Gleaner claims new backlash towards the gay lobby due to MSM homelessness in Kingston

Here we go again but the backlash unlike the impression being given by the Gleaner has always been there dear North Street but that is ever since the new wave of homeless MSM in New Kgn have become extroverted unlike their predecessors coupled with visibility of the faces in advocacy there is bound to be a spike in homo-negative responses has history has taught us. The late response to this issue is well documented on this blog just check the homeless MSM tab HERE, not a month passes that I am not just disheartened by the non interest in directly responding to this by JFLAG et al yet they speak with such eloquence on it when asked and try to pass the responsibility to government in terms of sheltering when we know given the present climate votes are more important for political parties. The Jamaica Observer also spoke to the matter and concluded the men were abandoned by the respective agencies including LGBT ones: Marauding homosexuals and J-FLAG (Observer Editorial) …………………… The LGBT tolerance quotient nationally has been affected not by the homeless MSM in New Kingston and their shenanigans or their visibility in and of themselves but the credibility of the lobby over the years in terms of proper crisis reporting and plain truthfulness of same in terms of abuses, murders and homophobia.

also see: Homeless MSM in New Kingston arrested in raid for stolen goods

So many suggestions have been given to this issue even more none LGBT state actors such as Families Against State Terrorism convenor Yvonne McCallah Sobers where she went into great detail in a paper she prepared and was seen by the relevant persons at JFLAG yet they barely paid it any attention in the final analysis, she suggested for example: 

"Homeless gay men in New Kingston therefore face complex problems because they are:

1. Visibly homeless in an upscale community.

2. Homeless in a society seemingly without compassion or political will to address the shelter needs of the homeless, and evidently unmoved by the shelter and security needs of the homeless.

3. Openly gay in a society that is anti-gay, and where influential gays feel compelled to conceal their sexual orientation.

4. Sufficiently aggressive and organised to draw attention to their existence by creating mayhem

QUESTION: Who can help to shift the Jamaican culture toward tolerance of differences, in particular sexual orientation?

Answer: Parties with responsibility for leading this cultural shift include –

· Politicians: Review of the buggery law and other laws (such as the vagrancy law) used to harass gays; public and private statements that support the right of every Jamaican to protection from the State; legislation that prohibits discrimination based on health or sexual orientation.

· Pastors: Emphasis on religious positions that promote love rather than hate; tolerance for rather than condemnation of human differences; unity rather than fragmentation of families; care and protection rather than rejection and abandonment of vulnerable youth.

· Musicians: Promotion of “peace and love” messages to replace “burn and destroy” messages, with willingness to self-monitor with respect to music that encourages hostility toward gays.

· Media: Provision of information on sexuality and sexual orientation in ways that increase understanding of and tolerance for differences, especially in youth coming to terms with their sexual identity .

and see: And MSM continue to be ready material for data collection ..... what about the interventions for the recurring issues

also see: Tense stand-off between homeless MSM and Security team in New Kingston on sister blog on GLBTQJA in September 2013

We must NEVER for get the egregious mistakes by our advocates with regards to homelessness:

The Quietus ……… The Safe House Project Closes

The Ultimatum on December 30, 2009

JFLAG excludes homeless MSM from IDAHO Symposium on May 17th 2013

More MSM Homelessness Issues while agencies shift responsibilities

but I will wait to see if the new Dwayne's House initiative as announced recently will fly and not just another fly by night PR stunt to stave off scrutiny, lord knows we have had many of those before to no avail.

The Gleaner published today:

The Enemy Within - Aggressive New Kingston Homosexuals Causing Fresh Backlash Against Community

The police take into custody a number of young men believed to be homosexuals who are allegedly responsible for a series of robberies in New Kingston. -Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer

There are growing fears that the rowdy and sometimes criminal behaviour of a group of homosexual men in New Kingston could erode the strides that have been made towards greater tolerance of homosexuals in Jamaica.

Nonetheless, Dane Lewis, executive director of the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays says the rambunctious gathering - which in the past has been fingered in robberies, theft and other antisocial behaviour - highlights the issue of persons being evicted from their communities because of their sexual orientation.

"It is unfortunate. Some of what they have done may be eroding some of the trending towards greater tolerance, but I think it continues to highlight the reality that our young people are being kicked out of their homes," Lewis said at a Gleaner Editors' Forum last week.

While condemning the acts of violence reportedly carried out by the mainly cross-dressing men, Lewis argued that sometimes the group is blamed for acts carried out by heterosexuals.

He said he found no issue with how some in the homosexual group express themselves through dress which, on many occasions, involve wearing make-up, female clothing and heels.

"They have a right to their gender expression and identity, and to express themselves as long as they don't infringe on anyone else," argued Lewis.

"The gentlemen who wish to 'bleach', wear women's attire shouldn't offend anyone; they are expressing themselves. My only concern is the risk of violence that they expose themselves to. But everyone should be free to express themselves."

HIDING VS FLAUNTING

In the meantime, Susan Goffe, chairperson of the human-rights group Jamaicans for Justice, questioned claims that the New Kingston-based men are flaunting their sexuality publicly, which is offensive to many Jamaicans.

"People in their minds seem to feel that someone who is homosexual should do everything in their power to hide their sexual orientation," said Goffe.

"For example, somebody would look and say, 'I don't see him with a girlfriend'. What is he suppose to do? Should he have a pretend girlfriend, as people do, in order to hide?

"And in terms of how you walk, how you speak, your gestures … . Are you supposed to hide all of that?" she asked, agreeing with Lewis that these men should be free to go about their business safely.

Lewis agreed, while claiming that many of the gay men who are in New Kingston were either threatened or violently displaced from their communities.

ENDS

You decide readers but this where we have reached and to think this is not the time to have these distractions when albeit the lobby has gone mainstream and a pending court case to challenge the buggery law via Javed Jaghai when this particular matter hits home on the credibility tied to crisis reporting.

also check out my comments via podcast:

and

also see: JFLAG Urges More State Support For Homosexual Teens Living On Streets

J-FLAG Disappointed With PM's Unfulfilled Promise, Though She Remains Best Hope

also see a Gleaner account of two evicted persons: 

Living A Nightmare

Peace and tolerance

H