Straight man’s burden – Jeff Sharlet in Harpers

In the current issue of Harpers, Jeff Sharlet provides glimpses of his trip to Uganda, reporting there in April and May. It has been out to subscribers for a week or so but here is a very brief part of the introduction provided by Harpers in conjunction with The Investigative Fund. I have seen the entire piece and it is a vivid description of time spent with several of the main movers of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. If you have access to Harpers, read it. It begins:

A young man who called himself Blessed had agreed to meet me in front of the Speke Hotel, the oldest in Kampala, Uganda’s capital, but he wsa late, very late, adn I had no way to contact him. Emailing me from a café, he’s said he didn’t have a phone; calling from a pay phone, he’d said he didn’t have a watch. The friends who’d put me in touch with him said he didn’t have an address. I’d see a picture of him: he had a long neck, a narrow face, and a broad smile that made him look both kind and a little sly. I wanted to talk to him precisely because he was hard to find, because he was gay, and because he was on the run.

On October 14, 2009, a Ugandan member of parliament named David Bahati introduced legislation called the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Among its provisions: up to three years in prison for failure to report a homosexual; seven years for “promotion”; life imprisonment for a single homosexual act; and for “aggravated homosexuality” (which includes gay sex while HIV-positive, gay sex with a disabled person, or, if you’re a recidivist, gay sex with anyone — marking the criminal as a “serial offender”), death. As of this writing the bill has yet to pass, despite near unanimous support in Parliament. But the violence has been building, a crackling fury not yet quite a fire: beatings, disappearances, “corrective” rapes of lesbians, blacklists in a national tabloid, vigilante squads and church crusades, preachers calling out “homos” in their own pews.

It was Blessed’s pastor, a celebrity with an American following who had outed him. “Am being hunted by my family at the moment,” he’d written in an email apologizing for his inability to commit to dinner plans. “Am moving place to place now.” Then, in case I didn’t understand: “They want to kill me.”

To read the complete article, pick up the September 2010 issue of Harper’s.

86 thoughts on “Straight man’s burden – Jeff Sharlet in Harpers”

  1. Maazi writes in the same terms our own racist Southern politicians ( and not just southern) used to use when discussing black Americans

    yeah that sound to me pretty similar to George Wallace’s “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever”

    Timothy and Stephen,

    Africans are not deceived by your attempts to portray the historic struggle of non-whites and Jewish people to be treated with human dignity as equivalent to the struggle by powerful Western gay lobbies to forcefully globalize their deviant sexual culture by using their Western government proxies to wield the donor aid as a weapon of blackmail on poorer countries. We will never recognize a deviant sexual culture which could shoot up the HIV/AIDS rates as a human right—- get it ??!!

    Why not accuse the health authorities in Europe and America that ban sex deviants from donating their extremely risky blood to hospitals of being George Wallaces or even Strom Thurmonds? You can say whatever you want, but we know that race is not equivalent to deviant sexualities—be it bestiality, be it necrophilia, be it gayism. Your propaganda that “gay rights is civil rights” may win you gullible liberal converts in the West, but we are far more sensible to fall for such nonsense. The preservation of our solidarity-based communal society is of paramount importance to us and any foreigner who doesn’t have to live in our continent has absolutely no right to impose his/her lifestyle on us.

  2. Dear Maazzi,

    Thank-you for your reply.

    I suspect a large part of the reason why the “average” African abhors the idea of a homosexual relationship is because they have been taught those that practice it can be persecuted, jailed, tortured, or murdered. I don’t think I would be talking about it in very friendly terms either were I an African citizen, gay or straight. Sad, but true.

    Your comment: “This antipathy makes sense because gay unions are compulsorily sterile—something which can never be welcomed by Africans who place strong emphasis on raising families to perpetuate their lineage and family tree. ”

    Does this mean that those that are sterile and unable to bear children should be outlawed and persecuted? Or a heterosexual man or woman who never marries or is unable to find a mate, be condemned? Or that those who adopt children or welcome previous children of a spouse into their lives be castigated? There are many reasons why some people don’t propagate. And there are many people who put family and children above all else, whether those children are of their own lineage or others. I know gay parents that put many heterosexual parents to shame in their selfless devotion to their children and families.

    You say “Africans do not buy the idea that gayism is about love and relationships.” Does that mean you don’t buy the idea that my monogamous and commited relationship is not about love and commitment? (It is) Why do you thrust sexual gratification to the forefront of my relationship when you don’t do that for your own? You seem articulate; do you really think this is fair any more than it would be for me to classify or stereotype you or your relationship?

    ” I will go further to say that this lifestyle is narcissistic because its practitioners do not care what becomes of our traditional society in their quest to satisfy their unnatural lust.” Maazi, that is such a grandiose statement, and so judgmental it reeks. It is not for you to judge what is natural and what is not. Perhaps you should listen to someone for whom being gay is no more unnatural for them than being heterosexual is for you. You seem to have a lot of anger. I’m certain there is good reason for your anger, yet I urge you to open your very able mind, be still within yourself, and listen.

    Taz

  3. Doesn’t it take an ulterior motive to believe that? A desire to force something to be self-evident or God-created that isn’t?

    Can you expand your thought on this. I’m not sure I’m understanding you exactly.

  4. That’s when nobody had to define “morality” or “common interest.”

    Sorry but that’s a fantasy history. The founding fathers argued and fought over what should be included in the constitution as well as the declaration of independence. It was not an easy “convention”

  5. Things like liberty and other unalienable rights being bestowed by the Creator and not by man.

    You never noticed how vague those are? If everyone wanted to and agreed to it they could have voted the bible as the constitution. And they chose not to. There were many things about which they disagreed. Hence, the vague language.

  6. BTW–I’m not sure of that but, from the context, it appears he was quoting.

  7. I still remember my sense of being baffled when I first realized that

    we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal…that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…

    (LOL. Doing that quote, for good or for bad, from the memory of when The 5th Dimension put it to music.)

    …anyway, when I realized that was written and signed WHILE we still had slavery and while women didn’t have the right to vote. Beautiful and majestic words and yet not fully realized or appreciated.

    Here’s the link, BTW, to that musical rendering.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQP563gKwIU

  8. Maazi writes in the same terms our own racist Southern politicians ( and not just southern) used to use when discussing black Americans.

  9. In the current issue of Harpers, Jeff Sharlet provides glimpses of his trip to Uganda, reporting there in April and May. It has been out to subscribers for a week ….

    Gayism remains a criminal offence in Uganda and almost 80 nations worldwide. No amount of Western propaganda or pressure will change this reality. In the African continent, this matter is not even being debated because the overwhelming consensus is that there is simply no place for deviant sexual culture in our society. Therefore, it goes without saying that the African people will put up stiff resistance to overpower attempts by external forces to impose upon them the hedonistic, chaotic, fragmented, socially liberal lifestyles of the Western world. We will never tolerate funny ideas such as “Gay Pride March”, “Same-Sex Marriage” or “Adoption rights for Gays”. With the support of the gayism-obsessed Obama administration, I am sure that the Euro-American Gay Lobby can demobilize their African proxy forces, leave Africa and concentrate on their more successful domestic battles against their US conservative foes over issues such as California’s “Proposition 8”, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) policy of the US Armed Forces and the legalization of gay marriage in all USA States.

  10. ….. and church crusades, preachers calling out “homos” in their own pews.

    Certainly not in the Catholic Church, what with the seal of the confessional and all.

  11. Dear Maazzi,

    Thank-you for your reply.

    I suspect a large part of the reason why the “average” African abhors the idea of a homosexual relationship is because they have been taught those that practice it can be persecuted, jailed, tortured, or murdered. I don’t think I would be talking about it in very friendly terms either were I an African citizen, gay or straight. Sad, but true.

    Your comment: “This antipathy makes sense because gay unions are compulsorily sterile—something which can never be welcomed by Africans who place strong emphasis on raising families to perpetuate their lineage and family tree. ”

    Does this mean that those that are sterile and unable to bear children should be outlawed and persecuted? Or a heterosexual man or woman who never marries or is unable to find a mate, be condemned? Or that those who adopt children or welcome previous children of a spouse into their lives be castigated? There are many reasons why some people don’t propagate. And there are many people who put family and children above all else, whether those children are of their own lineage or others. I know gay parents that put many heterosexual parents to shame in their selfless devotion to their children and families.

    You say “Africans do not buy the idea that gayism is about love and relationships.” Does that mean you don’t buy the idea that my monogamous and commited relationship is not about love and commitment? (It is) Why do you thrust sexual gratification to the forefront of my relationship when you don’t do that for your own? You seem articulate; do you really think this is fair any more than it would be for me to classify or stereotype you or your relationship?

    ” I will go further to say that this lifestyle is narcissistic because its practitioners do not care what becomes of our traditional society in their quest to satisfy their unnatural lust.” Maazi, that is such a grandiose statement, and so judgmental it reeks. It is not for you to judge what is natural and what is not. Perhaps you should listen to someone for whom being gay is no more unnatural for them than being heterosexual is for you. You seem to have a lot of anger. I’m certain there is good reason for your anger, yet I urge you to open your very able mind, be still within yourself, and listen.

    Taz

  12. that was written and signed WHILE we still had slavery and while women didn’t have the right to vote.

    Yes, unfortunately true. But then, as Warren recently reminded us, Jefferson made his own cut-and-paste version of the New Testament, with the miraculous events removed. Of course, if you delete the virgin birth of Jesus, it matters little if you also delete the resurrection.

    I also have wondered about the phrase “pursuit of happiness.” Now that (Mary) is a vague concept. Plenty of folks fall under the spell of seeking what they think will make them happy, only to find they have sold their souls in the process and have lost all freedom.

    So, maybe Jefferson got it wrong when he called all those “truths” self-evident. After all, how can we reveal anything to ourselves? We need a source higher than we are to make it clear. The Enlightenment thinking of the day may not have been so enlightened as some believed.

    So, what is vague in America’s foundational principles and documents and what isn’t? Good question. I’ll let it stand, Mary.

  13. Doesn’t it take an ulterior motive to believe that? A desire to force something to be self-evident or God-created that isn’t?

    Can you expand your thought on this. I’m not sure I’m understanding you exactly.

  14. I still remember my sense of being baffled when I first realized that

    we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal…that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights…that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…

    (LOL. Doing that quote, for good or for bad, from the memory of when The 5th Dimension put it to music.)

    …anyway, when I realized that was written and signed WHILE we still had slavery and while women didn’t have the right to vote. Beautiful and majestic words and yet not fully realized or appreciated.

    Here’s the link, BTW, to that musical rendering.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQP563gKwIU

  15. that was written and signed WHILE we still had slavery and while women didn’t have the right to vote.

    Yes, unfortunately true. But then, as Warren recently reminded us, Jefferson made his own cut-and-paste version of the New Testament, with the miraculous events removed. Of course, if you delete the virgin birth of Jesus, it matters little if you also delete the resurrection.

    I also have wondered about the phrase “pursuit of happiness.” Now that (Mary) is a vague concept. Plenty of folks fall under the spell of seeking what they think will make them happy, only to find they have sold their souls in the process and have lost all freedom.

    So, maybe Jefferson got it wrong when he called all those “truths” self-evident. After all, how can we reveal anything to ourselves? We need a source higher than we are to make it clear. The Enlightenment thinking of the day may not have been so enlightened as some believed.

    So, what is vague in America’s foundational principles and documents and what isn’t? Good question. I’ll let it stand, Mary.

  16. I guess the language and the principles are vague to those who wish them to be so, Mary. Doesn’t it take an ulterior motive to believe that? A desire to force something to be self-evident or God-created that isn’t?

  17. I guess the language and the principles are vague to those who wish them to be so, Mary. Doesn’t it take an ulterior motive to believe that? A desire to force something to be self-evident or God-created that isn’t?

  18. Things like liberty and other unalienable rights being bestowed by the Creator and not by man.

    You never noticed how vague those are? If everyone wanted to and agreed to it they could have voted the bible as the constitution. And they chose not to. There were many things about which they disagreed. Hence, the vague language.

  19. Mary, I wasn’t referring to the provisions and particulars of the Constitution or any other foundational documents, but to the overarching principles. Things like liberty and other unalienable rights being bestowed by the Creator and not by man. Our moral foundation, set in stone by God, goes along with what was, to them, self-evident.

  20. “Collective morality” and “common interest” is not a ring to the Christians in Pakistan or the Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan. It is a clang in the middle of the night when the mob and the police collude to enforce the collective morality and common interest. No thanks.

    Warren,

    You are entitled to your views, but please do not deliberately distort what our human rights charter says. Most African nations treat their religious minorities with respect. Examples include Uganda and Kenya (where Muslims are minority) and Senegal (where Christians are minority). In Senegal, Leopold Senghor, a christian, was elected the pioneer president in a country where Muslims constitute 90% of the population. In Kenya, where 86% of citizens are christians, the new constitution granted the muslim minority their Khadi courts to the chagrin of church clergy. Before the new Kenyan constitution was ratified by 67% of Kenyans in a recent referendum, Islamic courts for the muslim minority were protected by an act of parliament.

    Our human rights charter grants rights and freedoms (balanced with responsibilities) to all Africans and I am proud of it. In fact, many individuals in different African nations have successfully used this charter in law suits filed to fight police torture, gender bias, ethnic discrimination, etc. Sodomy, gay marriage and gay adoption are not human right issues, so our charter does not cover them. I don’t care about your libertarian United States Constitution with all its ambiguous provisions that opportunistic sex deviants are now taking advantage of to advance their agenda—– making a mockery out of the concept of marriage and adoption in the name of “human rights”.

  21. That’s when nobody had to define “morality” or “common interest.”

    Sorry but that’s a fantasy history. The founding fathers argued and fought over what should be included in the constitution as well as the declaration of independence. It was not an easy “convention”

  22. “Collective morality” and “common interest” is not a ring to the Christians in Pakistan or the Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan.

    Actually, I believe Maazi was quoting from the AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN RIGHTS.

    He was. And he pointed out that Africans see Africa as a more communal society than here or GB. We were more that way when our founders drafted the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. That’s when nobody had to define “morality” or “common interest.” I like the ring of freedom and the good sense of our forefathers.

  23. Maazi said and Debbie liked:

    The rights and freedoms of each individual shall be exercised with due regards to the rights of others, collective security, morality and common interest.

    The 14th Amendment says:

    All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

    “Collective morality” and “common interest” is not a ring to the Christians in Pakistan or the Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan. It is a clang in the middle of the night when the mob and the police collude to enforce the collective morality and common interest. No thanks.

  24. Ken–

    …just as I understood that Maazi was referring to a majority of Africans not ALL Africans so didn’t see the need or the call for Jayhuck to ‘correct’ him.

    And as Maazi countered effectively:

    Let me teach you a little bit; when a person says the following:

    “The American People have elected Barack Obama”

    It means that MAJORITY of Americans voted for Barack Obama. It does not mean that ALL Americans voted for Obama.

    But I do agree with you:

    I think attempting to clarify it further would be a pointless waste of time.

  25. The rights and freedoms of each individual shall be exercised with due regards to the rights of others, collective security, morality and common interest

    I like the ring of that statement, Maazi.

  26. First of all, it is false for you to suggest that ALL Africans believe this – I know they don’t. Well of course some don’t believe that gay relationships are about love – because if they did they would have to start treating those people with the respect and dignity that they deserve

    Jayhuck,

    English may not be my first language, but I am much better at it than you—the native speaker—-will ever be. Let me teach you a little bit; when a person says the following:

    “The American People have elected Barack Obama”

    It means that MAJORITY of Americans voted for Barack Obama. It does not mean that ALL Americans voted for Obama. Get it now?

    At the risk of sounding pedantic, when I wrote the following :

    “Africans do not buy the idea that gayism is about love and relationships.”

    I meant that MOST Africans do not buy the idea that gayism is about love and relationships. I did not mean ALL nor SOME Africans. Surveys conducted by Pew Research Associates have confirmed that in all Africans nations, population majorities of 90% or above abhor gayism. I know this reality is depressing news for you, but such is life.

    . It is common for people who fear or hate another group of people to demonize them – to describe them as less than human – that’s how you keep the phobia going – It was true of black people, jews, etc

    Stop deceiving yourself. No sane person will accept that lovers of deviant sex are in any way comparable to Jews or Black people. Race is clearly an immutable genetic characteristic of human beings and that can be proven using simple Mendelian principles. Until you are able to prove scientifically that gayism is “genetic” or “in-born”, deviant sexuality remains your choice and we Africans will continue to maintain our right to reject that choice and use force of legislation to maintain compliance.

  27. Mary, I wasn’t referring to the provisions and particulars of the Constitution or any other foundational documents, but to the overarching principles. Things like liberty and other unalienable rights being bestowed by the Creator and not by man. Our moral foundation, set in stone by God, goes along with what was, to them, self-evident.

  28. Jay,

    I had no trouble understanding what you were saying in your post and I suspect most of the other readers did as well. I think attempting to clarify it further would be a pointless waste of time.

  29. “Collective morality” and “common interest” is not a ring to the Christians in Pakistan or the Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan. It is a clang in the middle of the night when the mob and the police collude to enforce the collective morality and common interest. No thanks.

    Warren,

    You are entitled to your views, but please do not deliberately distort what our human rights charter says. Most African nations treat their religious minorities with respect. Examples include Uganda and Kenya (where Muslims are minority) and Senegal (where Christians are minority). In Senegal, Leopold Senghor, a christian, was elected the pioneer president in a country where Muslims constitute 90% of the population. In Kenya, where 86% of citizens are christians, the new constitution granted the muslim minority their Khadi courts to the chagrin of church clergy. Before the new Kenyan constitution was ratified by 67% of Kenyans in a recent referendum, Islamic courts for the muslim minority were protected by an act of parliament.

    Our human rights charter grants rights and freedoms (balanced with responsibilities) to all Africans and I am proud of it. In fact, many individuals in different African nations have successfully used this charter in law suits filed to fight police torture, gender bias, ethnic discrimination, etc. Sodomy, gay marriage and gay adoption are not human right issues, so our charter does not cover them. I don’t care about your libertarian United States Constitution with all its ambiguous provisions that opportunistic sex deviants are now taking advantage of to advance their agenda—– making a mockery out of the concept of marriage and adoption in the name of “human rights”.

  30. I’m always somewhat bemused when the correction is more confusing that the statement it sets out to correct.

    “Africans do not buy the idea that gayism is about love and relationships.”

    First of all, it is false for you to suggest that ALL Africans believe this – I know they don’t.

    What is the ‘this’ that all Africans don’t believe? All Africans don’t believe that ‘Africans do not buy the idea that gayism is about love and relationships’? (Somehow the double negative is messing with the essence.) They don’t believe the ‘idea that gayism is about love and relationships?

    Well of course some don’t believe that gay relationships are about love – because if they did they would have to start treating those people with the respect and dignity that they deserve.

    Is ‘because’ the proper word here? Is that the one and only reason why ‘some people don’t believe that gay relationships are about love’…just so they won’t have to treat them with respect and dignity? Or is it possible that some have other reasons for not believing that gay relationships are about love and as a result SOME don’t treat them with respect and dignity?

    And finally, the following ‘truism’ sounds a bit hollow when speaking to a person from Africa.

    It is common for people who fear or hate another group of people to demonize them – to describe them as less than human – that’s how you keep the phobia going – It was true of black people, jews, etc

    Is the suggestion here that Africa has had an ongoing history of treating blacks as less than human…of an ongoing phobia against blacks? Is the appeal to this ‘truth’ an appeal to the American version or the African version…or is it a suggestion that this truth applies to our country and their continent equally?

    I believe there may indeed be thoughtful responses and objections to Maazi’s commentary; unfortunately, for the reasons I’ve just noted this one didn’t seem to rise to the occasion.

  31. “Collective morality” and “common interest” is not a ring to the Christians in Pakistan or the Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan.

    Actually, I believe Maazi was quoting from the AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN RIGHTS.

    He was. And he pointed out that Africans see Africa as a more communal society than here or GB. We were more that way when our founders drafted the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. That’s when nobody had to define “morality” or “common interest.” I like the ring of freedom and the good sense of our forefathers.

  32. Actually, I believe Maazi was quoting from the AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN RIGHTS.

  33. Maazi said and Debbie liked:

    The rights and freedoms of each individual shall be exercised with due regards to the rights of others, collective security, morality and common interest.

    The 14th Amendment says:

    All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

    “Collective morality” and “common interest” is not a ring to the Christians in Pakistan or the Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan. It is a clang in the middle of the night when the mob and the police collude to enforce the collective morality and common interest. No thanks.

  34. Ken–

    …just as I understood that Maazi was referring to a majority of Africans not ALL Africans so didn’t see the need or the call for Jayhuck to ‘correct’ him.

    And as Maazi countered effectively:

    Let me teach you a little bit; when a person says the following:

    “The American People have elected Barack Obama”

    It means that MAJORITY of Americans voted for Barack Obama. It does not mean that ALL Americans voted for Obama.

    But I do agree with you:

    I think attempting to clarify it further would be a pointless waste of time.

  35. The rights and freedoms of each individual shall be exercised with due regards to the rights of others, collective security, morality and common interest

    I like the ring of that statement, Maazi.

  36. Maazi,

    Africans do not buy the idea that gayism is about love and relationships.

    First of all, it is false for you to suggest that ALL Africans believe this – I know they don’t.

    Well of course some don’t believe that gay relationships are about love – because if they did they would have to start treating those people with the respect and dignity that they deserve. It is common for people who fear or hate another group of people to demonize them – to describe them as less than human – that’s how you keep the phobia going – It was true of black people, jews, etc

  37. First of all, it is false for you to suggest that ALL Africans believe this – I know they don’t. Well of course some don’t believe that gay relationships are about love – because if they did they would have to start treating those people with the respect and dignity that they deserve

    Jayhuck,

    English may not be my first language, but I am much better at it than you—the native speaker—-will ever be. Let me teach you a little bit; when a person says the following:

    “The American People have elected Barack Obama”

    It means that MAJORITY of Americans voted for Barack Obama. It does not mean that ALL Americans voted for Obama. Get it now?

    At the risk of sounding pedantic, when I wrote the following :

    “Africans do not buy the idea that gayism is about love and relationships.”

    I meant that MOST Africans do not buy the idea that gayism is about love and relationships. I did not mean ALL nor SOME Africans. Surveys conducted by Pew Research Associates have confirmed that in all Africans nations, population majorities of 90% or above abhor gayism. I know this reality is depressing news for you, but such is life.

    . It is common for people who fear or hate another group of people to demonize them – to describe them as less than human – that’s how you keep the phobia going – It was true of black people, jews, etc

    Stop deceiving yourself. No sane person will accept that lovers of deviant sex are in any way comparable to Jews or Black people. Race is clearly an immutable genetic characteristic of human beings and that can be proven using simple Mendelian principles. Until you are able to prove scientifically that gayism is “genetic” or “in-born”, deviant sexuality remains your choice and we Africans will continue to maintain our right to reject that choice and use force of legislation to maintain compliance.

  38. Jay,

    I had no trouble understanding what you were saying in your post and I suspect most of the other readers did as well. I think attempting to clarify it further would be a pointless waste of time.

  39. I’m always somewhat bemused when the correction is more confusing that the statement it sets out to correct.

    “Africans do not buy the idea that gayism is about love and relationships.”

    First of all, it is false for you to suggest that ALL Africans believe this – I know they don’t.

    What is the ‘this’ that all Africans don’t believe? All Africans don’t believe that ‘Africans do not buy the idea that gayism is about love and relationships’? (Somehow the double negative is messing with the essence.) They don’t believe the ‘idea that gayism is about love and relationships?

    Well of course some don’t believe that gay relationships are about love – because if they did they would have to start treating those people with the respect and dignity that they deserve.

    Is ‘because’ the proper word here? Is that the one and only reason why ‘some people don’t believe that gay relationships are about love’…just so they won’t have to treat them with respect and dignity? Or is it possible that some have other reasons for not believing that gay relationships are about love and as a result SOME don’t treat them with respect and dignity?

    And finally, the following ‘truism’ sounds a bit hollow when speaking to a person from Africa.

    It is common for people who fear or hate another group of people to demonize them – to describe them as less than human – that’s how you keep the phobia going – It was true of black people, jews, etc

    Is the suggestion here that Africa has had an ongoing history of treating blacks as less than human…of an ongoing phobia against blacks? Is the appeal to this ‘truth’ an appeal to the American version or the African version…or is it a suggestion that this truth applies to our country and their continent equally?

    I believe there may indeed be thoughtful responses and objections to Maazi’s commentary; unfortunately, for the reasons I’ve just noted this one didn’t seem to rise to the occasion.

  40. Maazi,

    Africans do not buy the idea that gayism is about love and relationships.

    First of all, it is false for you to suggest that ALL Africans believe this – I know they don’t.

    Well of course some don’t believe that gay relationships are about love – because if they did they would have to start treating those people with the respect and dignity that they deserve. It is common for people who fear or hate another group of people to demonize them – to describe them as less than human – that’s how you keep the phobia going – It was true of black people, jews, etc

  41. I am in a committed, monogamous homosexual relationship…. How do you categorize my loving committed relationship as hedonistic? What makes my relationship any more hedonistic than yours?

    Dear Taz,

    You seem like a polite person so I will try to take my time to politely explain the reasoning behind Africa’s deep hostility to gayism and the misnomer called “same-sex marriage” .

    I warn you, its a long essay. It proceeds as follows——

    I lived long enough in the United States and Great Britain to realize that the structure of societies in the West are in deep variance to those found in African countries. In the West, individuals are the basic building blocks of society. There is a strong emphasis on freedom of individual to act in any way he or she deems fit without regards to how his/her family and community feels about it. There is a lot of talk about rights and freedoms, but not enough about responsibilities and common/public interest. In Africa, most societies are communal in structure. Individuals are free to express themselves and act independently in so far it does not disrupt the solidarity and consensus required to keep the family and communities going. So in African societies, the “mind-your-own-business” and “what-i-do-in-my-privacy-is-none-of-your-business” does not have any traction since the private business of individuals are to some extent the business of his/her family and community.

    This explains why the AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN RIGHTS unlike other international human right treaties/conventions, included provisions on “group or collective rights” and “duties to be observed by individual Africans”. One of such “duties” with regards to freedom from discrimination on the basis of sex, colour, race, etc, is the following statement: The rights and freedoms of each individual shall be exercised with due regards to the rights of others, collective security, morality and common interest

    Gayism transgresses on the culture, morality and traditions of African people. Contrary to Euro-American Gay Propaganda, our deep-seated antipathy to gayism predates arrival of the christian missionaries on our shores in the 19th century. This antipathy makes sense because gay unions are compulsorily sterile—something which can never be welcomed by Africans who place strong emphasis on raising families to perpetuate their lineage and family tree. If you doubt what I have said then ask yourself why polygamy (a vice in christianity) is legal in Africa and not vehemently opposed like gayism?

    Africans do not buy the idea that gayism is about love and relationships. As far as we are concerned, its all about sexual gratification and for that reason, we feel justified in calling it a HEDONISTIC lifestyle. I will go further to say that this lifestyle is narcissistic because its practitioners do not care what becomes of our traditional society in their quest to satisfy their unnatural lust.

  42. Dear Maazi,

    I am in a committed, monogamous homosexual relationship. We both are busy working full-time jobs, own a home, pay our taxes, volunteer with local non-profits, and support my mother-in-law in our home as she is unable to take care of herself. How do you categorize my loving committed relationship as hedonistic? What makes my relationship any more hedonistic than yours?

    I look forward to your response.

    Taz

  43. I am in a committed, monogamous homosexual relationship…. How do you categorize my loving committed relationship as hedonistic? What makes my relationship any more hedonistic than yours?

    Dear Taz,

    You seem like a polite person so I will try to take my time to politely explain the reasoning behind Africa’s deep hostility to gayism and the misnomer called “same-sex marriage” .

    I warn you, its a long essay. It proceeds as follows——

    I lived long enough in the United States and Great Britain to realize that the structure of societies in the West are in deep variance to those found in African countries. In the West, individuals are the basic building blocks of society. There is a strong emphasis on freedom of individual to act in any way he or she deems fit without regards to how his/her family and community feels about it. There is a lot of talk about rights and freedoms, but not enough about responsibilities and common/public interest. In Africa, most societies are communal in structure. Individuals are free to express themselves and act independently in so far it does not disrupt the solidarity and consensus required to keep the family and communities going. So in African societies, the “mind-your-own-business” and “what-i-do-in-my-privacy-is-none-of-your-business” does not have any traction since the private business of individuals are to some extent the business of his/her family and community.

    This explains why the AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN RIGHTS unlike other international human right treaties/conventions, included provisions on “group or collective rights” and “duties to be observed by individual Africans”. One of such “duties” with regards to freedom from discrimination on the basis of sex, colour, race, etc, is the following statement: The rights and freedoms of each individual shall be exercised with due regards to the rights of others, collective security, morality and common interest

    Gayism transgresses on the culture, morality and traditions of African people. Contrary to Euro-American Gay Propaganda, our deep-seated antipathy to gayism predates arrival of the christian missionaries on our shores in the 19th century. This antipathy makes sense because gay unions are compulsorily sterile—something which can never be welcomed by Africans who place strong emphasis on raising families to perpetuate their lineage and family tree. If you doubt what I have said then ask yourself why polygamy (a vice in christianity) is legal in Africa and not vehemently opposed like gayism?

    Africans do not buy the idea that gayism is about love and relationships. As far as we are concerned, its all about sexual gratification and for that reason, we feel justified in calling it a HEDONISTIC lifestyle. I will go further to say that this lifestyle is narcissistic because its practitioners do not care what becomes of our traditional society in their quest to satisfy their unnatural lust.

  44. Dear Maazi,

    I am in a committed, monogamous homosexual relationship. We both are busy working full-time jobs, own a home, pay our taxes, volunteer with local non-profits, and support my mother-in-law in our home as she is unable to take care of herself. How do you categorize my loving committed relationship as hedonistic? What makes my relationship any more hedonistic than yours?

    I look forward to your response.

    Taz

  45. Jeff,

    Please, open your eyes. You see only what you want to see. You hear what you want to hear and what you think will make a good article. People like Blessed in Uganda(where I have lived for 20 years) will tell you what ever they think you want to hear so they can get ahead.

    There are far more important things to be concerned about in our world than all the fuss you are making about this bill in Uganda and it’s supposed connection to politicians and religious-conservatives in the States. Spend your life on something more meaningful than this, for what you are looking for hear really doesn’t exist much beyond the imagination of conspiracy theorists. Stop pointing your finger at other people and do something with your own life. Something REAL, something that will last- not just throwing accusations across a room for some magazine article. There are many great people doing great things in the world… building peace, building bridges, building hope and bringing more love to us all. BE ONE OF THEM. Be the change you want to see in the world… not the boy who cried wolf.

  46. Jeff,

    Please, open your eyes. You see only what you want to see. You hear what you want to hear and what you think will make a good article. People like Blessed in Uganda(where I have lived for 20 years) will tell you what ever they think you want to hear so they can get ahead.

    There are far more important things to be concerned about in our world than all the fuss you are making about this bill in Uganda and it’s supposed connection to politicians and religious-conservatives in the States. Spend your life on something more meaningful than this, for what you are looking for hear really doesn’t exist much beyond the imagination of conspiracy theorists. Stop pointing your finger at other people and do something with your own life. Something REAL, something that will last- not just throwing accusations across a room for some magazine article. There are many great people doing great things in the world… building peace, building bridges, building hope and bringing more love to us all. BE ONE OF THEM. Be the change you want to see in the world… not the boy who cried wolf.

  47. Jeff,

    I know you are a very educated, hopefully a trained journalist/researcher. I want to let you know that I am also skilled at that. I have ever been to T Cozy. I know the time Blessed was recruited. His parents were Moslems and have never been catholics. I know his village even. He has never been what you claim he is.

    You will definately be smiling to the bank but on the basis of innacurate information. I hope this piece makes it to the blog because moderation seems to be the best place Dr. Warren has assigned me.

  48. Jeff,

    I know you are a very educated, hopefully a trained journalist/researcher. I want to let you know that I am also skilled at that. I have ever been to T Cozy. I know the time Blessed was recruited. His parents were Moslems and have never been catholics. I know his village even. He has never been what you claim he is.

    You will definately be smiling to the bank but on the basis of innacurate information. I hope this piece makes it to the blog because moderation seems to be the best place Dr. Warren has assigned me.

  49. @Jeff

    And the idea of “recruitment meetings” at T Cozy is absurd. I’m guessing James hasn’t been to T Cozy. I have. Whatever else is happening there — and I should say, it’s one of the tamest gay bars I’ve ever seen — there are no “recruitment meetings.”

    James’s story about Blessed is not the first we are hearing, more stories have come up.

    Another story is of Sandra; a young girl who was recruited at the age of 17 in her senior four (s.4)… Was given a laptop and an Ipod. ( She’s featured in Missionaries Of Hate)

  50. @Jeff

    And the idea of “recruitment meetings” at T Cozy is absurd. I’m guessing James hasn’t been to T Cozy. I have. Whatever else is happening there — and I should say, it’s one of the tamest gay bars I’ve ever seen — there are no “recruitment meetings.”

    James’s story about Blessed is not the first we are hearing, more stories have come up.

    Another story is of Sandra; a young girl who was recruited at the age of 17 in her senior four (s.4)… Was given a laptop and an Ipod. ( She’s featured in Missionaries Of Hate)

  51. Oh, I see I am now being moderated. Anyway, thanks for giving me an opportunity to present the predominant Ugandan/African viewpoint on gayism on your blog. I guess tolerance for alternative views is something Westerners are good in preaching, but not in implementing themselves. Good luck with your pro-gay advocacy, I hope it works out well for you and your friends in all the 50 states of USA. But just keep in mind that in the African continent, you simply have no hope of success. That is it—–I am off.

  52. And the idea of “recruitment meetings” at T Cozy is absurd. I’m guessing James hasn’t been to T Cozy. I have. Whatever else is happening there — and I should say, it’s one of the tamest gay bars I’ve ever seen — there are no “recruitment meetings.”

    Yes, Mr. Jeff Sharlet, the Ugandan people take your word for it without questions. After all, why would a mzungu representative of the Euro-American Gay Lobby fly over 2000 miles from USA to Uganda to meet with his pro-gay kuchy-kuchu puppets. If not to simply sample our great local food in a local restaurant called T-Cozy and then go back to USA? Why would Mr Sharlet hold recruitment meetings with the “kuchu” puppets when cross-continental telepathy can do the job? Yes, Jeff, we completely trust you with our lives !!!

  53. Oh, I see I am now being moderated. Anyway, thanks for giving me an opportunity to present the predominant Ugandan/African viewpoint on gayism on your blog. I guess tolerance for alternative views is something Westerners are good in preaching, but not in implementing themselves. Good luck with your pro-gay advocacy, I hope it works out well for you and your friends in all the 50 states of USA. But just keep in mind that in the African continent, you simply have no hope of success. That is it—–I am off.

  54. And the idea of “recruitment meetings” at T Cozy is absurd. I’m guessing James hasn’t been to T Cozy. I have. Whatever else is happening there — and I should say, it’s one of the tamest gay bars I’ve ever seen — there are no “recruitment meetings.”

    Yes, Mr. Jeff Sharlet, the Ugandan people take your word for it without questions. After all, why would a mzungu representative of the Euro-American Gay Lobby fly over 2000 miles from USA to Uganda to meet with his pro-gay kuchy-kuchu puppets. If not to simply sample our great local food in a local restaurant called T-Cozy and then go back to USA? Why would Mr Sharlet hold recruitment meetings with the “kuchu” puppets when cross-continental telepathy can do the job? Yes, Jeff, we completely trust you with our lives !!!

  55. Great changes often come through the power of repetition. CWIF and others would like to see a life-and-death issue abandoned because there are so many other issues. That’s not the case for people like Blessed, whose lives depend on focus. An individual’s mind may always be anti-this or anti-that, but when a law is passed to supposedly express the ultimate “anti” of a people, it needs to be based on truth and hopefully contain compassion, even if the targets are considered in that culture to be the least of these.

    The concern should not be on whether Americans or others are pressuring Uganda, as decisions made in regard to that pressure would be made from the pride of resistance or the selfishness of acquiescence, and not from knowledge. We can’t drop the effort to change hearts and minds. Homosexuality, whether we find it acceptable as a lifestyle or not, is a part of the human condition. It can’t be healed by laws, only by truth.

  56. Hi:

    Up until now, I’ve read the comments posted on this site & others regarding Uganda, but other than comments I posted on another site, I just haven’t had the interest to comment here, but am doing so today.

    The 1st point is why have there been so many posts on this? Timothy Kincaid & others rerun the same things, Maazi replies, people who dislike Mr. Maazi’s views repeat the same things that others have written, Maazi replies & we keep discussing the same things again & again? My guess is most people here haven’t been to Uganda & probably won’t visit this nation & most people probably know little about Uganda or for the same matter, what happens in Africa. There are so many more important things which happen in Africa incl. Uganda, yet we’re discussing this?

    We could be discussing the poverty in Uganda, high malaria incidence, along with starvation which happens there & the resilience of the Ugandans to be hospitable & celebrate even with all the problems impacting this nation. We could discuss whether there are any Indian Hindus left in Uganda, as Idi Amin if I’m not mistaken was hostile to Indian Hindus during his terror reign in Uganda. We could be talking about the religious conflict (Muslim-Christian conflict) which happens in Uganda as well as Nigeria, such as Al Shabab-a Muslim group from neighboring Somalia implicated in terrorism incl. bombings during the 2010 World Cup.

    If we’re talking about Africa, we could be discussing the efforts being made in Africa to protect the Rhinos & to stop the poaching of rhinos for the horns (which have ended up as knives & quack medicine)-Africa has 2 rhinos-the Black & White rhinos. The 3d Rhino is found in India-the Boilerplate Rhino & the 4th & 5th Rhinos would be the Javan Rhino found in SE Asia & the Sumatran rhino.

    We could be also be discussing the efforts being made in Africa to protect Africa’s wild cats-the lion, leopard & the cheetah; the abundant wildlife to be found in Africa-crocodiles, giraffes, zebras, gnus or wildebeests, impala, hyenas, etc.

    We could be discussing malaria & how the W.H.O. in 2007 modified the rules on DDT & now permit the use of this.

    We could be discussing (as Maazi is an electrical engineer) about Nigeria (Goodluck Johnathan is the President), Ghana, Namibia & Uganda being the next African nations after South Africa in line to get nuclear powerplants in the next 15 years or so (o supply growing energy needs. Nuclear power is the way to go-it’s better than coal, emits less nuclear waste. The U.S. must follow France & Japan’s lead in expanding nuclear powerplants. Maazi as an electrical engineer could share information that he knows about nuclear power, if he has worked in the nuclear industry. My dad was a mechanical engineer @ a nuclear powerplant-Palo Verde in Arizona.

    There are so many things about Africa, both tragedies & triumphs which happen in this continent. With tragedies, Africa has had bloody wars in addition to 1994 Rwandan genocide. How many of the posters here know that Angola fought a 14 year Indenpendence War (1961-75) from Portugal? There’s blood diamonds which has been used to finance rebels & bloodshed in Sierra Leone, the Congo (formerly Zaire). But there’s also the successes in Africa & more companies as Maazi has mentioned are doing businesses in Africa & eventually, Africa will become a boon for foreign investments as has happened in India, China & Vietnam.

    Most of you have little knowledge about Uganda & Africa as a whole & there are so many more important things which have happened or is happening in Uganda & other African nations, yet people here keep writing about Pastor Martin Ssempa? There are more important things that you can talk to Maazi about besides going on & on about Pastor Martin Ssempa.

  57. Great changes often come through the power of repetition. CWIF and others would like to see a life-and-death issue abandoned because there are so many other issues. That’s not the case for people like Blessed, whose lives depend on focus. An individual’s mind may always be anti-this or anti-that, but when a law is passed to supposedly express the ultimate “anti” of a people, it needs to be based on truth and hopefully contain compassion, even if the targets are considered in that culture to be the least of these.

    The concern should not be on whether Americans or others are pressuring Uganda, as decisions made in regard to that pressure would be made from the pride of resistance or the selfishness of acquiescence, and not from knowledge. We can’t drop the effort to change hearts and minds. Homosexuality, whether we find it acceptable as a lifestyle or not, is a part of the human condition. It can’t be healed by laws, only by truth.

  58. Hi:

    Up until now, I’ve read the comments posted on this site & others regarding Uganda, but other than comments I posted on another site, I just haven’t had the interest to comment here, but am doing so today.

    The 1st point is why have there been so many posts on this? Timothy Kincaid & others rerun the same things, Maazi replies, people who dislike Mr. Maazi’s views repeat the same things that others have written, Maazi replies & we keep discussing the same things again & again? My guess is most people here haven’t been to Uganda & probably won’t visit this nation & most people probably know little about Uganda or for the same matter, what happens in Africa. There are so many more important things which happen in Africa incl. Uganda, yet we’re discussing this?

    We could be discussing the poverty in Uganda, high malaria incidence, along with starvation which happens there & the resilience of the Ugandans to be hospitable & celebrate even with all the problems impacting this nation. We could discuss whether there are any Indian Hindus left in Uganda, as Idi Amin if I’m not mistaken was hostile to Indian Hindus during his terror reign in Uganda. We could be talking about the religious conflict (Muslim-Christian conflict) which happens in Uganda as well as Nigeria, such as Al Shabab-a Muslim group from neighboring Somalia implicated in terrorism incl. bombings during the 2010 World Cup.

    If we’re talking about Africa, we could be discussing the efforts being made in Africa to protect the Rhinos & to stop the poaching of rhinos for the horns (which have ended up as knives & quack medicine)-Africa has 2 rhinos-the Black & White rhinos. The 3d Rhino is found in India-the Boilerplate Rhino & the 4th & 5th Rhinos would be the Javan Rhino found in SE Asia & the Sumatran rhino.

    We could be also be discussing the efforts being made in Africa to protect Africa’s wild cats-the lion, leopard & the cheetah; the abundant wildlife to be found in Africa-crocodiles, giraffes, zebras, gnus or wildebeests, impala, hyenas, etc.

    We could be discussing malaria & how the W.H.O. in 2007 modified the rules on DDT & now permit the use of this.

    We could be discussing (as Maazi is an electrical engineer) about Nigeria (Goodluck Johnathan is the President), Ghana, Namibia & Uganda being the next African nations after South Africa in line to get nuclear powerplants in the next 15 years or so (o supply growing energy needs. Nuclear power is the way to go-it’s better than coal, emits less nuclear waste. The U.S. must follow France & Japan’s lead in expanding nuclear powerplants. Maazi as an electrical engineer could share information that he knows about nuclear power, if he has worked in the nuclear industry. My dad was a mechanical engineer @ a nuclear powerplant-Palo Verde in Arizona.

    There are so many things about Africa, both tragedies & triumphs which happen in this continent. With tragedies, Africa has had bloody wars in addition to 1994 Rwandan genocide. How many of the posters here know that Angola fought a 14 year Indenpendence War (1961-75) from Portugal? There’s blood diamonds which has been used to finance rebels & bloodshed in Sierra Leone, the Congo (formerly Zaire). But there’s also the successes in Africa & more companies as Maazi has mentioned are doing businesses in Africa & eventually, Africa will become a boon for foreign investments as has happened in India, China & Vietnam.

    Most of you have little knowledge about Uganda & Africa as a whole & there are so many more important things which have happened or is happening in Uganda & other African nations, yet people here keep writing about Pastor Martin Ssempa? There are more important things that you can talk to Maazi about besides going on & on about Pastor Martin Ssempa.

  59. I can only wonder that his country lives off aid sent there by the US among others. Aid that is partly contributed by gay men and women

    Stephen,

    The statement above shows how urgent it is for African nations to end this humiliating dependence on foreign aid, which has robbed our people of their pride & dignity, fueled official corruption and is currently being wielded as a tool for manipulation and economic blackmail. In any case, foreign direct investment into Africa from China, Brazil, South Korea, Malaysia, India, Russia, Turkey, Israel and the Gulf Arab States is rapidly growing. Following in the footsteps of China, India and Japan, Vietnam is currently organizing an economic summit to court African nations. Moreover, Uganda and Ghana have struck commercial quantities of crude oil. Despite our problems, Africa is rising, but if you read the western media exclusively, you will not realize it.

    I won’t read more of this Maazi persons posts, they’re really beyond the pale in terms of childish ignorance..

    Stephen,

    I couldn’t care less if you read my posts. But if you really want to feel the pulse of the Ugandan people, then my commentary is representative enough. Whether you like it or not, gayism or what you identify as “homosexuality” has no place in Uganda and most of Africa. We do not accept your Western world view as superior to ours down in Africa. And please never you insult our intelligence by comparing your hedonistic deviant sexual culture to the internationally respected struggle of black people, other non-whites and Jews the world over to be treated with human dignity.

  60. stephen–

    Since you won’t be reading any more of Maazi’s posts and your comments go back to the post he wrote several days ago, I can only tell you that I’ve read your recent posting but that it did not move me from my original stance. So, I’ve got nothing to add.

  61. I can only wonder that his country lives off aid sent there by the US among others. Aid that is partly contributed by gay men and women

    Stephen,

    The statement above shows how urgent it is for African nations to end this humiliating dependence on foreign aid, which has robbed our people of their pride & dignity, fueled official corruption and is currently being wielded as a tool for manipulation and economic blackmail. In any case, foreign direct investment into Africa from China, Brazil, South Korea, Malaysia, India, Russia, Turkey, Israel and the Gulf Arab States is rapidly growing. Following in the footsteps of China, India and Japan, Vietnam is currently organizing an economic summit to court African nations. Moreover, Uganda and Ghana have struck commercial quantities of crude oil. Despite our problems, Africa is rising, but if you read the western media exclusively, you will not realize it.

    I won’t read more of this Maazi persons posts, they’re really beyond the pale in terms of childish ignorance..

    Stephen,

    I couldn’t care less if you read my posts. But if you really want to feel the pulse of the Ugandan people, then my commentary is representative enough. Whether you like it or not, gayism or what you identify as “homosexuality” has no place in Uganda and most of Africa. We do not accept your Western world view as superior to ours down in Africa. And please never you insult our intelligence by comparing your hedonistic deviant sexual culture to the internationally respected struggle of black people, other non-whites and Jews the world over to be treated with human dignity.

  62. stephen–

    Since you won’t be reading any more of Maazi’s posts and your comments go back to the post he wrote several days ago, I can only tell you that I’ve read your recent posting but that it did not move me from my original stance. So, I’ve got nothing to add.

  63. Eddy,

    I won’t read more of this Maazi persons posts, they’re really beyond the pale in terms of childish ignorance. I can only wonder that his country lives off aid sent there by the US among others. Aid that is partly contributed by gay men and women.

    Since you don’t seem to believe my point – and since I’m not about to spend a day reading the racist rantings of our politicians let me just post some highlights. My point is not that they said exactly the same thing but that the mindset is the same, the kind of speech is the same, and some of the details are strikingly similar. I don’t equate the ongoing struggle for civil rights for black Americans with ours, though Coretta King did. I think we face something more like American anti-semitism. And please don’t embarrass us all by pretending that such a thing doesn’t exist. Anyway, since you insist, here are some quotes.

    1. Strom Thurmond: I wanna tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that there’s not enough troops in the army to force the Southern people to break down segregation and admit the nigger race into our theaters, into our swimming pools, into our homes, and into our churches.

    2. Lester Maddox believed blacks were intellectually inferior to whites, that integration was a communist plot, that segregation was somewhere justified in Scripture and that a federal mandate to integrate schools was “ungodly, un-Christian and un-American.

    3. They think like I do,” Charles Sharpe told the Miami Herald. “Especially on the issue of racial intermarriage. Cows and horses don’t mix. I don’t want any of my people doing it.

    4. Jesse Helms stated, “The Negro cannot count forever on the kind of restraint that’s thus far left him free to clog the streets, disrupt traffic, and interfere with other men’s rights.” He later wrote, “Crime rates and irresponsibility among Negroes are a fact of life which must be faced”.

    5. A staffer for Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told reporters that Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) had been spat on by a protestor. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a hero of the civil rights movement, was called a ‘nigger.’ And Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was called a “faggot,” as protestors shouted at him with deliberately lisp-y screams. Frank, approached in the halls after the president’s speech, shrugged off the incident.

    But Clyburn was downright incredulous, saying he had not witnessed such treatment since he was leading civil rights protests in South Carolina in the 1960s.

    “It was absolutely shocking to me,” Clyburn said, in response to a question from the Huffington Post. “Last Monday, this past Monday, I stayed home to meet on the campus of Claflin University where fifty years ago as of last Monday… I led the first demonstrations in South Carolina, the sit ins… And quite frankly I heard some things today I have not heard since that day. I heard people saying things that I have not heard since March 15, 1960 when I was marching to try and get off the back of the bus.”

    I think that of particular interest in the last quote is that we see racial slurs used alongside anti-gay slurs. They usually come together and it’s a pretty safe bet that a person who engages in one will engage in the other.

  64. Eddy,

    I won’t read more of this Maazi persons posts, they’re really beyond the pale in terms of childish ignorance. I can only wonder that his country lives off aid sent there by the US among others. Aid that is partly contributed by gay men and women.

    Since you don’t seem to believe my point – and since I’m not about to spend a day reading the racist rantings of our politicians let me just post some highlights. My point is not that they said exactly the same thing but that the mindset is the same, the kind of speech is the same, and some of the details are strikingly similar. I don’t equate the ongoing struggle for civil rights for black Americans with ours, though Coretta King did. I think we face something more like American anti-semitism. And please don’t embarrass us all by pretending that such a thing doesn’t exist. Anyway, since you insist, here are some quotes.

    1. Strom Thurmond: I wanna tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that there’s not enough troops in the army to force the Southern people to break down segregation and admit the nigger race into our theaters, into our swimming pools, into our homes, and into our churches.

    2. Lester Maddox believed blacks were intellectually inferior to whites, that integration was a communist plot, that segregation was somewhere justified in Scripture and that a federal mandate to integrate schools was “ungodly, un-Christian and un-American.

    3. They think like I do,” Charles Sharpe told the Miami Herald. “Especially on the issue of racial intermarriage. Cows and horses don’t mix. I don’t want any of my people doing it.

    4. Jesse Helms stated, “The Negro cannot count forever on the kind of restraint that’s thus far left him free to clog the streets, disrupt traffic, and interfere with other men’s rights.” He later wrote, “Crime rates and irresponsibility among Negroes are a fact of life which must be faced”.

    5. A staffer for Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) told reporters that Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) had been spat on by a protestor. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a hero of the civil rights movement, was called a ‘nigger.’ And Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) was called a “faggot,” as protestors shouted at him with deliberately lisp-y screams. Frank, approached in the halls after the president’s speech, shrugged off the incident.

    But Clyburn was downright incredulous, saying he had not witnessed such treatment since he was leading civil rights protests in South Carolina in the 1960s.

    “It was absolutely shocking to me,” Clyburn said, in response to a question from the Huffington Post. “Last Monday, this past Monday, I stayed home to meet on the campus of Claflin University where fifty years ago as of last Monday… I led the first demonstrations in South Carolina, the sit ins… And quite frankly I heard some things today I have not heard since that day. I heard people saying things that I have not heard since March 15, 1960 when I was marching to try and get off the back of the bus.”

    I think that of particular interest in the last quote is that we see racial slurs used alongside anti-gay slurs. They usually come together and it’s a pretty safe bet that a person who engages in one will engage in the other.

  65. James’ statement simply doesn’t add up. Blessed struck me as very well-educated. He had the mannerisms of a person from the middle or upper class. He was knowledgeable about Christianity and committed to his Christian faith. And he’s gay. He’s just clearly a gay man. Not lady-like — a gay man, comfortable in his own skin.

    It’s possible that Blessed perceives more danger from his family than really exists. I’m not in a position to judge that. But there’s no doubt that he’s in a tough situation.

    And the idea of “recruitment meetings” at T Cozy is absurd. I’m guessing James hasn’t been to T Cozy. I have. Whatever else is happening there — and I should say, it’s one of the tamest gay bars I’ve ever seen — there are no “recruitment meetings.”

  66. James’ statement simply doesn’t add up. Blessed struck me as very well-educated. He had the mannerisms of a person from the middle or upper class. He was knowledgeable about Christianity and committed to his Christian faith. And he’s gay. He’s just clearly a gay man. Not lady-like — a gay man, comfortable in his own skin.

    It’s possible that Blessed perceives more danger from his family than really exists. I’m not in a position to judge that. But there’s no doubt that he’s in a tough situation.

    And the idea of “recruitment meetings” at T Cozy is absurd. I’m guessing James hasn’t been to T Cozy. I have. Whatever else is happening there — and I should say, it’s one of the tamest gay bars I’ve ever seen — there are no “recruitment meetings.”

  67. James – You sound concerned for this man but revealing the identifying information may put him in danger which is why I deleted it. Until I have a commitment not to put identifying information in your comments, I am placing you on moderated status.

  68. Folks,

    I want to throw in some light about this young man called Blessed. I personally know him.

    Blessed was born in a poor moslem family. His Islamic name is Ahmed. Growing up in a family of many kids, it was always hard for them to survive. Education was hard to come by since the parents could not provide the basic needs for school. He eventually fell out of school. A pastor in one of the churches around Makerere University recommended this young man to work in a restaurant near their church.(FYI-this church has been in existence since 1974) This was around 2005-2007. He took up this job gladly and executed his duties well. I can’t count the number of times he served me and my buddies.

    About three-four years ago, something strange happened. This young man changed his dressing; he prefered ladylike jean trousers and shirts. He began exhibiting lady like characters in him and was so rebellious at his workplace and was eventually fired. He was always posing a seductive face to unsuspecting clients at the restaurant. One day the homos held a recruitment meeting at Tcoz bar on Makerere Road just before Aga Khan primary school(they always do it here every Thursday of the week) and Ahmed was one of the mobilisers. He later on gave his story of how he was recruited, he said He was offered UGX 500,000 to do a computer course or continue with his High School education. He says he was shocked at the generosity of this guys and decided to join them. He got an opportunity to fly to Netherlands for a “Reproductive Health Course”. By this time he had changed his name to Blessed. The family at that time began to suspect his actions and he was summoned to face his elders. He denied what he was doing. I also got an opportunity to talk with him and he denied yet I had so many times seen him in the company of many homos in town and also in the homo court battles.

    The pastor who had gotten him from the village tried whatever he could to help the boy but all was fruitless as the homos kept lavishing him with all the good things he asked for.

    Blessed joined homosexuality not because he was born a homo,no. He joined it because of the baits homos used, the poverty at home and the desire to achieve at any cost. It is not true that his family can easily kill him, his family wants him rehabilitated. The pastor of that church has no hidden agenda against him, infact he loves him and wants him back.

    I oftenly meet Blessed around town and we chat once in a while. A couple of weeks ago ago he actually visited this Church and I guess he had a wonderful time of worship. (some information deleted for security purposes) I have more but this can do for now.

    I HOPE JEFF WILL GIVE US THE TRUTH!

  69. James – You sound concerned for this man but revealing the identifying information may put him in danger which is why I deleted it. Until I have a commitment not to put identifying information in your comments, I am placing you on moderated status.

  70. Folks,

    I want to throw in some light about this young man called Blessed. I personally know him.

    Blessed was born in a poor moslem family. His Islamic name is Ahmed. Growing up in a family of many kids, it was always hard for them to survive. Education was hard to come by since the parents could not provide the basic needs for school. He eventually fell out of school. A pastor in one of the churches around Makerere University recommended this young man to work in a restaurant near their church.(FYI-this church has been in existence since 1974) This was around 2005-2007. He took up this job gladly and executed his duties well. I can’t count the number of times he served me and my buddies.

    About three-four years ago, something strange happened. This young man changed his dressing; he prefered ladylike jean trousers and shirts. He began exhibiting lady like characters in him and was so rebellious at his workplace and was eventually fired. He was always posing a seductive face to unsuspecting clients at the restaurant. One day the homos held a recruitment meeting at Tcoz bar on Makerere Road just before Aga Khan primary school(they always do it here every Thursday of the week) and Ahmed was one of the mobilisers. He later on gave his story of how he was recruited, he said He was offered UGX 500,000 to do a computer course or continue with his High School education. He says he was shocked at the generosity of this guys and decided to join them. He got an opportunity to fly to Netherlands for a “Reproductive Health Course”. By this time he had changed his name to Blessed. The family at that time began to suspect his actions and he was summoned to face his elders. He denied what he was doing. I also got an opportunity to talk with him and he denied yet I had so many times seen him in the company of many homos in town and also in the homo court battles.

    The pastor who had gotten him from the village tried whatever he could to help the boy but all was fruitless as the homos kept lavishing him with all the good things he asked for.

    Blessed joined homosexuality not because he was born a homo,no. He joined it because of the baits homos used, the poverty at home and the desire to achieve at any cost. It is not true that his family can easily kill him, his family wants him rehabilitated. The pastor of that church has no hidden agenda against him, infact he loves him and wants him back.

    I oftenly meet Blessed around town and we chat once in a while. A couple of weeks ago ago he actually visited this Church and I guess he had a wonderful time of worship. (some information deleted for security purposes) I have more but this can do for now.

    I HOPE JEFF WILL GIVE US THE TRUTH!

  71. Please, I understand how much you disapprove of Maazi’s point of view but it would have been far better if you had actually debated one or more of his statements rather than just taking an unfounded generalized potshot. There seems to be a lot of that going around lately

    Name calling is the greatest trick in the propaganda books of the Euro-American Gay Lobby. Ugandans have been called worse than being pro-KKK southern US politicians. A couple of months back, in reaction to gay story in the online edition of local Ugandan paper, some of the westerners took to name-calling. Words like “animals”, “savages”, “barbarians”, “Nazis” and “Nazi scum” were posted liberally in the commentary page of the online Ugandan paper. I was amused by the whole thing because it is tactics of losers to throw about cheap insults when they are unable to use the force of argument to make a convincing case.

    Timothy and Stephen are frustrated because they are unable to extend the huge intimidatory powers of the Euro-American Gay Lobby to the African continent. They are unable to get outspoken Africans like me to lose their office jobs, academic tenure or lose important life opportunities or even be charged with the Orwellian crime called “homophobia” as obtains in EU nations such as Britain, Sweden, Germany, etc. Under the “homophobia” laws of the UK, an elderly christian couple were arrested for distributing tracts condemning gayism; a children’s book author was invited for a police chat after saying on a live radio interview that the idea of two men adopting a child was horrible; christian adoption agencies were ordered to serve gay sex practitioners or close shop (most have since closed down despite constituting 25% of all adoption agencies in Britain); a christian worker at a UK civil marriage office was fired for declining to do same-sex marriage and passing gay sex practitioners over to more liberal colleagues…

    Timothy is angry and frustrated because such “homophobia” laws cannot be extended to Africa in order to build an exotic gay paradise where westerners can come over for Thailand-style sex tourism. He is probably pissed off that unlike former Miss California, Carrie Prejean, the current Miss Botswana —Sumaiyah Marope —will not lose her crown for rightly dismissing gayism as extremely depraved and unnatural

  72. The preservation of our solidarity-based communal society is of paramount importance to us and any foreigner who doesn’t have to live in our continent has absolutely no right to impose his/her lifestyle on us

    Kind of reminds me of our American founding fathers. I may disagree with how the issue of homosexuality is being handled by Ugandians but I certainly do understand and agree with your statement.

    Although a person might consider, regardless of the continent they live on, that in the modern age (as we have an example here) we live in a global community. Obviously what is happening in one part of the world is influencing another part.

  73. Maazi writes in the same terms our own racist Southern politicians ( and not just southern) used to use when discussing black Americans

    yeah that sound to me pretty similar to George Wallace’s “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever”

    Timothy and Stephen,

    Africans are not deceived by your attempts to portray the historic struggle of non-whites and Jewish people to be treated with human dignity as equivalent to the struggle by powerful Western gay lobbies to forcefully globalize their deviant sexual culture by using their Western government proxies to wield the donor aid as a weapon of blackmail on poorer countries. We will never recognize a deviant sexual culture which could shoot up the HIV/AIDS rates as a human right—- get it ??!!

    Why not accuse the health authorities in Europe and America that ban sex deviants from donating their extremely risky blood to hospitals of being George Wallaces or even Strom Thurmonds? You can say whatever you want, but we know that race is not equivalent to deviant sexualities—be it bestiality, be it necrophilia, be it gayism. Your propaganda that “gay rights is civil rights” may win you gullible liberal converts in the West, but we are far more sensible to fall for such nonsense. The preservation of our solidarity-based communal society is of paramount importance to us and any foreigner who doesn’t have to live in our continent has absolutely no right to impose his/her lifestyle on us.

  74. Gayism remains a criminal offence in Uganda and almost 80 nations worldwide. No amount of Western propaganda or pressure will change this reality.

    yeah that sound to me pretty similar to George Wallace’s “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever”

  75. Please, I understand how much you disapprove of Maazi’s point of view but it would have been far better if you had actually debated one or more of his statements rather than just taking an unfounded generalized potshot. There seems to be a lot of that going around lately

    Name calling is the greatest trick in the propaganda books of the Euro-American Gay Lobby. Ugandans have been called worse than being pro-KKK southern US politicians. A couple of months back, in reaction to gay story in the online edition of local Ugandan paper, some of the westerners took to name-calling. Words like “animals”, “savages”, “barbarians”, “Nazis” and “Nazi scum” were posted liberally in the commentary page of the online Ugandan paper. I was amused by the whole thing because it is tactics of losers to throw about cheap insults when they are unable to use the force of argument to make a convincing case.

    Timothy and Stephen are frustrated because they are unable to extend the huge intimidatory powers of the Euro-American Gay Lobby to the African continent. They are unable to get outspoken Africans like me to lose their office jobs, academic tenure or lose important life opportunities or even be charged with the Orwellian crime called “homophobia” as obtains in EU nations such as Britain, Sweden, Germany, etc. Under the “homophobia” laws of the UK, an elderly christian couple were arrested for distributing tracts condemning gayism; a children’s book author was invited for a police chat after saying on a live radio interview that the idea of two men adopting a child was horrible; christian adoption agencies were ordered to serve gay sex practitioners or close shop (most have since closed down despite constituting 25% of all adoption agencies in Britain); a christian worker at a UK civil marriage office was fired for declining to do same-sex marriage and passing gay sex practitioners over to more liberal colleagues…

    Timothy is angry and frustrated because such “homophobia” laws cannot be extended to Africa in order to build an exotic gay paradise where westerners can come over for Thailand-style sex tourism. He is probably pissed off that unlike former Miss California, Carrie Prejean, the current Miss Botswana —Sumaiyah Marope —will not lose her crown for rightly dismissing gayism as extremely depraved and unnatural

  76. The preservation of our solidarity-based communal society is of paramount importance to us and any foreigner who doesn’t have to live in our continent has absolutely no right to impose his/her lifestyle on us

    Kind of reminds me of our American founding fathers. I may disagree with how the issue of homosexuality is being handled by Ugandians but I certainly do understand and agree with your statement.

    Although a person might consider, regardless of the continent they live on, that in the modern age (as we have an example here) we live in a global community. Obviously what is happening in one part of the world is influencing another part.

  77. stephen–

    I’m afraid you need to be a bit more specific with your bashing. You claim that Maazi speaks in the same terms as our own racist politicians used to.

    Was it here in his first sentence? I didn’t realize that they called being black ‘a criminal offence’ or that they used the stance of other nations to justify their stand.

    Gayism remains a criminal offence in Uganda and almost 80 nations worldwide.

    Was it in the 2nd sentence that he spoke in the same terms? Whose propaganda were those politicians railing against?

    No amount of Western propaganda or pressure will change this reality.

    Or maybe the 3rd? In the great debates over racism were the politicians saying that the status of blacks wasn’t even being debated elsewhere in the country? Were they saying that an overwhelming consensus saw no place for blacks in our culture?

    In the African continent, this matter is not even being debated because the overwhelming consensus is that there is simply no place for deviant sexual culture in our society.

    Did he use those same terms in the next sentence?

    Therefore, it goes without saying that the African people will put up stiff resistance to overpower attempts by external forces to impose upon them the hedonistic, chaotic, fragmented, socially liberal lifestyles of the Western world.

    I don’t recall the charges of hedonistic and socially liberal being tossed around regarding blacks…not sure about the chaotic and fragmented.

    Moving on, I suppose you must be referring to politicians of the era post MLK Jr. Prior to that, nobody seemed to even anticipate marches or protests.

    We will never tolerate funny ideas such as “Gay Pride March”, “Same-Sex Marriage” or “Adoption rights for Gays”.

    Two sentences left and I still don’t see him even remotely speaking ‘in the same terms as our own racist…politicians used to’.

    With the support of the gayism-obsessed Obama administration, I am sure that the Euro-American Gay Lobby can demobilize their African proxy forces, leave Africa and concentrate on their more successful domestic battles against their US conservative foes over issues such as California’s “Proposition 8?, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) policy of the US Armed Forces and the legalization of gay marriage in all USA States.

    Please, I understand how much you disapprove of Maazi’s point of view but it would have been far better if you had actually debated one or more of his statements rather than just taking an unfounded generalized potshot. There seems to be a lot of that going around lately…

  78. Gayism remains a criminal offence in Uganda and almost 80 nations worldwide. No amount of Western propaganda or pressure will change this reality.

    yeah that sound to me pretty similar to George Wallace’s “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever”

  79. stephen–

    I’m afraid you need to be a bit more specific with your bashing. You claim that Maazi speaks in the same terms as our own racist politicians used to.

    Was it here in his first sentence? I didn’t realize that they called being black ‘a criminal offence’ or that they used the stance of other nations to justify their stand.

    Gayism remains a criminal offence in Uganda and almost 80 nations worldwide.

    Was it in the 2nd sentence that he spoke in the same terms? Whose propaganda were those politicians railing against?

    No amount of Western propaganda or pressure will change this reality.

    Or maybe the 3rd? In the great debates over racism were the politicians saying that the status of blacks wasn’t even being debated elsewhere in the country? Were they saying that an overwhelming consensus saw no place for blacks in our culture?

    In the African continent, this matter is not even being debated because the overwhelming consensus is that there is simply no place for deviant sexual culture in our society.

    Did he use those same terms in the next sentence?

    Therefore, it goes without saying that the African people will put up stiff resistance to overpower attempts by external forces to impose upon them the hedonistic, chaotic, fragmented, socially liberal lifestyles of the Western world.

    I don’t recall the charges of hedonistic and socially liberal being tossed around regarding blacks…not sure about the chaotic and fragmented.

    Moving on, I suppose you must be referring to politicians of the era post MLK Jr. Prior to that, nobody seemed to even anticipate marches or protests.

    We will never tolerate funny ideas such as “Gay Pride March”, “Same-Sex Marriage” or “Adoption rights for Gays”.

    Two sentences left and I still don’t see him even remotely speaking ‘in the same terms as our own racist…politicians used to’.

    With the support of the gayism-obsessed Obama administration, I am sure that the Euro-American Gay Lobby can demobilize their African proxy forces, leave Africa and concentrate on their more successful domestic battles against their US conservative foes over issues such as California’s “Proposition 8?, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) policy of the US Armed Forces and the legalization of gay marriage in all USA States.

    Please, I understand how much you disapprove of Maazi’s point of view but it would have been far better if you had actually debated one or more of his statements rather than just taking an unfounded generalized potshot. There seems to be a lot of that going around lately…

  80. Maazi writes in the same terms our own racist Southern politicians ( and not just southern) used to use when discussing black Americans.

  81. In the current issue of Harpers, Jeff Sharlet provides glimpses of his trip to Uganda, reporting there in April and May. It has been out to subscribers for a week ….

    Gayism remains a criminal offence in Uganda and almost 80 nations worldwide. No amount of Western propaganda or pressure will change this reality. In the African continent, this matter is not even being debated because the overwhelming consensus is that there is simply no place for deviant sexual culture in our society. Therefore, it goes without saying that the African people will put up stiff resistance to overpower attempts by external forces to impose upon them the hedonistic, chaotic, fragmented, socially liberal lifestyles of the Western world. We will never tolerate funny ideas such as “Gay Pride March”, “Same-Sex Marriage” or “Adoption rights for Gays”. With the support of the gayism-obsessed Obama administration, I am sure that the Euro-American Gay Lobby can demobilize their African proxy forces, leave Africa and concentrate on their more successful domestic battles against their US conservative foes over issues such as California’s “Proposition 8”, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) policy of the US Armed Forces and the legalization of gay marriage in all USA States.

  82. ….. and church crusades, preachers calling out “homos” in their own pews.

    Certainly not in the Catholic Church, what with the seal of the confessional and all.

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