Homo-negativity in public: So called Unruly gays chased from party

The Star News had as its headline in their hard copy edition of the paper Unruly gays chased from party where very little information was given by the tabloid, here is the story first:

Unruly gays chased from party 

Homosexuals created a scene at a popular event in the Corporate Area last weekend when they gyrated on each other forcing security personnel to intervene.


The group which consisted of at least eight males accompanied by one female had the attention of a large throng of patrons for about 15 minutes as they formed a circle in which they did their 'brucking out'. (see video for the dance style example)

They seemed to have loved the attention they were being given as one did the 'head top' with feet in the air moving in a circular fashion. Another went as far as to partially take off his shirt before bursting into dance, doing something that resembled the popular female move 'Bruck It Dung'. Bruck It Dung is a dance where a person, normally a woman, assumes a squatting stance, before shaking her bottom in a very fast up and down motion. During the display of this dancing skill, one of the males jumped on his counterpart sending onlookers into a frenzy.


Shortly after, a member of the security team arrived and asked them to refrain from dancing in such manner. No sooner had the security personnel left, the dancing started again in an almost similar fashion. Another member of the security then returned and asked the men to leave. However, they refused ignoring the request of the officers. The security personnel got the upper hand when one of the males got rowdy. He was later escorted from the venue. Seeing their friend being escorted from the venue, the others followed suit and made an exit from the event.

ENDS

After speaking to several of the "girls" and persons who were at the soca event which usually precedes the final road march leading up to the annual Trinidad typed carnival season it was clear most of the details were left out of the loop which included the civil disobedience one of the men employed to make his/her point (drag diva on the lgbt party circuit) as her freedom of expression was interrupted and she was told to leave as they were dancing together suggestively with other male friends which is not a new phenomenon at this event annually. Every year however since around 2002 or so we have had some instance where homo-negativity creeps into the mix as outward displays of gender non conforming expressions are opposed vehemently by the public. 

With the closure of the original site of Mass Camp in New Kingston that hosted the soca themed events for these many years and its new home at park near to the National Stadium it is customary where the dance moves in the mainstream dancehall arena is learnt and executed by our party fans in the LGBT community and incorporated into these events as well. It was last year as well that nearby and at the former Mass Camp venue some members of the MSM community were targeted by members of the public in three separate incidents and chased, others were rushed by men at the venue as their "boldness" in dancing and gyrating rubbed some members of the public the wrong way. It was April 29th last year that a set men who were dancing just outside the Mass Camp venue and along Oxford Road some of whom were and still are members of the homeless MSM community were attacked, in a post on sister blog GLBTQ Jamaica on Wordpress entitled Men rushed and beaten in New Kingston the incident was highlighted based on reports and conversations with some of the men and witnesses afterwards. In an excerpt the matter of members of the MSM community attracting unwanted attention to themselves was attributed to the negative response from the public, the post in part read: 


"The behaviour of the men apparently aroused suspicion by some passersby according to reports from several taxi drivers of whom I am familiar with and also who know some of the homeless population as they have developed not so wonderful notoriety in the business district of New Kingston and its environs. So much so that sections of Trafalgar Road nearing the Island Car Rentals where they once congregated and also where the old Super Plus Supermarket used to be has been patrolled heavily now by the police, the car rental company is said to have instituted new security arrangements barring the men from loitering nearby. The gardens and park immediately across the road as well is also being monitored by cops every now and again but seeing it is a public space it is harder to have the men removed I am told unless they are found loitering and maybe charged for such.

Their ruckus behaviour, sometimes vulgar outbursts and fights in open view of the public coupled with their effeminate entertainment and dancing sometimes supported by friends who park their posh top of the line vehicles with loud dancehall music blaring has not helped their situation any, even as I have carried previous entries on this population they have still been ignored to a certain extent save and except for the once a week drop in for showers at a Non Governmental Organizations property and offices and some food items distributed on some Fridays the men have very little sympathy from the rest of the LGBT community, even allies who had supported some of my calls for more to be done for them have since rescinded their stance due to the intolerance of their improper public conduct. The cross dressing and very skimpy clothing used in the transvestite activity has not found favour either with both community and mainstream alike.

So it seems members of the public have also had their share and were not willing to stomach it anymore seeing that the men were dancing wildly and were loud on the Oxford Road stretch all the way passed Emancipation Park onwards, it is believed they were followed by unscrupulous characters who laid siege on them just beside the Police post in New Kingston on Knutsford Boulevard where the final showdown happened, several of the infamous “biker boys” who have been known to attack homeless and other perceived MSMs before in New Kingston as they often congregate on the Hip Strip near the former Asylum Night Club known reopened and known as the Building."

April 2, 2007, a crowd in Montego Bay attacked three men alleged to be gay who were attending a carnival. Witnesses said the crowd chased the men down the street, slashed one man with knives and beat him with a manhole cover also who can forget that incident where at the roadmarch in 2008 two men who were part of the revellers on the final leg of the parade had to beat a hasty retreat in a Hiace bus (photo) as they were accused of winining or gyrating on each other in public, the story at the time said - Men, believed to be gay, earned the wrath of spectators who attacked them damaging a bus and injuring a police officer.

Superintendent Lenval Hutton, who was on the scene, said the parade was moving along Waterloo Road when, upon reaching the intersection with West Kings House Road, some men joined the parade.

The men were allegedly gyrating and wining on each other and this angered spectators who started to stone them. Police, in an attempt to prevent any further incident, placed four of the men into a police bus which was working at the festivities. However, this did not stop the spectators from continuing to attack the men. Someone threw a stone through the window of the bus, shattering one of the windows and cutting the hand of a corporal who was also in the bus.

One of the men who were attacked was slashed across the forehead. The police did not hold anyone in connection with the incident as the perpetrator ran off.

Coming forward to this event however and the so called eviction the men who left the venue said they left as matters became physical and so as to avoid any further problems they left some of the men are used to public confrontations and associated problems and a few of them were present as far back as 2007 at that funeral in Mandeville of a community figure where they resisted the homo negative attack by the public based on their non conforming aesthetics at the time. I too was present at that service, so their resilience in meeting or facing homo negative attacks were well in place and can be called upon on a moments notice. The men said they resisted the security guards demand to stop dancing the way they were while some patrons agreed other patrons who were used to their presence annually at previous venues enjoyed themselves in their own space and even went as far as to suggest the men be left alone. The men who were resolute that they would not be told how to express themselves in public waited until the guard left and commenced enjoying themselves at intervals much to the delight of many of the other patrons who were there many of whom were laughing at the spectacle. 


It is good to see the resolve of the men to stand their ground, it is those men who are on the ground some of whom are effeminate that are the ones who are really carrying the fight in the real world and reminding the public via the gender non conforming aesthetics for the most part and effeminate behaviour while meeting the homosexual stereotypes that gays exist flaming as ever. While we understand that outward displays of affection are not tolerated certainly many msms in particular are making use of relatively safe spaces in mainstream entertainment offerings to express their individuality, soca parties and carnival events are such places and there is a perception held by many that men who are seen in such parades are gay hence some years ago the fusion or sorts of reggae/dancehall into the season so as to attempt to soften the effeminate elements I suppose for the occasion with even the lyrics of some of the songs reflecting anti gay sentiments. Artists such as Bunji Garlin have performed live socarised versions of popular antigay songs such as TOK's Chi Chi Man and other soca acts have their own songs. One of the interesting things about the anti gay sentiment during carnival is that the response tends to be very mild at best in some instances.


You may also want to check out how our own entertainment can be marred by poor logistical planning when on March 6, 2012 we had issues at an event: 

Attack at an LGBT party in western Jamaica ………………

Peace and tolerance


H 

Principal Association to address "lesbian issue" in prominent high school

Yesterdays headline in the Gleaner blared Lesbians And Learning – Younger Students Under Siege At Corporate Area All-Girls School which I looked at on my sister blog on Wordpress.

From a popular all girls school in Kingston though not named has come accusations of older so called lesbians demanding sexual favours from younger students and suggested intimidatory activity. In a post on my sister blog GLBTQJA on Wordpress I implied the question or thought if this was more than just what it looks like on the surface? what if what we are hearing about is situational homosexuality at work albeit it's a same sex institution and the girls do not reside at the facility for long periods, I even went further to suggest it could be FTM or transmen just acting out their sexual over-curiosity after all we also see this behaviour in co-ed schools and far more pronounced after all LGBT teens also do "try out" their urges similar to heterosexual ones and same sex activity is even explored by teens in general if just for a brief moment. One wonders if this is due to the issue being at a prominent high school why it is now getting so much attention, this has happened before at other institutions both mixed and single sexed yet very little interest has been shown, save and except for a story which also made headlines last year in the rival paper Jamaica Observer.

Some single-sex environments that frequently become venues for situational homosexuality include prisons, military bases, ships at sea, convents and monasteries, athletic teams on tour, and boarding schools and colleges. Situational homosexual behavior is so common in these venues that in some cases nicknames have been created for those who indulge in it; for example “rugger-buggers” on rugby teams, “jailhouse turnouts” in prisons, and “lugs” for “lesbians until (college) graduation.”
The idea of situational same-sex sexual activity is not a modern one. An essay by Josiah Flynt, published in 1899, told of situational sex among the male American hobos with whom he traveled. From the armies of Alexander the Great to the trenches of World War I to Desert Storm, male soldiers have taken comfort in each other’s arms; and from harems to convents to boarding schools, women who were forcibly separated from men have been finding each other for centuries. It does NOT mean however that persons engaged in same sex actions from a situational standpoint are themselves homosexual.

Situational homosexual experience can range from the frightening, such as prison rape and sexual domination, to the comfortable, such as the lesbian experimentation that occurs within the relative safety of a college campus.

Here is the follow up in today's Gleaner

Nadisha Hunter, Staff Reporter wrote

The growing problem of sexual attacks on young girls by older girls at some schools has attracted the attention of the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools (JAPSS).

The issue has also caught the attention of Children's Advocate Diahann Gordon Harrison.

Following a Gleaner report yesterday about the struggles facing the leadership of a prominent Corporate Area all-girls high school in dealing with the problem, president of JAPSS, Sharon Reid, admitted that this was a problem in some schools.
Reid told The Gleaner that the matter would be a major item of discussion at its retreat scheduled for May under the theme 'Facing Challenges of Leadership Together'.

However, Reid said the association would not be focusing only on the problem of sexual harassment.
She said the principals would be looking at challenges to societal norms in general and the problems these present.

Changed culture

"We will be addressing it but in the wider context of challenges we face in a changed culture.

"This is only one tip of the iceberg as we seek to cope with the challenges to societal norms that they (some students) have accepted as acceptable behaviour and the pressures that these young people are getting from a society telling them that there is a paradigm shift now and certain behaviours are OK," she said.

In the meantime, the children's advocate said while the issue has been highlighted in one school, her office has been getting information that it exists in others as well.
She said the issue had been overlooked for too long and it was now time for action.

"We want persons to recognise that the problem exists and we need to engage all the stakeholders and craft a policy to handle these issues in schools because homosexuality is becoming pervasive and there are lots of implications," she argued.

According to Gordon Harrison, there needs to be a public-education campaign to sensitise the offenders about the breaches they are committing.

"If it is that older girls are forcing younger girls to perform sexual acts, then the girls need to be advised that it is a criminal offence, so it is not just them satisfying their sexual desires but it is a breach of the law because girls can now be charged for grievous sexual assaults," she said.

ENDS

The Star News also carried a VERY similar story in October 2011 posted HERE on GLBTQ Jamaica

 

Are the alleged fondlers being threatened due to their perceived sexual orientation and the perception of predatory behaviour that is twinned with homosexuality in general?

Are these females in an experimental stage of their sexual development, thus practicing same sex activity?

Were the first formers actually sexually assaulted and were they taken to a doctor for an examination or the police?

Are the schools’ guidance counselling systems providing the wrong kind of counselling to the so called victims when they maybe lesbians indeed?

Are the schools’ overlooking the sexual orientation issues of the girls involved?

Are female teachers also guilty of forced initiation to female students in some single sexed institutions as well as we have seen in heterosexual scenarios where male students make moves on female students?

Are the alleged older fondlers actually lesbians or are they just exercising psychological intimidation over the younger students while using fondling as an embarrassing ploy?

If this turns out to be true do instances like this weaken the case for tolerance and make the perception of the “homosexual lifestyle” as predatory more cemented in the minds of detractors?

Should sexual orientation be looked at seriously by the Ministry of Education and the Guidance Counseling bodies in as far as dealing with lgbt teens, early initiation and peer pressure for sexual activity?

Could the females described here be actually transmen (FTM – female to male preoperative transgender) acting out or mimicking the societal masculine roles as done by men locally to “hunt” young teens and beautiful women?

Will the principals also take into account sexual orientation and while engaging the alleged girls realise the difference between assault and experimentation?

What about the abuse already happening in co-ed schools by boys and in public sometimes in open view of school girls by older men and the shenanigans on buses with tinted windows and loud sexually laced music, will the principals also address those issues?

But with an education system devoid of really engaging sexuality and same sex issues squarely will we ever get the right answers outside of this and having to rely on a newspaper’s story? Is there a thin line between experimentation and predatory behaviour here?
It was earlier last year that the Observer published an article by Janice Budd claiming lesbian gangs were terrorizing schools in May of this year there was some panic created as well by the Jamaica Association of Guidance Counselors in Education (JAGE) when its President Dr. Grace Kelly created a stir by making several comments on the issue, among other things a Gleaner story byNadisha Hunter summed it up – “There is a challenge in the schools and the guidance association is aware of it,” she said.”What we continue to do is to provide counselling and support for these children, and to ensure that we provide them access to proper information, and through the guidance and counselling sessions, the students are given an opportunity to understand and appreciate their sexuality,” Dr Kelly added.She noted that while it has not reached the stage where any matter had to be referred to a psychiatrist or psychologist, she was aware that cases have been referred to other persons in the education setting because of the nature. Also See: Sex therapist Dr Sidney McGill says “Lesbianism is on the rise in Jamaica & world-wide with even young girls in co-ed schools preferring other girls”

A talk show host yesterday while engaging callers on the issue suggested that parents of the aggrieved students sue the school for endangering the morals of children as the school is negligent in allowing this issue to happen although he (Ronald Mason of Nationwide News) also suggested students should be given condoms as their actions cannot be managed on a 24hr basis so they should be afforded the protection needed so as to avoid contracting STIs and HIV.

Issues such as this JFLAG also need to wake up from slumber and deal with as same gender loving female activity perceived or not which are grossly overlooked for years by the NGO and with calls from the former President of the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship President to have lesbian sex criminalised as well one wonders if this is ammunition to bolster the proposal, when are they going to wake up and or at least put the press release conveyor belt in motion? We only seem to hear from the goodly J about same gender loving men issues and not SGL women's issues not even a word of recognition on International Womens' Day.

We have a lot to work on and more is being added to our plate.


UPDATE now a press release from the J 11.03.12 entitled: J-FLAG CONDEMNS SEXUAL COERCION AND CALLS ON SCHOOLS ADMINISTRATORS TO DIALOGUE this response shows the the lack of forward thinking and understanding of initiation, situational homosexuality and experimentation issues. 

Also see more posts on situational homosexuality related issues labelled on GLBTQJA Wordpress  and from Gay Jamaica Watch

UPDATE 13.03.12:

Alleged Lesbian Coercers in school – Should Get Proper Help – Expert ………

also see a previous post on Homosexuality in schools in St Lucia where a similar set or circumstances presented themselves with lesbian activity in a high school and how mature the response was: Homosexuality in schools in St. Lucia

Way back in 2006 allegations were that adult lesbians were visiting schools and at that time the JFLAG representative was reported to have said that no disciplinary action should be taken against the gay girls. “They should counsel them if this is what they are, but advise them that certain things are prohibited.”

However, the JFLAG repre-sentative condemned the actions of lesbians who are allegedly visiting the campuses and openly displaying their orientation.

“No one should do that. You can’t stay on the premises and do that. I don’t agree with older women going onto the campus to entice girls to do whatever with them.”

However, she said that if that is being allowed to happen on campus, school security is not performing up to par.

She disclosed that her organisation approached several schools “to give information and seminars, but they wouldn’t have it.” She believes that if permission were granted to stage the seminars, the girls would be better able to deal with the uncomfortable situation.

see: Lesbians in schools – Growing number of homosexuals in Corporate Area all girls’ high schools  

and also see High school girls gone gay!   

Peace and tolerance 

H

Lawyers' Christian Fellowship's Shirley Richards says lesbian sex should be criminalized as buggery ...........

I sat frozen this morning in my seat after I changed dials on my radio and caught the end of a discussion on buggery that was not previously advertised or promoted by the station it was aired on as normally there would be some promos, is this the new way of getting the anti gay message out there? after listening to the radio program on the religious station Love 101FM hosted by Reverend Clinton Chisholm the discussion centered around the Importance of the Buggery Law, other guests were Dr. Wayne West of the Isaachar Foundation the group that had that anti gay/buggery full paged ad in the Gleaner, a Reverend Pitkin and a Pastor Garth. 

This fear as if gay issues are some how going to become the pariah of the century and reduce the religious perspective and morals of Jamaican society is just beyond me. Affording same gender loving persons rights due to them is not going to decrease the rights of others or somehow unleash homosexuality (often confused or conjoined with same sex paedophilia) on the nation when persons are already practising, exploring as is done when things are made taboo in this country which raises curiosity and persons coming out on their own merit, why do persons in the anti gay lobby continue to confuse consenting adults making their choices versus homo-paedophilia which is often committed by non homosexuals or is it a deliberate co-joining them so as to bolster their position? we all know that there are heterosexual abusers themselves who have been abused as children not necessarily either by same sex abusers but they in turn becoming perpetrators of homo-paedophilia, it's about psychological control of a victim of least resistance more so than acting out a homosexual attraction and indoctrinating a child. Early initiation either by players in the same age group or an adult and a teen is also a separate matter as that also happens in a hebephilic sense in heterosexual circles right before our eyes, we see on coaster buses everyday via school girls and older men, girls who leave for school dressed in uniforms but change clothes and go elsewhere, we see the hundreds of missing teens via Ananda alerts mostly females some of whom are found in brothels or being trafficked for the sex trade or a few murdered yet these same anti gay pundits are silent in that regard yet matters that are private between same sex adults must be stopped and restricting our decision to fuck each other via consent. Get out of our bedroom!!!!!

Shirley Richards - past President of the anti gay Lawyers' Christian Fellowship

The usual pointers were represented as in other discussions with the anti gay religious agenda as subject matter and the fear and or almost hysteria or paranoia that legalizing buggery somehow is going to unleash some horror on the nation and silence religious voices were repeatedly suggested. The fear of the promised Buggery Law review is so pronounced that it was suggested that if the law is reviewed it will silence the church, how so? it was not clearly said. When the question was posed by host Rev Chisholm as to whether or not the law should remain? all guests expressed a clear no, in as far as the fact that the present buggery law does not speak to same gender sex between females former President of the Lawyer's Christian Fellowship, LCF Shirley Richards said that she would push for such a law, "I see nothing wrong with pushing for such a law.... not an amendment of the current one but an additional bit of legislation which criminalizes unnatural acts between women, at the same time however I want to say, I certainly want to recommend that the existing sodomy law that's there be not amended in anyway , what we possibly can look at is actually putting in a bit of legislation that covers these practices between women."

The other guest Pastor Pitkin was asked to also respond to the same question to which he expressed that he agreed with Shirley's comment " ...unfortunately there is no law that exists at this present time where two females are concerned but that does not dictate that it is right in the sight of God morally it is also wrong and I would support any moves to legislate that it is also unlawful." 
When asked directly by the host Reverend Chisholm "What if somebody says to you as a pastor of a church aren't you just restricting the spectrum of sexual options people can have if you are gonna insist on a law that would forbid a woman to have sex with another woman?" he responded "Truth is truth, truth is absolute and whatever is wrong is wrong and it has to be viewed from that perspective."

Reverend Chisholm then asked to all the guests "What is your suggestion about the buggery law?"

Shirley Richards went first by saying "I say let's go for keeping the law, don't touch it,if you touch it you'll loose it, keep the law."   

Dr. Wayne West who is also aligned to the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship the said "We must be clear that the sodomy  law, removing the buggery law is neither necessary nor is it sufficient in reducing HIV among men who have sex with men because in Singapore where there is a law it has one of the lowest prevalence rates for men who have sex with men in the world, lower than places than France, The Netherlands, The United States for example where sodomy laws have been removed so there is no need to remove the law to decrease HIV among men who have sex with men."  he continued " ... the buggery law assists in defining the nature of a society that you have, it goes way beyond health and sexual transmitted disease, it goes to defining whether in your society marriage is between a man and a woman or whether fisting, felching, rimming and so on are equivalent to what takes between an adult male and female who above the age of consent."

The other guest Pastor Garth sought to bring in the paranoia bit in my view, he contended that there was a dimension left out of the loop, "If you remove buggery law the church is going to come under enormous pressure, pastors and marriages because it is going to be legal so my advice is for churches to re-examine their constitution because it can be very critical putting in their what is your view clearly on marriage between a male and a female because to amend that law then a lot pastors will loose their license because it will no longer be illegal and you cannot refuse unless you show constitution," Reverend Chisholm intervened that unless a pastor wants to give up his right to marry people, Pastor Garth continued "....the pressure and the other dimension is that they not only do not want us to speak they are wanting government and legislation to institute punitive measures to those who try to uphold what the scripture says."

I am not aware of anyone in the gay lobby as it were who has said that the church and or its representatives must not be allowed to speak on buggery or homosexuality even if it is an opposite opinion as is the case in most instances, the problem is the tacit insighting of violence as has been done by some voices from the church and the hate via strong comments by some, where was any call for legislation and by whom was such made to restrict the speech or opinions of the church in regards to homosexuality as a whole when there is freedom of speech in this country? a religious community by the way that still wheels enormous power in political circles, I smell dishonesty there and it stinks to high heaven.

Pastor Pitkin said he is encouraging pastors to begin to lobby their members of parliament as he said not long from now there are going to be moves to re-examine the buggery law in parliament. He said a lot of other freedoms are going to be taken away if the law is removed or amended. "The church will not be able to speak and further to that the church will come under severe attack," by whom he did not say.

Sadly this is the fear these people continue to drive in the not so knowledgeable religious communities and followers as if the gay lobby is this evil bastion of darkness to destroy humanity through same gender sex all because persons make a choice via adult consent based on their sexual orientation for the most part while strongly and unethically imputing paedophilic motives by supposed male homosexuals as a reason to keep an archaic buggery law when we know that most same sex paedophiles are not homosexuals as we are not interested in pre-pubescent individuals. I found it interesting that Dr. West seems to be infusing European anal same sex practices with Jamaican gay males as if we also indulge in felching and fisting on a large scale which are not practices widely done in African descented gay communities worldwide, the graphic nature of anal activity he is trying to infuse is to create repulsed responses from persons may very well backfire as what is taboo in this country tends to become a magnet for some. More and more women have been reporting that their male partners have been asking for anal sex especially during the menstrual cycle periods when vaginal sex maybe either untidy for both parties or painful for the woman. 

What about recent headlines with men of the cloth in inappropriate relations with congregants we do not hear the rage and urgency in that regard? albeit the Star News sensationalizes but there is some truth somewhere in the mix you just need to sift it out.

This deliberate twining of the paedophilia and same gender sex and rights agitation is also expressed by non religious persons as well, members of the psychiatric community have been going almost against the DSM guide for their profession, please see: 

The psychological strategy of the homosexual lobby BY DR Leahcim Semaj

As for the matter of pastors rescinding their right to marry same gender loving persons via church constitutions well we do not need pastors to lead that legal activity of a union towards the state's recognition of same, that is of course if same sex marriage is legalized in the future which is NOT being debated now or at all or any time soon as I see it then however we should be able to go to a Justice of the Peace, JP, a judge or maybe a new form of notary public for that matter avenues that already exists for heterosexual persons engaging in mainstream marriages but who do not use the traditional religious ceremonial practice. I feel sometimes it is the fanatical antics of these anti gay zealots that create the very enemies they fear that in effect never existed until they repeatedly put forward the diatribe and sometimes vitriolic statements about what they consider male homosexuality to be thus leading to the parting of the ways by gay lobbies versus sections of the religious communities. Although there has been some enlightened views on the suggested review of the buggery law by the Prime Minister from certain religious leaders and I personally know of ministers who have said they would wed a same sex couple. There is some hope but .........

We have a long way to go it seems.

Peace and tolerance

H   

Stand Up To Same-Sex Lobby says Paul Kokoski .....................

So foreign influences who are opposed to homosexuality continue to get air time and space in local media spewing their neatly worded diatribe and coining or reusing so called terms like theophobia which speaks to a fear of gods or God's wrath or religion but here the writer tries to paint a picture of anti - Christian moves by the gay lobby as if to ask for or promote same sex rights will some how affect existing rights for other persons.


Have a read of the letter and see:

 

THE EDITOR, Sir:

Recently there has been an orchestrated effort on the part of homosexual activists like Dr Stephen Moreton to legalise homosexuality and homosexual marriage throughout the Caribbean. Most of these people are not from the Caribbean but are trying to impose their sordid lifestyle on the Christian Caribbean islands.

People should be made aware of the fact that there is no 'gay gene' and no scientific proof that homosexuality is innate. Homosexuality is, in fact, an abnormal behaviour. Ironically, the homosexual lobby often tries to project their own disorder on heterosexuals by prejudicially labelling them 'homophobes'.

Dr Francis Collins, who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work sequencing the human genetic code, has stated that homosexuality is not genetically "hardwired". Homosexuality, like contraception, is contrary to natural law because it thwarts the natural generation of life.

Marriage is an institution that predates civilisation, ordained by God, and exclusive to one man and one woman who are given the responsibility to procreate the human race, and to nurture, educate, and pass on shared values and mores to their offspring.

To redefine marriage to include same-sex couples is to strip marriage of an essential component, namely, the ability and obligation to procreate. This would render marriage meaningless and open it up to endless revision and redefinition.

Gay marriage is a threat to religious freedom and conscience rights. There are already incidents in Canada and the United States of religious adoption and foster-care agencies being pushed out of work, and small business owners being fined or sued for not accommodating same-sex couples.

Town clerks and other officials with objections to participating in same-sex union ceremonies or to the granting of same-sex marriage licences have been told to find other jobs.

Once a state recognises same-sex partnerships as marriages or the equivalent, naturally the argument is made that in family-life classes in schools, this has to be taught to be a valid partnership. Religious parents who do not want their children to be indoctrinated in beliefs contrary to their will be out of luck. They will be branded and labelled as bigots. This is already happening in Canada.

Christians and other people from traditional faith communities are being called in a new way to have courage. The problem today is not homophobia but theophobia - a hatred by some of God, faith, religion, and the Church. The public affirmation of this prejudice is the hallmark of ideological totalitarianism.

PAUL KOKOSKI

pkokoski@shaw.ca

ENDS

This dishonest premise where he repeatedly puts forward in his letters to newspapers all over that "Gay marriage is a threat to religious freedom and conscience rights" coupled with the disruption of the family is a lie in my view as it does not take away from any existing rights for heterosexual couples. In fact I dare say if gay couples marry, adopt and raise children it in no way damages or blights their growth, we have seen undisputed evidence of this where same gender loving couples raise hetersosexual children. Maybe we could adopt some of those abandoned or homeless ones locally left behind by procreation indiscretions or "accidents" 

When LGBT groups or human rights entities ask for gay marriage rights as far as I am concerned it is about the state recognizing the union so as to effect benefits already allotted to heterosexual married couples such as pension benefits, state insurance (where allotted), death benefits, legal divorce proceedings, probate of wills in case one half of the pair passes away, wealth and assets sharing after death or divorce as per relevant state statutes etc. Anti gay lobbyists such as this letter writer make it seem as if heterosexual couples are going to be denied any of those rights and benefits they already enjoy when they sign on the dotted line of a marriage certificate as literally it is at that time and subsequently the registering of that marriage/union at the local registrar office or similar structures that puts into motion all those state benefits and legal coverage for wedded persons.

To present this farce or create hysteria of gay marriage affecting humanity or procreation while making gay lobbyist to be anti Christian principle is a an outright dishonest practice and is what ticks persons off and maybe in fact lead them to become such in order to avoid any confrontation, so they dismiss both the so called Christian individual who is fanatically obsessed as this letter writer is and all that (s)he espouses (we have our local ones too) or stand for including God and sadly many LGBT individuals do not bother to separate them and have become weary of the diatribe, in effect giving atheists and by extension radical anti Christian persons gay or straight more ammunition, believe it or not there are gay Christians who are progressive thinkers and persons like me who were in the church but struggled with the question of my orientation versus my status with God, finally realising God loves me no matter what my orientation is and the need to revisit spiritually and theologically this matter of homosexuality and Christian life.

The question of sexual practice and choices can be argued hereinafter, do we for example continue in celibacy or explore life and love with one faithful partner and not go down the road of multiple partners? Those are the questions fanatics like Paul Kokoski should consider instead of worrying about marriage rights denial for same gender loving folks. Did Paul for example really have an issue with homosexuality while working Rome? a question that was looked at on a previous post on my sister blog Gay Jamaica Watch: 

Did Apostle Paul actually accepted Christian homosexuals?

The notion that marriage must not be re-invented is a farce as marriage to day in all its aspects has been reinvented and reshaped repeatedly be they the romantic elements, the financial, the spiritual, gender roles/partner responsibilities as per societal norms and even how states recognise unions and accord benefits have changed radically over time, there were days when in Palestine and those parts where women were and in some cases still are subservient to men, couples do not exchange vows but a woman is pegged to her husband for life while he can have as many wives as he sees fit. Dowry practices still exist in India and other societies. Even in biblical days David the Psalms writer had concubines, Solomon had concubines yet married as well yet those men were used by God for his glory, what about the controversial love between David and Jonathan while carrying out the instructions of God for leading his people? What about the inappropriate relationship between David and Bathsheba? we do not hear these anti gay pundits bringing related pointers in their arguments or pronouncements.

Procreation is no longer a matter of sexual relations or copulation between the opposite sexes anymore there are medical advances that allow other methods for creating, growing and carrying a foetus including surrogacy for those persons who cannot bear children naturally or as an option for same sexed couple wishing to become parents but do not want to use their own bodies. As I have said before in previous posts what a wonderful job we are already doing in terms of procreation by Paul Kokoski's standards here, ever climbing divorce rates, thousands of missing children, most born out of wedlock, hundreds of boys wiping wind-shields daily at stop lights and those same religious pundits/fanatics pass them in the vehicles with windows wound up and tinted yet we have the most churches per square miles with very little social outreach for these vulnerable populations, indeed the most churches per square miles we have yet we are having ever increasing numbers of homeless homo and heterosexual populations alike plus others in abject poverty especially the elderly per square inch on our city side walks and towns and golden aged homes who are abandoned, where are the numerous or matching social work numbers to meet these issues? yet there is this grand attempt to stop private consenting adults from having their rights with big bucks being spent in some instances to do so, lest we forget that full paged ad in the Gleaner estimated cost $JA250, 000 money that could have been used for some outreach or donated to a home. We have also seen the zeal at which conservatives fund other anti gay action in Uganda: 

In The Life Series: Coalition & Allies (anti gay conservatives & Ugandan links)

Mr Kokoski needs to take a trip to Jamaica and let us take him around to see the REAL WORLD. He needs to stop pushing this ultra conservative garbage on us from afar.

Peace and tolerance

H

Civil-Society Groups Put Pressure On Patricia House Board ........

Yvonne McCalla-Sobers (right), convener for Families Against State Terrorism, speaks to members of the media while looking on (from left) are Howard Gough, manager of Patricia House; Joyce Hewett, advocacy and legal reform, Women Inc; Jaevion Nelson and Noelle Ingledew, chairpersons, Jamaica AIDS Support for Life, during a press conference on Tuesday. - Rudolph Brown/Photographer

THE BOARD of Patricia House must go. That is the demand from Jamaica's civil society.

On Tuesday, a joint coalition of Civil Society Forum of Jamaica on HIV/AIDS, Woman Inc, Families Against State Terrorism and Jamaica AIDS Support for Life called a press conference at the Council of Voluntary Social Services' St Andrew offices, to outline the gross negligence of the board of the rehab centre, which they claim was affecting clients and staff.

"The members of this board have consistently failed to protect the rights and welfare of persons who use drugs, persons living with HIV, and other minority groups. In fact, their callous actions have led to the further marginalisation of these already vulnerable populations," noted Carla Bingham-Ledgister, chair of the Civil Society Forum of Jamaica on HIV/AIDS.

The issue stemmed from an incident last year where the board of Richmond Fellowship Jamaica Drug Rehab Centre, which operates the St Andrew-based Patricia House, hired a manager who turned out to have fake qualifications and was abusive to staff and clients. They also alleged that he sexually harassed a female staff member. He was later dismissed and given a reported $500,000 severance package.

Five months of terror

The "five months of terror meted out to them by the new manager" has reportedly continued to traumatise the staff and client, Bingham-Ledgister stated.

The coalition demanded an explanation from the board, but they said, to date, there has been no response.

Based on the "neglectful manner in which they handled the matter", the coalition is claiming the board cannot be relied on to manage the welfare of the clients and staff members.

"We ask you to join us in calling on all the remaining members of the Richmond Fellowship Jamaica board to step down and allow the local representatives of the parent company to install a new board made of persons who have the interest of drug users, persons living with HIV," Bingham-Ledgister added.

ENDS

Some questions come to mind to me and a few others upon seeing this article in the Gleaner though as to the hypocrisy and selectivity of issues here, so the Board of Patricia House erred and are being called to book but what about some of these same organizations represented here at this press conference, shouldn't they be called to answer to some pressing issues as well?

Where were they when the homeless msms were locked out and left to fend for themselves last August and the subsequent civil disobedience the men had to take to get attention or when the original shelter idea was closed?

Why did anyone from this so called co-coalitionists group as it were speak out publicly against this or call a press conference seeing that the matter was made public and exposed by the Jamaica Observer?

Is it that some of the same persons present here were the ones who gave the edict to have the men banned along with a canine team at the gates of the organizations, namely Jamaica AIDS Support for Life instead of trying to deal with the group of homeless males directly?

Why is it that till this day any serious attention has been given to the men to solve the issues of bad behaviour as the reasons given for taking the banning action in the first place by this coalition or its representatives?

Do you find it strange how selective these organizations and individuals spring into action on issues when LGBT matters that need urgent attention are left to supposedly die down hoping no one will pay attention? 

Now that the main spin doctor of diversions does not reside here anymore what will be used as damage control to now divert us from this matter as it shows a clear professional hypocrisy? whenever questions are asked of groups to account to the population convenient ways are found to move us in another direction.

In regards to terror, what about the terror and homophobic violence the homeless men have had to endure while on the streets as organizations continue business as usual ignoring the men while dealing with more well to do msms instead in a grand data collection reporting exercise while our brothers who really need the frontline work are left to end up in criminal activity in some cases or commercial sex work to fend for themselves? MORE HERE from GJW

Only a few weeks ago a homeless young man (one of the many new comers to the population) was beaten in the Spanish Town area and left with a broken leg after being accused of being gay, if it weren't for concerned persons outside the community and a couple church sisters from a nearby church organization who fortunately looked passed the orientation issues and saw humanity he would have had to fend for himself. Thanks to their kind hearts.
Other incidents are still coming to hand across Kingston in particular and one in St. Ann in December 2011.

When is this hypocrisy and over looking of this section of our population going to end? Very few of the total population when last I checked numbered some fifty plus men have not been able to either find hosts to stay with or find alternative legal income earning activity while the others still are nomads in their own country. A couple have been able to leave Jamaica via asylum seeking with some financial help from community members but that is not enough to put a dent on this problem. 

Think on these things people, the foolishness continues and then a false image is presented to the world as if work is being done overall.

Even the great super powers of the world see a need to deal with homelessness just recently the United States White House announced it is to hold a conference to discuss the matter by itself on March 9, 2012

The March 9 conference will provide advocates, community leaders, and members of the public an opportunity to engage with the Obama Administration on housing and homelessness issues that impact LGBT Americans, including the youth served by the Ruth Ellis Center. Participants will receive updates from Obama Administration officials, connect with federal government resources and opportunities through workshop sessions, and provide valuable feedback through the “Open Space” process.

“We are honored to join with the White House for this historic conference, taking place in one of the cities most impacted by LGBTQ homelessness,” said Laura Hughes, Executive Director of the Ruth Ellis Center. “Nationally, about 40 percent of the 1.7 million runaway and homeless youth self-identify as LGBTQ. In Detroit alone, up to an estimated 800 homeless LGBT youth are on the streets every day. The Ruth Ellis Center works daily with our city’s and state’s leadership to help improve outcomes for the homeless LGBTQ youth we serve. It sends a powerful message to now have the commitment from the Federal government to discuss these issues.” MORE HEREAlso see: INCREASE IN MALE HOOKERS - More men doing 'business' in New Kingston says the Star ............ but

Some considerations ..... would you assist someone who has been displaced ???

From the pen of one of our homeless brothers ........

Sad that in 2012 we have to be on this same issue coming from as far as 2007/8 when I and others started to zoom in on this and long before that when we as a community used to just see the evidence around us of homelessness and in instances abject poverty in our community. We have seen so many fallouts and problems and it is as if few care about this group more than to use them for statistical dart boarding rather than help them or concerned persons to bring some closure or solutions to this matter once and for all. The incremental interventions by influentials are not enough as persons like myself do not have the resources to tackle this head on but the organizations that do have the where it all obviously do not care. 

UPDATE: a petition has been launched by the former Chairman of Jamaica AIDS Support for Life with support from the rest of the clan yet no such action was done or entertained when they banned the homeless from their property.

The very same organization that barred homeless MSM some of whom are also HIV positive last year yet they pride themselves on offering care and treatment for vulnerable populations and when called the book they snubbed the voices who wanted above board advocacy as they do not feel accountable to the persons they claim to represent. You decide readers, who holds others accountable for neglect, and further ostracizing the already vulnerable? that's the question.

Peace and tolerance

H

Caribbean plans regional approach to abolish gay laws

Dr. Greene recently on a radio program

Denis Scott Chabrol 

Caribbean countries, faced with potential political and religious fall-out, plan to take a regional approach in scrapping laws against buggery and prostitution by 2015, according to a senior United Nations (UN) official.

Most of the former British colonies that are Caricom member-nations have been coming under increasing international pressure to abolish those laws that also include prohibiting cross-dressing.

Politicians remain wary of losing votes from, among others, the religious communities and other people who argue against erasing those laws for moral and ethical reasons.

UN Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS to the Caribbean, Dr. Edward Greene, however, notes that at least 20 percent of some Caribbean countries are gays, a cultural shift that must be considered.

Experts like Greene say those laws force vulnerable communities like commercial sex workers and Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) to go underground and so being unable to access HIV education, diagnosis care and treatment. Human rights advocates also believe that pursuing those lifestyles is a basic human right.

Acknowledging that moral, religious and political reasons have forestalled the revision, revamping and rejection of the century-old laws, he said the Caribbean plans to take a two-pronged approach. That strategy, he explained, would include rallying support from Champions for Change such as vulnerable groups, Faith Based Organisations and women’s groups as well as capitalizing on the convention that regional laws are more easily acceptable. Experts also intend to produce research on the impact of decriminalization in other countries. In that way, he explained, politicians in each jurisdiction would be better insulated from criticisms.

“I think what we have to do is to project a regional position on revamping the laws which would be in tune with international trends and enunciate them in such a way that we save national politicians from having to put forward these views as if they were theirs,” said Greene, a former Caricom Assistant Secretary General for Human and Social Development (COHSOD).

The UN official expects that Caribbean countries will gradually overhaul their laws in time for 2015 when the world is expected to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in keeping with the principles of universal access and equity. “I believe we can incrementally move towards the position of revamping the laws.”

“It might be a long struggle in some countries but once we get a couple of countries to move in a more enlightened way, I think we can move the process along,” he said on a recent edition of Demerara Waves Internet Radio's programme, Periscope,' that you can go here to listen.

The Pan- Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) has been drafting model legislation, he said, for the past five years but “I think very often the thing is become tied up in politics.”

The UN Envoy took a shot at then Jamaican Prime Minister, Bruce Golding who had vowed that gays would not have been allowed to join his cabinet. “To deny a gay a rightful place in the politics is to go against the cultural trends that are developing,” said Greene.

Jamaica lesbians suffer from under-reported violence but whose fault is that ???

The representative agencies are culpable in this regard and here is why in my view:

This sudden new found concern for same gender loving women's advocacy was never there that much over the many years of the life of the representative organizations is suspect, not all of us can be fooled by supposed concerns. As a male I am becoming more and more fed up with the grandstanding and embellished representations of advocacy that are presented to the world.

Lesbophobia never really did create the excitement or accord the level of importance as repealing the buggery law and men who are victims of beatings and other serious happenings get from the male dominated agencies so they do not get the articles and media spotlight and subsequent on the ground attention required. We know that MSM issues are far more pronounced locally but in as far as the responses to same gender loving women's issues they are woefully lacking even after a total of thirty plus years of combined advocacy over respective groups, individuals and organizations.

The article below appeared on an overseas website showing yet again that news about us has to be generated off shore maybe in a bid to impress folks that work is somehow being done locally and which plays into the criticism about certain voices and that persons play on the reputation that Jamaica has gained, and using it to their own ends to push themselves as superstar advocates while persons on the ground suffer literally and counting on the silence and gullibility of lgbt Jamaicans as well as the fears of straight people to help them. All elements of the elitist culture at work.

Even from the early days of GLABCOM, gay lesbian & bisexual community meetings although it was designed to be an interface between the community and certain AIDS organizations mostly MSM issues were covered so much so that at most meetings men who be in far greater attendance than women and both JFLAG and WFW (formerly lesbians in action renamed) representatives were absent for years until the project was closed down.

At the intervention level same gender loving women who have been raped for example may not necessarily want to sit in front of a male crisis intervention officer or even a counsellor for that matter to rehash or relive a horrific rape experience, the sensitivities must be observed when we are talking about rehabilitation or victim's support. A female counselor or officer would suit the job far better when the men who hold such position cannot empathise with a woman who has been raped, very few males can do so.

The article read:
By Branka Juran and Maria Caspani

LONDON (TrustLaw) - Lesbians in Jamaica face attacks such as gang rape due to rife homophobia in the country, but few of these abuses get reported, Jamaica’s leading gay activist said.

“In Jamaican culture women are generally expected to be quiet about harassment and abuse,” Maurice Tomlinson, Jamaica’s leading gay activist and HIV/AIDS campaigner, said in an interview with TrustLaw.

Women are not the only victims. Tomlinson said 70 percent of attacks reported to rights organisations between 2009 and 2011 concerned gay men.

Under Jamaican law it is legal to punish any act of physical intimacy between men with jail and the possibility of 10-years hard labour.

Tomlinson was in London this week to receive the inaugural David Kato award for gay human rights activism.

“When we find out about these cases (involving gay women), they are usually so horrible that they rise up to the level of having to be reported,” he said.

Tomlinson works as a legal advisor for rights group AIDS Free World, helping them forge a structured way to address homophobia in the country and documenting human rights abuses against LGBT people.

When he first started recording accounts of abuses, Tomlinson was appalled by the sheer brutality of some of these acts.

“There was one instance where a gang of four men raped a lesbian because they said she was ‘taking over all good looking women’, Tomlinson recalled.

“They cut her genitals, so she could ‘better take men’ because ‘that is why she was a lesbian’, they said.

With 82 percent of its citizens opposing homosexuality – according to the results of a recent survey – Jamaica is one of the most dangerous places in the world for gay people.

"The Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals & Gays (J-FLAG) reported in June (2011) that 51 homophobic incidents had been registered in Jamaica between January and June 2011, representing a rise compared to the same period over 2010,” according to a report released in September 2011 by Amnesty International.

Endorsement of homophobic behaviour used to come straight from the country’s political establishment. Former PM Bruce Golding was openly homophobic and stated he would never appoint a gay person to cabinet.

Now, some – even if feeble – signals of change are starting to emerge.

In January, the newly elected Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller has made some promising statements regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT).

“I think she (Simpson-Miller) genuinely does not have a problem with LGBT people and does not pry to people’s bedrooms,” Tomlinson said.

Nonetheless, homophobia still permeates almost every aspect of the Caribbean island’s society.

People go to church where they listen to pastors preaching that homophobia causes diseases, then they turn on the radio and hear popular Jamaican musicians Buju Banton and Beenie Man using anti-gay lyrics.

Tomlinson himself has received numerous death threats.

After news of his marriage to a Canadian man sparked a row in Jamaica, it was deemed best for him not to return home. He is waiting on Jamaican authorities assure him it is going to be safe for him to travel back.

(Editing by Rebekah Curtis)

ENDS

And why can't JFLAG speak for themselves and why wasn't Women for Women (WFW) consulted on this issue? why doesn't JFLAG put out a press release (as it's good at that) to talk about same gender loving women's issues directly? it cannot!!! simply because the organizational behaviour which is male dominated has over these many years contributed to a culture of silence on same gender female issues as homophobia towards males take center stage and lesbian issues do not generate the sound bites or is a lightening rod for funding. 

Lesbians and bisexual women have been getting their share of drama for decades as many suffering in silence as they feel their pleas may fall on deaf ears but even with a stark increase in reports in 2007 onwards of corrective rape, arson, forced evictions and even displacement/homelessness, even with an arm of the J named WomenforWomen they are tied, resource starved and cannot stand up to the male dominated executive structure of JFLAG, parent organization Jamaica AIDS Support or the other associated groups, the men call the shots. Butch lesbians in particualr have been feeling the pinch but why should women report anything when they feel they are ignored by the groups? and now to use  their plight to sure up image is so unethical.

Also see: 

Women for Women still on the move. 

Being a woman & gay in Jamaica

and

A marriage and another activist seeks asylum

The culture of silence as well where interventions and activities that are to benefit the entire LGBTQIQ2S body politic are held close to the chest of some as if others are not deserving of the impact they ought to have on the movement hence not rolled out generally. Sadly this is our reality and all kinds of media manipulations and PR are used to quash criticisms including labeling persons who point out the inadequacies as enemies of progress when very little progress in all these 37 plus years of the struggle in total have passed.

We need to put women's issues and I dare say homelessness on a equal footing to that of their male counterparts in the struggle in a transparent way and not try to sneak it in the backdoor as the rare let's give them some attention ploy. A loud cry here for proper and meaningful frontline interventions as it is not all about repealing buggery.

What is also coming to the fore is the belief that this is a smoke screen to divert persons from the questionable departure of the gentleman mentioned in the interview from Jamaica as some sections of the community have doubts as to the ethical basis on which he left and how the timing seemed well planned with what is suspected to be a leaked photo of a wedding to the press and a set up to get an award. We need to call it out when we see it, who waan vex a fi dem business dat. Not all of us can be fooled anymore.

more here via audio:

 Lesbian issues left out of the Jamaican advocacy thrust until now? 

Want more evidence of the gloss over of same gender loving issues for women then check this post on sister blog GLBTQJA done in December 2011 of the murder of two lesbians and the non response from the so called LGBT rights groups:

2 SGL Women lost, corrective rape & virtual silence from the male dominated advocacy structure

here is the corresponding audio for that post:

2 SGL Women lost, corrective rape and virtual silence from the male dominated advocacy structure 

also here is the audio from the original shocking news of Mr Tomlinson's departure:

   Ethical Professionlism & LGBT Advocates 01.02.12 

Peace and tolerance

H