Devon DickON THURSDAY, August 12, Edward Pringle of Wolverhampton Amnesty Group wrote in the Wolverhampton Chronicle, "At this moment Amnesty is campaigning against the severe punishment meted out in Jamaica, punishing same-sex relations with up to 10 years hard labour, and members of the public have beaten, burned, shot and raped gay and lesbian persons there. Some of these have even sought asylum here."
MEDIA COUP
That the homosexual community can get the respected Inter-national organisation, Amnesty, to be issuing statements like the above, is a media coup. Most persons believe that Amnesty International is an objective, fair, impartial organisation that issues well-researched statements on human rights abuses around the world.
The London-based Amnesty International headquarters is akin to the London-based Privy Council which is perceived by some Jamaicans as issuing superior and proper judgments. Therefore, for the gays to have Amnesty in their corner speaks of their shrewdness.
However, Amnesty needs to be more specific with those allegations. They need to supply court records of persons who have been burned, raped and shot because of their sexual lifestyle. I must confess as an avid follower of the news, this is news to me. These allegations are serious criminal offences in Jamaica and the police should tell the nation about the veracity of this most serious claim.
PERCEPTION
In England, though, it appears there is a perception that in Jamaica homosexuals are persecuted. In June a Jamaican-born Christian lady told me how she was horrified that a gay rights activist was killed in Jamaica because of his sexual orientation. This I assured her was not what the investigations had found so far.
But while Brits have described Jamaicans as homophobic, that is, having an irrational fear of homosexuality, Britain can be described as having gone to the other extreme, 'homophilos'. How else could one explain Amnesty's passionate crusade against Jamaica? How else to describe the legislation that was debated in June in the British Parliament, which according to the House of Lords, would give same-sex unions more benefits than heterosexual unions and care-giving unions. The House of Lords wanted to amend this legislation to give parity to heterosexual unions; however, the House of Commons rejected the amendments!
In addition to having Amnesty on their side, gays have mounted an effective media campaign. Any article in the media that is critical of gays is immediately responded to with a flood of letters to the editor. They are very shrewd.
The gays must be commended for their shrewdness in organising boycotts on anyone who advocates violence against gays. Unfortunately, the church community no longer organises boycotts against things they feel strongly about. The last boycott organised by the church was against businesses involved in the sale of lottery, many moons aback. Also in the 1970s, there was an attempted boycott of Shell because of its business association with apartheid, South Africa.
SHIFTED AGENDA
Gays have also shifted the agenda and made homosexuality a human rights issue. Hence, Amnesty International perceiving gay rights as human rights. Amnesty International accepting homosexuality as a human rights issue puts to bed the divisive issue of whether homosexuality is genetically derived or a learnt behaviour. In fact, it is no longer politically correct to challenge homosexuality, which is quite a feat.
Not only has there been this media triumph but there has been a re-interpretation of words by the gay community for which they ought to be commended. They were once called queer as a derisive nickname but now homosexuals have accepted that designation as kosher. That is remarkable.
Blacks have never accepted nigger while homosexuals have moved on and accepted queer.
However, while one can praise the gay community for its accomplishments one has to ask Amnesty for more evidence about their allegations.
GENETIC
Rev. Clinton Chisholm, at a Service Club meeting claimed that if homosexuality was genetic, then whenever there are identical twins, if one were homosexual then the other would have to be as well. He stated that until that was shown then he would be unconvinced about homosexuality being genetic. But that does not add up to members of the public burning, raping and shooting members of the homosexual community.
Devon Dick is pastor of the Boulevard Baptist Church and author of Rebellion to Riot: the Jamaican Church in nation-building.
