Part A: I'd like you all to respond to question #2 listed under "Questions For Discussion" at the end of the chapter, found on page 103. Manifestos can be very fun to write-- be sure you respond to each element of the question: writing the manifesto as well as thinking about your audience, form, and comparing it to the activists detailed in chapter 4.
Part B: On a slightly different note, but not so much...I've attached a pdf file on our Moodle course page that I'd like you to read through-- it's the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill from Sept. of 2009. You'll find it under the list of assignments for this coming week. Once you read through it, respond here about the following: do a wee bit of research (it doesn't have to be extensive, just a quick google search with a little bit of background reading) on Uganda and homosexuality. How and why did the bill come about? Has it passed? Or what are the debates circling around the bill? Also, how does what is happening in Uganda parallel the reading in the class we've done so far, either from Ch. 4 or in the last ch.? Since (hopefully it'll come in the mail by then) we'll be watching Paragraph 175, we may want to think about that comparsion once we watch the documentary.
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I read through the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill and Saturday night the internet in my building went down. I am typing this on my blackberry. My blackberry has very limited access to the internet. So if any of my information is wrong, please correct me. I did see the the people of Uganda saw homosexuality was "un-African and un-Christian." So, it sounds to me like they are going through what the U.S. was going through a century or so ago. The bill was first proposed on October 13, 2009 and has yet to be passed. What I did read said something about a "two day conference" that was held there by evangelical christians. I would really like to know what was discussed at this conference, but it sounds like pure brain-washing to me. I'm sure the people of this country are worried about the massive spread of AIDS in Africa(which, as we read, began spreading with gay men). But instead of condemning gay and lesbians, why don't they teach them safe sex and how to protect themselves against AIDS and other diseases?
ReplyDeleteIf I had to write a manifesto I suppose it would use basic language to convey to the average person the rights sought by the gay community. It would most probably take the form of a descriptive paragraph. I’m not sure that I would know precisely where to start. I would express that the people of the queer community are normal people like any other, just looking to lead fulfilling lives and live in peace with their neighbors. We just want to further add to the rich American tapestry of peoples. To these meet ends we will seek to have our voices heard at all levels of American society.
ReplyDeleteReading this bill and the news surrounding it makes me really upset. To think that someone could in a sense be hunted by his own countrymen and convicted to life in prison and other punishments which I’m certain would include abuses of all sorts makes me really, really sad. The Ugandan legislative like most legislatures of the world who don’t support progressive, positive gay legislation are woefully misinformed about the lives of gay people. In reality homosexuals are just as boring and average as the “traditional” heterosexual couples. We are fundamentally at no higher a risk of promiscuity or disease as anyone else, ever person whether straight or gay will have a number of indiscretions (possible with a significant number of people) in their youth. But honestly I can’t think of many gay people who are well into their adult years who don’t just want to settle down and have a family and a normal life. The language in the bill was just striking, if the menace they were describing happened to be a sex offender I would half-heartedly applaud them for their attempts to protect the Ugandan citizenry. Luckily, many nations in the West have expressed dissatisfaction with the bill exposing it a violation of human rights. This is the most recent article I could find: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/world/africa/04uganda.html. In the article one can see that some Americans had a role in this by promoting the most absolute, ludicrous, insane, ineffective, backwards policy that we know as Abstinence Only education, and also by spreading their misguided religious views.
Homosexuality is currently illegal in Uganda. How they can make homosexuality, which is so much more than just a sexual act, illegal absolutely baffles me. There is so much ignorance in this bill that it is beyond reasonable. Under this bill, people could be sentenced to (a minimum) life in prison for engaging in homosexual sexual acts, people tested positive for HIV may be executed, anyone who knows of homosexual activity but does not report could face prison time, and gay rights organizations and AIDS awareness programs would be forbade. Most disturbing is that the majority of Ugandans actually support this legislation. They base religious reasons for their support of the bill, with many Christian organizations supporting it. This bill is a big deal for gay rights activists not just in Uganda, but everywhere. Many countries are condemning this piece of legislation, including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Sweden is even threatening ceasing aid to Uganda if this bill is passed.
ReplyDeleteIt’s so hard to believe that this is actually being considered anywhere in the world; it makes Stonewall and the Lavender scare seem like child’s play.
My manifestos would be directed primarily toward those individuals with sheltered views of what it means to be lesbian/gay and the rising generation of kids whose minds are still maleable and aren't full of prejudice and preconcieved notions of the homosexual community. I would make people aware of the fact that it is not wrong to support the LGBT community; in fact one of our most charismatic presidents, Bill Clinton, made efforts to allow gays and lesbians to live in equality alongside straight persons, despite it's failure to do an extremely conservative attitude from the majority of the government, via the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Though he was not very succesful in his attempts to bring widespread justice to gay/lesiban people in the U.S., it should be taken into account that his relentless attempts to achieve legal equality for these people probably brought to light one of the trademark issues that has put our nation in a negative light since the 19th century: discrimination. While blacks and whites could now mingle together without obscene threats of lynching, there was another form of discrimination thriving in the supposed "land of the free". It seems like the issue of discrimination toward the LGBT community moved from the back burner to the front once the black community achieved their rightly deserved freedoms in American society.
ReplyDelete--Taylor Gardiner
In regards to the questions about if I were to write such a manifesto, I would have to primarily put it into the form of a stance for which every American, gay or straight should take as fundamental human rights. It would be targeted primarily towards the generation that I am in, since it will be us that will lead the world. It would also include those who would oppose homosexuals with a greater amount of transparency and freedom, even to go so far as to limit their rights. I would often cite data from empirical studies including sociologists, psychologists, politicians, etc. As well as those countries that we should take example of for their open-mindedness regarding homosexuality.
ReplyDeleteThe Uganda homosexuality bill has not been passed, and is planned to go into debate next month. The bill seems to stem mostly from two outside sources. The first being the history that Uganda has had about homosexuality; it has been outlawed since Britain first colonized it many years ago. The second being the Christian activists in the area; trying to “enlighten and keep Ugandans moral”. It would appear as though these Christians believe that laws based upon biblical references are for the best. In regards to the debates involving the bill, many European countries have announced that if the resolution passes that they will stop their financial aid to Uganda. As well as many countries all over the world have stated their disgust towards such extremes and lack of human rights. They have also based their opinions on some research ‘findings’ such as by Richard Cohen, who has been kicked out of psychological organizations due to his misguiding and use of fallacies to promote people against homosexuality. This bill does relate much to what we read in the last two chapters, the homosexuality bill is a way to keep progressiveness from happening particularly for gay rights. President Obama described it as a “move against the tide of history” noting that will eliminate and ignore much progress made for gay rights around the world.
If I were to write a manifesto I would use “elementary” language. It would definitely be simple enough for the simplest person. In it I would lists the rights and struggles of the LGBT community, and their yearning to be considered part of the “norm.” It would be of paragraph form and important bullets. I would address it to society as a whole; those gay and anti gay. No way in hell, could I write a manifesto. If I were, it would strongly convey that the members of the LGBT community want nothing more but to be accepted by their fellow citizens. The brutalization, criminalization, and unnecessary killings must cease. Compared to the activists in chapter 4, mine would be short and to the point and in layman’s terms. Early gay and lesbian feminist thinkers clearly showed their intellect. To me they proved that such a disease ( such as being gay) didn’t hinder their intelligence. The Ugandan “Anti Homosexuality Bill” aims to “protect” the culture of the people of Uganda, and their religious and traditional family values. The bill came about, because the people and government of Uganda saw homosexuality, and any acts thereof, as Un-Christian like. The bill aimed to keep marriage between a man and woman. It viewed any violators as a threat to Ugandan’s “traditional family.” Fortunately the bill has not been passed. If it were, I could only imagine the number of people that would be imprisoned for such a horrific “crime.” Uganda needs to leave those people alone. What gays and lesbians in Uganda have to endure is sadly similar to that of our own LGBT people. I couldn’t believe some of the consequences for being gay still existed in 2009. To be imprisoned for being homosexual; having HIV; or basically pleading the fifth is truly ludicrous. I wish I would go to jail for someone else’s transgressions. One only slightly educated can see the ignorance of Uganda’s government and supporting citizens.
ReplyDeleteIn reseponse to the Ugandan Homosexuality Bill, the ignorance of the government is at its finest in this document. They claim they are doing this to "protect the traditional family", but this seems completely separate from the issue of LGBT family units. Allowing gays and lesbians to start families of their own would not hinder the decision of straight people to have families, so I think this is a completely invalid argument they're making. Also, if they're trying to protect the typical hetero family by preventing gay and lesbian spouses from having affairs outside the family, love cannot be smothered by a mere piece of paper or even threats of the death penalty. People will find a way to be together and honestly, oppression from the government, as we've seen in previous chapters, will only fuel the fire and breed stronger unity among the LGBT "forces".
ReplyDeleteAfter a 3 day meeting in Kampala, the nation of Uganda took a strong stance on the opposition of homosexuality, with the influence of hardcore Evangelist American author Scott Lively. Afterwards, a bunch of native LGBT's tp'd his hut and assaulted him with nuts and berries. Needless to say, the bill has not passed yet.
;]
--Taylor Gardiner
If I had to write my own manifesto I think I would try to compare the life of a heterosexual and the life of a homosexual, showing all the ways in which they are similar. Then I would probably go into detail about all the horrific events that have occurred that revolved around gender identity or sexuality, trying to get my audience to comprehend that if this crime had happened to someone they know or love, or even to them, that they would be outraged and demand retribution. Its just a simple case of “Put yourselves in their shoes.“ I want them to feel just as outraged and hurt as I do when I hear or read about these hate crimes that occur every day just because someone happens to be different. Isn’t killing each other just because we’re different getting a little dated? I just think that such evolved creatures as ourselves should realize by now that we’re not all the same. And we should be celebrating those differences, not trying to demolish or ignore them. The global desire for uniformity is astounding to me.
ReplyDeleteThe anti-homosexuality bill is outrageous. The bill states that not only is homosexuality not innate or immutable but it says that we are a “threat” to the traditional family lifestyle. I would just like to know how I am threatening the traditional family lifestyle. How is the why I live my life going to affect your family?
According to this article http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/12/08/uganda.anti.gay.bill/
A gay man in Uganda named Frank Mugisha states:
"Right now, you can't go to places that are crowded, because the mob can attack us or even burn us. We can't walk alone. We are ostracized by relatives. But if this bill passes, it will become impossible for me to live here at all. And that part hurts the most.”
This man is fearing for his own life every day now, let alone if they pass a bill stating that his way of life will likely lead to him being executed. He won’t be allowed to grow up where he was born. He wont be able to share with his family all his happy childhood memories because if he ever goes back and they’ve passed this bill, it would be legal for him to be sent away for life. How on Earth can we live on a planet where it is legal for someone to sign a piece of paper allowing such atrocities? Its unbelievable infuriating.
If I were to write a manifesto to be honest it would be very simple. It would focus on one thing and that is to not judge the people of the LGBT community and for people to be more accepting. It would state that everyone is entitled to there own opinion but there is no room in this world for the hate and judgment that is thrown there way. Really that is all I would have to say on the matter.
ReplyDeleteNow after reading the "Ugandan Anti Homosexuality Bill of 2009" I am at a lost for words. I cant believe that in the 21st century someone could even put pen to paper and write that. What I found most shocking was that they want to execute any Ugandan with HIV. Are they really that crazy to believe that the only way you could get HIV is by having sex with someone of the same sex? I was reading an interesting article on this matter at http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/12/08/uganda.anti.gay.bill/ and the guy who was interviewed made a good point that if they were to pass this bill many people would not get tested or treated for the virus for fear of being persecuted for it. This bill can do a lot of harm to this country if passed I hope they really think it through and throw it out.
If I were to write a manifesto, it would be in a primary language, and like Andrew, I would talk about how people in general should not be discriminated against. In my opinion, discriminating against people because of who they like is very much like discriminating against someone for the color of their skin, which is still an issue in society today.
ReplyDeleteUganda’s Homosexuality Bill is awfully ridiculous to me. The object of the bill is to impede internal or external homosexual threats to the traditional heterosexual family, but I see it as intruding a person’s non-harmful way of life. This is one of the main debates circling around the bill, because other people also see it as violating human rights. I feel that a homosexual, like any other person, should only be punished if they were to perform a sexual act with an unwilling person or a child. The bill has just been proposed, not yet signed into the law. However, Uganda already punishes the practices of homosexuality with life in prison. This bill also includes a stipulation that can lead to the imprisonment of anyone who doesn’t report the identity of a homosexual. Some things done in Uganda that are similar to the readings that we have done so far are police harassment, dismissal from their place of employment, and the brutalization and killings done to homosexual. It is also somewhat related to the hanging of the Iranian teens in chapter four, even though they earned their consequence.
When I think about writing my own contemporary manifesto, it would state what should already be understood by the global population, that every person is a person and that every person deserves basic human rights they are entitled at birth. This manifesto would be one hundred percent separated from religion and only run state by state. Far too long has the states been ruled by the so-called morality of religion and starting now, religion and state will be separated. My manifesto would be addressed to all American citizens since legally, it would not be able to affect the whole global population.
ReplyDeleteNow after reading Uganda’s Anti-homosexuality bill, it just occurred to me that the bill is basically doing what many current states in the US are doing: legalizing discrimination. Basically, like all other laws legalizing discrimination, religion is the spark in this ridiculous bill. The bill states that it will protect the culture, religions, traditions, and the definition of “family” with the effect of this bill. It seems as though Uganda has their own set of Brother Jeds in their country. However, the bill has yet to be passed thankfully, but it is still a long ways away to see if it will be passed or not. One of the debates that caught my eye in the Uganda Anti-homosexuality bill is how it discussed how homosexuals should not have the right to adopt children for they will raise the children in the ways of a homosexual. Unfortunately, the people in Uganda are not educated enough to see what many religious groups are feeding them. This bill is basically the starting point for a gay civil rights movement. One day, it will spark fire in the hearts of people and they will react with hatred and vengeance. We have already discussed this in the previous chapter with the start of the gay civil rights movement, but now it will be starting in Uganda.
I agree a lot with Andrew and Coty if I had to write a manifesto. It would be to the average American, presenting the rights that gays want and how to be treated like a normal human being. Homosexuality is not a disease or a curse; it is something that makes you who you are, just like heterosexuals have certain qualities that make them different. I would tell them simply that homosexuals want to be treated like everyone else and have the same rights as every other American. It would be simple to read and understand so everyone could be informed on the facts.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill, it astounds me that in 2010, people can be so narrow minded and intolerant to other people. This bill is outrageous. A government should be protecting its people, not condemning them. This bill does more than make their nation divided, it allows for violent outbursts and people dead. They say the reasons for the bill are to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and to protect the “traditional” family. It’s so sad to me that in this country, the supporters of this bill have the desire to turn on their neighbors and completely shun them for being different. There have been many reports of people being publically scrutinized or even killed for being homosexual. It’s hard to think that a government can be so closed minded when a government should represent its people and try to make their lives better. Doing some research on Ugandan government, political parties were restricted in 1986 and since then have had very little influence on the President of their government. Uganda is a very poor country, and this brings me to think…If your country is one of the poorest countries in the world, why would you want to segregate your people instead of bringing them together to build up your country?
I was glad to read though, that outside of Africa, this bill is being extremely criticized and seen as too harsh.
My manifesto would be simple. I would use basic language to address my thoughts on LGBT issues. My thoughts on the matter are startlingly simple. I believe that no one should be discriminated against for something they cannot control, whether it is their race, social status, or sexual preference. Everyone should have the right to pursue whatever makes them happy, as long as it doesn't compromise the health or safety of anyone else. Homosexuality hurts absolutely no one (though I'm sure some radical right wingers would disagree), so it is completely unethical to treat homosexuals as politically or socially inferior to anyone else.
ReplyDeleteI'll echo some other posts in saying that the Ugandan Bill left me utterly dumbfounded. I can scarcely believe that anyone would support that blatant hate-speech as a piece of legislation. It suggests that all homosexuals are sexually depraved, and even implies that most of them are child molesters. It's utterly ridiculous.
I read the article that Andrew posted, and I'm very disappointed to see that American crazy Christians had something to do with this. It was also odd that "minister of ethics and integrity" is a legitimate government position. In my opinion, these things are a personal issue. If you have opinions on such things, they should be kept within your family and religious circles. As someone who wants the government out of my face in almost all situations, I may be biased, but this really bothered me.
[Epiphani]
ReplyDeleteI haven't the slightest idea what I'd write a manifesto on, to be honest. There isn't anything political or sociopolitical that I both understand well enough and feel strongly enough about to want to declare myself on the subject in any real way.
Why in the world would a country (in effect) ban research on AIDS and HIV? Don't they realize how lives that could cost, how many years that would set the world at large back in its efforts to understand and combat the disease?
(Okay, I know at least part of the answer to that-- it's probably because they consider it an affliction primarly of/caused by homosexuals, but that doesn't make it any less bass-ackward.)
It sounds a whole lot like the brilliant idea back in the 80's to quarantine gay men, and like the numerous geniuses who have decided that AIDs was sent by god or whoever to punish homosexuals and to prove that they should be eliminated, blah blah. Sexual McCarthyism, in effect.
I'd really love to know what gives any of these people the idea that they have the right to tell someone else what (or who) to do in the first place.
According to an article I'm reading (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ariel-rubin/ugandas-anti-homosexualit_b_397090.html) some part of the motivation behind this bill is political; it states that the NRM party (the ruling party in Uganda) has used accusations of homosexuality and, vaguely, of other forms of sedition (again, all I'm hearing is McCarthyism) to keep other parties from gaining a foothold on any rung of the election ladder. It sounds as if the NRM is using typical bullying tactics like this:
"The recent return to Uganda of former senior UN official, Olaru Otunnu, who is said to also be eying a top position in the coming elections, was marred by allegations that he is alternately a homosexual, impotent and married to a white woman. In a recent interview with AFP, Otunnu accused President Yoweri Museveni of masterminding a plot to discredit him by using spurious allegations. 'What is being alleged, what is being put out there to discredit and intimidate me, is that Olara Otunnu is a homosexual and HIV positive.' "
to attempt to keep Uganda in a vice grip while hiding how much its hands are trembling.
I don’t even want to continue writing right now. This is giving me a headache and I’m growing annoyed with the thought that it’s possible for someone to be put to death for being different. It feels as if I’m watching V for Vendetta brought to life and quite honestly that scares me even though I’m all the way over here.
[Epiphani]