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July 17, 2006

Love the homophobe, hate the homophobia

Have you noticed that gays have their own version of the "love the sinner, hate the sin" cliche? Although they complain all the time when Christians use it, homosexuals seem to have no problem trotting it out when it suits their agenda, especially when they are up in arms against the dreaded sin of 'homophobia'.

In his recent campaign against Jamaican dancehall artists, gay activist Keith Boykin and supporters used several variations of the mantra to stop a concert aimed at getting AIDS information into the hands of young blacks who subscribe to that genre of music.

Boykin: "I told him that I understood and supported the purpose of the concert, but felt it was completely innapropriate to invite these two artists."

Boykin even went further demanding that the two Jamaican artists (gasp!) change. Imagine that, a gay activist wanting someone to change who they are. "Beenie Man and TOK are two of the worst homophobes in the music industry. For LIFEbeat to give a platform to them is unacceptable and intolerable. Their mere presence is offensive enough unless and until they renounce their homophobia."

Black British homosexual activists Topher Campbell and Ajamu wrote to LIFEbeat, saying "Whilst we support a person's right to express anti-gay views we cannot and do not support the right of anybody to advocate the death and beating of gay and lesbian people."

To beef up their protest, the activsts falsely claimed that the murders of two Jamaican homosexual activists were because of dancehall music. Information I received from people I personally talked to while in Jamaica does not support that notion. Furthermore, the police concluded the murder of Brian Williamson was a result of a robbery. There was never any conclusive evidence found to even suggest Williamson was killed as a result of any 'homophobia'. More here. Mostly, it was just the predictable rantings of the activist group JFLAG (Jamaican Forum for Lebsian, All Sexuals and Gays).

Despite not having any evidence to prove their assertion, Boykin and company explicitly stated the opposite to make their love the homophobe, hate the homophobia case. The flier circulated by Boykin contained an outright lie. It stated that Williamson and Hervey were two "victims" of the dancehall artists. Boykin and protestors pointed out the lyrics of the artists call for the "burning and hanging" of homosexuals. Yet, there has not been one single case of any gays or lesbians in Jamaica being burned at the stake or hung. Perhaps that suggests people are not listening to the dancehall artists after all.

The whole case of painting Jamaica to be the most "homophobic place on earth" is pretty much a farce. During my last trip to Jamaica in May, I saw --numerous times-- men who at the very least, appeared to be openly homosexual walking the streets of Kingston. Some, by the way they dressed and acted, were obviously gay. I didn't see anyone gawking at them or chasing them or acting violently towards any of these people. In fact, a Jamaican man told me that most people knew gays and lesbians and didn't have a problem with them. So how is Jamaica so bad? The activists always use Williamson and Lenford Hervey as poster boys to in their quest to paint Jamaica as a place where no homosexual could ever live. To put it in perspective Jamaica has had a lot of murders. Period. Police attribute major causes to fighting between gangs of political activists in the capital, Kingston. Not widespread, wanton targeted killing of homosexuals. So it would be patently false to point to the murders of two men as evidence of alleged widespread violence against homosexuals. Especially when neither of the two men were murdered because of their homosexuality (Police arrest four for murder of Hervey).

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