Report: Gay man stoned to death in Jamaica

[Behind the Aegis]

Video has emerged reportedly showing the bloodied body of a gay Jamaican man who it is claimed was stoned to death.

The video was uploaded and then removed from YouTube last week. Dwayne Brown, a Jamaican gay rights campaigner living in New York City, embedded the video on his blog Minority-Insight.

Mr Brown wrote: “Members of the Jamaican LGBT community are deeply sadden [sic] and heartbroken by the gruesome public execution of this young man in the streets of Jamaica.

“The video brought tears to my eyes and causes anger to permeate my heart.

more...

[hr]

Sadly, not that surprising given the homophobia in Jamaica.

[Warpy]

1. Why do I think some pompadoured right wing idiot from the US

must be there whipping up hate?

Probably because that's how it's gone down in other parts of the world.

[Behind the Aegis]

2. It isn't always the US, many of these places have their own, homegrown homophobia.

IT must be addressed.

[Warpy]

3. Yes, they do

but it doesn't escalate to murder most of the time unless someone is there encouraging it, you know, for gawd.

[Behind the Aegis]

6. That may be true on occasion.

Matt Shepard wasn't murdered for "Gawd", nor was Billy Jack Gaither. It is easy to look to our own exports of hate, but it seemingly let's the actual perps off the hook in some ways. Was this a "religion at the root" or a cultural thing? I don't know for sure.

[JI7]

7. it certainly does lead to murder, more so than in the US in many places

there are right wing assholes who originate in other countries also.

[stone space]

47. Jamaca has a huge problem with homophobia.

This is not a recent phenomena.

[JI7]

4. it has nothing to do with the US, there is hate in other places also

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

46. No, no....the US MUST have something to do with it, they just HAVE to!

No horrible story from another country about homophobia, racism, or misogyny leading to murder shall pass without somehow implicating the United States. This is the worst place on earth and everywhere else is Utopia!

[marym625]

12. Jamaica is one of the most homophobic

Places in the world. It has always been thus. Bands from Jamaica have come to the US on tour and been canceled because of protests for their hatred in their songs. Kill the Gas was one of the songs for one of the bands.

[mwrguy]

27. Buju Banton is another

[marym625]

29. That's it!

That's what I was trying to remember. That was a big cause of controversy. Band was stopped from performing in Chicago and that's what did it for all those bands

[Bluenorthwest]

31. Sorry, Jamaica has dance hall hits about killing gay people

'Boom Bye Bye' and that sort of thing. They dance to it. This is from last year:

Jamaica: Poll finds 91% support anti-gay buggery law
"The poll also found that 82% said they believed gay men were not treated fairly by the legal system or police.
However 68% said gay men should not have equal rights, whereas only 26% said they should.
For transgender people, the results were even more extreme.
72% said they believe trans people should not have equal rights, whereas 23% agreed they should be treated equally."
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2014/10/07/jamaica-poll-finds-91-support-anti-gay-buggery-law/

[NCTraveler]

51. This thought process it terrifying.

It also shows a complete lack of understanding with respect to worldwide homophobia.

[William769]

5. Let's also not forget ISIS is at it again.

http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2015/03/isis-publicly-beheads-three-men-in-iraq-two-for-alleged-homosexual-acts/

[Behind the Aegis]

8. Seems we are becoming a popular target again.

I am concerned at the level of homophobia around the world, as well as here. I think many of us are walking around with targets on our backs, especially the non-traditional looking ones.

[William769]

9. Agreed.

[marym625]

13. .

[zappaman]

10. Homophobia runs rampant in Jamaica

Jamaican dancehall star Buju Banton was considered a musical prodigy in 1988 when, at age 15, he recorded what remains one of his best-known tracks, “Boom Bye Bye.” Even in the difficult-to-decipher Jamaican slang known as patois, its chorus evokes violence and dread: Boom bye bye / inna batty bwoy head / Rude bwoy no promote no nasty man / dem haffi dead. (“Boom [the sound of a gunshot], bye-bye, in a faggot’s head / the tough young guys don’t accept fags; they have to die.”)

For those whose familiarity with Jamaican music begins and ends with Bob Marley, “murder music” — and its stubborn worldwide popularity — will come as a serious shock.

Gay and lesbian activists in Jamaica and throughout the Western world have spent years trying to slow the spread of murder music. The going is tough: Banton, a four-time Grammy nominee who has collaborated with renowned Haitian singer Wyclef Jean and the punk band Rancid, is but first among equals in a genre deeply rooted in Jamaican culture, whose stars include celebrated musicians like Beenie Man, Capleton and Sizzla Kalonji. The top-rated of 86 YouTube videos of Banton performing “Boom Bye Bye” has been viewed an astounding 3,217,409 times since it was posted in 2007.

http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2010/winter/harmonies-of-hate

[sakabatou]

18. Certainly does

[romanic]

33. Disgusting.

And to think these so-called "artists" are being paid to sing this gay-bashing shit.

[Bluenorthwest]

34. Here is a thread about his arrest a DUer felt he was being set up...

"Buju has issues re anti-gay lyrics but to the best of my knowledge (and hubby's), he is not a coke user. This is very strange. The view in Jamaica is that this was a set up and may have more to do with the government's refusal to extradite drug don Dudus Coke (son of the notorious Jim Brown).

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7218812

It's a hell of a discussion and great for contextualizing today's events.

[zappaman]

49. Wow.

That's all kinds of fucked up.

[Behind the Aegis]

52. Yuppers.

It's like some don't want it to be true, so they claim it isn't because they didn't hear about it.

[zappaman]

53. I don't understand why someone would deny the problem.

How can it ever change unless it is acknowledged?

[sheshe2]

11. I am so very sorry.

tears~

[marym625]

14. .

[LeftishBrit]

15. Truly horrible. RIP.

[LeftishBrit]

16. Though many countries have a huge homophobia problem, it seems particularly bad in Jamaica

A possibly relevant article by Keon West, a social psychologist of Jamaican origin:

http://www.theguardian.com/profile/keon-west

[KamaAina]

45. And elsewhere in the Caribbean

The Dominican Republic just passed stringent anti-gay legislation (upside: the OxyMoron will presumably be taking his business elsewhere ), and the Cayman Islands refused a gay cruise ship permission to dock!

[azurnoir]

17. Horrible and sad

[AtomicKitten]

19. Good lord that's horrific.

[Rex]

20. I wonder if we will ever outgrow our need to be barbaric to each other as a species?

And I don't mean the GOP, I think in many ways they are a lost cause. Maybe not their future offspring, but yeah probably.

I remember growing up in Texas in the 80s the word was 'different'. It was a catchall for minorities. They were not wanted or allowed to even STAY in a small white town. Republicans are some of the most judgmental people on earth. However in those days the Dems weren't much more evolved. I heard people from both groups say the same thing about minority groups. 'Why...well those folks are different'.

Those folks meaning anyone not exactly a cookie cutout of my relatives or their neighbors (white, Southern Baptist). Thankfully (for me) my parents were open minded school teachers (we finally moved to a big city that was more diverse). It is a privilege (in south Texas) growing up with parents that embrace the liberal arts. Even with that, I experienced horrible discrimination by relatives and neighbors. 'Different, those people are not like us and we don't want them living here in our neighborhoods'. That poor man in Jamaica could have been here in a small Texas town and the same thing would have happened in the 80s and did. Lot of people killed 'just because'. It could happen today in some of these small towns, Texas has one hell of a racist/bigot problem imo.

It makes me shudder - an ancient form of shame execution. 2015 and people are still getting stoned to death for being different. The human race seems unable to evolve in some ways. 1,000s of years pass and nothing changes. As a young kid, I watched Reagan laugh and make jokes about human suffering. Thousands of AIDS victims died pleading for help from that man.

Reagan could have been born in 4000 BC and the first thing he would have done is find someone to hurt, because he received joy for being cruel to the helpless. I truly despise Reagan on a personal level, because I do whole heartedly believe deep down inside he enjoyed being cruel to those in need.

Ronald Wilson Reagan. *spit*

[marym625]

30. .

[malaise]

21. Never saw or heard anything about that and it would have made the news here

What is big news is the very sad story of a mentally and physically challenged young woman chained in the cellar of her father and step-mother's home. Some school children spotted her and called the police. Her parents are in the lock-up awaiting trial and she is in hospital.

[Behind the Aegis]

22. And?

So, because you "Never saw or heard anything" we should ignore and concentrate on your "story?"

ETA:

Jamaica has a bad reputation for anti-gay prejudice. This small island in the Caribbean has become notorious not only for its anti-gay laws, political rhetoric and murders, but also for its broad societal acceptance of severe sexual prejudice and openly hostile music.

Most people remember dancehall star Buju Banton, who hit the scene when he was 15 with the hugely popular Boom Bye Bye. The lyrics go: "It's like boom bye bye / Inna batty boy head / Rude boy nah promote no nasty man / Dem haffi dead." Hard to decipher for someone not familiar with Jamaican patois, but Buju is essentially describing shooting a gay man in the head – he doesn't want to "promote no nasty man".

In the decades after, hosts of other dancehall artists took up the banner, such as the group T.O.K. who proclaimed that "chi-chi [gay] man fi dead and that's a fact".

Jamaica is not alone; sexual prejudice is all over the news at the moment – from the Sultan of Brunei's introduction of Sharia law, to the anti-gay bill in Uganda. And it's worth remembering that in the UK gay people only acquired equal marriage rights earlier this year. But Jamaica has the double problem of being described as "the most homophobic place on earth", but also being one of those places where little or no research is done to explain these anti-gay sentiments.

This is why, in collaboration with Dr Noel Cowell from the University of the West Indies, I decided to conduct the largest piece of research of its kind to date, using data collected by Professor Ian Boxhill.

more: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/06/jamaica-music-anti-gay-dancehall-homophobia

[malaise]

23. And I don't believe that story

It would have been major news here. I have never denied the homophobic attitudes on this island, but if a gay man had been stoned to death it would have been the lead story here.

[Behind the Aegis]

24. So that means it isn't true.

Therefore, the need to produce something other than the actual topic.

[malaise]

25. That was a first in Jamaica

a mentally and physically challenged young lady chained and treated like an animal.

[Bluenorthwest]

35. Judge Rules Homeless Jamaican LGBT Youth Can Keep Living in Sewers

"A judge in New Kingston, Jamaica ruled this week that homeless young people — many of whom have been kicked out of their homes for being LGBT — can continue living in the capital city's sewers, where they've taken up residence after being forced to leave abandoned buildings in which they sought shelter.

Police attempted to chase the young people out of the gullies where they had built makeshift rooms and beds March 5, but several of the youths resisted, allegedly swearing at the officers and telling them they had nowhere else to go, according to the LGBT blog 76 Crimes.

Officers claimed the encampments were attracting crime, an oft-repeated excuse used to target LGBT people in the island nation that still maintains a colonial-era ban on same-sex sexual acts.

The New Kingston judge did fine several of the young people for swearing — which is also illegal under local laws banning profanity — but declared that the sewers are public spaces, and therefore the youth cannot be forcibly removed."
http://www.advocate.com/world/2014/03/12/judge-rules-homeless-jamaican-lgbt-youth-can-keep-living-sewers

[melman]

28. Watch this

And then try to deny it happened.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=675_1425938981

[marym625]

32. wow!

You are obviously uneducated on the homophobic, murderous culture in Jamaica.

You also are unaware of the homophobic MSM in the US if you actually think it would be "major news" here.

There's video. That enough for you?

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/03/10/report-gay-man-stoned-to-death-in-jamaica/

http://m.newnownext.com/young-gay-man-stoned-to-death-in-jamaica/03/2015/

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/gay-youth-stoned-death-jamaica090315

While the story you are talking about is very important, your post here is disrespectful in so many ways it's just unbelievable. You are showing disrespect to the murdered boy, the poster and all of us in the LGBT community here.

I suggest you do some research on Jamaica and the hatred of LGBT people there.

Here's a start for you


https://www.google.com/search?q=Jamaica+laws+against+homosexuals&biw=360&bih=567&source=lnms&sa=X&ei=hDEAVcXLMqnmyQPLo4DABg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAA&dpr=3

And with this search, tell me which one of these is "major news" here. Looks like almost all online publications geared toward the LG community to me


https://www.google.com/search?q=jamaican+homosexuals+killed&biw=360&bih=567&source=lnms&tbm=nws&sa=X&ei=BDUAVdXGGJKyyASF4YKIAg&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg

[malaise]

37. I live in Jamaica

and I am telling you that if that were true it would have been the lead story in every form of media on the island.

[el_bryanto]

38. There doesn't seem to be any media coverage of this incident

That said, is it possible that the people involved kept it quiet? Is that a reasonable possibility, or not something that could happen?

Bryant

[melman]

39. Watch the video

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=675_1425938981

[Bluenorthwest]

40. So Jamaica has the world's only perfect press, prefect police and total reporting of bias crimes?

That's sure not what LGBT Jamaicans say at all. No offense, but one does not look to members of the oppressing majority to learn about the status of the minorities they oppress. I would assume that many hate motivated murders in history have gone unrecognized by the majority community. Why do you think otherwise?

Read up, it's 86 pages but you obviously care deeply about the truth.
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2014/10/22/not-safe-home-0

[marym625]

41. I don't know what is considered "major news"

Publication there but her a a couple that talk about this murder

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20150310/protecting-our-kids-%E2%80%93-lent-and-beyond

http://www.spiceislandertalkshop.com/cgi-bin/talkrec.cgi?submit=lt&fid=f1&msg_num=951518

Interestingly, when I search the larger Jsmaican news outlets, you would think there's very little violence against homosexuals. Just lots of propaganda to not overturn the buggery laws.

This story is all over the place, just not yet in MSM. There is nothing debunking it.

[NuclearDem]

42. The attempted arson at the NAACP in Colorado got virtually no attention.

Countless stories about young black men being murdered in this country get no coverage.

It doesn't mean these didn't happen, it means the media doesn't report them.

[LanternWaste]

44. Much as I pretend to know what will be the lead of every form of media in the states...

Much as I pretend to know what will be the lead of every form of media in the states...

[Bluenorthwest]

54. And yet in other threads today you claim the media is rotten and pernicious. Selective framing....

Your OP, in it's entirety:
"Here's how it's done
The corporate media misinform on an issue then they do a poll and then they tell us how the vast majority of deliberately misinformed people support the bullshit they spewed"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026347914

I was pretty surprised to see you posting that one hour after posting this, which purports that if the media is not reporting it sufficiently it is not true. So here you say the media is a trusted entity, if they don't tell it to you, it did not happen. But there you call it misinformation, deliberate bullshit.

It has that 'double standards of convenience' look to it.

[zappaman]

50. Really?

[Bluenorthwest]

36. Human Rights Watch: LGBT Jamaicans are targets of violence

Human Rights Watch said: "LGBT Jamaicans are vulnerable to both physical and sexual violence and many live in constant fear.
"They are taunted, threatened, fired from their jobs, thrown out of their homes, or worse: beaten, stoned, raped, or killed."

Last year, a transgender teenager, Dwayne Jones, was killed by a crowd outside the Jamaican city of Montego Bay, but the murder remains unsolved.
In its report titled "Not Safe at Home", the rights group documented 56 cases of violence in which victims reported they were targeted because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or identity.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-29714586

[Behind the Aegis]

43. The list seems to be growing, not shrinking.

Seems everyday there are more and more stories, from more and more countries, including those who are going back in time.

[joeybee12]

48. I'll never go there...

It doesn't seem to at all be getting better. I hope the young man is at peace.

[KamaAina]

55. I was not expecting this when I saw 'stoned' and 'Jamaica' in the same sentence!

[one_voice]

56. What the fuck is wrong with people?!

I see there's a video of the stoning down thread. I cannot watch--but there is evidence it happened for anyone that doubts this story.



for you my friend.

[awoke_in_2003]

57. Reccing for exposure. nt