Free the Gay race
What is intrinsically different about how Gays are treated now, and how Blacks were treated during slavery (after slavery and even now)?
Think about it...
Religion to make them conform / to pacify them; Beatings/ killings to scare them into obedience; Legislation nullifying their human rights.
Being Gay (in certain parts of the world) is probably the worst thing that could ever happen to you. So too was being Black back then (and perhaps even now).
No rights... No freedoms...No speech...No life... No existence
Surely, you may state that "Gays" wield a lot of power these days, but let's look at how many countries have legalized homosexuality [meaning: homosexuals are free to marry]. Investigations show that only 13 countries have legislation reflecting this;
1. The Netherlands, 2000
2. Belgium, 2003
3. Canada, 2005
4. Spain, 2005
5. South Africa, 2006
6. Norway, 2009
7. Sweden, 2009
8. Iceland, 2010
9. Portugal, 2010
10.Argentina, 2010
11.Denmark, 2012
12.France, 2013
13.Brazil, 2013
Mexico and the United States have both partially legalized gay marriage.
Now, 83 countries have criminalized homosexuality (gay marriage is missing from their legislation and homosexuality is illegal). I won't list all of those, however if you want to see a full list, you may click here.
Based on our observations, it would seem as if the Western world is more "civilized" than the Caribbean and other parts of the world which represent hostility against homosexuality (and laws which restrict their level of freedom, etc...).
However, a recent conversation with an older colleague further revealed the hypocrisy of the West. Homosexuality existed long before you and I, surely we know that (didn't you watch those old Roman movies?). But, it was these same Western countries who came and preached against this kind of relationship, resulting in some of the hostile laws against homosexuality. The buggery law in Jamaica, for example, which falls under the Offences Against the Person Act has sections which were included from as far back at 1864.
So, the Western countries came to us - the poor, lowly, uneducated (in their eyes of course) - and educated us, letting us know this "behaviour" was unnatural and un-Christian. Fast forward a few hundred years and what do you know?! We - the uneducated back then for practicing homosexuality- are STILL the backward, uneducated people for not swapping out our anti-gay laws that these same Western countries told us to institute. What a prekkeh!
(For clarification purposes I meant we Africans / members of the "ancient third world" and not necessarily we Jamaicans, in case anyone is getting the wrong idea).
Let's get into a little history. The first [recorded] homosexual couple were a pair of Egyptian males in 2400 B.C. B.C. ennu a nuh today supm! The mere fact that the Bible includes verses about homosexual relations goes to show that this "thing" that we were cultured to believe is an unnatural behaviour, may not be as unnatural as we think.
Some ancient tribes in practicing pedagogy sent young men with older men (who many times had sex with them) in order for them to become men. In ancient Africa there were some instances of female-female intimate relationships.
Aristotle, and other authors and poets of his time (1200s) wrote about homosexuality and homoeroticism - stating that while the women were beautiful, the men preferred male lovers. A range of other stories can be told here about homosexuality in the ancient days but let's spare the over-exaggeration.
Much like the plight of the Africans - so is/ was the acceptance of homosexuality. The Africans were living in their own areas - kings, queens, princesses, princes- living their lives. Until, they were enslaved and oppressed and treated like nothing. Then the enslavers felt they were doing us a favour by freeing us - an already free people. Then came the hostility as we integrated into society, or rather tried to re-integrate into society. Then came the laws that infringed on our human rights (even as "free" citizens) and then after some years of revelation, we had rights again (some of which are still not observed in some areas)... Sounds familiar?
As a Christian (I have struggled with this title for years, I suppose I'm now ready to embrace it), I believe condemning anything/anyone in the name of Christ is wrong. In the same way that a soldier is not able to make an arrest or invade an area without the police (the authority on the road... soldiers are authorities in war), Christians as soldiers/ disciples of Christ are to spread His word and allow Him to be the judge. But no ... half the time wi dun condemn the person already ... "in the name of Jesus". But, let's not get into that because that's a whole other blog post.
Essentially, people are different and what a boring world it would be if we were all the same. One of the issues I have with some of the legislation (even pro-gay legislation) is that it neglects to highlight the fact that homosexuality is not solely about SEX but about identity. While, it is a SEXUAL orientation a number of homosexuals I know don't even have sex... so does that make them less homosexual? Too many people associate homosexuality only with Gay/Lesbian sex. It is an identity. Very much like what our freedom fighters and fore-fathers were telling us, Black is not just the colour of your skin, but who you are.
Free the Gay race...
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 1.
- All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood
Article 19.
- Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
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