary Force. M: Male; F: Female.

Another case I can recall:

A same gender loving female with bipolar disorder locally was the victim of a brutal series of abuses and gang rape in her community some 5 years ago, the men upon suspecting she was a lesbian decided to enact the corrective rape formulae to enact their brand of justice, after seeking help and relocating from her depressed area where she originally hailed recovery was painful and her thoughts of suicide was repeatedly expressed were dismissed as just jokes or expressions of basic frustrations, it was not until she decided to overdose on pills even while having drugs for her bipolar issue and seeking counseling (outside of the LGBT circles) she has since recovered thankfully and is now abroad as he asylum case came through.

As indicated in my introduction the real stats in the LGBT community are hard to come by but we may need to begin to keep a track of this problem though not a major issue at this time.

Hints to suicide

It is a well-known fact that as a person begins to climb from depression the possibility of a suicide attempt increases. There are two thoughts as to why this happens. The first is that when a person makes up their mind to take their own life, they become more at peace with the situation. They feel more in control and thus the depression begins to lighten. The second idea is that as lethargy lifts, a person finds the energy to carry out suicidal plans made while incapacitated. Regardless of the reason, however, this is a very critical time.

Behavioral Indicators
Acquiring a Weapon
Hoarding Medication
Putting Affairs in Order
Making or Changing a Will
Increased Interest in Suicide
Giving Away Personal Belongings
Mending Grievances
Checking on Insurance Policy
Withdrawing from People

Verbal Indicators
Straightforward Comments:
"I wish I were dead"
"I wish I had the nerve to kill myself."
"I wish I could die in my sleep."
"If it weren't for my kids, my husband ... I would commit suicide."

Hints:
"I hate life."
"Why do I bother?"
"I can't take it anymore."
"Nothing matters anymore."

Note that these signs are not proof positive that someone is considering suicide. Any number of these signs may be evident, but the person has given little or no thought to taking their own life. The reverse is also true. A person may give no warning of an impending suicide attempt. So how do you know for sure? Ask. Yes, ask! Be open to discussing this difficult subject with your loved one. It could save a life.

References

Citrome, L. & Goldberg, J.F. "Bipolar disorder is a potentially fatal disease." Postgraduate Medicine, 117(February 2005): 9-11.

Peace and tolerance

H