Anti-Gay Violence Claims Another Life In Jamaica

[davidinalameda]

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/01/010406jamaica.htm

A young Jamaican man plunged to his death off a pier in Kingston after reportedly being chased through the streets by a mob yelling homophobic epithets.

In a desperate attempt to flee his tormentors Nokia Cowan leaped from the pier into Kingston harbor. Unable to swim he died in the rancid water.

Whether Cowan actually was gay or not is known, but he became the third man to recently die as a result of homophobia in Jamaica.

JFLAG, the country's gay rights organization Wednesday called for a police investigation into the events that led to his drowning.

[sui generis]

1. it's enough some days to make me want

to give Darwin a helping hand.

The odd thing is that they assume you are alone and an aberration in the world.

These people have families, brothers, sisters, parents, and sometimes children. An assault on that individual is an assault on their direct families and loved ones, and on the wider family of humanity.

The very principle of dehumanization of gays means that while one can earnestly believe that murdering humans is a sin, it's okay to assault and to murder gays. I grew up gay and out in the military overseas and so I've also learned to fight my whole young life to just be allowed to be me. It never fails to astonish me how when people discover you're gay they just assume you are a socially acceptable target of abuse.

Although I can't imagine initiating violence against someone, until we can hold our own against violence and intimidation, these rabid pack animals will always think that we are prey. I know that's not very Ghandian, but peaceful resistance doesn't work against individuals.