Responding to love with love ....

 
Outpourings of love


"Vidya, I wanted to ask you something. Do you think that preaching against homosexuality is homophobic? What is that term homophobic? Where does it come from?" asked a Christian woman who is active in the Ministry in Guyana against homosexuality.

"I love you", - from a Christian man whose actions said otherwise.

"4. We also believe that all human beings are created with love and for love; that we are called to embrace and reflect God’s love and compassion for humanity as outlined in the Bible which demands that we reject the acts of violence and hostility meted out to some homosexuals and other attitudes or actions that devalue and diminish our humanity as God intended.

5.  It is in the context of the above that we express our love for our fellow citizens who practise homosexuality and those who are challenged with same-sex attractions while unequivocally stating that homosexuality is wrong and is a practice that is in contradiction to God’s plan for their lives and society and (as with other acts of wrong doing and error) is a source of societal dysfunction and demise. " from the STATEMENT FROM THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY IN GUYANA ON THE PROPOSED DECRIMINALISATION OF HOMOSEXUALITY

"In an exclusive interview with Guyana Times,  President of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic  Sabha, Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud pointed out that Hindus will steadfastly oppose homosexuality, but at the same time they will not impede on persons’ personal beliefs and democratic rights.

“While we stalwartly stand by our religious beliefs, it must be clearly understood that we will by no means intrude and discriminate… people’s way of life,” Pandit Persaud asserted.
He went on to explain that Hindus have always lived by the rules outlined in the holy scriptures, pointing out that God loves all his people but is not fond of their wanton practices, and it is never too late for gays to give up their deviant behaviour and accept  the way of life prescribed in the Holy Scriptures. The gay community has posited the argument that God loves all his people and they should not be shunned because of their lifestyles, but Persaud said that while God loves all his people, he does not condone certain practices, and he loves gays but only to change them." - Guyana Times  19 August, 2012 (no longer available online)





"Keep the Buggery Law" -  placard at Love March, Kingston Jamaica, 15 September 2012

“Doesn’t your view of homosexuality encourage prejudice against gays?”

“Not at all. I reject homosexual conduct, not people.”

You could add: “To make a comparison, I also choose not to smoke. In fact, I find the very idea of it repugnant. But suppose you’re a smoker and you feel differently. I wouldn’t be prejudiced against you for your view, just as I’m sure you wouldn’t be prejudiced against me for my view—am I right? The same principle applies to our differing views of homosexuality.”  "Young People Ask: How Can I Explain the Bible’s View of Homosexuality?" Awake! Magazine, December 2010

352. Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or is a
party to the commission, or procures or attempts to procure the
commission, by any male person, of any act of gross indecency with
any other male person shall be guilty of a misdemeanour and liable to
imprisonment for two years.
 

Guyana Criminal Law (Offences) Cap. 8:01



Responding to the love

Discrimination and Prejudice against  lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people in Guyana and the Caribbean are enshrined in diverse religious views and in law. The language of the religious views is changing.. the statement from the Christian Community in Guyana acknowledges the violence, while the late Pandit Persaud's statements also reflect an awareness of rights.

In Guyana, privilege and power seem to lie with those who are connected to assumed moral majorities and therefore any response to this loving has to acknowledge also that the 'loving' of sinners tends to be selective. The lovers of sinners do not come out against political corruption the same way that they target homosexuals.

The loving though, seeks to prevent same-gender loving people from enjoying consensual healthy relationships . This loving also extends to how discrimination is practised.. very often those who are attacking LGBT people, or employing strategies to silence them, are often immune from the exhortations. The 'but' does not work.

How then to respond to the love, while loving?

1. Understanding love
In the discourse of love above, it seems as though those being loved are not allowed to criticise or ask what this love means. Much like the children who are beaten by parents who are supposed to love them, it seems as though 'homosexuals' are to be happy that they are loved in a way which means that they must be punished for wanting to love differently.

So.. responding to this understanding of love "Are you loving homosexuals the same way that you are loving murderers, rapists, child abusers, thieves? Do you believe that homosexuals deserve two years in prison (or life or death) ? "


2. Understanding religious views and theologies
We will never remove ourselves that Guyana has many different religious views. The religious bodies vie with each other for political space and power and it is no doubt that some people's views believe that other's have no space. In responding with love to the view that it is okay to say that homosexuals are sinners for loving , one could attempt to engage in theological debates. Some people are interested in these.. but when an esteemed Pastor or Pandit or Society speaks, who will dispute those? Regardless of the complexities of texts and how those texts have been used to oppress, the understandings are fixed. Many of the homosexual people have to also understand these texts and their own existence in those texts .

Engagement in theological debates would do nothing convince who already love homosexuals as damaged goods, and who reject the science and other evidence of homosexuality being natural. Many persons though, who are homosexual, are engaged in their own spiritual journeys and engaging in theological studies helps to understand how history has sometimes convoluted some of scriptures and other beliefs. 


3. Loving homosexuals and loving smokers

The laws of Guyana do not have a penalty for two years for smoking. So any person who wants to preach that their religious views on homosexuality are similar to saying that 'they do not like smoking but have no problem with smokers' should consider whether smokers and homosexuals face the same levels of violence, the discrimination and the hatred in law and in the society.  Some persons have referred to the 'Homophobia with a hug and a smile"


So.. is it loving to say that homosexuality is a sin...?
No. It is not loving to say that homosexuality is a sin, while smiling and talking about loving homosexuals.

It is not loving to say that homosexuality is a sin while claiming that there are foreign agendas to determine that homosexuals are deserving of the same rights as other citizens.

It is not loving to say that homosexuality is a sin while you remain silent on the other sins which your religion proclaims to protest about , and while also your love for some of those sinners seem to encourage further sinning.

It is not loving to say that homosexuality is a sin while thinking that LGBT people should deny their desires for love and companionship .

It is not loving to say that homosexuality is a sin while insinuating that homosexuals are child molesters.

It is not loving to say that homosexuality is a sin while using pseudo-scientific research and discredited narratives to say that homosexuals choose 'their lifestyle'

It is not loving to say that homosexuality is a sin while thinking that loving and being loved by another person is the same as smoking.

Anyone who claims to love homosexuals should recognise that the desire for consensual relationships is legitimate, and should not be objecting to any change in laws which seek to criminalise that desire.

Anyone who claims to love homosexuals should be able to dialogue and understand the reasoning for that struggle for equality.


How then can really love each other?
The word 'love' has many nuances , and in many languages, has more than one translation depending on who is loving and who is being loved. In any relationship which claims to be based on love, that loving should be understood and defined.


Each individual in their own spiritual journey would have their own understanding of how they love and their expectations of love. Claims of love are complicated since love has so many uses (I love chocolate).

Compassion is not an easy virtue to have. It is difficult to be compassionate when the "enemies'" behaviour seeks to destroy.

It should be possible to engage in ways which try to honour the divinity in each human being.. or the humanity (if you do not believe in the divine).  It is sometimes not easy to do so but we keep that in mind as we try to create a cohesive society with all its different views of love and sin.


(edited 14 June, 2016 to correct the typos and so )