Human Soup

"DEMAND same rights and same opportunities as the heterosexual community. After all, Female, Black, Asian, Homosexual, Male, Jew, Muslim, Christian, we are all part of the soup that makes up HUMANITY. Our differences make us the same. We need to stop the atrocities than man puts on man."

This quote I found on a website is a comment on a very provocative concept today - human rights - and who is or isn't "human enough" to qualify. As always, it raises more questions for me.

Careful What You Wish For...

We all know the things said about parents who don't care about their children or what happens to them. After all, parents are supposed to care about their children. When parents learn that their children are gay or transgender, they are quite right to be concerned and even worried - but how should parents react to being told by their teenage child that they are gay or transgender?

International groups like Focus on the Family advise parents to not give affirmation to these children, to not let them think for a moment that it is in any way "okay to be gay". They are in effect giving clear instructions on how to alienate parent and child, and how to destroy the self-esteem of their children.

This alone should indicate the level of Focus on the Family's concern for the actual well-being of "the family".

'Hermaphrodites Are An Imperialist Concept' - Julius Malema

Yesterday in an interview, the ANC Youth League president - a 28 year-old man called Julius Malema, often ribbed about his clearly ignorant and nonsensical statements, once again opened his mouth to let out a glorious clanger.

Julius Malema claimed "hermaphradites" do not exist because there is no word in Sepedi to describe the intersex condition. He also claimed the concept of hermaphroditism was an "imperialist" plot being "forced" onto South Africans.

Hehehe.

Cause For Concern

In a country where in a poll taken earlier this year, 1 in 4 men admitted to raping a woman, an international study showing that women are becoming "increasingly violent" is somehow cause for concern? Excuse me? So it is perfectly fine for men to be violent - especially towards women - but just let women exhibit the same behavior as men - and even towards men - and it is suddenly "cause for concern".

I would say the typical patriarchal mindset is cause for concern. It should have been for centuries, but this simple point shows me the hypocritical, selfish and self-centered nature of the beast itself. Do you see it?

False Profits

Yesterday I received a newsletter sent out the previous day by Errol Naidoo of the Family Policy Institute (FPI), a US religious-right-inspired right wing group based in Cape Town, which is trying very hard to impose religious law on the state. 

 

In it, he was careful to mention the dangers of having liberal laws which are "clearly" responsible for "moral corruption" in the country - and which also threaten his religion and of course, "the family" - as if gay people and women are not a part of it. He also made the suggestion that this is the perfect time to take advantage of Zuma's invitation to religious conservatives to "work with government", whatever that means. 

 

I think you know.

Reja Vu - A Hair Of The Dog That's Going To Bite You

The newly elected president of the UN General Assembly has called homosexuality "unacceptable" for his own personal religious reasons. How could such a man with such a negative anti-human rights bias be elected to such a post with such hefty human rights responsibilities? What does this bode for the future of human rights regarding the UN? How will this effect the many rights battles in the UN for women and the pink community around the world - especially in areas directly affected by human rights abuses specifically directed against the pink community?

What's Good For The Goose, Is Good For The Goose

I notice many cis-feminists out there attacking trans-women and berating them as "male pretenders." It makes me mad. After all, what does it take to be a woman? How much must a trans-woman cut off before she isn't considered "male" by these hypocrites? Some are truly hateful in their argument, leading me to believe that they hate anything which is - or was - in any way, shape or form masculine - even in terms of origin, even if no trace at all of that remains.

As one who supports democracy and freedom of conscience, it is my firm belief that cis-feminists are entitled to their erroneous opinion that trans-women are "men" - even if it proves that they are insensitive, blithering idiots.

The 'Nuclear Family' Goes Super-critical

It is scary to notice the ignorance and apathy out there, especially in the pink youth. Notice that I said "notice" and not "see"? After all, everybody sees it - but it has to be said that not many actually "notice".

A flamboyant young gay friend of mine - only 18, is a case in point. I try to make him aware of the dangers out there and the effects of apathy and complacency, but always get the response "oh, you're always so serious!" I have had the same experience with others his age whom I have engaged with socially. They seem utterly uninterested in and detached from current events.

Perhaps I am serious a lot of the time, but I have to say that these are serious times we are living in today.

Reconstruction Time Again

Having seen signs of a worldwide religious fundamentalist web spanning the globe, it is quite easy to start jumping to conclusions and formulating conspiracy theories. It is surprisingly quite easy to do, check a right-wing religious fundie group's website and see whose material they are using or propagating, which groups do they provide links to on their contacts page, who are their leaders and guest speakers and which other groups do they belong to? Who are they affiliated to? Go beyond that and research the ideologies they follow - such us "reconstructionism", "dominionism", "transformation" and see who is active in working for it. Start joining them up and I can promise you, after trying to draw a diagram of this sort, you will run out of space pretty fast!

I am not by nature a conspiracy theorist, but I am reminded by some in whom I have confided, that these are simply "religious groups co-operating with each other" and acting on the basis of similar beliefs - although to me, in my own limited lay-man sensibility, that forms a kind of network, doesn't it?

Storm Clouds Gather

One of my main arguments over the past few years has been that the pink community should involve itself in government, politics, religion etc so that those who act against our equality and human rights cannot make a move without it getting past us first. Few groups could embody or give form to my fears for South Africa than the ubiquitous ACDP.

Another strange (yet unrelated) thing I have noticed is the number of representatives of certain bigot religious groups who seem to want to "meet me for coffee" lately. I suppose they have figured out that threatening letters and hate mail don't work on me.