THE EDITOR, Sir:

I voted for the first time in 2007, and it was for the Jamaica Labour Party and, by extension, Bruce Golding.

After 18 years of mismanagement and bad governance, social mayhem and bloodletting, I thought him to be a man of reason, one to lead us out of the ignorance and hatred in which we wallow daily. I wished him well, and was excited about the efforts being made by the new administration.

But I was shocked out of my wits when I saw Golding's presentation on BBC. His utterance about not wanting gays in his Cabinet is nothing short of the betrayal of homosexuals in Jamaica who have made a tremendous contribution to the community and national development.

It is a very hard slap in our faces, and there are many of us. We are involved in every aspect of life in this country, and he's now telling us we are not fit to be in his Cabinet!

He is now the new and annoying face of homophobia in a land where people are beaten daily because of their sexual preference.

Barefaced prejudice

By his own bravado, Golding told the world that he's a bigot and that a man's sexuality supersedes every other character trait, good or bad, and as such, even if he is the best, he cannot become a member of the Government because he's gay. What a travesty, and barefaced prejudice!

This is a very backward and sad attitude by a man whom the Jamaican people voted in to lead us. Golding's utterance has given arms to haters to beat, badger and discriminate against gays.

This is the prime minister of Jamaica expressing, in no uncertain manner, that he's prejudiced. He was not prepared to commit political suicide by telling the world that people's sexuality was not his business.

The next time a gay man is discriminated against, beaten and killed in Jamaica, Golding should hang his head with guilt and shame because his faux pas has given licence to such behaviour.

Then again, how does he know that there are no gays in his Cabinet? And, if there are, their sexuality is not his damn business. Leaving people and their sexuality alone, getting on with the business of governance, stopping the bloodletting in the country, and ridding himself of his deep-seated malice for the betterment of all are what he should do.

I am very disappointed and angry, and it only gives me the courage as a gay man to keep fighting for our rights.

I am certain, very certain, that one day, with or without Golding, we are going to walk this land, once awash with the blood of slaves, and now flowing with the blood of gays - free at last.

I am, etc.,

MY OPINYON

myopinyon@gmail.com

Kingston 6

THE EDITOR, Sir:

It is with deep sorrow and heartache that I write these words. As a Jamaican living in New York, I am constantly bombarded with questions pertaining to Jamaica's perceived anti-gay mentality.

I am a lesbian who travels to Jamaica frequently and I, personally, have never experienced anti-anything. However, several of my gay friends have.

I don't understand the threat to society which many Jamaicans seem to believe we possess. From time immemorial, Jamaica has been inhabited by gays and lesbians, several quite successful, and the vast majority are just like everyone else - ordinary folks trying to maintain and go about the business of life.

Why should who they choose to love interfere with their ability to live a peaceful and productively happy life?

Unattractive picture

The picture we are painting for the world is not attractive! If we, as a people, cannot adhere to our own motto, why should any tourist want to spend one dime in Jamaica? Why shouldn't the world view us as barbarians? Why should I jump to defend my country when truly it seeks to disown me?

The current dancehall culture is vibrant and is opening up all new avenues of global consciousness. Many people idolise and emulate the walk and talk of dancehall. When I view 'Passa Passa' videos, all I see are young males with bleached-out faces, lots of make-up, coiffed hairdos and the tightest pants.

Yet no one harasses them for the appearance of homosexuality. But if my gay friend walks down the street in the same attire, he runs the risk of bodily harm. It is time to stop.

Wake up, Jamaica, and claim your rightful place on the world stage.

I am, etc.,

DISTRESSED JA GAL

GARDLYDE@aol.com

THE EDITOR, Sir:

The following is an open letter we have addressed to Prime Minister Bruce Golding:

Dear Mr Golding:

Recently, a number of international human rights organisations called for a boycott of Jamaica over concerns about how gays and lesbians and those perceived to be so are treated in the country.

For our part, we at the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG), while disagreeing with the strategy of a tourist boycott, have stated our concern about violence against persons because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation.

We note your intervention in the matter in both the local and international media, where you have suggested that the right to privacy is guaranteed and ought not to be violated by the state.

PUBLIC Confirmation

Yet, you have confirmed, in a very public way and in a global arena, the view that Jamaica is a repressively homophobic society.

Your interview on the BBC's HARDtalk, for instance, presented the country as one where open discrimination against gays and lesbians is not only commonplace but sanctioned by a long-standing cultural history, ostensibly enshrined in law, and now condoned by the country's political leadership.

We believe that the atmosphere of violence against homosexuals is sustained, in part, through the perception that homosexuality is illegal in Jamaica, based on the provision in the Offences Against the Person Act criminalising buggery.

While the law relates to all persons engaged in anal sex, it is to be underscored that the offence, driven by a religio-cultural sense of what is biblically appropriate behaviour, is used symbolically and disproportionately against men engaging in consensual sex.

This kind of legislating on the basis of religion is problematic because it lacks consistent application; it is not used against heterosexual persons.

Further, no other contravention of biblical sexual values - for example, adultery or fornication - is criminalised in Jamaica.

We contend that the continued existence of this law is a violation of our right to privacy and makes many consenting adults into unapprehended criminals, simply for having sex.

You also seem to have misunderstood our concerns. We wish to state that one of J-FLAG's primary concerns is the lack of redress for culturally sanctioned violence against sexual minorities.

Public pronouncements

In your public pronouncements, you have depicted this as constituting a quest to ultimately sanction same-sex marriages. We wish to make it unambiguously clear that same-sex marriage is not on J-FLAG's agenda.

We perceive the dragging of this issue into the discussion as a smokescreen that distracts from the real challenges of how as a society we grapple with the violence and hostility that have come to define our engagements around controversial but important sociocultural issues.

Your statement to the BBC, that the country would not be pressured by outsiders into changing its values around homosexuality, begs the question of whether you have instead been willing to listen to the many local voices raised about the same concerns.

We know that this has not been the case and note that the shutting down of such a dialogue by retreating into a discourse on the cultural right to prejudicial behaviour makes it difficult, if not impossible, to achieve substantive progress on difficult questions in the society.

I am, etc.,

JASON MCFARLANE

Programmes manager,

J-FLAG