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Wednesday 12 March 2014

The Naughty Step



I've recently read a blog post about being against LGBT from a Nigerian man's viewpoint, Adeyinka Adekanye. It's inspired this post and has make me realise there's more to the AGAINST viewpoint than what is being shown. Although I am FOR Gay Rights and believe they should receive every entitlement anyone else does, he made some extremely good points more about the history and politics that it involved for their country and their people which made me look at the situation quite differently.

A point that stuck with me most from the post was how the 'Western World' are trying to force these laws on to these countries and how their arguments against having them are based on religion. A religion that was imposed by the 'Western World'. So to put it in really simple terms American and European countries have gone to Africa, put them in slavery and told them that this religion is what they should be following because that's right and everything else is wrong. Cut to a few hundred years down the line now we're telling these said countries that they're opinions based on religion is wrong. It makes me think that are we the right people to be telling others what to do. We seem to think that every opinion we have is right and so therefore should be shoved into every other countries faces when only 50 years ago homosexual acts became legal in the UK and still wasn't a safe place for people to come out in. The negative treatment of homosexual men and women all over the world is a thing that's still being worked on, but when countries like America are trying to force these views onto others when they still don't seem to have their own states agreed on the laws. In a country where it has 50 states and only 17 of them have made the pass on legalising gay marriage. It seems quite hypocritical. Maybe they should focus in on themselves and what else they could be doing before projecting to the rest of the world because it seems clear they have work to do! It seems hypocritical. It seems to be one rule for one and one rule for the other.

This brings me to the next point that was raised in the post about how countries are starting to stop sending aid and pulling their companies out of countries like Uganda and Nigeria because of their anti gay laws. Even though I understand the logic behind this, is it not a bit like disciplining a child? Are they treating these countries like children? How are you ever going to get adults to agree on or even understand your view if you are trying to essentially 'send them to bed with no dinner' or 'putting them on the naughty step'. Why are we not focusing in on all of the 82 countries where homosexuality is illegal instead of picking and choosing who we're going to punish next? Recently a lot of the focus has been on Russia and the disgusting way homosexuals are treated. There was a bid for bars, clubs (especially LGBT establishments) and the general public to stop buying Smirnoff products as it was a Russian product. If this is the approach we're going to take then should we not be doing the equivalent to each country and state until it's legal. Should we be turning our backs on American states that hasn't yet agreed? Well if that's the way we're doing it then yes, but let's be honest it's not going to happen and the 'theory' clearly hasn't worked as of yet and probably isn't going to.

So the question being, what do we do? Unfortunately I don't think there is a right answer but all we can do is keep raising awareness and try to make people understand, but you can't force things. I always find people have a greater respect for your opinions regardless of whether they agree or not, if you are to just take the time to not fight your argument, but to help people understand why these are your opinions and in turn they will tell you the reasons for their opinions. But how are things going to be resolved if we're always in a battle of who's wrong and who's right and especially when we've pushed those opinions onto people when we were 'right' before. The thing about change is that it's slow and we have to acknowledge that things take time, but they do change and we are already seeing that. Maybe we shouldn't be fighting for such extreme views in countries that clearly have their own beliefs but trying to educate people about some of the issues and instead of punishing them help them to understand. After all education can be one of the strongest tools! Sometimes there's nothing wrong with a compromise!

3 comments:

  1. You've done a good job. Let me say the religion they brought to us, have sank in and now we have an unflinching faith in God. In http://www.princelaj.com/2014/02/lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender.html?m=1 I pointed out why most Africans will never compromise on this ridiculously absurd way of life that defies every sense of reasonableness and justification.

    We will not support a stance that puts our existence into questions and threatens the ultimate plan if God that we should procreate and multiply. We will reason with the white world once they assure us gays will bear children the right way. If they will marry ten wives like we Africans. For once let them practice our ways.

    The sad thing for the West is that they have realised that we've grown weary of their groaning and independent enough to resist that our culture be infiltrated. Unlike the western world, we are a communal nation.

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    1. I think that one of the biggest problems of society is that we're always trying to impose one persons way of life on to another and the result seems to be that people are backing away! I think until the world stops seeing it as us and them, we should start seeing it as just us.
      Thank you again for your influence for this post :)

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  2. That's really a lengthy post and of course a thought provoking one. In India, The country where i live, we have a common medium so that each and every part of the country shares the same law and has to abide to it. we have different cultures, traditions, beliefs and all these should reflect in the law making. We oppose when its against our way of life. After all the law is for the people and by the people. Sometimes there are some odd circumstances where we passed a legalized opinion on homosexuality, but it lasted for only a couple of months and then was revoked by the government. This is all because they are influenced by the customs and culture practiced here. Some oppose that, some support that. So its different in different parts of the country. what i feel is our personal opinion is nothing to do with the law. if we believe, then we can move ahead.

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