Sleeper, Awake!

I have been asked by someone living abroad if homophobia in SA is as bad as I seem to be saying it is. They have friends,they say, even gay friends living in SA who tell them they have noticed nothing. Perhaps I am an alarmist? Perhaps I am exaggerating?

I would say the answer to these questions, as with everything, depends on who you ask.

Headlines & Deadlines

I often marvel at news headlines like the examples I have listed below:

"Controversial Daily Mail journalist addresses gay event

Daily Mail columnist Melanie Phillips spoke last night about the danger of “criminalising religious beliefs” at an event debating the conflict between LGBT equality and freedom of speech."

Naturally, GLBTI people having equality is dangerous, especially if it is your religious beliefs to oppress them. Of course, we all know religious beliefs that destroy the lives of innocent people we just happen to dislike are far more important than the human rights of those people. That is, we all know religion needs to pin something on somebody and it might as well be those darn GLBTI folks, who are always objecting to being stepped on and made scapegoats of, don't they know their place? I mean, they should just accept that OUR God hates them and get on with life and quit wriggling when we put them on the hook.

By Their Fruits Shall You Know Them

The draft "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" was tabled in Uganda's parliament on 14 October 2009, and has been slated world-wide by human rights groups concerned for the well-being of gay and transgender people in Uganda. If passed, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill will violate the internationally recognized human right to non-discrimination, to be free from violence and harassment, the right to life, the right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and freedom of movement.

Fear & Loathing In Uganda

On Friday, news came to me that I didn’t like to see. What was it, you may wonder? It seems that a year after Uganda passed a new law to make criminals out of gay people, they are debating an upgrade to this law that will give them far greater power over the private lives of their own people, including the authority to murder people simply for who they are.

The Anti Homosexuality Bill ensures virtual complete authority of the Ugandan government over what people are, think, say, feel or do, where or why they do it, or who they do it with - or who knows about it and doesn't tell. It goes further to make people who do not act against gay people in a hostile fashion, criminals as well. It in effect makes being born gay, or not thinking the same way bigots do, a very, very dangerous fate indeed.

This obscene and outrageously inhuman law gives flesh to the bones of the meaning behind the saying: “People shouldn’t be afraid of their governments – governments should be afraid of their people.” Reading the wording of the proposed Bill, I cannot stress the irony behind this strongly enough.

Let’s take a look inside this monstrous device:

Transgender Is Not A Myth

Over the past week I was happy to report a few great news items from the UK and USA affecting the pink community there. Top of the list was that former "Terminator" actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of California (who is a Republican, by the way) signed a bill into law that inaugurated "Harvey Milk Day", in memorial to the now world-famous gay rights campaigner immortalized in the movie "Milk".

Quack Attack!

Quack Attack! Sounds like an old arcade game, doesn't it? Perhaps one of those old ones you used to play at the shop while waiting for your school bus in the mornings? You know the type, the multi-level adventure with stunningly lifelike cartoon characters and annoyingly simple sound effects, presented in the latest hi-tech 2-d format of the time. Yes, it sure does conjure up memories.

But no, I am not talking about arcade games, but the games people - specifically medical professionals, are playing with the lives of other people - their patients. There are a few of these in this spectrum, from the shrinks out there referring gay people to the fallacious "ex-gay" movement which falsely claims to turn gay people straight, to the quack surgeons who perform long-outdated gender reassignment surgery using bits of the victim's colon to form a vagina instead of the modern penile inversion technique - to the quacks sitting at the head of the DSM-V revision committee and doing their level best to screw it all up for everybody depending on it.

The keystone of this gripe for me is the revision to the classification of transsexuals from transsexuals to "HBS" - or "Harry Benjamin Syndrome".

Friends For Life

Friends?

A few times in my life I have had to pack bags of assorted crap with unpleasant sentimental value which I cleared out of my home - and send them to charities or give them away in order to get rid of them and have peace of mind.

These days I only choose friends who don't need anything from me - people who have no reason to want me around other than for my company, people who I cannot see any ulterior motives in, other than friendship and mutual interest and even compassion. It is sad that I have to penalize new friends - and even lovers - for the conduct of the ones who went before, who unwittingly made me a much wiser person. And I must add that having a dodgy memory can be a blessing in disguise. At least the things that formed me as a person, particularly the unpleasant ones, are no longer as clear as they once were, their edges less sharp and dulled by the passage of time.

In a more complicated sense, the similarities between interpersonal dependencies called "friendships" and the relations between political parties and the electorate are not as dissimilar as you may at first think.

In The Arms Of Morpheus

Who can remember the first "Matrix" movie? For me it was the best of the whole trilogy, which I felt was rather disappointing as a whole. I am particularly fond of the part in the first movie where Neo is offered a choice between taking the red pill and the blue pill. Blue, you go to sleep, everything goes back to the way it was. Red, you go down the rabbit hole, see where it leads. Either way, regardless of your choice, there is no going back.

Quite a fascinating concept, actually. And quite a fascinating movie! There are many analogies and hidden meanings referring to deeper philosophical concepts in its convoluted plot, but for me one thing stands out - the polar opposites of knowledge and ignorance. Discovering the truth leads to knowledge. Knowing of course, being the harder path. Being ignorant is easy - all you need to do is go with the flow, toe the party line and be a "yes" man - an echo.

Start thinking for yourself, ask "why?" and even venture to say "why should I?" and pretty soon you will have half the world at your throat for being a "trouble maker".

White Noise

I saw an article yesterday about our friend Julius Malema - yes, him - the same genius who as President of the ANC Youth League, made the statement that because there is no such equivalent word in Sepedi, hermaphrodites do not exist and that the "concept" is being forced on African culture by "imperialists".

The originator of this gem of idiocy has just found out the cost of rushing into making ignorant statements like a bull in a china shop - adding fuel to an already roaring fire.

The Rapport newspaper yesterday ran an article which featured enlightening comments from some learned individuals who would dare to dispute this all-knowing oracle. According to one, who is a senior lecturer at the Wits School of Languages in Johannesburg - Ms. Thelma Tshebane, told The Star that the Sepedi word for hermaphrodite is - “setabane”.

Apparently this word is considered insulting or offensive and is "kept away from children".

Bringing Up Bigots

Yesterday I came across a blog detailing much of the same prejudiced and skewed thinking as resides in the pages of James Dobson's "Bringing Up Boys", in which the writer laid out different ways to prevent her children from being "turned gay" by exposure to "gay TV programming" - which she referred to, most originally - as "furthering the homosexual agenda".

She clearly hates gay people and her hate simmers quite clearly on her blog. Well, she can say and think what she likes - after all, it is her blog. I wouldn't stop her from making herself look stupid, it's her right to do so and she does deserve it.

This woman proudly listed some items of questionable authenticity and even relevance in her lead article such as the following: