Lloyd D'Aguilar on The Church Preaching Itself Out Of Relevance in Jamaica

Radio host and rights advocate with his own style of advocacy Lloyd D'Agular's letter became the letter of the day and pleasantly surprisingly so seeing that the Gleaner in recent times had sunk to a low in terms of true journalism from walkouts by award winning staff from press conferences (CVCC) to the tabloid type writing on the JFJ CVCC funded sex education course.

I am not a big fan of his per say but give unto Ceasar what is due unto to Ceasar and he has been interviewing more LGBT spokespersons since his new stint at HOT102FM's Morning Edition.

With yesterday's mass rally by a hastily formed anti gay group Jamaica CAUSE and their threats to vote out any administration that repeals buggery (when that call has since changed by JFLAG though so late to decriminalization) the deceptive conflation of same gender sex with abuse is on twinned with reparative therapy and blocking any attempt to allow coverage under law for sexual discrimination.

video clip from "For The Bible Tells Me So" that made it clear that reparative therapy can be dangerous

Lloyd's letter:

LETTER OF THE DAY - Church Preaching Itself Out Of Relevance

THE EDITOR, Sir:

It appears that the last moral lynchpin of the Jamaican Church (the fundamentalist wing at least) is hatred of homosexuals.

The Church has been forced to accept human frailties - adultery, fornication, stealing, murder, covetousness - as things which secular laws either don't regard as crimes or which the State reserves the exclusive right to punish.

The clergy cannot use biblical admonitions to advocate stoning and murder for such transgressions. To do so, they themselves could be prosecuted for criminal conduct.

But now it seems as if the clerics believe that the last moral code on which they cannot concede is homosexuality.

They are gearing up to take their last stand against the 'gay agenda', which seems also to be a referendum on their own relevance. This gay agenda, which the clerics keep fuming against is, in fact, a human-rights agenda.

Morally speaking, the State does not have the right to be involved in the bedroom affairs of consenting adults - gay or straight. Nor can the Church realistically do anything about what people do in the privacy of their bedrooms.

Modern State

The premise of the modern State is that chattel slavery is over and the State, therefore, has no business regulating personal thoughts, beliefs, morality or sexual behaviour. The last bastion of this attempt to regulate personal behaviour seems to be drugs (marijuana and coke), abortion, prostitution, and homosexuality. It is, of course legal to drink, smoke and eat yourself to death.

The United States has moved decisively on the matter of homosexuality, going so far as to recognise gay marriage. Legalising marijuana may not be too far off.

The Jamaican clergy have a mortal fear that removing the buggery law will lead to legalisation of gay marriage à la the USA. The buggery law is unenforceable in any event, unless the participants engage publicly, which is a very rare occurrence, or the police decide to come kicking down your door based on evidence!

No gay agenda

There is no gay agenda in Jamaica other than that criminalisation of gay sex is a violation of the basic tenets of the Constitution. This criminalisation has led to murder, discrimination and social ridicule.

Having lost their thunder against fornication and adultery, which is considered normal human behaviour, buggery is now the Church's new clarion call.

The clerics never challenge the State over its terrorist methods against inner-city youths, such as the 2010 Tivoli Gardens massacre. They have nothing to say about institutional corruption - indeed, they have regular prayer breakfasts with state officials who are known kleptomaniacs.

Now is therefore not the time to flinch in front of clerical irrelevance. God is dead. He seems to have died a long time ago.

The buggery law must be repealed. LGBT Jamaicans must be protected against violence, stigma and bigotry. Clerical hysteria on the matter of gay rights sounds too eerily similar to the echoes of Fascism.

Jamaica either becomes a civilised state or it further descends into barbarism and proto-Fascism.

LLOYD D'AGUILAR

Campaign for Social and Economic Justice
lgdaguilar@gmail.com

ENDS

also see and hear podcasts:
Jamaica CAUSE issues Veiled threat to Govt to not Repeal The Buggery Law

(UWI) Vice-chancellor E. Nigel Harris - UWI Didn't Bow To Gays

The Hunt for Blood Continues ..... JFJ/CVCC Children’s Homes Sex-Ed Programme Under Police Investigation part 2

More Overreaction to the Jamaicans for Justice Sex Education Course & Media Senationalism

Why did CVCC & JFJ not Fund a Project/Home for Homeless LGBT Youth in New Kingston instead of the Children’s Home Fiasco that now obtains?

Professor's Bain's Testimony Threatened Foreign Funding (Gleaner letter)

Lessons to learn from The Professor Bain Matter?

Ian Boyne: Bain exercised terribly poor strategic judgement

Anti gay religious voices where are they? .... Pastor charged with sexual assault

'UWI had no choice but to dismiss Prof Bain' says Professor Rosemarie Bell Antoine (OAS Rapporteur)

Pro-Bain Protesters To Meet With UWI Today

Buggery the only thing that makes church butts sore?

The Hypocrisy of Jamaican Anti Gay Groups & Selective Actions of Societal Ills 

Buggery, Bain, Bullshit & Buffoonery in Jamaican LGBT Discourse by 

Illegal Jamaican Immigrant on murder charge suddenly recalls his GAY to remain in the UK?

According to the Daily Mail yes it seems so but I am not surprised as several years ago a plot like this was discovered when some dishonest solicitors were accused of telling accused criminals to take on a "camp" persona at the holding areas and so on and plea for asylum when infront the judges and even dress and act the part, effeminate that is as at that time hypermasculinity in gay men was not seen as a marker for homosexuality.

Now comes this story published April 16, 2014 which has launched a firestorm in legal circles in the UK surrounding gay Jamaicans, safety upon deportation and immigrants accused as criminals.

An illegal immigrant who stabbed a 15-year-old schoolboy to death less than a year after arriving in Britain cannot be deported because he claims to be gay, judges ruled yesterday.

The 29-year-old Jamaican was jailed for life aged 16 when he and another schoolboy knifed Abdul Maye to death over a £10 debt outside his school in east London.

A judge at the Old Bailey ordered that he be kicked out of Britain once he had served a minimum of eight years.

Judge Paul Focke told the thug, who cannot not be named for legal reasons: ‘You are a Jamaican national and within months of coming to this country you committed murder.

‘I am of the view that your continued presence in this country will be detrimental to its citizens.’

But yesterday, the Court of Appeal ruled that he could not be sent back to Jamaica because he could face degrading treatment for being homosexual that would breach his human rights.

In an extraordinary judgment which has provoked outrage, Lord Justice Kay said he believed his mother’s evidence that he was gay – even though the Home Office said he ‘had made no mention of it’ until his first appeal against deportation failed.

The decision is expected to infuriate Home Secretary Theresa May, who has battled to send him home since he was released from prison in 2012.

The judge referred to Article Three in the Human Rights Act, which protects an individual from inhuman or degrading treatment.

Douglas Carswell, Tory MP for Clacton, said: ‘Most people would think this is outrageous. It’s a gross distortion of the concept of justice
‘Until we have freed ourselves from the European Convention on Human Rights, these sorts of basket-case decisions will carry on happening thick and fast.’

Peter Bone, Tory MP for Wellingborough, said: ‘Whether or not this man is sent back should be entirely at the discretion of British courts.

‘The idea that his human rights should have any impact whatever when he has come in to this country illegally in the first place to murder someone is absurd.

‘When it comes to murderers, courts should have the absolute right to sentence people for as long as they want, or to send them home immediately after.’

The murderer, referred to only as JR, arrived in the UK in December 2000 when he was 15 on a temporary visa to visit his mother.

An application for leave to stay longer was refused, but the yob remained in the country anyway.

And less than a year later he and a 14-year-old stabbed a fellow schoolboy to ‘save face’ after he humiliated them by refusing to pay a £10 debt – a payment which he owed them for cannabis.

The Old Bailey heard JR, who only has an IQ of 63 – putting him in the lowest two per cent of the population – knifed Abdul in front of his horrified classmates outside Little Ilford Comprehensive School in Manor Park after the victim had just finished a mock GCSE exam on December 7, 2001.

The victim, whose family fled to Britain from the civil war in Somalia in 1995, died shortly afterwards in hospital.

In the weeks beforehand, the schoolboys had threatened to ‘chop’ or ‘stab’ the victim and the Jamaican sprayed him and a friend with CS gas.

The pair were jailed for life in September 2002 and told to serve a minimum of eight years and two months. But this was reduced on appeal to six years and two months with the deportation recommendation set aside.

However, the Secretary of State ordered JR’s deportation in 2009. 

Read the rest here on Daily Mail also see MP Diane Abott's piece updated Sunday April 20th: Britain Jamaica and Gays published in the Jamaica Observer

MAY… insisted on ordering the Jamaican’s deportation in 2009

Jamaican Gay Hookers Popular Online says the Star News

So the Star News tabloid has finally picked up on this one when it is long gone out there, well the reporting is not all that bad this time as usually their style is very condescending and stigmatizing as well. I had posted the clip on three of my blogs from the day it was released and have paid close attention to some of the comments made and lack thereof by more privileged members of the gay community ...........

The Star carried:

Documentary highlights their life in New Kingston

Diandra Grandison, Staff Reporter

Dressed in wigs, female apparel and heavy make-up, a group of homosexual sex workers were the highlight of a documentary which went viral on the Internet recently.

The film titled, Documentary on Gay Prostitutes Living in Jamaica was first aired on video sharing site YouTube more than a week ago and has stirred responses of pity and disgust for the gay prostitutes.

The almost hour long documentary, which was produced by CBTV, was filmed on a sidewalk at Trafalgar Road, St Andrew, a popular hotspot for homosexuals.

Ten gay prostitutes were interviewed, all of whom spoke of their experiences as a sex workers as well as used the opportunity to express their grouses.

During the documentary, a 22-year-old 'man' with the moniker 'Stagerine', spoke of earning a living as a sex worker since he was 14. "I come from rural St Catherine, saw a gay sex tape and heard about New Kingston and decided to come hustle, I've been a sex worker for seven years," he shared.

But unlike many of his colleagues, Stagerine revealed, he still has a good relationship with his family, despite his occupation and lifestyle.

The homosexual sex workers, also spoke of being attacked by passers-by and being made homeless due to their sexual orientation. This proved to be true as during the interview a bottle was thrown at the group.

Sasha-Berry, 21, explained how he was hospitalised late last year: "I was stabbed multiple times in December, after I was set up by 'two real girls' to mek dem friend try kill me."

Another worker said he is forced to sleep in a gully. " From yuh gay, dem don't waa rent we dem place and what we make is hand to mouth, we can't afford it," Trina-Doll explained.

The group also emphasised their need for help and aspirations to live overseas in a 'gay-friendly' country.

"Mi feel like me waa leave Jamaica and live my life free, waa live like inna Amsterdam weh it legal!" one said.

Throughout the film, the men expressed their disappointment in Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller, who they claimed used them to get elected. They claimed that the prime minister made promises during the December 2011 leadership debate that if admitted in office she would review the Buggery Act.

Another added, "she needs to look out for us. She visits other countries and sees how their heads of state look out for homosexuals ... How do you sleep Miss Portia, knowing that your brothers and sisters are sleeping in the gully?"

While some of the more than 50,000 YouTube viewers sympathised with the gay sex workers, others responded with disdain.

"Oh my God, my heart bleeds for these poor uneducated guys, this is a very sad state," a viewer commented.

Another commented, "this is disgusting! I'm for live and let live, but sex on the street and them kinda levity, spread all kinda disease and dysfunction."

"Mi feel like me waa leave Jamaica and live my life free, waa live like inna Amsterdam weh it legal!"

ENDS

Pity that it has taken all these years, deaths, beatings, impervious bigoted pretentious agencies run by gay men at that and so much suffering to finally get them some attention and despite grand announcements and shows to pretend as if some concern is being shown via the much touted Dwayne's House project they are still on the streets as their numbers increase.

Now we are being told of another pretentious bunch coming on to do some sort of outreach as 1pm! in the afternoon when the men are out at late hours.

Question is where were all these persons when the situation warranted so much attention and additionally why wasn't support given to other groups and individuals who wanted to jump in and assist?

Politics in Jamaican LGBT advocacy continues to play out and how strange that the Chairman of JASL resigned in a huff some time ago.

Peace and tolerance

H

JFLAG Urges More State Support For Homosexual Teens Living On Streets

also see: Some good news on the homeless MSM front ..... guarded & waiting part 2: Dwayne's House Project site opens

Nice call but JFLAG and others including individual advocates need to look within themselves and stop overlooking the real causation that led to the present overpopulation in New Kingston especially but island-wide if we are to examine the scene carefully.

Meanwhile Dwayne's House website is up in memory of murdered transgender teen who was killed by a mob earlier this year, see the site HERE my hopes were raised before when JFLAG said they were going to start a shelter in November 2012 but it never materialised. SEE: Some good news on the homeless front ..... guarded and waiting and 

Transgender Day of Rememberance 2013: Gully Queen, Barbie Love & Britney Boudashious gone too soon

The Gleaner reported today:

Jermaine Francis, Staff Reporter

With several homosexual teenagers said to be roaming the streets unattached, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) is alleging that the State has turned its back on these children.

Speaking at a Gleaner Editors' Forum yesterday, representatives of J-FLAG said many of these children were forced to leave their homes and communities because their parents have either put them out or they have been threatened by community members because of their sexual orientation.

They expressed that some of these children, mostly boys, are as young as 13 years old and are not getting any assistance from state agencies.

Latoya Nugent, J-FLAG's public education and community outreach manager, said state agencies are often afraid to assist the children because of their sexual orientation.

"When you have boys under 18 - and as young as 13 - who are on the streets, that is something that the CDA (Child Development Agency) should be responsible for. But then, nothing happens because everybody is afraid to touch them," she said.

Dane Lewis, J-FLAG's executive director, said the group has been given the runaround in its quest to get these children off the streets.

"The CDA has suggested that it is the police's responsibility first, and the police say, 'Our hands are tied'," Lewis added.

CISOCA UNAWARE OF PHENOMENON

Checks with the CDA and the Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA) revealed that they are not in possession of any such reports currently.

Acting CEO of the CDA, Rosalee Gage-Grey, said she was unaware of such reports and indicated that any child who turns up at any one of the CDA's 14 parish offices in need of security, the agency would assist, despite their sexual orientation.

Adding that cases of children being on the streets would have to be referred to the CDA offices and then be investigated, Gage-Grey stated: "If there are specific cases, they need to be brought to the CDA and we will deal with them accordingly."

Deputy superintendent in charge of CISOCA, Veronica Gilzene, also said her department was unaware of the phenomenon. She said her office has a representative from the CDA, and if homosexual children are being forced out of their homes and communities and the police are notified, they have a duty to call the CDA.

Meanwhile, J-FLAG is adamant that the State needs to do more to assist the children, as it is often the State's neglect that causes them to become delinquent and exhibit antisocial characteristics.

ENDS

A comment on the original page says it best in my view when it comes to perception of the lobby/community and the lack of credibility in as far as crisis reporting:

also see:On homelessness, evictions, hypocrisy & now JFLAG's own displacement ............

Kingston’s Homeless MSM challenges scream for proper attention

And we continue to reap the world-wind for not addressing homelessness when it was manageable

The Quietus ......... The Safe House Project Closes

Homeless MSM to feel the pinch as JASL issues ultimatum (where it al began to go downhill) 

The toss up between MSM homelessness & public order makes news again 2013

Homeless MSM evicted from Cargill Avenue also audio/podcast:

It is just heart rending to watch this go down this way it has over the past four years in particular aided and abetted by the agencies who ought to know better yet speak with such eloquence on this issue when they are partly responsible for the challenges in New Kingston in particular. Passing the buck to government when we know they won't directly address MSM homelessness over the general populace when this literally means votes.

also hear my other thoughts via podcast:

UPDATE
December 9, 2013:
Pastor lashes out at 'injustices' faced by gays (Jamaica Observer)

Peace and tolerance

H

Gays must reserve thier disappointment says emailer on the Queen Ifrica matter

I got this article via email yesterday and thought it was a contributed piece but subsequently realised it was a letter to the editor of the Western Mirror that I had missed. The cancellation of reggae artist Queen Ifrica's work permit to perform in Canada after her Independence Day pro hetero-marriage stance seems to still be on the minds of many as the perception that the advocacy structure has become oppressive due to the poorly planned actions of a group of locals residing overseas. 

Agitation is appreciated by our friends abroad but they must take cue from the locals on the ground before launching overkill campaigns or actions as JAGLA, Jamaica Association of Gays Living Abroad. 

Here is the letter firstly to which I would just send this post as a response.

Queen Ifrica in performance.

The Editor, 

Dear Sir, Queen Ifrica should’ve known how sensitive gays are, and that they would’ve felt left out when she didn’t ‘big them up’ too at the Grand Gala. This may thwart her chance of becoming an official global ambassador.

However, I have watched and heard Queen Ifrica, and I believe that she is one who has been sent. Next time though, I advise her not to come ‘straight’, but instead speak in parables. Make them like the Pharisees, wonder and speculate about the meaning of your words.

Artistes are entertainers and expressionists by nature. Queen Ifrica was simply being a natural and courageous Jamaican artiste.

GAY SHOULD RESERVE DISAPPOINTMENT

The gay community should reserve their ‘disappointment’ for artistes who portray negativity such as violence, hate and disrespect, none of which Queen Ifrica had done and has ever done; she leaves those things to greater beings than herself.

It is quite a challenge for Ministers of Government to please everybody. Although government has a greater obligation to the majority of Jamaicans, it has to provide special and extra support to the nation’s most vulnerable.

Sensitivity is not vulnerability. Vulnerability factors include physically and mentally challenged states, ethnicity, gender, age and certain legacies, like socio-economic states of one’s previous and present generations; factors that one has little or no control over.

HOMOSEXUALITY IS A CHOICE

Homosexuality is a choice, or if instinctive then it’s an instinct gone awry. What Queen Ifrica said was not illegal. What gay men often do such is buggery, is an illegal action here. So it was like saluting those in the crowd that don’t steal, run the red light or murder and assault.

When government has to bow to a minority group who are not ‘vulnerable’, or to foreign establishments, you know that we are in trouble.

Queen Ifrica’s salute to heterosexuals was so innocuous, that I wouldn’t have realised. However, just like their sexual indiscretions, these gays had to ‘show up’ themselves.

The truth is, we cannot bare much more ‘slackness’ of any kind, whether political, social or economical.

It’s either the perpetrators keep it to themselves with discretion or restraint, or have it thrown out into the sea.

I am,
Andre Sheppy (BPharm),
Registered Pharmacist.medifair@cwjamaica.com

ENDS

I am sorry to disappoint Andre but staying in the closet is not an option for some LGBT Jamaicans anymore and conflating abuse with same gender consensual sex is a foolish thought. Miss Ifrica's freedom of speech may have been threatened in the eyes of some but what persons do in the privacy of their homes is their business so long as their is consent involved. Homosexuality is a biological reality whether you like it or not.

also see:

Queen Ifrica's "Freedom of Speech" & advocacy found wanting

'I SPOKE FOR WHAT I BELIEVED IN' - Queen Ifrica defends Grand Gala performance after JFLAG backlash

Sizzla bats for Queen Ifrica as expected

also hear my commentary that I did a little late

also hear the interview with Tony Rebel, Queen Ifrica and JFLAG's Executive Director Dane Lewis on MURDER MUSIC, VITRIOL & LGBT ADVOCACY from Nationwide News the day after the Grand Gala comments by Ifrica:

older posts from sister blogs

Queen Ifrica, Tony Rebel call out Jamaican government on buggery law from 2012

"Keep it to yuself mentality" on homosexuality

"Keep it to Yuself mentality" on homosexuality part 2 .... on "str8 Jamaica from 2009

The socio cultural battle is even going to be greater it seems if after buggery is decriminalized as the myths and misconceptions are ripe; it is only a pity that she could have been a possible ally to the struggle seeing that she was exposed in some sense to parts of the issues but in a negative way as hinted to in the radio interview linked above via homelessness and abuse working alongside the late Dr Heather Little White so she easily without the proper engagement/education assume that the young men she encountered were abused into homosexuality hence her stance. 

Her removal from the UNICEF program she also referred to in the clip maybe the trigger point to the grand gala outburst as she as many other Jamaicans conflate sexual abuse with same gender sex (via consent) hence persons feel children are being conditioned into the "lifestlye" when lifestyle and orientation are not one in the same. Now she and Tony Rebel have crossed over to the dark side aided and abetted by the very lgbt advocacy structure that are to help engage persons to enlightenment as the photo below shows at a recent JCHS meeting:

From left: Angela Templer, group coordinator, Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society (JCHS); Tony Rebel; Dr Wayne West, JCHS chairman; and Queen Ifrica during the launch and viewing of the JCHS-produced DVD: 'Sex, Lies and Rights'. 

also see: Anti Gay Religious group launches pro buggery law DVD

Peace and tolerance

H

$10,000 per person to develop the "community?"

Many LGBTians on the ground are not so pleased with an ad from JFLAG regarding a workshop which for all intents and purposes is to equip persons with skills outside of advocacy, my criticisms about the lack of programs to do just that is answered in a sense but with a hefty price tag when it finally comes.

I thought that this kind of rare, well needed and only for the privileged session it seems were to be regularly done in cycles or at least annually especially in these tough economic times for those who really need such skills, now it will set you back $10,000 if you want to partake in the latest one. This should have been absorbed by the J or seek to find expertise within the LGBT community which I have no doubt is there just not engaged. 

How can "community" be built with obstacles as a charge and as high as $10,000.00

These are the workshops I would gladly welcome and direct persons to but a monetary charge really! when JFLAG is an Advocacy/social justice agency. Never in my years at the J did I see or hear of community building activities (though rare) having a charge and such a hefty one at that.

This does not look good at all especially when the J faces some backlash from the ground as persons are still not pleased with some bizarre decisions earlier in the year and the handling or mishandling of the Queen Ifrica matter leaving the lobby with a black eye for a few months and the credibility of the crisis communication in serious questions.

Good idea for a small business workshop, bad idea to charge a fee for the very persons who may be interested but not be able to afford same when they are seeking opportunities to break free from the financial meltdown.

Think on these things.

Peace and tolerance

H

And MSM continue to be ready material for data collection ..... what about the interventions for the recurring issues for decades?

And here we have more material to prove to us that all we are as MSM especially those on the lower end of the social totem pole are nothing ore than targets to be met and materials for the subject of studies and reports yet no serious meaningful interventions from these very same groups and experts to solve very old problems with new participants and victims.

I am getting really fed up with the misuse of persons as if they are not humans or just inanimate objects to be used and their plight overly highlighted by those who are their betters yet the betters with access and agency just sit and use us, setting up bureaucratic systems aided and abetted by other experts with nice reports but in the final analysis the issue remain the same or get worse while the numbers so affected increase. Everybody comes as a facilitator for the discourse and do not want to get their hands dirty, hands off that set of MSM it's too sticky for the privileged to handle. 

As I commented on Facebook:

"professional hypocrisy again! ...........nobody wants to get their hands dirty with MSM especially the displaced, they all come as "facilitators to discourse" under the guise of gay rights yet the men's welfare issues left unattended, who are you fooling? while they have to battle it out there while u are comfortable.

Bogo yaga battyman dem nah touch (Lower class gays they are not touching) yet year after year reports come with the same set of problems (just with new victims) yet no serious real meaningful interventions to follow, MSM therefore are only materials for the subject of study, report preparation and HIV testing to make up numbers one can safely conclude, targets to be met anyone?"

Here is the Gleaner report on the publication but frankly you realise my frustration with the decades of face-carding while lives fall through the cracks under the watchful eyes of experts who tell the world they are representing vulnerable groups.

Petre Williams-Raynor, Contributing Editor

THE VOICES of 32 men who have sex with other men - one of them a boy of only 15 - have been added to the debate over gay rights in Jamaica, courtesy of a recent publication from Panos Caribbean.

The publication, 'Speaking Out: Voices of Jamaican MSM', was released on Monday at the official launch ceremony, held at The Pegasus hotel, New Kingston.

"My families lick out against me. [They] say that's the wrong way and the wrong road I am trying to go. But my own mother is talking about she hates me, she don't like me because I'm trying to be a batty guy. My only sister cursed me and say she no want me 'round her," were the anguished words from the 15-year-old boy, identified only as Jona, in the publication.

"Sometimes I feel like committing suicide. I knock my head till I feel like killing myself. I do have one or two friends that help me with my struggles, but the worst, hurtful part of it [is] my own mother that give me life, licking [hitting] out against me," he added.

Jona's comments are indicative of only one of the challenges affecting Jamaican men, young and old, who have sex with men - family rejection.

issues facing group

Other issues that have emerged from the oral testimonies as affecting this group of males are stigma and discrimination, violence, homelessness, HIV and other health challenges as well as education and law-enforcement considerations.

"This has been an initiative long in the making. Panos started working on these testimonies in 2011 under the guidance of former Executive Director Jan Voordouw and [project coordinator] Jean Claude Louis," said Panos Caribbean's country coordinator for Haiti and Jamaica, Indi Mclymont Lafayette, on Monday.

"At the time, Panos thought that this was a key issue that needed to be discussed and that would fit into our goals of helping to air the voices of persons who are marginalised."

Started in 1986, Panos works to promote sustainable development in the wider Caribbean region through building the capacity of various sectors of society to effectively communicate the issues affecting them.

oral testimonies

The 92-page book of oral testimonies - collected by other gays trained in the methodology for data collection - was made possible through project funding from the United States Agency for International Development and with the input of World Learning, whose mission is to empower people and strengthen institutions through education, exchange and development programmes.

"Panos believes in using communications as a tool for development and, based on our research, we think this is an issue that, with informed dialogue, can go a long way in helping Jamaica address issues of stigma, discrimination and intolerance," Mclymont Lafayette said, further explaining Panos' own role as facilitator of the discourse on the issues affecting MSM.

"It is our hope that we can communicate on an issue that many see as challenging in a spirit of respect, and listening because it is from listening that you learn. We know that in any conversation, there will be divergent views, but for Panos, it is critical that space is created for those views to have a voice," she added.

In the coming months, the oral testimonies are to be widely circulated among policymakers, the media and other stakeholders to see how best the challenges can be tackled.

pwr.gleaner@gmail.com

Murder Music Campaign needs local leadership/ownership once again

Sigh

Whenever I read articles such as this one in today's Gleaner as penned by the present JFLAG Programs Manager it just shows up the lack of understanding the lay of the land and the real deal when it comes to the murder music campaigns and the categories of artists who were and are specifically tracked and targeted. Why hasn't the older advocates assisted the newbies to understand the issues? and to think JFLAG penned the tersely worded press release in response to Queen Ifrica's Independence Day rant with the very first sentence and indeed paragraph setting the tone for what was to come where it read prior to its editing on their website 

"J-FLAG notes with profound disappointment the anti-gay animus expressed by Queen Ifrica at the Grand Gala on August 6, 2013. Her sentiment is an example of the unabated divisiveness we continue to allow to take prominence on the national stage. Queen Ifrica’s remark is similar to the vitriolic sentiments which came from Tony Rebel at the celebrations last year and should have never been allowed again.
We are surprised this happened on the day the Prime Minister urged us, in her Independence Day Message, to accord respect to people so every Jamaican can feel a sense of belonging in our society.

It is regrettable that the government has not been able to guarantee non-discriminatory performances from artistes for such a high-profile function as the Grand Gala. We encourage the government to follow the example of reggae and dancehall promoters and their sponsors who consistently draft contracts proscribing penalties for the use of indecent language, discriminatory rhetoric, and incitement to violence. Independence celebrations showcase the best of Jamaica’s indigenous artistic and cultural expressions, and are held to a high standard from their inception.

As the nation passes the 50 year mark and enters a new epoch of its history, we must zealously work to protect the dignity of all Jamaicans without any distinction. We have all pledged to play our part in advancing the welfare of the whole human race. These words are especially poignant in such a celebratory period of our nationhood. We are therefore compelled to reflect on these and other patriotic words of commitment found in our National Anthem and Pledge.
Jamaica cannot become the place of choice to live and raise families unless respect and dignity can be given to the entire Jamaican family. As we celebrate Jamaica’s 51st year of independence we must also celebrate the importance of peace, democracy, justice, and equality for the continuation of our prosperity as a nation."

ENDS

The redone release now reads as follows

J-FLAG notes with profound disappointment the anti-gay remarks expressed by Queen Ifrica at the Grand Gala on August 6, 2013. Her sentiment is an example of the unabated divisiveness we continue to allow to take prominence on the national stage. Queen Ifrica’s remark is similar to the sentiments which came from Tony Rebel at the celebrations last year and should have never been allowed again.
We are surprised this happened on the day the Prime Minister urged us, in her Independence Day Message, to accord respect to people so every Jamaican can feel a sense of belonging in our society.

It is regrettable that the government has not been able to guarantee non-discriminatory performances from artistes for such a high-profile function as the Grand Gala. We encourage the government to follow the example of reggae and dancehall promoters and their sponsors who consistently draft contracts proscribing penalties for the use of indecent language, discriminatory rhetoric, and incitement to violence. Independence celebrations showcase the best of Jamaica’s indigenous artistic and cultural expressions, and are held to a high standard from their inception.

As the nation passes the 50 year mark and enters a new epoch of its history, we must zealously work to protect the dignity of all Jamaicans without any distinction. We have all pledged to play our part in advancing the welfare of the whole human race. These words are especially poignant in such a celebratory period of our nationhood. We are therefore compelled to reflect on these and other patriotic words of commitment found in our National Anthem and Pledge.
Jamaica cannot become the place of choice to live and raise families unless respect and dignity can be given to the entire Jamaican family. As we celebrate Jamaica’s 51st year of independence we must also celebrate the importance of peace, democracy, justice, and equality for the continuation of our prosperity as a nation.

ENDS

Then came the ill fated nationwide radio interview with Tony Rebel (Independence Day infraction 2012), Queen Ifrica and none other than the person of Dane Lewis the ED of JFLAG who ended up mum as to the use of the words " "vitriloic" and on some "anti gay animus" note when u go to the link you will see the edited release without the words that caused Tony Rebel especially to ridicule Mr Lewis live on air and forcing him to capitulate in a sense that has left the local as well as foreign LGBT persons up in arms, Mr Lewis could not answer a direct question asked of him by Rebel on the vitriolic description then it is no wonder why this JAGLA group came from nowhere to tackle Queen Ifrica themselves although I would have much preferred she be allowed to attend the show she was booked and commit the infraction on foreign soil as was done with other acts such as Sizzle during my time when I was involved in the SMM campaign locally. I fear JFLAG now finds itself having to defer to the calls of the populations and cannot continue to be impervious to them, one wonders if such deferring will also take place with the homeless? Obviously this one was poorly handled and they allowed ownership of the struggle to shift to not only Ifrica, Tony Rebel but also more and more disgruntled LGBT folks who are questioning the stewardship of the goodly J.

Now Mr Jaevion Nelson pens the following 

Reggae and dancehall are our brand; they're in our vein and culture. It helps in retaining dominant and widely held beliefs, norms and practices and influencing how we interact with each other.

Around 1992, when Buju Banton released Boom Bye Bye, Jamaica seemingly embarked on a trajectory where it gained international notoriety for its treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. With so many songs - apparently there are at least 200 from as early as the 1970s - it wasn't very difficult for people (foreigners?) to believe Jamaica was, indeed, the 'murder music' capital and 'most homophobic place' on earth.

Many Jamaicans are strongly opposed to these descriptions, but the number of mob attacks, murders, abuse and other forms of harassment betray efforts to contest this characterisation. There has been noted progress over the years, but anti-gay attitudes remain commonplace. The brutal murder of 16-year-old Dwayne Jones reminds us that much more needs to be done to protect the rights of LGBT people.

It is unlikely to not hear speakers belting songs endorsing anti-gay attitudes at any event. That's the Jamaica I grew up in. That's what I heard on the bus to and from school every morning and evening and that's still the reality of many Jamaicans.

Nuff artistes like Queen Ifrica still a sing seh dem 'doh waan nuh fish inna [dem] ital dish'. This 'ital dish' is the reason Queen Ifrica has been criticised by concerned Jamaicans, some of whom are human-rights defenders; and the reason why her performance at Rastafest in Toronto was cancelled.

LGBT rights activists have seemingly walked into the trap of Shirley Richards, the former president of Lawyers' Christian Fellowship (LCF), that LGBT rights are part of an agenda to silence Christian values. Richards has been craftily (mis)using some cases where people were sanctioned for disrespecting the codes and practices of their employers. To Richards, these employees were just exercising their freedom of speech and conscience.

RESPONSIBILITY

The truth is, freedom comes with responsibilities. It isn't a licence to spew disparaging remarks about people. Furthermore, there are limitations to freedoms, and people will protest when they feel you are (mis)using your freedom to (directly or indirectly) cause harm. That's what the group of gay and lesbian Jamaicans abroad, JAGLA, did when it successfully got the organisers of Rastafest to cancel Queen Ifrica's performance.

Only time will tell whether or not JAGLA's actions will 'teach' Ifrica a lesson, mute her, or make her more respectful of the rights of LGBT people. I am anxious that this might only make her angry and cause Jamaicans to resign in their fears about gay rights and people's freedoms.

There is a fair bit of information available, such as the activist reflection on fighting 'murder music' by Colin Robinson and Akim Ade Larcher (2009), which is instructive for our analysis of what ensued recently (seehttp://sta.uwi.edu/crgs/november2009/journals/akimadelarcher.pdf). Their experiences and views are noteworthy.

At the end of the day, I am sure Queen Ifrica, as do most Jamaicans, still believes music doesn't influence our behaviour. For many, it's really just a song - it's metaphorical. Furthermore, Jamaicans do not understand activist-speak and, as a consequence, it is difficult to comprehend why saying 'no fish roun' here' is problematic.

Dr Marcia Forbes' book Media, Music and Adolescent Sexuality in Jamaica is a good case study for music and behaviour. That is why, while I am not suggesting JAGLA did not engage Ifrica, dialogue outside of polarised spaces is so important in all of this.

Noted Jamaican scholars have opined that songs such as Buju's Boom Bye Bye and TOK's Chi-chi Man are merely lyrics and not an incitement to harm any person. Arguably, this is valid, but one cannot ignore how music contributes to mainstreaming and perpetuating anti-gay attitudes and the application of these songs by Jamaicans. After all, we easily recite lyrics and Bible verses when we mete out punishment to LGBT people.

All of us are somehow complicit. No single group can be held responsible for the anti-gay attitudes replete across Jamaica. We believe that saying 'no fish inna mi ital dish' is OK as long as it didn't explicitly 'encourage' violence. That's a big problem with our culture. It's one of the reasons we ignore students bullying their peers until there is blood.Not so long ago, we shunned (through our music) people who engage in oral sex - that's now a thing of the past. I sincerely hope we can say that about 'murder music'. As Tanya Stephens said (in an interview with me in 2010), "It wouldn't hurt artistes to stop spreading messages of hate in their music."

Jaevion Nelson is a youth development, HIV and human rights advocate. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and jaevion@gmail.com.

ENDS

While Ifrica's words may not be out rightly inciteful given the temperature of the nation (just listen to talk radio) the slightest "push" can lead and have led to ghastly consequences, whenever the agitation becomes more pronounced and precise and public there is always a spike in homo-negative cases and challenges. Just take the cases in the last month or so that have made news post the Dwayne Jones matter and the We are Jamaicans Campaign that is interpreted in some circles as an imposition of foreign lifestyles with big money behind it. How do groups and advocates then expect most virtuous messages as tolerance (even though erroneously demanded) resonate with the ever hardened public and especially since the ifrica mishap? Early songs in the reggae genre dealt with anti gay sentiments via a biblical perspective even though voiced by Rastafarians in the form of King Sounds & The Israelites - Spend One Night inna Babylon (1978) one of the earliest homo-negative tracks in the dancehall era however was Chuckle Berry's "No Gay Man" in 1991 then his follow up "Made(ly) in Love where he frankly said he does not rub-a-dub with men. Simpleton's "See it Deh" came in 1993 that pushed the unnaturalness as it were of male homosexuality. Then in the late nineties came Capleton's Shot Him Up, Pure Sodom, Ready When You Ready and Bun Out a Chi Chi. 

The infectious kumina/revival genre sounding dancehall track done by Wickerman - Gurlz Dem Gungo Walk was released in 2001 revived the short quiet period as Buju Banton's Boom Bye Bye still reigned supreme while Beenieman was to add his voice to the long line of acts both popular and unknown with "All Battyman Fi Dead". Not to be outdone is Sizzla who was one of the first acts to be engaged during the early years of the SMM where at first attempts were made to persuade artists no to perform the offending tracks using moral sway via the promoters and influentials but that didn't work and by the time we looked tricks were used on stage to sneak in materials such as a live band striking chords of the offending song that is known verbatim by the audience who willing sing them while the artist remains mute on stage then claims they never performed them directly. Thus the campaign's strategy was changed to what it became and taking on a life of its own by the more astute overseas allies who continued the work.

Strategy is everything and each artist has to be engaged differently and not grouped as caustic as the more fervent five. Overseas allies be they local or foreigners need to take the lead from the ground before going on frolics of their own, now we are left with a new layer to penetrate in the national pysche that being the oppressed becoming the oppressor.

Peace and tolerance

H

also see:

Sizzla bats for Queen Ifrica as expected

Also see: Tolerance, when the oppressed becomes the oppressor from 2009

Shirley Richards breaks silence on the Queen Ifrica fiasco

 Gov’t Hush Hush On Gay Pressure …As Promoters Forced To Pull Queen Ifrica From Canada Show

Queen Ifrica's "Freedom of Speech" & advocacy found wanting

August 26, 2013
Nationwide radio's Emily Crooks during her What's On My Mind segment of her show gave her two cents alongside Naomi Francis co-host, I am total agreement with her, JAGLA over reached in this case:

'I SPOKE FOR WHAT I BELIEVED IN' - Queen Ifrica defends Grand Gala performance after JFLAG backlash

suggested reading: CLICK HERE

Peace and tolerance

H

Today one of the Gleaner's headline rang like a bell here is the story firstly then my comment below that I placed on the Gleaner site which I hope they publish as the debate intensifies especially given last night's discussion on All Angles.

'We Have The Numbers' - Anti-Homosexuality Church Leaders Confident Enough Religious Jamaicans In Island To Prevent Change To Buggery Law

Nedburn Thaffe, Gleaner Writer wrote:

With some 2,050,771 Jamaicans claiming affiliation to a religion, it would appear the church community, which has been standing firm against gay-rights activists in recent days, might be able to put up a formidable defence against those seeking to have the Government repeal the country's buggery law.

Just recently, one prominent clergyman shouted from his pulpit that he was prepared to die to ensure that Jamaica does not succumb to pressure from gay rights activists.

The statement from the executive director of the Church of God in Jamaica, Reverend Lenworth Anglin, followed that of another pastor, Reverend Al Miller, who declared last week that "a group of concerned pastors and leaders" have stated their willingness to mobilise and resist any attempts to tamper with the country's Constitution as it relates to the buggery law.

"We certainly have the numbers," Anglin told The Gleaner yesterday.

Data from the latest Population and Housing Census appear to support Anglin's claim. They indicate that some 129,554 Jamaicans are affiliated with a Church of God denomination.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church alone accounts for some 322,228, making it the denomination with the highest affiliation in numbers in Jamaica.

The Rastafarian religion, which is well known for its intolerance of homosexuality, has an affiliation number of 29,026.

But as the gay community and the Church continue on what appears to be a collision course, yesterday one social commentator who refrained from saying the level of impact the who refrained from saying the level of impact the Church is likely to have in helping to prevent any repeal of the buggery law, stopped just short of saying that recent comments from some clergymen might help to fuel even greater hostility in the minds of Jamaicans towards the gay community.

"Language like 'persons willing to die for' and so on, in my view, is unnecessary language at this point," said Carol Narcisse, who stressed that her views didn't necessarily represent those of the Jamaica Civil Society Coalition (JCSC) of which she is the chairperson.

"This is a discussion that the country needs to have, and it is hoped that the Church will provide an honest, sober position in the public domain, recognising that there is already a tendency towards making this issue being the subject of violence and the subject of harm to Jamaicans who are homosexual."

Added Narcisse: "We live in a democracy where all views will contend; the Church is one group in the society and it has a legitimate voice in the national conversation. However, the Church is not a monolithic group, there are other views within the Church as well."

"We would hope that persons of faith, leaders in the Church community who hold other views and a different approach; an approach that's more promoting of tolerance, an approach that is more promoting of a national discussion about inclusion and the rights of consenting adults, that those voices will come forward and join in the discussion."

She said any discussion going forward must be "sensitive to the fact that we are talking about the lives of human beings."

"We can only hope that we can come through this discussion in a way that does not see greater violence, harm, intolerance and exclusion," Narcisse charged.

Head of the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society Dr Wayne West agreed that "the Church has numbers" and could successfully argue against any repeal of the buggery law, so long as it pitches its argument correctly.

"When a country makes its laws, laws are framed within some sort of philosophy and I think that the Christian theistic world view is the best performing law. I think the Church can certainly argue that the Judeo-Christian world view is better than the secular world view," West said.

"I suppose the Church could certainly argue that a large number of people in Jamaica certainly hold that view."

Gay-rights activist Maurice Tomlinson is currently awaiting a ruling after going to the Constitutional Court to seek a declaration that Television Jamaica, CVM Television and the Public Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica had breached his constitutional right to freedom of expression when they refused to air a paid advertisement promoting tolerance for homosexuals in Jamaica.

nedburn.thaffe@gleanerjm.com
CONTINUE HERE

My response:

Interesting the fear mongering premised on sheer ignorance the fundamental question is in the very numbers of bodies, how many men with same sex desire be they gay or innately bisexual are hiding within the church? a recent radio discussion involving some prominent theologians and church representatives on "straight spouses" with unsuspecting partners suggest that inside the very church LOCALLY from whose pulpits where these pastors shout from many men (including the some clergy) hide themselves to regularize their lives. And as for sexual abuse of female members and male too and power differentials that another matter altogether for another time.

Will they come out when the time is right and declare who they really are? but given ones inability to live ones truth with convenient homophobic rhetoric we are in for some interesting times ahead. It will boil down to who will stand out and up eventually and stop the deceptions on all sides for that matter and let good sense prevail. UNDERSTANDING is what is needed here.

Besides there are Christian and Rastafarian folks who are tolerant, maybe it is their time to also start speaking up to bring some sense into the mix. The change of the law or reading down of buggery as it now stands is NOT going to suddenly create some avalanche of "Buggerers" that will simply hit every biological born male wearing a pair of pants. What are these people afraid or?

As for Rev Al Miller he has no moral authority to speak on anything for that matter these days, lest we forget his ongoing trial in aiding and abetting a known fugitive to escape the law of the land!? Albeit to a foreign power a that and using a male same gender loving and transgender form of aesthetic expression (cross-dressing) as a form of disguise in carrying out the deception at that yet he comes out swinging against homosexuality, really?!

If this were elsewhere he would be considered a traitor or even charged for treason at that.

Religious intolerance needs to STOP it makes no sense, confusing same gender sex with abuse is one of the main drivers of this as the fear is some infestation or increase in abuse of prepubescent persons when laws already exist to protect them and besides decriminalizing buggery which is what is now postured by the LGBT lobby and not necessarily a full repeal will not take away rights and protections that already exist it will only allow same sex intimacy in a private setting to occur via the all important CONSENT. Paedophilia or any attraction to a prepubescent person or child is a diagnosable deviant sexual disorder, HOMOSEXUALITY however is NOT the same and is innate.

The gender or supposed orientation of the abuser is not important when it comes to sexual abuse, ABUSE IS ABUSE and the law and psycho social responses should go into effect, just yesterday on Newstalk 93FM's Freshstart with host Sharon Hay Webster a rep from the CDA highlighted the need also for forensic psychiatrists in the system to also probe the look of perpetrators as well to avoid repeat offending.

Maybe we can follow the route of the Irish and learn from the path they took where they not only repealed buggery, removed the two ages of consent for homosexual(21) and heterosexual anal sex(18) made it 18 across the board, made privacy a cornerstone for same sex persons but they also added a child defilement clause as an amendment so as to appease the fearmongerers there as well, chaos did not break out there, instead Ireland is stable as she can be.

Some of us are lesbian/gay/bi/transgender/bisexual and everything else in between, it takes all kinds to make the world go round. Yet what is even more disturbing to me is the missing zeal in the anti homosexual campaign we see when it comes to murdered children/adults, spiraling crime and the elderly (recent cases comes to mind), the kids in state lockups with adults not to mention the umpteen missing as well yet plus the homeless on the street yet millions are spent for full paged ads and other perks for pastors for huge salaries but the moral fiber for the real issues on the ground is if not missing is very low.

One wonders if the tactic employed now to rile up a crowd (burrowed in someway from the political directorate) is not to fill collection plates too in a time when the economy is slow as well, popularity seekers at the expense of a minority group, after all it seems to be the only issue that makes a church service hot these days as most of these leaders are empty vessels, when the same congregation are themselves seemingly numb to the other societal ills.

Peace and tolerance

H

Additional materials: Miss Narcisse who was quoted above also had spoken on the issue on a radio show excerpted here ..............

Gay activists on Minority rights

Western Jamaica Clergy want buggery law to remain

Also see a letter in the Gleaner today as well: Church Biased and my post on sister blog GLBTQJA Wordpress on: Church Stands Resolute Against Buggery Backers says Al Miller ………… Love March Movement Lacks Moral Compass says LGBT voice

The problem with the LGBT lobby I have however is that just when it should matter most we are divided and are lacking several pieces of the parts to make the campaigns and messages resonate including credibility on certain fronts. Mixing a secularist agenda into the scheme of the agitation has only sought to anger the religious movement even further something I warned about some time ago and now we have added layers to the debate that have sought only to cloud the issue and extend the debate unnecessarily so.

Hear my short commentary I made on that:

The theologian community have gone as far as to call the homosexual community "dutty" in the recently launched translated King James version to patois of the new testament: The use of Jamaican dialect to further stigmatise homosexuals in the new patois Bible

As I ended my 2012 year in review and given recent happenings with JFLAG shooting itself in the foot - Truth is the ultimate weapon in the war. The LGBT leadership is a reflection of the follower-ship and vice versa if we are to grow the missing vigilance and objective approaches need to be improved. Deception seems to be on all sides take this for example:Dr Wayne West’s continued intellectual dishonesty on fisting felching & chariot racing by homosexuals in Jamaica

Also see: Espeut, West says “Homophobia” was invented to abuse Christians as hate speech as they use the victim ploy here. We have a long way to go it seems barring a miracle and some good sense prevailing.