Cultural context not an excuse for injustice

Brian-Paul Welsh, Guest Columnist

THE LETTER of the Day written by Cashley Brown and published on Thursday, August 15, 2013, started as a critique of the way in which special interest groups through their agitation for the recognition of injustice neglect to contextualise the cultural realities of the unjust act they seek a resolution for.

This kind of reasoning is problematic for me because implicitly it presents context as an excuse for injustice. It is, however, not surprising because such is the nature of how Jamaicans engage with troubling news and this thinking pervades even our approach to crime solving. The impetus to seek a resolution dissolves once we have settled on the idea that the victim's blood was surely upon them.

To conclude that violence and not anti-gay hostility is at the root of the murder of Dwayne 'Gully Queen' Jones is an incomplete thought and demonstrates a deep misapprehension of the facts of the case and of the value placed on the young man, both in life and in death, by those with the responsibility for advancing his welfare.

Yes, quite obviously Jamaica has a serious problem with violence. But beyond that the crux of the matter is that Jamaicans have a serious problem with valuing human life and respecting human dignity. Perhaps because of the peculiarity of our social construct, for most Jamaicans dignity is a concept that is subject to gradations, and unfortunately, for many people in this country, sexual and gender minorities are to be accorded no semblance of respect unless there is some appreciating factor such as wealth or education. Dwayne Jones had none of the social capital which protects some other people from abuse and, therefore, he felt the wrath of a culture which maims and kills as a response to discomfort.

prejudice

Sadly the author's prejudices revealed themselves by his conclusion that Dwayne and other vulnerable LGBT youth are used as "sacrificial lambs to test the waters" and that their boldness is a response to the proliferation of progressive ideas on human rights and sexuality. In part, he is correct that self-affirmation and self-expression are the direct result of an elimination of shame for one's identity, and therefore agency over one's personhood is a direct consequence of the idea that "I am a full human being, not less than anyone else".

Where he veered completely off path is by suggesting that organised advocacy is somehow responsible for the cycle of hostility because it raises awareness of injustice and encourages persons to no longer cower in shame. That is a deeply flawed position. The unconstitutionality of laws which criminalise the consenting relationships of adults in private has long been settled in international jurisprudence, and will similarly be determined in Jamaica. That, however, has nothing to do with the reason Dwayne attended the party dressed as he was, nor does it explain the entitlement Dwayne's murderers felt to end his life as a reaction to his gender expression.

Dwayne Jones was abandoned by family; outed by a church sister; and brutalised by supposedly God-fearing people. His friends say he died hungry.

Making Excuses

Why must we continue to excuse injustice because we have an aversion to the identity of the victim?

When will we be able to have an honest discourse about the depravity of our nation without using cultural context as an excuse?

What more will it take for our Government to realise that things are far from 'irie' on this island, and that we have some seriously deep-seated issues that require leadership to address?

Until persons such as Mr Brown can stop minimising the dignity of minorities in favour of the privilege of the majority, then justice will remain an elusive concept in this country.

Brian-Paul Welsh writes on gender and health issues. Send comments to columns@gleanerjm.com or brianpaul.welsh@gmail.com.