Homophobic residents of the McGregor Gully community in East Kingston, Jamaica, are vowing to take action after a two week notice given to all gays and lesbians to flee the town ended over the weekend. Yes, that's right. The residents declared they were fed up with gay behavior, and ordered all gays to leave by 30 October. Those who did not leave, the residents warned, would "suffer the consequences."
From the Digital Journal:
"According to the residents, the main problem is a local hangout that is frequented by lesbians who 'kiss, hug, and even touch each other.' And the community's anger is directed mostly at those lesbians, though any gay men who reside in the area are also expected to leave. The residents say they will not stop until their community is "gay free" and are not afraid of resorting to extreme measures, though they would not explicitly say what those measures might be."
Such extreme bigotry. And, I don't understand how so many people continue to spend their tourist dollars in the homophobic haven a.k.a. Jamaica and turn a blind eye to flagrant human rights violations.
What can you do? Spread the word to your elected officials and help to apply more international pressure on the Jamaican government to either stop this nonsense or, as the homophobic residents of McGregor Gully put it, "suffer the consequences."
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Elena Kelly
Del Stone
David Alan Goldberg
jay leffew
Christopher di Spirito
Will Dees
Salon.com
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BTW, where is the government? The police? The "Good" people of that country?
Any updates?
Then I noticed it was in Jamaica, did thirty seconds of research, and found out that the article was from over two and a half years ago. So instead of "breaking news" we might call it "broken news."
Okay, so the item is antique - but probably attitudes haven't magically changed since then...
P.S. - Why do people care what other people do among themselves? I despise spectator sports, but I simply avoid them and their supporters...
Thank you for highlighting what is happening in Jamaica. I will not travel there until their violent bigotry changes. And I wish the white gay community would be more welcoming of gays of color. Any Jamaicans lucky enough to escape to where we live, we should welcome them with open arms and support them in any way we can.
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A UK diplomat was recently murdered and there is a campaign in the UK to get all entertainment promoters and theaters to cancel Jamaican rappers and entertainers who fuel the fires of hate against gays. Just google Peter is a famous activist who makes American activists look like simpering toothless lap dogs. If this issue interests you then Peter is someone you should know and you should be on his mailing list. He is easy to find and he is responsive.
As for tourism, do not even suggest a boycott please! This is about the only way that the outside world gets to learn about what’s going on there and a boycott will cost jobs and fuel the fire against the gays who must live there. The gays in Jamaica do not want to give them any more reason to persecute people. They are the ones who must live with and suffer and consequences of a boycott. All boycott should take place only here in the US and in the UK and the EU where these entertainers make lots of money. This is the way to be heard.
"Fuck them! I hope every last gay/lesbian moves out and are replaced by murders, rapists and drug abusers who make those homophobic assholes ""suffer the consequences."
You can make a
"sfae bet" that there are many many more of these in the uptight churchie/fundie/redneck communities than in the gay communities.
BTW-I'm a straight guy who sees these assholes for what they really are.
Florida is just as bad for gays. There are still laws on the books, and gay people are still busted just for trying to talk to others. They call it "solicitation" trust me I know. I have had friends busted, just because they talked to the wrong person ( read plainclothes ) you don't have to touch them, just saying something like " you're hot" can get you busted. They send them to bars, baths, and public places like the beaach. When in Florida, you must be careful who you invite back to your hotel room.
Is it too crazy to suggest that in a culture where self-hatred is found or self-esteem is not found, then it would follow that any characteristic that would allow people to get one-up-on would get a lot of attention?
If this has merit, the "cure" for Jamaica is several generations of winning, of generating respect for the people and culture--not just a few music stars.
If this has merit, the fault isn't entirely with "The Church." In fact the church could do an about face, preach acceptance, and it wouldn't take, because that's not where the hatred comes from.
The hatred comes from needing to not be on the bottom--needing to find someone to push down.
Like someone drowning!! Life-saving classes emphasize how dangerous a drowing person can be! They will grab you and push themselves up by pushing you under.
Perhaps I'm the only Jamaican on Salon, I'm not sure. But I feel I must come to the defence of my country. It's so easy to tar and feather an entire nation because of the actions of a few, right? I mean, should I feel safe in Connecticut when there was a shoot-out in Queens, New York? (I've never walked on the streets of New York (Gasp!) although I've ridden through that lovely city on trains) Should I encourage my brothers not to visit Los Angeles lest they be beaten to a pulp a la Rodney King? Should I warn my non-English speaking friends to avoid driving in Dallas, Texas, in case they're pulled over and fined in exces of $200 for... um... not speaking English? Seriously, guys, in a democratic (yes, we are!) society such as our its must be reasonable, at the least, to expect that people will not always share the same views. Perhaps, even, one may expect that some persons will hold very strong views on matters that are controversial. And, sometimes, the minority happens to be the most vocal group, you know? But that's what free speech is all about. I believe this principle holds in America as well. So there are people in Jamaica, as there are in America, who do ridiculous things, like threaten to kill homosexuals, or actually kill doctors who perform late term abortions. That is unfortunate. Jamaica is a relatively conservative country when compared with America, and we have some way to go as it relates to accepting many of the liberal values that Americans espouse. But you will agree that even in America there is still a very vocal majority who oppose the whole gay rights movement - they're called conservatives, and one almost won an election in New York! Please do not damn an entire country because of the views of a few. Wow, Safe_Bet, there are a lot more 'good' people here than there are 'homophobic assholes'. Basically, we just live our lives and work toward a brighter day when discrimination in all forms will disappear. Just like you. But it takes time. The Government is working, and so are the police. As we say here in JA, every mikkle mek a mukkle - one day, all these efforts will add up to a more tolerant society. In the meantime, I invite you all to visit this lovely land of wood and water to see for yourselves why our motto is 'out of many, one people'. I'll even meet you at the airport and take you out. Just let me know when you get here!
I removed Jamaica from my list of potential tourist destinations as result of this horrible crime. I also educated myself about Jamaica, and have always urged other people to spend their tourist dollars elsewhere. I tell them, whether they are gay or straight, what a violent, primitive and terrible place it is. I ask them if they want to risk their lives for a few days on a beach. Most of the islands that look so pretty to tourists are homophobic, but Jamaica is in class by itself.
It doesn't matter that the article cited came from 2006. You could read articles as extreme as that one in today's news. You could also go over to Youtube and watch the Jamaican Prime Minister say in an interview in May 2009 that he would not have a gay person in his Cabinet and that he would resist "leading" Jamaica away from its traditional values regarding homosexuality. Is that current enough? Is that blatant enough? Since you are already at Youtube, you could also watch a few clips of the most popular bands in Jamaica sing about torturing and murdering gays and lesbians, while the crowds cheer. Whay do you think about that? Jamaica has not progressed in 40 years. It has become worse.
I would suggest that people donate a few dollars, that they did not spend in Jamaica, to a reputable human rights watch group that is attempting to help people in Jamaica. It would also be great if there was fund to pay for plane tickets for impoverished Jamaican gay men and lesbians to leave that monstrous island behind.