Homosexuals are humans too

22.MAY.09

Editor: Permit me the privilege to use your medium to express myself on the vexing issue of homosexuality in the Caribbean in particular my beloved homeland St Vincent and the Grenadines.

During one of my browsing escapades, I saw a comment on a Vincy forum about homosexuality and in particular about an incident that made the headlines in St Vincent and the Grenadines (Vincyland) and it had me thinking that maybe some of us really need to take a step back and weigh the situation with a level head and not be so quick to be judgmental and hypocritical.{{more}}

To paraphrase the writer’s viewpoint, he basically says homosexuals should be exposed and “weeded out” of the Vincentian society. Herewith my response:

Whoa! Let’s not get carried away here bro… While I disagree with the homosexual lifestyle, I am very reluctant to endorse your brand of TALIBAN persecution. Let’s not forget these are human beings we are speaking of and not rodents that have infested our domain. The suggestion that these folks should be “weeded out” is absolute nonsense.

When my mom called me from Vincyland and told me about an incident where two men were caught by the police naked in a vehicle in a remote area, I was beside myself as my first reaction was to laugh out loud and make snide remarks about this burgeoning lifestyle within Vincyland. However, as the hilarity of the situation subsided, I began to ask myself some questions, what laws have they broken? Were they not in the privacy of their own vehicle in a remote area far from public view?

My ignorance led me to seek out some information about homosexuality laws in Vincyland. Well, it turns out to my utter shock and dare I say bemusement, that homosexuality is ILLEGAL RIGHT ACROSS MOST OF THE ENGLSH-SPEAKING CARIBBEAN with a few exception like Bahamas. Now I say bemuse because I know the lifestyle is frowned upon within our society but it is also widely known that such lifestyle is more common than one may want to admit. The notion that consenting adults could spend ten years or more in jail if caught in the act; and on the other hand we have WITHIN THE VINCY SOCIETY grown men having sex with underage girls with impunity, makes one wonder

Maybe I have been living in the US for far too long as my views on homosexuality have become less intolerant over the years. I do not agree with the lifestyle choice but I can on some level respect one’s right as a grown independent individual to live one’s life as one pleases. The idea that we can police grown people’s personal life is unacceptable in a free democratic society. While I understand that lewd and lascivious acts in the public is an offence; I would venture to say that had the two homosexual incidents reported in the media been between a man and a woman no one would have been locked up even if it had been done in broad day light. Has anyone ever passed through “Pastures” during Carnival over the years? If you have, you understand where I am coming from.

Let me be clear that I am not advocating Sodom and Gomorrah in Vincyland. What I am saying is that there ought to be a revision of our laws dealing with homosexuality. We cannot be locking up consenting adults willy-nilly. Some sort of restraint should be exercised when it comes to these very delicate situations. At least some modicum of decency ought to be afforded these unfortunate souls that just happen to be expressing their feelings for each other. Did they rape anyone? The treatment that was meted out to the two individuals by the authorities was shocking to say the least. It’s safe to say that the police were not interested in the upkeep of the law per se, but rather to humiliate and degrade the very humanity of these two men. (School children say that the two men were taken into custody naked as they were born in full view of bystanders).

What next, public stoning of homosexuals in Vincyland?

Paul ‘Saadiss’ Allington

Maryland USA