Dancehall star Beenie Man barred from MTV show after gay protest

[Tarheelhombre]

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040825/APN/408250817

By JOHN PAIN
Associated Press Writer
MIAMI -- Grammy-winning dancehall reggae star Beenie Man urged his fans Wednesday not to watch this weekend's broadcast of the MTV Video Music Awards because the network won't let him perform at a concert associated with the show, his manager said.

MTV pulled the Jamaican from the roster Tuesday after South Florida gay activists announced plans to protest Saturday's concert in Miami over some of his lyrics, including "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays" and "Queers must be killed."

"We don't want anything to overshadow what will be a great weekend of music events for South Floridians," MTV spokeswoman Marnie Black said Wednesday. She declined further comment.

The awards show is Sunday at the bayfront AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, the first time in the glam-filled event's 21-year history that it will take place outside New York and Los Angeles.

[Tarheelhombre]

1. How about 50 Cent, DMX, and Eminem?

[shadu]

4. Good point. Good question.

[NWHarkness]

6. gat bashers who make money are OK

It's only the obscure gay bashers they object to.

[geek tragedy]

11. Did Eminem advocate a final solution for homosexuals? n/t

[redqueen]

27. Thank you!

Quite a lot of space between what Eminem sings and what this guy is saying.

Don't know anything about DMX, though. Or 50 Cent.

[Vladimir]

49. Sample DMX lyric

Last I heard, y'all niggaz was havin sex, with the SAME sex
I show no love, to homo thugs
Empty out, reloaded and throw more slugs
How you gonna explain fuckin a man?
Even if we squashed the beef, I ain't touchin ya hand

I don't know, is that advocating a final solution, or just being a pig?

[redqueen]

52. Complete and total pig

Sounds like he's talking about this 'down low' thing that seems to be going on... 'even if we squashed the beef, I ain't touchin ya hand'?

To me, that sounds like he's saying that even if he's had some kind of sexual encounter on the 'down low' with another guy, that he won't show affection publicly. Downright cowardice and hypocrisy, if you ask me.

This 'down low' phenomenon is responsible for skyrocketing aids rates. Sad... stupidity kills.

[Vladimir]

54. I think what he actually means

is that even if they've declared a truce (beef in gangsta rap usually refers to a fight between two rappers, verbal or otherwise), he ain't shaking his hand. But on the phenomenon, you're right.

[redqueen]

55. Ah

yet another instance of me shamelessly displaying my stupidity. :P

Thanks. :)

[Chovexani]

64. A LOT of rappers are on the DL

I have a sister who is a promoter in hip hop land and knows people.

Let's just say a lot of these lyrics are examples of protesting too much.

[Moloch]

66. Here's another sample DMX lyric:

I've got blood on my hands cause there's no remorse
I got blood on my dick cause I fucked a corpse
I'm a nasty nigga, when you see me look me in the eye
Tell me to your fucking face that you're ready to die..
----

There you have it folks, murder and necrophilia are ok
but homosexuality is disgusting.... but DMX, Eminem and 50 Cent are entitled to their opinion. Beenie Man, on the other hand has advocated
killing people simply because of their sexual orientation. While I think he too is entitled to freedom of speech, it is much worse than what the rappers are saying....

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

2. YES - MTV Shows some guts. I posted on this a while ago

Virgin records needs to wake up and stop promoting this hate!

[schultzee]

3. This hatred of gays is really like Hitler's Germany. Nazis

[Alenne]

5. MTV is full of shit

If it was Eminem or someone like that the show would go on with that person. MTV doesn't want to take the heat for an artist who can easily be replaced. I'll applaud them when they start doing the same with mainstream artist.

[shanti]

7. that's the second reggae artist

that's been banned for this. buju banton was also banned. jamaica is a very homophobic country.

but i'm still wondering why american artists who also do this aren't being banned.

[Ripley]

8. Why do they encourage killing?

I thought reggae was about getting high and loving everybody. Since when did they become skinheads?

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

9. nice stereotype there

:eyes:

[Ripley]

12. Sorry, I'm not a music expert like you obviously are.

Gee, is everything a stereotype to some of you? I honestly only know about Bob Marley and pot and love are two themes I had heard about.

I guess it's me bad, Reggae homophobes inciting murder good. :eyes:

[Chico Man]

13. Lots of gang violence in Jamaica

Rastas are still looked at as crooks by the masses (christians) I suppose.

With the wide (and intense) variety of social fuel for jamaican artists, you can probably find songwriters spanning the spectrum from love to hate and everything in between.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

14. What ever, man

I'm sick of the stereotype of Jamaicans as lovable pot smokin hippies - its condescending. As is your tone

[Chico Man]

15. i think that is probably quite far from the truth

And probably why so many stupid tourists get robbed there

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

16. Don't go to the other side demonizing a people - THESE ARE PEOPLE

Nuanced, multifaceted, multiethnic and beautiful.

[Chico Man]

20. I didn't demonize anyone

Its the truth. If you are a tourist in Jamaica thinking some lovable pot head rasta is going to hook you up, watch the fk out. There are plenty willing to take you for a ride that will also ride that stereotype all the way to the bank.

Same thing happens on Haight St in San Francisco.

Tourist stereotype driven Capitalism in action.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

22. You've got a point there - people do get jacked in this way

I just hear so much crap about Jamaicans - it gets me on the defensive

- Peace

[jdj]

28. So are queers.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

41. No shit

whats your point


I called on a boycott of virgin records for this a month ago
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=2182564

[shanti]

10. the hard core

dancehall artists are the ones doing this, as well as bobo dread rastas, definitely not all of them. most reggae performers are about peace and love and do not perform anti-gay songs. dancehall is another genre of reggae, you can compare it to rap/hiphop. i'm sure you know all about rap/hiphop and THEIR style!

[Ripley]

17. Thanks for explaining it instead of

personally attacking me as others have.

I guess asking an honest question or having an opinion that is not the "correct" one on DU is not allowed. When did DU become so lockstep?

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

24. Lockstep?You are being very sensitive rather than listening to what I said

who's personally attacking who?

[shanti]

45. no problem, man

there aren't a whole lot of americans who are savvy about the jamaican reggae/dancehall scene.

[jdj]

29. while on the one hand, I am thrilled to hear the caribbean beats

and see the dance styles creeping onto MTV and VH1, I hate dancehall music, because it seems like a travesty to me after Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff, etc.

Why in the name of God would a pop artist feel it necessary to make these statements.

If I had to make a guess about why this artist was turned away when others weren't, I would say it's because everyone knows that Emimen, DMX and 50 cent are just whiny little boys who probably have latency issues in a country that is one of the most liberal when it comes to homosexuality, whereas Jamaica is a very dangerous place for gays right now.

[Chico Man]

30. Jamaica is a very dangerous place for anyone

If you venture out of the Americanized zone. Rule of law kind of breaks down.

[jdj]

33. Jamaica's queers shouldn't have to fear execution

based on their queerness.

yeah, like queers are the freaking cause of all the evils.

How humanity could progress if instead of picking a weaker other to vent frustrations on we could find strength in numbers and confront the real evils.

[Chico Man]

34. You are completely correct and I 100% agree

Why can't we all just get along.

[shanti]

46. oh good grief

it's not like that at all! sure, there are places in JA that you (as a non-jamaican) "shouldn't" go, but there are places like that anywhere. you make it sound like someone is around every corner waiting to mug a tourist! geez...

if one never ventures out of their AI (all inclusive resort), you never get a taste of the real jamaica. common sense and respect goes a LONG way!

i'm making my second trip back soon with my teen son (i'm a single woman) and i'm not worried in the least.

have YOU been to jamaica?

[Chico Man]

48. Jamaicans take advantage of the stereotype

That makes it slightly more dangerous than American cities or PR, DR, etc. They don't have the luxury of being stereotyped peace loving pot smoking love the world hippies.

I'd be willing to bet a woman in Jamaica would be far safer than a man.

Most Americans don't have respect for Jamaicans or common sense. I've never been robbed in Jamaica, but I know a few people who have. They are clever.

Have YOU ever been robbed?

[shanti]

56. no, i've never been robbed

either in the u.s. or jamaica. you didn't answer my question. again, have you ever been to jamaica? why do you think jamaica is safer for a woman than a man?

"Most Americans don't have respect for Jamaicans or common sense."

a little respect and common sense goes a long way, something to think about when you're a guest in a foreign country.

[psychopomp]

51. Dancehall *is* reggae today

and has been since the mid-eighties. Since the cassette tape producers on the island have been able to cheaply make rhythm tracks and get them distributed to the DJ's (MC's we would call them in States). Harmony groups and bands as we are accustomed to thinking of when we think "reggae" have not been popular on the island for going on two decades now.

Sadly, many otherwise upstanding artists feel the need to voice their paranoia about homosexuality. It is quite widespread and the biggest names (Capelton, Sizzla--themselves bobo rastas-- as well as Beenie Man, Elephant Man, etc.)

When Shabba Ranks was excoriated in the American media he went through a process that led to his eventual acceptance of homosexuals as equals who do not deserve scorn and apologized for his homophobic statements. Would that today's artists learn a similar lesson.

[shanti]

57. for the youth, yes it is

but there are many more reggae performers that aren't dancehall (luciano, beres hammond, sanchez, gregory isaacs, etc.) and are very popular. they don't perform homophobic songs.

[psychopomp]

58. Yes they are all positive

Respect.

[psychopomp]

59. Everton Blender, Richie Spice

to mention a couple more, though Richie Spice switches it up and does all styles.

[ionami]

18. Music in dire need

Music is no longer music and we need to make talent the priority and not dollars. Thats what is driving this story.

[Tarheelhombre]

19. Anyone know about Ziggy Marley's record on gay issues?

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

43. what are you talking about? "Music is no longer music"? WTF?

Have a nice stay here!
:hi:

[phrenzy]

21. Damn...

That's ridiculous. I am a fan of Eminem and a lot of other hip-hop artists. Eminem is 1.) Tongue in cheek and 2.) He never said 'Kill all fags' or any such nonsense. He's also gone out of his way to clarify that this rapping is done for the SOLE PURPOSE of pissing you off. And, low and behold it seems to work. He shows that in his 'real' life he is *not* a homophobe and probably understands what it feels like to be ostracized as much as anybody. You can't NOT feel like an outcast coming up as a free-style battle rapper who happens to be white / blonde / blue eyed and kind of dorky looking. I don't know what the context of this guys lyrics are, but it certainly doesn't sound like sarcasm to me - it sounds like he actually wishes this would happen. That is scary.

Oh, and listening to a style of music called 'ragga-jungle', I can tell you that the whole peace-and-smoke stuff is not present in that style of music. It is all about 'murderin dem blood clot pussy rude bwoy' - Very violent and comparable to 'gangsta rap' - Mostly talking about guns and killing rivals, etc.

[Chico Man]

23. Yeah that ragga mashup style is quite violent i'd say

Combines reggae, jungle, hip hop, mc, all into one noisy mess. Sick music, just pretty damn violent at times.

[phrenzy]

25. yep

I'm totally addicted to it right now. It is very violent - and almost in a scary way - you get the impression that these guys are actually out there toting guns and cutting throats. Gangsta rap usually has a kind of sarcastic edge to it, but this stuff is just frightening. But i can't help but love it. The music is SO chaotic and riotous.

[Chico Man]

26. Try this on

http://www.ragga-jungle.com/downloads_get.php?id=267&stream=1

[phrenzy]

61. thanks!

nice listening to the mix now - haha yeah - i had registered on that site a few months ago. To feed my addiction. Good to know there is another ragga jungle fan that is also a DUer!

[jdj]

31. When one comes up as an outcast, it usually helps one

develop empathy for other outcasts.

Cry me a river, I'll shed no tears for poor little Eminem.

Matthew Shepard's killers probably appreciated the kind of lyrics Emimem rights.

He's inexcusable. Yes, he's brilliant, but he's inexcusable. I just hate it for him because when his daughter gets raped or molested, and odds are that she will, he's gonna have to live with the fact that he helped create the atmosphere that fosters and excuses violence against women.

I can't imagine.

[Gildor Inglorion]

32. Dear, dear...poor Eminem

"He shows that in his 'real' life he is *not* a homophobe and probably understands what it feels like to be ostracized as much as anybody. You can't NOT feel like an outcast coming up as a free-style battle rapper who happens to be white / blonde / blue eyed and kind of dorky looking." How truly tragic for the boy. I do hope some of the mega-millions he's earned by insulting gays (albeit tongue in cheek!) will offer him some slight comfort in his loneliness. I just WISH there were something I could do for him. :nopity:

[jdj]

35. plus kids don't get the nuance.

They are into it for escapism and I'm sure when hearing less powerful groups put down makes them feel more powerful.

[jukes]

36. Yep, G/I

he either IS a gay basher, or EXPLOITS gay-bashing for profit. either way, he's making the world a less safe place for our gay friends.

either way, he's a whiney little prick, & i share your lack of sympathy for him.

[Vladimir]

50. Eminem's biggest problem

is that compared to, say, Public Enemy, he is a bit boring. I enjoy some of his stuff, Dr. Dre is a sensational producer and he is a very clever rapper, but there is no message beyond the 'I'm gonna piss you of' stuff. And there is only so much that I can listen to someone going on and on and on about themselves and their life and being offensive for the sake of it before it gets boring.

[redqueen]

53. I have to disagree

I think there's more to his music than just 'I'm gonna piss you off'.

For example:


White America


America!! Hahaha! We love you!
How many people are proud to be citizens of this beautiful country of ours?
The stripes and the stars for the rights that men have died for to protect
The women and men who have broke their necks for the freedom of speech
the United States government has sworn to uphold..
(Yo, I want everybody to listen to the words of this song) .. or so we're told


I never woulda dreamed in a million years I'd see
so many motherfuckin people, who feel like me
Who share the same views and the same exact beliefs
It's like a fuckin ARMY marchin in back of me
So many lives I touched, so much anger aimed
in no particular direction, just sprays and sprays
And straight through your radio waves, it plays and plays
'til it stays stuck in your head, for days and days
Who woulda thought; standin in this mirror bleachin my hair
with some peroxide, reachin for a t-shirt to wear
that I would catapult to the forefront of rap like this?
How could I predict my words would have an impact like this?
I must've struck a chord with somebody up in the office
Cause Congress keep tellin me, I ain't causin nuthin but problems
And now they're sayin I'm in trouble with the government - I'm lovin it!
I shoveled shit all my life, and now I'm dumpin it on


White America! I could be one of your kids
White America! Little Eric looks just like this
White America! Erica loves my shit
I go to TRL; look how many hugs I get!


Look at these eyes, baby blue, baby just like yourself
If they were brown Shady lose, Shady sits on the shelf
But Shady's cute, Shady knew Shady's dimples would help
Make ladies swoon baby (ooh baby!) Look at my sales
Let's do the math - if I was black, I woulda sold half
I ain't have to graduate from Lincoln High School to know that
But I could rap, so fuck school, I'm too cool to go back
Gimme the mic, show me where the fuckin studio's at
When I was underground, no one gave a fuck I was white
No labels wanted to sign me, almost gave up I was like
Fuck it - until I met Dre, the only one to look past
Gave me a chance aand I lit a FIRE up under his ass
Helped him get back to the top, every fan black that I got
was probably his in exchange for every white fan that he's got
Like damn; we just swapped - sittin back lookin at shit, wow
I'm like my skin is it startin to work to my benefit now? It's..




See the problem is, I speak to suburban kids
who otherwise woulda never knew these words exist
Whose moms probably woulda never gave two squirts of piss
'til I created so much motherfuckin turbulence!
Straight out the tube, right into your living rooms I came
And kids flipped, when they knew I was produced by Dre
That's all it took, and they were instantly hooked right in
And they connected with me too because I looked like them
That's why they put my lyrics up under this microscope
Searchin with a fine tooth comb, it's like this rope
waitin to choke; tightenin around my throat
Watchin me while I write this, like I don't like this (Nope!)
All I hear is: lyrics, lyrics, constant controversy, sponsors working
round the clock to try to stop my concerts early, surely
Hip-Hop was never a problem in Harlem only in Boston
After it bothered the fathers of daughters startin to blossom
So now I'm catchin the flack from these activists when they raggin
Actin like I'm the first rapper to smack a bitch or say faggot, shit!
Just look at me like I'm your closest pal
The posterchild, the motherfuckin spokesman now for..




So to the parents of America
I am the derringer aimed at little Erica to attack her character
The ringleader of this circus of worthless pawns
Sent to lead the march right up to the steps of Congress
and piss on the lawns of the White House
To burn the {flag} and replace it with a Parental Advisory sticker
To spit liquor in the faces of this democracy of hypocrisy
Fuck you Ms. Cheney! Fuck you Tipper Gore!
Fuck you with the free-est of speech
this Divided States of Embarassment will allow me to have
Fuck you!


I'm just playin America, you know I love you

[phrenzy]

62. half true

Eminem is, admirably trying to emerge from his 'say anything to piss you off' style. Eminem Show was a lot more raw and emotional than his previous belligerent rambling. 'Cleaning Out My Closet' and 'White America' show he is actually trying to evolve.

In any case, yes people are going to jump up and down for his 'hatred' in his lyrics. It's not about that. And as for kids not 'getting' the nuance. Kids are smarter than you think and they laugh at old farts like you that think they have to protect them from such 'dangerous' words.

Anyway, much like with rock and punk before it - some people just don't "get" it.

[Vladimir]

63. You what?

I am an old fart who thinks the kids won't get the nuance? You must have responded to the wrong post... besides, words don't get much more dangerous than those of Public Enemy. As I say, Eminem has whack beats, great flow, he is very clever - but not political enough for my tastes with his rapping. Now Pharoe Monch, with Agent Orange - that is great rap...

[Chovexani]

65. I get it

And it still sucks.

[goodhue]

37. Beenie Man's Hate Lyrics Stir Action, By Tolerance.org staff . . .

http://www.tolerance.org/news/article_tol.jsp?id=1048

Beenie Man's Hate Lyrics Stir Action

By Tolerance.org staff
August 16, 2004 -- At least 20 concerts of Jamaican dancehall artist Beenie Man have been cancelled due to the artist's violently homophobic lyrics.

Outrage!, a UK-based group that successfully got the artist's concerts cancelled in London and Europe, reported Friday nearly two-thirds of Beenie Man's 33 planned U.S. concert stops have been cancelled due to public pressure and dropped sponsorship.

"The cancellations follow an education campaign by U.S. gay- and human-rights activists," according to an Outrage! press release. "They have alerted promoters, sponsors and venues to Beenie Man's lyrics."

Brian Winfield, communications director for Equality Florida, said Beenie Man's lyrics "really talk about committing genocide."

His song "Damn," for example, contains the line, "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays."

Cancelled "One Love" concert stops include Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

Sponsor R.J. Reynolds, in a statement, said it cancelled 14 concerts because the company "does not tolerate this or any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation."

* * *

A culture of intolerance
In previous interviews, Beenie Man has stressed that Jamaican culture has a low tolerance for homosexuality.

Various international human-rights groups describe Jamaica as one of the most homophobic places on earth, according to a recent article published in London's Guardian newspaper.

Songs with anti-gay lyrics fill the airwaves there, and, in June, Brian Williamson, founding member of the Jamaicans For Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-Flag), was brutally murdered.

Since 1982, 47 murders in Jamaica have been determined as motivated by anti-GLBTQ violence, according to J-Flag.

* * *

http://www.tolerance.org/news/article_tol.jsp?id=1048

[goodhue]

38. Interview with Julius Powell of JFLAG

http://www.jahworks.org/music/interview/jflag_interview.html

Anti-homosexual rhetoric and violence has reached crisis proportions in Jamaica. Anti-gay lyrics are growing ever more virulent in dancehall music, and some Jamaicans are acting out the murderous rage expressed in these lyrics, as they have acted out the fire burn mentality. This is really an international crisis: hardly anyone in Jamaica’s intensely homophobic culture is even willing to say directly that this is a problem, and few of those in the international audience who support the music seem to realize that these lyrics have real-life consequences. This was a point driven home with dramatic simplicity by Julius Powell, a spokesperson for the civil rights group JFLAG, Jamaicans for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays. "This music sells in the United States, but it kills in Jamaica," he emphasized.

* * *

Julius Powell is a native of Manchester, near Kingston. He has a B.S. in Management Studies from the University of the West Indies. His multi-faceted background includes a stint as a Bank Internal Auditor for the National Export Import Bank of Jamaica, and experience in developing non-governmental organizations (NGO’s). As chairperson of the Finance and Enterprise Committee of JFLAG, he has given special emphasis to nurturing alliances: across class lines in Jamaica, with other gay rights and civil rights organizations throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, and more broadly, with a variety of human rights groups in the United States and Europe. In the following transcript, Julius provides a ground-level view of how homophobia is experienced in Jamaica. He also draws explicit links between Jamaican machismo, repressive attitudes towards the place of women, and virulent hatred of homosexuals.

--------------------------------

Gregory Stephens: Some of the anti-gay lyrics coming out of Jamaica are disturbing. There one by Beenie Man called "Damn" where he says, "I’m dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays." Then "Chi Chi Man," the biggest tune on the island over the last year: "Rat tat tat every Chi Chi Man dem hafi get flat/ Mi an my niggas ago mek chi chi man fi dead an dats a fact." How do you react to that?

Julius Powell: The songs incite violence and hatred towards gay people and peoples whose sexuality differs from the norm. We have had at least two deaths this year, so far. One was a student of an all male High School in Kingston. We have had a number of persons who have been arbitrarily beaten because of the society’s perception that they are gay. In January this year, we also had another incident on the Northern Caribbean University campus in Mandeville where four students were brutally beaten at around 4AM. The door to their dorm was kicked off, electricity and telephone communications were cut to the dorm and other students beat them with planks. These planks had nails and they were mercilessly beaten.

This whole idea of Jamaica being a plural society is a farce. We do not believe it is as plural as mainstream society makes it out to be. Because "Chi Chi Man" is just one of a number of songs that are played continuously on the air and television in Jamaica. There is Elephant Man, Spragga Benz to name a few. Spragga Benz two weeks ago issued a statement condemning gays and that his anti-gay message will continue to go out. For us it raises concerns because not everyone in the society is in a privileged position. The root cause of this is Jamaica’s "cultural intolerance" towards gays and homosexuals. This manifest itself in the music.

* * *

http://www.jahworks.org/music/interview/jflag_interview.html

[goodhue]

39. Powell on music, Beenie Man . . .

http://www.jahworks.org/music/interview/jflag_interview3.html

GS: Yes, well I know how important music is in Jamaica. It would seem that if a change in consciousness were to occur, then musical expression would have to play a part in that process. Are you hearing that anywhere at this point?

JP: No! Because if you go on the airwaves, there is still a deluge of reggae songs which will tell you that And you mentioned Rastas; No, reggae is reggae. Reggae is not confined to a particular group. Reggae is not endemic to the Rastafarian community. So you have to make that clear, because your listeners would not know. Anybody can sing or be a DJ, you can be a DJ from uptown, you can be a DJ from downtown, and they perpetrate the same song, the same technique.

GS: It seems like there is a huge demand for that kind of music among the audience. To what degree do performers actually share that perspective, or are they playing it for audience demand?

JP: I think it is primarily audience driven. Behind the scenes one or two will tell you that’s what the audience wants to hear. The only person that has said anything positive was Beenie Man, despite his current song.

GS: Well he is a schizophrenic.

JP: Well Beenie Man actually said he has to work with gay people, that’s the reality, but if you look on a list of songs, take the top 10 or top 20 and trust me, it has not changed much. I am looking at a list compiled by Jamdown Records, and three out of the top 10 songs are anti-gay songs. To name a few: Spraga Benz, Goofy, and Elephant Man. This intolerance comes about because this is presumed to be a "Christian country" and nothing more!

http://www.jahworks.org/music/interview/jflag_interview3.html

[jdj]

42. So it's coming from Christianity. How fucking unoriginal, predictable

and tragic.

Surprise surprise. (not)

[jdj]

40. "This music sells in the United States, but it kills in Jamaica"

Thank you so much for posting this.

Even with the gay killings here that actually make the papers, people may have a hard time imagining the reality of homophobia in Jamaica.

Excellent article, hope everyone reads it.

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

47. Thats a great article, very informative..thanx!

Pretty scary stuff going down in Jamaica.

[Medium Baby Jesus]

44. Maybe he can play GOP convention n/t

[okieinpain]

60. good news.