Anglican Bully Archbishop Henry Luke Oromi/Uganda, Global South perpetrator of ¨willful ignorance¨ |
¨Particularly in the light of this thread dealing with the suicide of that college student, I thought this particular story NEEDED to be brought up. There are those who have said that trying to explain homophobia to those who don't understand that fear and shame is a waste of time. That may be so, but I still think it doesn't hurt to try. Because, if we can get through to SOME folks, we will have achieved a LOT. It's better to try than do nothing at all.
We have seen this before. 6 million Jews were exterminated in World War 2, simply for being Jewish |
¨The late-November afternoon sun bore down on the park in downtown Kampala, and all along the benches, Ugandan office workers took their siestas. There could have been no less likely setting for criminal conspiracies to topple an East African state. Still, the doctor's voice dropped a notch when an office worker in a brown suit settled in close by. The medic shifted a battered fedora over his eyes. "I am the gay doctor," the physician whispered to me, making sure nobody around heard. He talked about the gay and lesbian couples who go to his office to avoid ridicule in public hospitals. "They know they can trust me, and trust is a big issue," he said. "There is the stigma of being gay, but also the stigma of being [HIV] positive. They are such hidden communities. Nobody wants to deal with their problems."
In a matter of weeks, the Ugandan doctor's admission to TIME could land him in jail and his patients on death row. An anti-homosexuality bill now before Uganda's Parliament would include some of the harshest anti-gay regulations in the world. If the bill becomes law, the doctor, who asked that his name not be published, could be prosecuted for "aiding and abetting homosexuality." In one version of the bill, his sexually active HIV-positive patients could be found guilty of practicing acts of "aggravated homosexuality," a capital crime, according to the bill.¨ HERE
Uganda's Anti-Gay Bill: Inspired by the U.S.
¨The bill has an American genesis of sorts, inspired to a large extent by the visits of U.S. evangelicals who are involved with a movement that promotes Christianity's role in getting homosexuals to become "ex-gays" through prayer and faith. Ugandan supporters of the bill appear to be particularly impressed by the ideas of Scott Lively, a California conservative preacher who has written a book, The Pink Swastika, about what he calls the links between Nazism and a gay agenda for world domination, which, by itself, would have raised the anti-colonial sensitivities of Ugandan society. Says the Rev. Kapya Kaoma, an Episcopalian priest from Zambia who authored a recent report on anti-gay politics in Uganda, Nigeria and Kenya: "The U.S. culture wars have been exported to Africa."
HYPOCRITES BEWARE:
Self-deceiving, abusers/shamers/blamers at The Anglican Communion/beyond are running out of slander and lies.HERE
A Litany for children who have died from bullying
--by Kirkepiscatoid
O God of justice and mercy, we pray that no more daughters and sons in this world die as the result of bullying simply because of who they are; be it race, religion, sexual orientation, or social awkwardness. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
That our schools become places of nurturing and hope rather than shame and derision. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
That our teachers instill values of charity and acceptance in all children so there is no need for one child to feel superior over another. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
That parents can put aside what they were sometimes taught, in order to promote tolerance and diversity at home. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
That our communities support children who feel “different from the others” and show them lives that are theirs to claim, lives they cannot begin to imagine to see at home. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
That all children can grow up feeling self-empowered and truly loved simply as themselves, and not suffer beatings and psychological abuse at home or school. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
O Lord, you understand this above all others, for your only Son hung among thieves on a rough wooden cross on a barren hill, just as Matthew Shepard hung from a rail fence on a lonely road. Be our light in the darkness, Lord; protect our children and fill them with the love of your Holy Spirit; hold them in your Son’s loving arms in their most fearful hours, and be with them always.HERE
Amen.
· Thanks to Ex Isle Forums
· Thanks to Analog Kid
· Thanks to Flickr Photo Sharing
· Thanks to Kirkepiscatoid
2 comments:
I so agree, Leonardo. Any form of bullying (any form of relational aggression, period) is antithetical to Christ.
We have a long way to go.
So, so true, Leonardo. It seems we are having a rash of it here, two, with the four deaths in September (maybe six now.) You might enjoy this:
http://kirkepiscatoid.blogspot.com/2010/10/litany-for-children-who-have-died-from.html
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