This week, I joined San Francisco organizer Michael Petrelis and Box Turtle Bulletin editor Jim Burroway in launching an international boycott against Jamaica (www.boycottJamaica.org). While the island appears laid back, gays are under attack.
Forget business as usual. Instead, we should stop doing business with a country that is proud of its persecution against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
Our goal is to turn Jamaica into a pariah state, as long as GLBT people live in a state of terror. This means no more subsidizing the anti-gay slaughter by drinking Myers Rum and Red Stripe Beer. It requires skipping that Carnival Cruise to Jamaica — so your money won’t support murder.
If Jamaica were anymore homophobic, it would change the name of its signature music, reggae, to “ray-straight.” The national song would be, “Wasting the Gays Again in Murderitaville.”
Why boycott? Because Jamaica is on a downward spiral and suffers from collective cultural dementia on this issue. There is clearly a pathological panic and homo-hysteria that has infected this nation at its core. Consider that the Jamaica Cancer Society has raised concerns that the fear of being labeled gay is causing some Jamaican men to avoid prostate examinations, causing one of the highest prostate cancer rates in the world.
The second reason to boycott is because traditional activism has failed. I first read about Jamaica’s horrific violence against gay people in a 2004 New York Times editorial, “Hated to Death in Jamaica.” In 2006, Time Magazine had an article about the island headlined, “The Most Homophobic Place On Earth.”
One would think that such chilling headlines would have spurred worldwide action against Jamaica. Instead, the climate has only deteriorated, with a 2008 New York Times article titled, “Attacks Show Easygoing Jamaica Is Dire Place for Gays.”
A scathing State Department report on Jamaica’s treatment of homosexuals reads like a horror novel:
“The Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All Sexuals, and Gays (J-FLAG) continued to report human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention, mob attacks, stabbings, harassment of homosexual patients by hospital and prison staff, and targeted shootings of homosexuals.”
Questioned by the BBC, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Bruce Golding said that he would not allow gay people to serve in his Cabinet. In March 2009 he added, “We are not going to yield to the pressure, whether that pressure comes from individual organizations, individuals, whether that pressure comes from foreign governments or groups of countries, to liberalize the laws as it relates to buggery.”
A third reason for a boycott is because we can have an impact in Jamaica. The tropical island earned $2.1 billion from tourism in 2006, with 1,025,000 arrivals from the United States. Clearly, Jamaica is uniquely vulnerable to economic pressure and thus every effort should be made to push for change.
A fourth reason to boycott is that a message needs to be sent throughout the world: “Gay people will no longer sit by passively while our people are brutalized and killed.”
If we do not stop the hate in the one place we can – Jamaica – it will continue to be open season against gays across the world. There must be consequences for state sanctioned gay bashing. Such countries will not change on their own — so economic carrots and sticks must be applied.
The current, failed strategy is “treadmill diplomacy”, where we send off a few letters to embassies and hope things will magically improve. It may feel like we are advancing, but we are really, at best, running in place. This explains why the news headlines about Jamaica’s treatment of gay people in 2004, look remarkably like the terrifying ones in 2009. The choice is ours, we can be meek in the face of madness – or we can take action.
Finally, Jamaica is an island of self-righteous hypocrites. The Bible is used to rationalize brutality, and vigilante violence is justified with talk of virtues and values. But, the island is quite comfortable with ganja and gratuitous sex for heterosexuals. Jamaica’s new motto should be, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” (Unless you’re gay).
If you are a bar owner, please take Jamaican products out of your establishment. Consider a “rum dump”, where Myers’ rum is poured down the sewer. If you care about gay people, tell everyone you know about the dismal human rights record of Jamaica. And, if a friend has booked a trip — express your disapproval and send him or her accurate information.
It is truly a crime if you spend another dime in this homophobic hellhole. If you have gay family members, neighbors, coworkers or friends, book a holiday where it is okay to be gay.
As for Jamaica, don’t play, don’t pay, don’t stay.
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Hi Wayne. The majority of anti gay music is from dancehall, a form of reggae from the 1990′s. I went through quite an intense reggae phase, but always found dancehall distasteful, preferring reggae instead. I’ve never found reggae sexist, in fact more often than that it’s spiritual. Dancehall is sexist and violent. I wouldn’t shut it down, I just don’t listen to it.
Comment by John Ozed — April 1, 2009 @ 9:27 am
Listen, I will stay on this site day after day till I die to tell you nasty people that we don’t want you here. f**k all of you, we don’t want any ‘BATTY Boy’ in our little island.
I don’t support violence against anyone, regardless of their sexuality, but certainly I would not like my country to reach a stage where people like you walk around hand in hand thinking it is alright to push your penises in s**t!
Listen, Jamaica will not suffer with you boycotting the island. Trust me, many of us would rather plant banana, yam and ackee in the boiling sun, than to walk around in hotel rooms and pick up nasty, stinking condoms after you.
Your mere sight discuss all right thinking Jamaicans, and that is about 90% of us.
We have the few gays here in Jamaica (J-Flag), there is a reason that they are not supporting your boycott; they know their place.
And we most certainly will remind them of that place should they forget. Afterall, f*****g the same sex is a crime here.
We will not bow to you devilish lifestyle.
Jamaican men love PUSSY, and our women love nothing but a good stiff COCK.
We do not seek to complicate the thing. and we will not allow anyone, as our Prime Minister said, to cast their dirty beliefs on us. f**k you!
Comment by Badd — April 1, 2009 @ 2:23 pm
Umm, no, Badd, you won’t be staying on this site, because we don’t allow sleaze, profanity and pornography.
Unlike you, this site has moral standards. We also require at least a minimum level of respect. But thank you for proving our point for us.
Have a nice life.
Comment by Michael Airhart — April 1, 2009 @ 3:19 pm
“Jamaican men love PUSSY”
Not when they’re obsessed over homosex. I have a hard time believing that quote.
Comment by Scott — April 1, 2009 @ 4:11 pm
My wife and I decided long ago that Jamaica would never see a single penny from us. Their hideously bigoted and regressive mindset deserves no support from anybody.
Comment by Buffy — April 1, 2009 @ 5:12 pm
Gay Jamaicans “know their place?” Tell you what, Badd, get your “stiff” “heterosexual” self to America and walk around the small towns of the Deep South for a while. We’ll see who will need to “know their place.” Hint: The person with the darkest skin color loses.
Discrimination can happen to anybody.
Comment by Emily K — April 1, 2009 @ 6:55 pm
Based on his IP address, Badd appears to have posted from facilities controlled by The Jamaica Observer.
Comment by Michael Airhart — April 1, 2009 @ 8:00 pm
Badd said: “Listen, Jamaica will not suffer with you boycotting the island. Trust me, many of us would rather plant banana, yam and ackee in the boiling sun, than to walk around in hotel rooms and pick up nasty, stinking condoms after you.z’
Reply: I hope you invest in some good sunscreen. By the time we are finished with our boycott your wish may be granted.
Comment by Wayne Besen — April 1, 2009 @ 9:37 pm
I have an idea we should start calling red stripe beer blood beer. Just like how conflict diamonds are also called blood diamonds. It would really send the message that buying red stripe beer supports the beating and killing of LGBT’s.
Comment by adam kautz — April 2, 2009 @ 4:54 pm
I love Jamaica. To all gay people, do what you do, I dont care. But it is against MY beliefs and it is what I believe to be POISON to my children. And I dont flaunt my heterosexuality in your face so dont flaunt gayness in mine! Two men do not fit together, and two women cannot fill each other. Its unnatural, you may as well be f****n livestock! Please do boycott Ja, Cuz there will ALWAYS be people like me that will go there year after year with our JAMAICAN man. And you heard from Badd, they dont want you there either, so really there isnt much of a problem, they dont want you, you dont want them…end of story. But I want them, and yes Jamaican men really do LOVE PUSSY. And mine LOVES my Jamaican man.
Comment by Americangirl — May 3, 2009 @ 12:42 am
John Ozed: “I’ve never found reggae sexist…”
You’ve evidently unfamiliar with Yellowman’s recordings.
Comment by The Beagle — May 5, 2009 @ 7:03 pm
Have told friends about the treatment of gays in the caribbean..unfortunately most people visiting Jamaica aren’t gay. Heterosexuals love Jamaica, Trinidad and most of the other islands because of that.
They tell me they don’t want their kids expose to gays..so going to the islands is a great place for them. Millions of Americans, British and others world wide, pour into Jamaica. I sense they will not give up that pleasure for gays. Sad..but tre.
Comment by Tony Wellington — November 29, 2009 @ 12:04 pm
In my day job I’m in sales, and we have a push contest coming up where the prize is a trip to Jamaica.
I’m intentionally going to win the trip so that I can make a huge stink about it with corporate.
*giggle*
I’m hoping to get the company to stop patronizing the country completely, and they do, OFTEN.
That’s where you really start to hurt them, too. Get American corporations to stop using them as convention/reward locales.
Comment by Evan — November 29, 2009 @ 6:06 pm