an essay by Roger B Rueda
Anti-gay laws are extremely cruel. They are
irrational. They reflect the bitterness and viciousness of a country. They
manifest the lack of intelligence and sensitivity of a country. They are very
distressing. They are doggedly unrelenting. They are made of doctrinaires and
bigots and intellectual sloths. They are made by one-dimensional people.
Humane societies encourage people to act in
a kind and sympathetic way towards others, even towards people they do not
agree with or like. And those countries which have anti-gay laws are so
unfeeling. I think these people have been very selfish. They've been mainly
concerned with themselves. And I’m happy that the Philippines is a country
whose leaders are non-judgemental and humanitarian.
As it happens, a lot of gays are more
productive than non-gays. They send their siblings to school. They provide
their family with money and food. They work hard. They share their life and
talents with non-gays. They have respect and regard for other others’ feelings.
They cry when they are sad. They laugh when something is amusing. They take
care of their family when they are sick or when they are old. They feel or show
pity, sympathy, and understanding for people who are suffering. All these are
normal attributes of being a human.
I know that culture and tradition have
prejudiced many anti-gay advocates. They put the blame squarely on the
Westerners for the existence of gays in their countries. But without the
Westerners though, these countries would be so uncivilised and ignorant as yet.
The Westerners could only expect ingratitude from these countries. I think they
are rather churlish and unappreciative. Perhaps, their countries would still be
populated by primordial forests; their people, destitute.
One African told me that gays are subhuman.
For me, such a comment is openly contemptuous. If criminals like murderers,
rapists, thieves, terrorists, and otherwise are considered as human how come he
considers gays as subhuman. I think such a comment is crazy and illogical. His
fear of gays and gayness is tenuous and pointless. I think he is a bigot.
If for no reason at all, the US declared
that all Africans should be made as pets because they look like a monkey or
gorilla and they don’t look like a normal human being, would that person feel
good. Wouldn’t he raise objections or disapproval? Would he have power to
change himself into a Caucasian so that he wouldn’t be made as a pet or a
working animal? Does he think everything is just easy to transform himself to
fall in what the influential power is imposing on him?
If Africans don’t like all the philosophies
of the Westerners, why don’t they go back to their own ways? Why don’t they
take off their clothes and live like those barbaric people hundreds of years
ago? Why do they follow Western cultures when those destroy their custom and
distinctiveness as Africans?
I think bigotry comes from the people who
are particularly liable to discrimination. Their skin colour should remind them
of who they are. Their being an African should remind them that the world
respects them despite their undesirable/objectionable look. Openly telling me
that gays are subhuman is impudent and insulting. If I told him I hate him
because he is an African and he looks like an ape, would he feel pleased? Would
he be happy that I don’t care if he is kind or educated or talented or
productive because I hate him for being an African, for looking horrible
despite the diamonds he is wearing?
Does being gay affect everyone’s life like
how murder, rape, terrorism, or robbery does? It is insulting that gayness is
equated with all these crimes. To murder someone means to commit the crime of
killing him/her deliberately. If someone is raped, he/she is forced to have
sex, usually by violence or threats of violence. Terrorism is the use of
violence in order to achieve political aims or to force a government to do
something. Robbery is the crime of stealing money or property from a bank,
shop, or vehicle, often by using force or threats. These crimes hurt or kill
someone. Has gayness hurt or killed someone? I think saying this is not based
on logical reasons or clear thinking. It is denouncing before thinking. It is
intellectual sloth.
I think societies like ours are getting
sensible. In this country, everything is based on equity in the face of gender
and sexual orientation. I’m happy that there is no anti-gay law in this
country. Filipinos cannot allow dogmatism to stand in the way of progress.
I’m happy to hear comments from friends who
are very bright and intelligent. I’m happy to know that they are
non-discriminatory and compassionate and in the know of gays and their frame of
mind and the issues they are facing in the present day.
Gays could be our parents, siblings,
cousins, nieces, nephews, friends, neighbours, professors, soldiers, police
officers, doctors, workfellows, countrymen.
So, for me anti-gay laws suck. They are
inciting social hatred and they are completely one-sided. They do gays and
people who respect and love gays an injustice. They frighten gays into
law-abiding subjection. They are a form of persecution.
