‘Homophobia Last Acceptable Discrimination’
On Wednesday May 25, around 100 people turned up to a rally held at City Hall, aimed at encouraging officials to extend legal safeguards found in Bermuda’s Human Rights Act to all persons regardless of sexual orientation. The event was launched by Krystl Assan [pictured] who says she encountered discrimination at a local guest house, and allegation the guest house owner has denied.
Ms Assan was one of three speakers at the event, along with Selina Bean and Pastor Sylvia Hayward-Harris who also addressed the crowd — some of whom were waving placards demanding the extension of full Human Rights protections to gays and lesbians.
Ms Assan’s full speech follows below:
You know, when given – or should I say when you take an opportunity like this, because rarely are we given opportunities to talk candidly and non-defensively in public spaces, it’s natural to wonder what you should say.
What is appropriate for the time or occasion, what’s significant enough to warrant the time and attention of a group of people, or even a nation for even a moment?
In Monday’s paper I released my first and only statement I’ve made since all of this happened, saying that this would be a rally against homophobia and discrimination.
I thought about talking about the number of years that progressive individuals and organizations have been inviting our Government to end discrimination on the basis of the sexual orientation.
I thought about the 3 annual reports in which the Human Rights Commission recommended that such discrimination be outlawed and how the government failed to take heed. I thought about former Minister Renee Webb’s proposal of the amendment in 2003 and the shameful silence that emanated from the Cabinet as our leaders refused to even debate it.
About former Minister Dale Butler’s attempts, and their futility. I thought about voicing the private frustrations of gay and straight people alike when it comes to this issue, like – isn’t there something really wrong with politics or society when I have to present an argument for why it’s not okay to discriminate against me, or my friends, or my loved ones on the basis of who they love?
Why do I need to prove to you that it is wrong and should be punishable by law to deny someone service at a restaurant on the basis of who they are or how they’ve chosen to live your life – convicts are given this amount of decency and respect, as they should, but as yet, gay people are not.
I thought about letting Bermuda Government know that contrary to what seems to be popular belief, I’m not of the opinion that rights, or dignity, or respect must be fought for… rather that they are inalienable, that each individual should be able to exist in society knowing that there is a foundation of respect and freedom that is due to them,by every one.
I thought about voicing the opinion that if the powers that be need proof of discrimination, they need look no further than the fact that it wasn’t until 1997 that gay sex was decriminalized in this country, for up until that point while it was perfectly legal for heterosexual couples to express their care, concern, and attraction to each other it was punishable by law for same-sex couples to do the same. I thought about all the things I should say…
I thought about taking the time to pose some questions to Bermuda as a society, questions that I believe are not just applicable to a small subsection of the population or to an individual but to some very well meaning, very well-intentioned people also.
For instance, what does it mean to say that you’re not homophobic, to insist that you’re not discriminatory, but to follow that up by saying that you’re ok with homosexuals as long as it’s not in your face?
I wonder, then, exactly, what’s in the public face – is it holding hands on any given sidewalk, cuddling on any given beach, two men or two women sharing a joke that’s too intimate to be between friends in a restaurant – where exactly are you comfortable with people being who they are and what exactly are you willing to do when it’s too close for comfort?
Discrimination is simply treating one person differently than another on an unfair basis, and I think that we’re kidding ourselves if we can’t acknowledge that such a statement fundamentally reveals a discriminatory attitude towards a certain group of people on the basis of who they are.
As allies against discrimination, no one can continue to applaud these veils of decency as positions of tolerance, to continue to allow members of our society to think that such attitudes regarding gay people, and the actions that inevitably follow from strong beliefs, don’t endanger the freedom and dignity of the people they say they have no problem with. I thought of what I should say…
However, what you should say is for politicians. It is for spokespeople, and I am neither. What you must say, what you are compelled to say, is for ordinary people, people with a sense of conscience, a sense of conviction, and even people with senses of confusion and humility.
People who are kept up at night by the truth and its burden and who literally can’t sleep until it is told. What lesbian feminist thinker Audre Lorde says in “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action,” is most fitting.
It is where I choose to begin to this conversation, this dialogue with you who have gathered here, who have supported this issue, with those who are not here and wish they were, and for those who are not here and don’t want to be.
Lorde says this: “I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood. That the speaking profits me, beyond any other effect.” In that spirit I understand these notes that I’ve written, as informally as if I’ve folded a paper plane, may get damaged in flight.
People and publicity and press gravitate towards people with answers, people with positions, people who believe who believe they are right and are unwilling to be budged, people who can be champions for a cause. This experience has taught me that people aren’t interested in dialogue; they aren’t interested in reaching solutions that work for the best of all involved, they are interested in rhetoric, in conflict.
And while I am so grateful for all the support and love and empathy and even outrage that I’ve received over the past week, I am stating now and as many times as I need to: I am not a spokesperson for any cause. If I am a leader its only because I am willing to lead a discussion, and then to walk away from it when the value of my contribution has been maximized.
I have been told that the powers that be wonder what it’s like to be gay in Bermuda. The truth of the matter is, I’m not the best person to ask. Based on the fact that I don’t seem to “look” gay – and I trust that we all know what that means, as ignorant as it sounds and is – I think that I’ve managed to avoid the worst of Bermuda’s homophobia.
For some of my friends, who more openly break gender rules in terms of their personal style or mannerisms, the consequences of being gay in Bermuda have been severe. Some of my male friends were beaten up in high school as a result of being gay. An ex claimed that she lost a job on the basis of her lack of feminine dress.
When walking down the street one day I was called a faggot, when I refused the sexual advances of a man by telling him I had a girlfriend. It is obvious that we live in a society where we are not wanted. For many of us, living or attending school abroad is our first experience of complete acceptance, and returning home isn’t returning home at all – it’s a place where we are confronted by hate when we listen to the morning talk show, when we read the comments on news stories about discrimination.
We don’t forget how Rosie O’Donnell’s cruise was successfully prevented from coming to the island because of their fear, their fear of picketing and lobbying. And of course there are highly notable cases of discrimination: Mark Anderson’s barring from the Bermuda Day a few years back. And of course what happened on May 17.
Whether or not this will be believed or not, I never had any intention of speaking to the press. As naive as it sounds and indeed was, I organized this rally in an instant flash of emotion: rage and frustration at what my instincts saw and told me had happened and a feeling of enough is enough.
Had I taken the time to think about the consequences of the simple act of posting what essentially began as a Facebook event – the fact that the press would report on something that was stirring in cyber space, the fact that the press didn’t need my perspective to write a story, the fact that stories were written regardless based on an obviously condensed version of what occurred and that would be quoted as my stand and perspective – I would have been much more detailed and deliberate in my statements.
As much as I don’t want to make this event about me or about any single issue, I feel that to be transparent I must return to May 17 and deal with what occurred. I apologize to Mrs. Anderson because although I haven’t spoken to her myself as yet, it is my understanding that she would be happy for this to be done and to return to the inscrutability of absence from the press, as would I.
I apologize to her because I feel that by illuminating my own perspective now it will return this matter to the spotlight and for that Mrs. Anderson I am sorry. I would also like to state that I am completely aware that this is a she say/she say situation. It is an absolutely fruitless cause to debate such a thing in the press.
Nevertheless I am compelled to say it, in order to force Bermuda to deal with the complexity that is discrimination. My biggest fear is that in the distance between me and you the audience, between today’s discussion and tomorrow’s paper, that what I am saying will lose its nuance. That what I say will be bruised or misunderstood.
What happened on May 17? Why did I feel that I had been discriminated against because I was sleeping in a bed with a woman? The short of it is: a lot of reasons. Unless someone is really as bold as to say I am discriminating against you because I don’t like black people, white people, Muslims, lesbians, there’s unlikely to be a red flag you can point to, pick up and wave that definitively solves the issue.
It is also highly unlikely, unless someone is exceptionally bold, that they will admit to their discrimination. It’s usually in the subtle. These are the reasons why I continue to feel that I had been discriminated against on May 17.
The incident on that Tuesday began when the owner of the guest house, Mrs. Anderson, came to inquire about the presence of a second person staying in the guest house. Our initial dispute began when I sought to clarify that yes, a friend had been spending the nights, but that she was not a permanent guest.
We exchanged a few words to the same effect back and forward- Ms. Anderson saying that security had seen her bike there often and me saying yes, that’s true, but she’s not a permanent guest and that I didn’t feel I should be charged for her being there. Fair enough, nothing discriminatory there.
On our second conversation, about 15 minutes later around 10:45am, Ms. Anderson returned to the apartment to inform me that she had made a decision, that she had decided to rent the apartment to someone else, and that checkout was at 11’o clock.
Needless to say I was very taken aback that I was being kicked out and given 15 minutes to leave. I told her that I felt it was unfair and tried to talk to her. She literally walked away from me in the middle of speaking to her.
I initiated our third conversation. I felt that it was in both of our best interests to resolve the issue seeing as I needed a place to stay and I quite liked the guesthouse. I went to her door with my friend and payment in hand to tell her that if it was really about the money, she could have full payment for my guest as if she were a permanent guest then and there.
Ms. Anderson responded by telling me she didn’t want to speak to me, that I could “go stay with my girlfriend,” which, in my perspective, shows that although she did not know of my sexual orientation when the reservation was booked, as my father booked it, she became aware of it at some point during our dealings.
She attempted to close the door in my face more than twice, requiring me to put my hand out to stop it from slamming in my face. She told me repeatedly to get off her doorstep, shouted and talked over me, and literally walked away from me, again, in the middle of speaking to her. The conversation broke down when she called her husband to come to the door, as she was walking away, because she literally refused to engage with me.
And of course there are the non-verbal elements of our exchange that I can’t relay – her tone of voice, demeanor, attitude, all the intangibles you record but can’t easily convey when you know someone has treated you wrongly. At that point I walked away from her door in tears at the way she had treated my friend and I and returned to the apartment to pack my things.
To be fair to Ms. Anderson let me note two things that I discovered after I had relocated from the guesthouse: at the door she had told me that she didn’t want my money, that she wouldn’t take any money from me. I’m not sure whether or not I’ve been quoted as saying that, but I now think that the reason why she said that was as a result of a conversation with my father to the effect that he would intervene and settle payments without my being involved.
I’ve also been made aware that she felt that there was a good possibility that I might leave the guesthouse early as a result of our initial disagreement, terminating my reservation and leaving her less the profit of my stay. To me, that helps to justify why, as a business decision, she may have decided to cancel my stay – to ensure that she wouldn’t suffer financial losses as a result of an early termination.
So where does that leaves us in evaluating this situation? It leads us, I think, to deal with the messiness of discrimination: the fact that there are usually no clear offenders and victims, and the fact that the more honest you are, the more perspectives you can see.
In light of the new information I was given after the triggering incident for this rally took place, after I had posted the event online and it had gone viral, by Bermuda’s standards, I really had to take a moment to step aside and fully consider what I have become responsible for.
I realized the fundamental difficulty in asserting to know, or in proving, someone’s intent. It is one thing to say that someone kicked me out a guesthouse with 15 minutes to leave, tried to slam a door in my face a number of times, told me to get off their doorstep repeatedly while saying that I could go stay with my girlfriend… and it is another altogether to say that she did all of those things because she’s homophobic.
And although I was passionate and wholly sincere about the sentiments that I posted to the event page, I now more strongly feel that as someone involved in the conflict, I’m not altogether qualified to make that determination as to the intent behind all of her hurtful actions, based on my own subjectivity.
I have questioned my initial convictions and was really troubled, to the point of sleeplessness, over whether or not I had publicly, wrongfully accused Mrs. Anderson.
However, I feel that, on balance, my initial instincts and reading of this situation were re-confirmed in hearing her repeat what so many people say as an expression of tolerance that exposes their deepest, discriminatory sentiments about people that are different from them: I’m okay with black people, as long as they don’t move into my neighborhood or marry my daughter. I’m okay with Muslims as long as they don’t feel the need to be different in public, with their hijab or burqa. I’m okay with gay people as long as it’s not in my face.
Amendments to the HRA are best for all parties involved… the press is not the place to reach resolution, or to foster unity. Home is where the hatred is: the level of homophobia in this country is intolerable. Literally intolerable.
People get tired of fighting and it’s more than a shame: the best, and brightest Bermuda has to offer have moved away unable to tolerate…Homophobia is the last acceptable discrimination.
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Sweetheart , I’m afraid that what you are talking about , what you are ultimately seeking is totally foreign to these lands . I wish you well , but don’t hold your breath . I’m not homophobiac but trying to understand ,I guess you gotta be born to it . Good luck .
um gays aren’t foreign to these lands, thats like saying ‘yah ders a couple Filipinos here, not too many’. Point is there has been gays and lesbians on this rock since day 1, the concept of not being able to gay bash may be foreign to some, but people like that deserve to be shot, and by the looks of it is already happening
What I’m trying to say , is that the concept of the lifestyle is foreign to most Bermudians . I don’t think ,for instance ,that it will go over well with children who come from same gender families etc . Your point , however , is well taken .
It’s not as foreign as might you think…working in the school system I have come across several school chidren who are being raised by same gender families and you would not know it unless you probrd deeply into their backgrounds. We have been made aware by their parents. These students that I have come across are “well rounded” They are doing fine academically (not failing), their athletic, and ther parents attend every sporting event, honor assemblies, PTA and the like. We have never had to deal with the students’ being teased or bullied because of their living arrangements.
@ Can you handle this
Thank you for setting the record straight with actual rather than anecdotal evidence. Statistics from overseas also indicate that children from such homes,ie same sex parents, are no more likely than children from mixed sex parents to be gay or lesbian. In fact, their rates of success in life tend to be above the average, partly because they have two adults Iit doesn’t appear to matter which sex) actively interested in their welfare and progress, and partly because they learn tolerance and acceptance for differences which stands them in good stead in this global business environment.
“I sought to clarify that yes, a friend had been spending the nights, but that she was not a permanent guest”. Nights?!!
If the other guest had been spending nights, that means there’s more of everything to clean up after which adds to the cost of cleaning up and the maids must have taken notice. So by all means it would be more cha ching up front…
Where did the discrimination come into play? You out right lied to the guest house owner and refused to pay the difference… Too bad Ms. Anderson didn’t have your credit card up front like the major hotels, there would have been no arguments from jump….
@ whistling frog..while yes it may have been more to clean up I don’t agree with your statement saying that she should have had to pay additional for her guest. When the reservation was booked the article clearly states that her father had made the booking. Nowhere in the article does it say that her guest stayed every night. If your feeling that discrimination did not come into play then that means that if you are single and rented an apartment as a single person than if your boyfriend or girlfriend spent MOST nights over than your landlord should charge more?? Somewhere aolng the lines things got sticky and it could not have been just about the money because she refused to take the increase for the second person………
I go to look at an apartment. The landlord informs me,as he and his wife are Christians, that he only rents to married couples or single people, with the understanding ‘no over night guest’.I respect their beliefs, I didn’t say “oh I pay my rent, so I feel I can do as I please”. She was approached on the matter of an extra person who had been seen often by security. She then says she doesn’t feel she should have to pay more. Well Ms. Anderson felt she no longer wanted her on her property. If Ms. Anderson is a God fearing woman, would this than be deemed as discrimination?
But at the end of the day she offered to pay and the money was refused so one would believe it was more to it..at the end of the day I could care less bout the wholesituation abut if the young lady in question feels that she was discriminated against than she has the right to voice her opinion whether you, I or the rest of the world feels that she doesn’t have a leg to stand on..she has that right….God fearing or not…..
You, I and She knows it wasn’t discrimination. Two people got into a disagreement, one got a slice of humble pie, now they are trying to scream discrimination, on the bases of sexual orientation. A very bad use of the “sexual orientation card”. Had she approached it with a little more humilty, the results may have varied. Trying to pay more after the fact doesn’t undo her previous words or actions. I wouldn’t want someones money after that either!
Well since I wasn’t present during the conversation than I can’t say..If YOU were present then you have every right to say whatever you like..but on the other hand if you are not Roslynn (property owner) than I can’t see how you can speak for her and say what her thoughts were..
@ Can you handle this, It’s not an apartment, it’s a guesthouse where cleaning is required everyday. And if you would have read the above where the guest herself stated “a friend had been spending the nights, but that she was not a permanent guest”.
Have you ever stayed in a hotel or guest accommodations? They ask weather you require a single of double room… Get your facts straight before you respond…SMH
I just love how you take things so personally…
@ Can you handle this, How can you compare a guest accommodation with an apartment? If you’ve ever booked a reservation before, your asked if you require a single or double room. And read the statement from the horse’s mouth where ms Assan’s states herself “a friend had been spending the nights, but that she was not a permanent guest.” What does nights mean?
Please get your facts straight before you post…
“Nights” could be any more than two: it could be Tuesday and Thursday, it could be Monday and Sunday..does not necessarily mean everynight or in this case make her friend to be considered a permanent guest…..Think about it before you try to be sarcastic..maybe we can meet up and get our facts straight together since YOUR facts are not spot on either..SMH right along with you…….
Could not make it through reading the entire speech.
Long story short, gays should be treated like human beings and Krystl Assan should consider being a heterosexual because I find her attractive.
@ Bobby Thesser
I agree that human rights should apply to all human beings.
I would hope that if a same sex person found you attractive you would take that as a compliment and not as an insult.
Why is Heterophobia not listed as intolerable, since a lot of homosexuals have a problem with heterosexuals. And do gays want equal rights or extra rights, because the homosexual push world wide seems to be similar to the push for Womens rights …instead of equality there is now a strong feminist agenda which by it’s very nature encourages lesbianism and the marginalization of the strong man in families as well as general society.
Thank You Bryan!!! I have stated it before and I shall state it again ” we in Bermuda are not Dumb”. When some one speeks up and out against the need for “special” laws they are homophobic. This is a push for more things to come. Why won’t they just lay their full agenda on the table. Their lack of honesty is what concerns me. I am so waiting to hear ” …it’s ’cause I’m gay init?”. ‘Homophobia Last Acceptable Discrimination’ give me a break, and tell the truth.
Why is it basic human rights are considered ‘special’ rights? I am not arguing for anything more than the same rights for all human beings that are afforded me because I was born oriented toward the opposite sex. Should I be more privileged, considered more ‘human’ because of that? I think not! A few years ago, I would have been arguing for rights for blacks and for women, not because I am black or a woman, but because I believe in the right of all human beings to be able to pursue food, shelter and employment without discrimination. Shortly, I will be arguing for rights for the aged too, because, believe it or not, they also are not covered in our mis-named “Human” Rights Act.
@ Bible Scholar if I see a woman, a black person or an elderly person, I would know that she was a woman, they were black and the person was elderly. These people do not walk around with “gay” or “lesbian” stamped on their forehead. So to claim discrimination on sexual orientation, is utter garbage. You would have to prove 1. I knew and 2. It was an issue. This is a bogus claim and a BS campaign to seek further allowances to these people. “Special Laws” are not needed to accomadate these people. THERE WILL BE NO SAME SEX MARRIAGES IN BERMUDA!!!!!
Yes, you are.
Wow, you’re not a homophobic, sexist bigot, are you? You just want to put it back to the way it was when women were barefoot and pregnant, non-whites were discriminated against and homosexuals had to live in secret. The good old days?
I invite you to join the rest of us in the 21st century.
I believe in equal rights not special rights. I grew up in Bermuda ( 60′s baby ),black and marginalized raised by my Mother with my sisters…all strong black women. No I am not afraid of homosexuals I know a few with whom I share my view. I am married to a strong Polynesian woman raising two girls and a boy and I don’t generalize with quaint insults because I disagree with someones opinion. However my children have a right to grow up in a society where the God ordained normal prevails. You see no matter how many trans-gender operations are performed…a man can not give birth and a woman can not provide sperm. End of rant.
PS/ I love you like a brother/sister yikes, I am raising my family in the 21st century as well, don’t my rights count as much as any homosexual individuals or must they have priority because of their sexual orientation?
Did ya ever notice that most homosexuals are very intelligent , are educated and command high salaries . I would venture to say that a high percentage of Bermuda born HMS could afford to live in jurisdictions that already extend the kinds of protections that they are seeking .
Wow! down n dirty
That sounds a lot like “blacks go back to Africa”
Well then as the Bible Scholar you would fully know that Sodom is one of Africas’ nearest neighbor .
Bryan, I know what it feels like. I don’t mean being black because I am not but I am sick and tired of the usual “if you don’t agree with me” you’re a hater, racist or whatever hate group of the moment. Everyone touts the “DIVERSITY” flag but only if you agree. I thought diversity was all about diversity of races beliefs but most importantly IDEAS!
You do realize that if rights are for “sexual orientation” are added, it would also include your comments/concerns. It means that no person can be discriminated against because they are with someone of different sex or of the same sex.
I am now reading this crap for the first time. This is a typical case of i can’t do as I like so I will throw a tantrum .
But only in Bermuda and it turns into discrimination, where a lil disrespectful, hostile ( according to her own words) bad behaved spoilt child can get public acclaim. There is no discrimination in this one.
For the record let me say that I take exception to you singling out any ethnic group such as filipinos, portuguese, dominicans, jamaicans, eenglish, canadians, etc. Many people have come here from other countries and become members of our sweet Bermuda. We need to understand in some cases the difference between Cultural Diversity and Homophobia. Even though I am not Homophobic and have some problems with gays I do believe that therr has to be a reason that some people who are gay are genetically sick. Not sick in a bad way but sick in the sense that it is not their fault because their mind or body is sensing a signal that is not is line with normal heto relationships. Research is now should that even violence may be genetic based on certain stimuli in the body just like lack of insulin etc. just let people do what they need to do to have the life they want as long as they are not breaking any laws.
All good points. I think it is high time that the human race starts to look at life in all of its beauty and all of its ugliness and realize that life that has been given to us should be cherished and we all should grab every opportunity. I have heard a lot of people claim that being homosexual is a birth defect in as much as something is not right in that being’s inner workings. Now saying that people will attack and call me names because of that but why? I a person is born with only one arm or one leg or a nasty defect we can all see it and feel bad for the person. What the gay and lesbian movement want us all to believe and is that it is normal but it is NOT normal.
what is normal really? who are you to make such a statement, normality is percieved by the individual, what is normal for you is strange to somebody else. I get that you mean it is unnatural, but nature is full of things that cannot be explained. anywho friend, whether or not it is “normal” doesn’t matter, the problem is that a person is a person is a person. A person born without an arm is normal, their state is all they know it is normal to them, it is relative. People know too much and we really know nothing at all, you don’t need to agree with the lifestyle but if things like this are allowed to happen in todays society, the way for bigger injustices to persevere is made easier.
Normal is a widely accepted value or view held by the majority. What is abnormal something that deviates from the norm.
LOL
hope that helps
you’re so clever, I appreciate that. So we have a definition of normal, but normal does not = right.
Bryan said what a lot of people are actually thinking but are afraid to say. Look, human rights are human rights. The homosexuals are that; homosexuals, they are not gay, they stole that word because the word homosexual sounds too harsh. I am all for to each his own but when you try to force others to believe that what you do is normal then I may have a problem. They are pushing an agenda to make it seem normal which it is not. You watch all these TV shows and that is all that you see. And for anyone, especially the people that have really had it rough; the blacks, to put the gay and lesbian fight on equal ground as the civil rights for blacks is inexcusable. It is not the same fight. We are looking at people that are fighting for a lifestyle acceptance. Not a person who is looking to apply for a job and the man behind the desk sees a black person and does not hire him or her just because he/she is black. I am just saying but I think that this is a completely different fight that to me is not the same. Plus phobia is a fright so people are not afraid of homosexuals but a lot of people don’t approve.
“We are looking at people that are fighting for a lifestyle acceptance”
That’s pretty stupid.
Ok explain how it is stupid? It is asking to be accepted. What else would it be? I will wait for your explanation.
It’s amazing that age discrimination has been put on the back burner and homosexuality has been brought forward. Nobody says much about seniors. I guess we are too normal
A foursome of old friends are enjoying a round of golf at Pebble Beach ..When they get to the 10th hole one of them asks for a ‘bathroom break’ in the nearby clubhouse. As the other three await his return the conversation turns to their sons ..
The first guy proudly proclaims that after university his son got his PhD in engineering and is doing so well that he just bought his longtime girlfriend a Bugatti Veyron. The others are truly impressed.
The second guy explains that his son, after doing 10 years in the Air Force ,became a highly successful private pilot and just bought a Learjet for his long time girlfriend.
Not to be outdone , the third says that his son is so hugely successful in the NBA that he just got a private island and holiday home for his girlfriend in the Virgin Islands.
Just then , the 4th guy returns , and the others ask what became of his son ..The guy rolls his eyes and stares at the ground for a minute. Finaly he looks up and says , ‘Well, my son dropped out of college and went to dance school. Eventually he became a hairdresser.’
The other 3 guys look downward in embarrasment …
‘But’, says the 4th guy , ‘He can’t be doing too bad .. One of his clients just gave him a Bugatti Veyron , another gave him a private jet and a third client bought him a private island in the Virgin Islands !’
Oh-oh, @ an now 4 something completely different! You don’t want to go there!
If you go there, we may have to ask all those on the ‘down-low’ to step up and be counted: all those living a lie, messing up the lives of innocent wives and children just so they can be accepted by their parents, and/or the members of their churches, not to mention the wider community,which prefers conformity to honesty.
As ‘Down ‘n’Dirty said in the beginning, the homosexual ‘lifestyle’ is foreign to these shores because homosexuals for the most part until recently were more engaged in self-preservation than in stepping out of the closet, so they conformed on the surface and became ‘rough trade’ (I believe the term is) in secret. I look at them as I guess many black people in days gone by looked at very light-skinned blacks who ‘passed’ as white, with some understanding but also as cowards, liars and opportunists.
The worst part is that, like the Long Island wives of the early ’90′s who were being diagnosed as HIV+ and couldn’t figure out why, Bermuda has also seen women as the fastest growing category of newly infected HIV victims, not because they are sleeping with other women, but because their men are sleeping with other men ‘on the down-low’ and without protection and bringing disease home to their innocent and unsuspecting women. I have nothing against bi-sexuals, its just that honesty is paramount so all parties can have informed consent.
HIV is a GAY disease and there is a hell! Trust me all gays who come out and promote this lifestyle will burn in hell for destroying humanity! Bermuda is finished!
Idiot. There is so much fail in your comment.
Bible Scholar it’s a joke have a laugh. It is my belief that the more homophobic some one is the more I think they have some thing to hide.
Brilliant just brilliant that’s right up there trust me!!!!
Does anyone know if Jesus hates Gays?
Jesus hates the sin NOT the sinner.
Jesus hate? what a wanker he must be…oh wait…he’s dead… who cares what he hates!
I find it confusing that some ‘christans’ are so disgusted with homophobia but they don’t equally share the same disgust with anyone else that sins. In the bible it says in so many words that a sin is a sin and no sin is greater than the other. If you can still bear to look at someone who has had children out of wedlock, committed adultery, or even pierced their ears than you should be able to treat gay people with the same respect. ALSO these laws do not state that you have to LIKE gay people they are placed so that every human is treated with the same respect.
@confused Yup you really are confused!
I see how your moniker really suits you. What part of hate the SIN not the sinner can’t you grasp? We, in our human condition are ALL sinners and Christ came into the world to cleanse us of sin. If you sin once or 1,000,000 you’re still God’s child and he will love and forgive you if you ask.
And are sincere about it..
LOL
As the Witness of the Almighty, I declare unto all who listen:
You have one year to repent of your sins. If you fail to do so, great plagues will assail this island. It is no longer the little Paradise which the Father hath given you.
As any nation accepts homosexuality and other forms of perversity, they further inscribe their names in the Book of Wrath. If homosexuals are allowed to marry in this island, your land will be at risk of wrath.
Your island was once a recepticle of godliness. Yet it fell into perversion. Men dressing as women in public display. Fashion shows in which young women portray their near naked bodies as though they were meaningless creatures.
The children of darkness have grown in numbers on this island, and the light decreases as they increase. They live in sin and promote evil ways.
If your nation continues to go down this path, you will find plagues shall come upon ye.
If homosexuals are allowed to marry, then earthquakes shall rock the island.
If your nation allows gambling, then it will fall into financial peril.
If the children of darkness are not restrained, taught, and disciplined, then your nation shall suffer disease of the youth.
Most of you shall not believe me to be the Witness of the Almighty, and most of you shall scoff at my words. Ye may disbelieve now, but if there is disbelief in you, when the times of wrath come, then you will be afflicted by the punishments also.
Your time is now, to repent, and to realize light and darkness.
Your time is now, to hold firm the foundation of godliness, which made this little island become a sparkling gem in the diadem of the Almighty God.
I warn you. Will you listen?
If you do not reform, but instead allow these aforementioned evils to transpire, then you will all be judged. For the justice of God is not easy to understand. Yet He is always just.
Ha ha! I thought the rapture was supposed to happen last week!?… and the plague already seems to be hitting the island, in the form of kids playing gangsta shooting each other and now shooting innocents. My bet all blinged out with the gold and platinum crosses around their neck while doing it. The disease of the youth is the bigotry and hate being taught to them by their “wise” elders like you.
LOL. you’re funny
You Christians and your ridiculous views on life based on a book full of man made errors and glaring inconsistencies should shove it. Religion and your inexistent god have no place in a discussion about human rights, in fact thi Abrahamic god is a racist sexist bigot who condemns his children to eternities of burning fire for carryinf out feelings that he placed inside them. we live in a society with all you lower case ‘c’ christians toting your bibles and acting as though you have all the answers based on some bs that that some money hungry preacher has fed to you on sunday and yout holier than thou attitudes are part of the reason why your children are killing eachother because you fail to see that this religion thing is just another form of division to keep us on our high horses and condemning the youth that this older generation has “nurtured” in this repressive and anti human belief of heaven and hell. The details of what happened here are inconsequential really, the true fact of the matter is that human rights are human rights, this should not NOT NOT be given to people based on the beliefs of other people, all humans deserve equal treatment on an equal level,if Krys felt discriminated against then she should have had a platform to report that discrimination point blank period. This woman was told, if you were discriminated against based on your sexuality…there’s nothing the law can do about that. It is wrong, this lack opens up the door for a lot of establishments to exercise bigotry under the blanket of legality. Anyway, I have gone on a bit of a tirade because Christians say the darndest things… I hope that the law books are reassessed and remember everytime you see a rainbow, god is having gay sex
you poop in a toilet.
would you soak your member in a toilet? NO!
so how is gay sex logical?
I am shocked thst the Gays and Lesbians in the PLP are so quite on this guess double life