Monday, November 9, 2009

A Conversation With Death

For a few days now, debates have been raging on groups on Facebook which support the genocide bill of Uganda. There is much to-ing and fro-ing, with each side presenting its arguments, and each in general criticizing the other.

The administrator of one of these groups came onto the scene to suggest that this support for the Gay Genocide Bill - I call it that because that's is in effect exactly what it is - is because of the "culture" the Ugandan people "believe in" and "you cant fault them because you too have a culture". He also suggested that it is always better for people "to talk" than not to talk. I agree with this second part, because when people stop talking, well - that's when wars happen.

I can fault them, actually - for institutionalized mass murder is not a "culture", it is an affront to civilization - and arguably, God as well.

While I agree with him that talking is better than not talking - I must point out that dead people cannot talk anymore - which is exactly what this bill the groups showing support for is all about.

People have the right to believe what they like - but where they call for harm to come to others, they infringe the right of those others to believe what THEY like. Likewise, people can deny truth and logic and science and reason in order to support their clearly apparent hatred, but it only makes them - and Uganda lose face among the nations of the world.

Others challenged Ugandan people to come forward on the group to prove they were GLBTIQ - this after bragging for days on end about how they were going to "help catch" the "perverts" and what they were going to do to them. They even claimed there are no gay Ugandans and that people who do things in secret are ashamed of what they are - and should be because what they are "doing" is "wrong".

They live in fear and darkness as they put it, because a large majority of people who hate them make their lives almost impossible, not because they are ashamed of being gay or have done anything wrong. I wonder if these brave folks would admit they are gay if they knew people were going to beat them up for it? Or that they may lose friends or job or their home? Or even their lives?

This does not make them "wrong" or "ashamed" - just afraid, oppressed and careful.

Then they switched tactics again, criticizing us for not being Ugandan and "interfering".

Yes, I may be a non-Ugandan, but you cannot deny logic and fact without making yourselves look foolish - something which I think you are becoming keenly aware of - which is probably why I have been blocked from one of these groups already.

"Nobody is born gay...PERIOD!" Another insisted, having obviously not bothered to get an education, at least on the subject of human sexuality.

Can you prove your statement? I can prove mine.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/050511_transfrm.htm
http://www.uel.ac.uk/news/press_releases/releases/borngay.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7456588.stm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080617151845.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_in_animals
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4215427.stm

His comments about to hiding are just plain ridiculous. Not even straight people are encouraged to hold hands or kiss or have sex in public. The difference is that while straight people are not targeted in public for having a particular sexual orientation or gender identity, gay and transgender people are.

How convenient to make people's lives so terrifying and dangerous that they are forced to hide themselves - and then to claim that they hide and are afraid because they are "perverted" and "evil" - or "need rehabilitation".

The US religious right use the same tactic - they force the Pink Community out of churches and government positions and the military - and then dare to complain that GLBTIQ people are anti-social, anti-religion, anti-state and unpatriotic because they are not involved in these aspects of society.

If only others on those hate groups on Facebook were more like the one solitary Ugandan man standing up for human rights for GLBTIQ Ugandans - he is calm, rational, logical, practical and displays great wisdom. I would like to point out at this point, that he isn't even part of the GLBTIQ community. In fact, he goes to great pains to point out that he is a conservative Christian and not even pro-gay!

He says he follows Christ and has Christ as his inspiration. At least, in his words and deeds I can see it - unlike the others supporting that bill by adding fuel to the fire. who have not said one good word about gay people and who have spent days sharpening their tongues on scripture and hatred.

Instead they seem to have forgotten Christ was not a rich man, or a favored man, he was an outcast who rebelled against the religious rulers of the day - and look what religion did to him? Instead of following him they re-enact what was done to him and visit it upon others. And we know what he said about them, don't we?

"Forgive them, Father - for they know not what they do".

They should weigh their words and their actions according to this - a man dying because of the acts of others and still asking God for their forgiveness. How difficult is that to grasp? Is it madness? Or is it love?

And yet gay people do nothing to other people in Uganda - at least, not as gay people - and they would see them killed for it. And on top of this denial, they would still call themselves by his name by way of it.

The conservative Christian guy who is against this new bill, posted a section of the Ugandan Constitution last night, showing human rights clauses still in existence, which this new bill clearly violates - which would of course, make it unconstitutional.

This being said, even if these bigots want this law to pass, it creates a whole new set of problems for them, because in order to pass this new law, they have to "tweak" some of the old ones. It would take a team of dedicated legal experts a considerable time to modify the Constitution to accommodate the bill, and in such a way so that it is not obvious to Ugandans in general that doing so would mean stripping human rights in general, and not just against the pink community. But then, the average Ugandan hate-monger I have seen on these groups is by far not the sharpest tool in the shed anyway. After all, they still believe that gay people "recruit" and "choose" to be gay.

Of course, all this depends on whether any legal eagles have the courage or resources to challenge the legality of this bill in Uganda - or will even reach the courts to challenge it, without being charged with "promoting or defending homosexuality" - because it criminalizes homosexuality and if you oppose it, you must be a "criminal" yourself. Quite a brilliant deception on the part of the government, really.

I'm surprised nobody else there realizes it, but then again they argue legal issues through religion and probably couldn't tell the difference between a democracy and an oligarchy. I think they will though, soon.

One there, called Simon - tried to argue that being GLBTI was "unnatural" and "against the order of nature". He even quoted Ugandan law to try to prove this, and by listing the penalties hanging onto the "crime" of homosexuality. Those of us taking them on, pointed out the plentiful evidence showing the bountiful presence of homosexuality in animals. "Don't go there", he bragged, before implying that gay people "behave like animals".

No, let's go there.

So some animals are gay and you say they are "wrong" - but what do you say makes them wrong? If animals cannot think for themselves as you might suggest, and you postulate that God made animals, and it is natural for some animals to be gay, ergo it is nature they are following, not so?

So then, following this line of thought, you suggest that people who are born gay - IE made by God and therefore made GAY by God, should "know better" while referring to religion - but then you would again have to justify why God made those animals gay in the first place, which is something you would obviously like to avoid at all costs.

Thus, this argument becomes quite unpleasant for you because in the end you are at a loss to explain why God would make gay animals - and gay people - if it is supposed to be "wrong".

After all, taking into consideration the dubious claim that homosexuals are "evil" and "condemned to hell" then it would mean gay people are born into damnation without any hope of salvation - which would make the claim that "God is love" and loves all of us a lie.

So either gay people were born gay and homosexuality is not a sin - or God is a liar who hates his own creation. Your choice.

Quite the conundrum, eh?

I love logic - inescapable, undeniable.

______________________________________________________________

If you would like to know more about Christina Engela and her writing, please feel free to browse her website.


If you’d like to send Christina Engela a question about her life as a writer or transactivist, please send an email to christinaengela@gmail.com or use the Contact form.

All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2019.
________________________________________

No comments:

Post a Comment