Stop, before it’s too late

It is therefore surprising to discover that in Trinidad, a society that traditionally has seen itself as diverse and liberal, we should find an increasing level of homophobia.

In fact, there is something that one might call deep-rooted bigotry emerging, and aimed at those whose sexuality is different from the norm.

Over the decades many of our writers have spoken from afar of the problems, the pain and the fear that such desires have bred in the hearts of those who experienced them.

Our best known and most successful film-makers include Richard Fung, whose film My Mother’s Place (1990) explores memories of growing up in Trinidad, and Campbell X whose films Legacy (2006) and Paradise Lost (2003) are self-reflexive studies of living in, leaving Trinidad and telling her family that she is lesbian.

It is also significant that few films have been made in Trinidad about same-sex relationships or even about attitudes to homosexuality.

In other words, over many decades, writers and artists from the Caribbean have felt obliged to distance themselves and even go into voluntary exile because their sexual orientation has left them open to humiliation and even physical violence.

We know that in some of our sister islands the music that has become popular has often been openly homophobic and words that pour scorn on people who are gay or bisexual or even incite to violence, become chants that are sung on television and radio. In this regard the most notable might well be Buju Banton’s Boom Bye Bye. People who see themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual speak of the difficulty of living in these islands and of maintaining close connections with family because they see an arch conservatism creeping into the society.

When I was growing up in the town of Arima there were couples who were known to be gay. In many instances the acceptance of these relationships may have occurred because society at the time could categorise these individuals. They belonged for the most part to the “arty” crowd, who were “different” anyway.

But the fact that many people could live and socialise without fear of discrimination or violence suggested then that within our small world there was an understanding that each individual makes his or her choice of how to live and that each of us must respect that choice.

University lecturers, artists, writers, fashion designers, radio and television personalities, journalists and musicians have since that time openly confronted whatever elements of stigma there are to be found in our little island.

In today’s world, we think, it is no longer necessary for people of different sexual orientations to hide within cliques, whether these are religious or secular. Even politicians openly state that they are in samesex relationships. In Ireland one of the strongest contenders for the job of Taoiseach (Prime Minister) lives with his gay male partner, who is a medical doctor.

The established churches have had to face up to those within their own ranks who have such orientations, whether they practise or not.

As many of us know, homosexuality dates as far back in our historical knowledge to the ancient Greeks. It is not new.

Recently however and with the coming of social media there appears to be a rank permission given to all and sundry to heap abuse and to garner support for unfettered bigotry and even hate. How swift the finger moves across the keypad. How immediate the response. How permanent the damage.

But one should quickly add that these feelings are not new. Obviously intolerance was always there despite the veneer. And instead of developing a greater awareness of the rights of others, our society has apparently closed in on itself and grown more insular and incrementally conservative and petty.

Social media and even entertainment portals often fuel this attitude of intolerance. The horror story of a family group laughing at and even approving of pictures of a gay man being beaten up and the image posted on Facebook is only one example.

Another may be that our good citizens believe there is simply too much of this “gay stuff ” on television and in the news.

In Brazil the savage assault and torture leading to murder of a transgender woman, Dandara dos Santos, went viral on YouTube and caused an international outcry after it was uploaded from a cell phone video.

The appetite for sensation and the growing consumption of hate worldwide has given pause to even the most hardened commentators.

They want to cry, “stop”, before it is all too late.