Matthew Baker | Homophobia our ticket to heaven?

Maurice Tomlinson’s bid to have homosexuality, specifically same-sex unions, normalised has fuelled greater controversy around the delicate matter. Peter Espeut, a long-time Gleaner columnist and staunch defender of the ­heterosexual consensus, strongly opposes this move, as borne out in his article ‘Pro-gay drivel’ published on August 9, 2019. Four issues arise.

Stop the Anancyism!

Jamaica must decide if it will move with the international tide or remain an island and stand alone on the issue of homophilia. We cannot have our cake and eat it at the same time; that is, we cannot be signatories to ­international treaties while not abiding by human-rights obligations under these conventions.

If, as a country, we decry the union of two men, fine; but then do the honourable thing and remove ourselves from, for example, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)! The Anancyism won’t work.

Language exists for humans, not humans for language

Mr Espeut’s thesis rests on the conventional use of the term ‘marriage’, not recognising that, ultimately, humans assign meanings to words, and words and their meaning evolve with time (See Gordon Robinson’s article in The Gleaner of August 25, 2019). Mr Robinson makes an interesting choice of word, ­‘slavery’, whose entrenched narrative we have abolished.

I would go on further to say that although slavery is strongly supported by the Bible (Leviticus 25: 39-43, Deuteronomy 15:11-14, Ephesians 6:9), as much as homosexuality is frowned upon, one would surely be off their rockers to be forwarding an agenda on ­slavery, Bible or no Bible. Language changes for humans based on specific contexts or as our context changes. What right have we to tell a Bajan he is wrong to call guineps ackees, or for us not to recognise our local-language designation of the word ‘men’ to mean not the plural of man (which is ‘man dem’), but homosexual? What of a teacher who once, if unmarried, was fired or had to resign if found pregnant, because it was considered ­indecent? Such categorisation has now undergone ­radical revisioning.

Deeply held values?

Mr Espeut ended his article citing that “foreign powers ... do not share our deeply held values.” Are we are living in the same country?” Where are these deeply held values that have, over the years, given free rein to the crime monster that devoured 1,300-plus last year? Church sins and cover-ups are too embarrassing to list. The children are being butchered! So, too, are the vulnerable old along with returning residents. It would appear that if Jamaica fails everything else and passes the local homophobia litmus test, we would have secured the rite of passage to Heaven. But can any Sankey sing so?

What is good for Peter should be good for Paul?

No one speaks about fornication between a man and a woman, when the same Bible, used to condemn homosexuality, says these heterosexuals will not inherit God’s kingdom. We conveniently hold to the Bible to decry homosexuality, while celebrating a sexually vaunted culture of an “ol’ dog like me/ we hav di gyal dem inna twos and threes.”

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 identifies all sinners, not just homosexuals, but thieves, greedy persons, liars and fornicators, among others, without ­elevating one sin over the next. Where, then, is the justice in how we treat with these issues?

Be assured, homophobia is ­taking us nowhere whatsoever.

Matthew Baker lectures in the Faculty of Education and Liberal Studies at the University of Technology. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and mb0080339@gmail.com.