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EDITORIAL - Homophobic silliness and a failure of leadership
published: Thursday | May 22, 2008
Leadership often demands of the person who assumes that role a willingness to adopt what initially may be unpopular positions and, the ability to persuade and cajole those whom they lead to the embrace of new ideas.
Indeed, this is a notion of leadership that was often canvassed by Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who, over the past dozen years or so, had sought to fashion himself as a man willing to shift paradigms and to nudge the rest of the country along with him.
Mr Golding is often at his most eloquent in purveying his ideals for a higher form of governance, including a deep respect for the rights of the individual. Ultimately, Mr Golding talked of steering us towards a gentler and more tolerant Jamaica.
It is, perhaps, unfortunate that we perceive these as noble ideals, rather than the way things are and ought to be. The question that now seems relevant is whether Mr Golding is willing to expend real political capital to achieve his declared ends? Or, as some might frame it, whether the prime minister is as deeply committed to these ideas of change and whether he has the stomach for the challenge?
Sharp relief
This matter has been thrown into sharp relief, internationally, in the face of the prime minister's interview on the BBC television programme 'Hardtalk' in which he displayed, to a global audience, that he is not immune from that most indelicate of Jamaican traits, homophobia. Unless, that is, Mr Golding was playing to a domestic political audience rather than stating a genuinely held belief.
In recent years, Jamaica has fallen under international pressure for the society's treatment of gays and lesbians, who are, sometimes too often, subject to violence because of their lifestyles. Human rights lobbyists complain of the weak effort of the Jamaican authorities, including the police, to protect the rights of gays and lambaste the fact that sex between males remains a crime in this country.
Moreover, several Jamaican dancehall artistes have been blacklisted in Europe and North America for their songs promoting violence against gays, and gay and lesbian lobbyists have promoted, so far not very successfully, economic boycotts of the island.
In the BBC interview, Mr Golding was asked about Jamaica's attitude towards homosexuality. His initial answer was reasonable. There is a problem, but attitudes were softening. His government respected people's privacy.
Past remarks
Then Mr Golding was asked about past remarks that no homosexual could be a member of his Cabinet. Here, there was a bit of a waffling inconsistency: while he broadly viewed people on the basis of their abilities, he was under no compulsion to consider gays, in exercising his choice in forming a Cabinet.
When he was pressed on the issue, Mr Golding resorted to the tactics of the cornered - neither he nor Jamaica would be dictated to. And, on whether gays can ever sit in a Jamaican Cabinet: "Sure ... but not in mine."
Jamaica and Mr Golding can expect further pressure from the international community, which is the lesser of the outcomes from the PM's performance. His greater failure is that of leadership.
A potentially unintended consequence of Mr Golding's trenchant statement is that people interpret it as vindication of homophobic and anti-gay violence and for the liberation of the voyeurs.
published: Thursday | May 22, 2008
Leadership often demands of the person who assumes that role a willingness to adopt what initially may be unpopular positions and, the ability to persuade and cajole those whom they lead to the embrace of new ideas.
Indeed, this is a notion of leadership that was often canvassed by Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who, over the past dozen years or so, had sought to fashion himself as a man willing to shift paradigms and to nudge the rest of the country along with him.
Mr Golding is often at his most eloquent in purveying his ideals for a higher form of governance, including a deep respect for the rights of the individual. Ultimately, Mr Golding talked of steering us towards a gentler and more tolerant Jamaica.
It is, perhaps, unfortunate that we perceive these as noble ideals, rather than the way things are and ought to be. The question that now seems relevant is whether Mr Golding is willing to expend real political capital to achieve his declared ends? Or, as some might frame it, whether the prime minister is as deeply committed to these ideas of change and whether he has the stomach for the challenge?
Sharp relief
This matter has been thrown into sharp relief, internationally, in the face of the prime minister's interview on the BBC television programme 'Hardtalk' in which he displayed, to a global audience, that he is not immune from that most indelicate of Jamaican traits, homophobia. Unless, that is, Mr Golding was playing to a domestic political audience rather than stating a genuinely held belief.
In recent years, Jamaica has fallen under international pressure for the society's treatment of gays and lesbians, who are, sometimes too often, subject to violence because of their lifestyles. Human rights lobbyists complain of the weak effort of the Jamaican authorities, including the police, to protect the rights of gays and lambaste the fact that sex between males remains a crime in this country.
Moreover, several Jamaican dancehall artistes have been blacklisted in Europe and North America for their songs promoting violence against gays, and gay and lesbian lobbyists have promoted, so far not very successfully, economic boycotts of the island.
In the BBC interview, Mr Golding was asked about Jamaica's attitude towards homosexuality. His initial answer was reasonable. There is a problem, but attitudes were softening. His government respected people's privacy.
Past remarks
Then Mr Golding was asked about past remarks that no homosexual could be a member of his Cabinet. Here, there was a bit of a waffling inconsistency: while he broadly viewed people on the basis of their abilities, he was under no compulsion to consider gays, in exercising his choice in forming a Cabinet.
When he was pressed on the issue, Mr Golding resorted to the tactics of the cornered - neither he nor Jamaica would be dictated to. And, on whether gays can ever sit in a Jamaican Cabinet: "Sure ... but not in mine."
Jamaica and Mr Golding can expect further pressure from the international community, which is the lesser of the outcomes from the PM's performance. His greater failure is that of leadership.
A potentially unintended consequence of Mr Golding's trenchant statement is that people interpret it as vindication of homophobic and anti-gay violence and for the liberation of the voyeurs.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.
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