Boycott Jamaica

In the past I have talked about the horrific situation that LGBT individuals face in Jamaica. Althought many years ago I traveled to Jamaica on business and found it to be a beautiful destination, the nation seems to be moving increasingly backwards in its treatment of gays and I would never visit Jamaica given the current anti-gay situation. Worse yet, the government actively supports the dehumanization of gays and outrageous acts of violence against gays are common. Now, my friend Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out, together with Jim Burroway, of Box Turtle Bulletin, and Michael Petrelis of The Petrelis Files have launched the Boycott Jamaica web site and action center. Since Jamaica depends heavily on tourist dollars to support it's economy, LGBT individuals around the world need to boycott Jamaica. Better yet, they need to convince all of their straight allies to avoid visiting the country as well. Why subsidize a government and country where gays can be beaten or killed with impunity? As the saying goes, money talks and if Jamaica can be forced to feel a real down side to its unrestrained homophobia, perhaps its residents will begin to wake up to the fact that their bigotry is making the country a pariah. Here's what Wayne said recently:

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Gay bashing in Jamaica is so prevalent that in 2006 Time magazine wrote an article about the island headlined, “The Most Homophobic Place On Earth?” The New York Times this week showed that the anti-gay climate has only worsened, with the island caught in a downward spiral of outright psychosis. It is time to hand an ultimatum to Jamaica’s public officials: Stop allowing rampant abuse of gay people or your economy will be crippled.

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The Times went on to report a shocking attack on a gay man’s funeral last year, where hooligans trashed the church with rocks and bottles as the service was in session. Of course, this unholy barbarism occurred in the name of God. Interestingly, Jamaicans have turned their sex-fueled island into a heterosexual bathhouse and ganja den, but seem to get sanctimonious and discover the Bible when it comes to homosexuality.

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On American docks, six hundred miles west of this homophobic hellhole, tourists regularly line up to board massive luxury liners destined for Jamaica. The tropical island earned $2.1 billion from tourism in 2006, an increase of 24 percent over 2005. More than three million people visited Jamaica in 2006, with 1,025,000 arrivals from the United States.

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Clearly, the answer to Jamaica's love affair with lynching is an aggressive campaign designed to put the clamp on tourism - particularly the cruise industry. The goal should be to strangle Jamaica's economy and force the island to change or suffer severe consequences. With tourism Jamaica's second largest source of revenue, such a campaign could have a powerful impact that achieves tangible results.

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For those looking for ways to put pressure on the Jamaican government, boycott Jamaica has some suggestions of what to do that can be found here.