I am still fighting a cold but managed to drag myself to work today and get the news on with the two Melissas and Robin. My day started off strangely, however, as I checked my usual list of RSS feeds and came across a link on Caribbean Free  Radio that led me to a blog from a Jamaican journalist about homophobia in Jamaica. It so alarmed and upset me I took several minutes to regain my composure and immediately called Alvin to have him read it. Alvin takes such things very personally and he vowed to read it immediately. I think most people would be living in a cave if they didn’t realize that Jamaica is a hotbed of hatred when it comes to homophobia. Time magazine voted it the most homophobic place on earth…no mean feat in a world that includes Iran and Afghanistan.

It is easy to think that Jamaica is miles away and they are easily avoided but that is hardly the point. I have always operated on the “no man is an island” principle and by that logic no island is immune from observing the norms of civilized behaviour. The conduct of many Jamaicans when it comes to this issue is a shame on the entire Caribbean. I was horrified to read that upon discovering his son was gay a Jamaican father urged his schoolmates to lynch him. Of a policeman who very bravely announced that he was gay and was so threatened by the public and his colleagues he had to seek refugee status in Canada. This sorry state of affairs is encouraged by a religious establishment that refuses to tone down its message in the face of people being killed and a musical establishment that seems to rake in money from encouraging such violence. The entire structure of Jamaican society from the politicians to police seems complicit in encouraging such hate crimes. I wonder if they would feel the same if the subject was changed from Gay to “black” – another pesky genetic trait.

I am not averse to picking a fight with those who are religiously inclined though it is usually not very satisfying as it only ever ends up in the brainwashed mantra “because the bible says so”. Attempting to point out that the same book also says lobsters and shrimp will land you pretty darned close to the 5th circle of hell will inevitably result in a blank look or a reaction that Jesus changed those rules. Moving on to ask what the New Testament view is on the subject ( given it is never mentioned despite it being such a big deal to God) will almost always result in an invitation to a church in order to save my eternal soul. The whole thing is pointless. The fact of the matter is that someone choosing to believe whatever they want does not give them the right to impose their beliefs on anyone else. If someone wants to believe homosexuality is something people choose, apparently because it is a more attractive option, that is their right – but if I believe that all left-handed people must be painted blue it does not give me the right to walk around with a gallon of paint attacking them.

By all accounts many Jamaicans are obsessed with homosexuality.They seem to spend all their free time being disgusted by  whatever  gay people do in bed and plotting ways to stop this gash on their psyche. A psychologist faced with someone who spends all his free time thinking about something unrelated to him and fixated on stopping it might draw some fairly easy conclusions. It is a form of mental illness. What can be done about a nation suffering psychosis? I am not sure but the message needs to be hammered home to them from both the international community and by economic force. It is no good pretending you are a reggae version of the magic Kingdom when some of your citizens are being beaten and killed behind the scenes.What makes the whole scenario even more maddening is that the sanctimonious attitude of Jamaican’s towards this matter is undermined by the fact it is seen almost universally as a sex and drugs destination.

Is the rest of the English Caribbean any better? I would say yes because it could hardly be worse. Speaking for Trinidad & Tobago I know there are archaic laws on the books but in everyday life there is little evidence of violent homophobia. There is, of course, general violence that affects everyone but at least the perpetrators have the good grace to be even handed in their mayhem. None of my gay friends have ever told me about any unpleasant incidents relating to them living their everyday lives. There are a few gay establishments in Trinidad and they seem to be doing well without any problems other than normal business hurdles. Trinidad is not perfect and there is an urgent need for politicians to develop spines and implement the appropriate equal rights legislation but at least in practice this society is remarkably quick to just accept people for what they are. Perhaps Jamaica could start by at least heading in our direction as imperfect a direction as it is.

Until such time as our Jamaican cousins can grasp a firm hold of common sense and realize that hatred of anyone because nature made them a certain way is odious I will do my small part by not buying anything with “Made in Jamaica”  printed on it.