Trump Tweets False White Supremacist "Talking Point" and Causes Rift with South Africa

Donald Trump may be the least knowledgeable individual to ever occupy the White House.  Rather than educate himself from multiple sources and reading lengthy reports, he watches Fox News which now basically broadcasts what Trump and his supporters want to hear and insists on single page briefing papers.  Add to this Trump's long history of racism - one significant detail arose right here in Hampton Roads when Trump's company was sued for anti-black discrimination - and its little surprise that Der Trumpenführer launched a totally erroneous and racially charged tweet the other evening.  Whether it was meant to be a distraction form the coverage of the conviction and guilty plea of his right hand men or pure ignorance and racial malice may never be known.  What is certain is that the story line derives from a white supremacist talking point used to spread the myth of "white genocide."  The New York Times looks at this latest falsehood peddled by the White House:

Trust President Trump, following his familiar tactic of deflecting attention from yet another scandal by issuing some outrageous tweet, to come down hard on the wrong side of an issue he knows nothing about, based on no more than a slanted Fox News program. In a late-Wednesday tweet, Mr. Trump said he had asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to look into land seizures and the “large-scale killing of farmers” in South Africa. It was the first time he has mentioned Africa by name in a tweet as president.

His source was a grossly one-sided report by the Fox host Tucker Carlson [who has been pandering to white supremacists] asserting that the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, was seizing land from his citizens because they are the wrong “skin color.” There have been no large-scale killings of white farmers, and Mr. Ramaphosa’s proposal to change the Constitution to allow expropriation of land [in certain limited situations such as abandoned property and derelict urban buildings] without compensation has not yet passed.

The Natives Land Act of 1913 essentially reserved most of the land to the white minority, and the restrictions became more onerous in the apartheid era. When that system was finally dismantled almost 25 years ago, a new Constitution did provide for land reform, but the process has moved slowly. Statistics vary, but what is clear is that whites, who are less than 10 percent of the population, continue to own more than two-thirds of the land, while black South Africans, the overwhelming majority, own a much smaller share.

That “highly skewed” distribution of land and productive assets, according to the World Bank, contributes heavily to making South Africa “the world’s most unequal country.”

Mr. Ramaphosa argued in an op-ed article in The Financial Times that his proposal was “no land grab,” and that the A.N.C.’s land reform program would not undermine investment in the economy or damage agricultural production. The constitutional amendment he is seeking, he said, would strengthen the existing rules by making explicit the conditions under which land could be expropriated without compensation.
 Yet Mr. Trump’s tweet, and the Fox show on which it was based, were bereft of any context, sympathy or understanding. They pounced, instead, on the false narratives of right-wing white South African groups claiming widespread seizures of white-owned land and a continuing “white genocide.”
 In fact, the number of killings of farmers and farm workers is at a 20-year low, with 47 in the 2017-18 fiscal year, according to AgriSA, a farmers’ organization in South Africa.
 Not surprisingly, South Africa reacted angrily to Mr. Trump’s tweet, saying it reflected a “narrow perception which only seeks to divide our nation and reminds us of our colonial past.” Sadly, it probably reflects even less than that — a clueless grasp at a racially tinged political diversion. As Patrick Gaspard, a former American ambassador to South Africa and now president of the Open Society Foundations, tweeted, “This man has never visited the continent and has no discernible Africa policy.”

Personally, I doubt Trump cares about the truth of the situation in South Africa.  His tweet was likely aimed merely pleasing his racist base that is hysterical over its loss of perceived white privilege and terrified of those with different skin color.

Botswana Deports Anti-LGBT American Pastor

Sadly, here in America, religion gets huge amounts of undeserved deference.  Hate is allowed to parade in public and "men of god" are free to encourage violence against others.  Equally disturbing is the manner in which politicians, especially Republicans, prostitute themselves to hate merchants standing behind a pulpit and by default normalize the misogyny they advocate.  Thankfully, in deporting anti-LGBT U.S. pastor Steven Anderson the government of Botswana demonstrated how such foul individuals should be treated. No deference, no respect, and no platform to poison others with their hatred of others. The Washington Blade looks at Anderson's deportation.  Here are excerpts:

The government of Botswana announced on Tuesday it has deported an anti-LGBT U.S. pastor from the country.

Steven Anderson told a Botswana radio station during an interview on Tuesday that the government should kill gays and lesbians. He also described the victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Fla., as “disgusting homosexuals who the Bible says were worthy of death.”

Botswana immigration officers were with Anderson when he left the radio station.

Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana said it received a report that Anderson assaulted someone who attended his church service on Monday. The advocacy group wrote on its blog that Anderson called the person “a fag, a homosexual and with a mouth full of AIDS” before he was forcibly removed.

Anderson, who is a pastor at the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Ariz., arrived in Botswana on Sept. 15. The government of neighboring South Africa announced earlier this month that it had banned him from entering the country.

A State Department official referred the Washington Blade to the Botswana government for comment “on their policy regarding individuals affiliated with the Faithful World Baptist Church.”

Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana criticized the government from allowing Anderson into the country. The group nevertheless applauded the decision to deport him and “in the process defended its citizens.” "We applaud the people of Botswana who have stood with us to protect, defend and promote human rights in our country,” said Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana.

Note that South Africa banned Anderson from entering that nation.   Perhaps one of the biggest ironies is the way Christofacists condemn the Koran and say it's a message of hate, yet then cite the Old Testament of Bible - also a message of hate - to justify similar bigotry and violence.

After Ferguson - When Whites Just Don’t Get It

I don't like to beat a dead horse, but in the wake of the Ferguson grand jury outcome - an outcome manipulated by the prosecutor - 3it remains time to face the reality that America has a huge race problem.  And even whites who are not racists become complicity given the manner in which the system is rigged based on race.  Not talking about it is not a solution just as not talking about the ugliness of homophobes and "family values" hate groups doesn't solve the problem of LGBT discrimination in this country.  An other column in the New York Times looks at America's race problem and the challenges faced by many totally innocent and law abiding blacks.  Here are some excerpts:

WE Americans are a nation divided.  We feud about the fires in Ferguson, Mo., and we can agree only that racial divisions remain raw. So let’s borrow a page from South Africa and impanel a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to examine race in America.

The model should be the 9/11 commission or the Warren Commission on President Kennedy’s assassination, and it should hold televised hearings and issue a report to help us understand ourselves.

We as a nation need to grapple with race because the evidence is overwhelming that racial bias remains deeply embedded in American life.

If such racial bias exists among professional referees monitored by huge television audiences, imagine what unfolds when an employer privately weighs whom to hire, or a principal decides whether to expel a disruptive student, or a policeman considers whether to pull over a driver.

This “When Whites Just Don’t Get It” series is a call for soul-searching. It’s very easy for whites to miss problems that aren’t our own; that’s a function not of being white but of being human. Three-quarters of whites have only white friends, according to one study, so we are often clueless.

What we whites notice is blacks who have “made it” — including President Obama — so we focus on progress and are oblivious to the daily humiliations that African-Americans endure when treated as second-class citizens.

“In the jewelry store, they lock the case when I walk in,” a 23-year-old black man wrote in May 1992. “In the shoe store, they help the white man who walks in after me. In the shopping mall, they follow me.”

He described an incident when he was stopped by six police officers who detained him, with guns at the ready, and treated him for 30 minutes as a dangerous suspect.

That young man was future Senator Cory Booker, who had been a senior class president at Stanford University and was a newly selected Rhodes Scholar. Yet our law enforcement system reduced him to a stereotype — so young Booker sat trembling and praying that he wouldn’t be shot by the police.

My sense is that part of the problem is well-meaning Americans who disapprove of racism yet inadvertently help perpetuate it. We aren’t racists, yet we buttress a system that acts in racist ways. It’s “racism without racists,” in the words of Eduardo Bonillo-Silva, a Duke University sociologist.

I don’t know what unfolded in Ferguson between Michael Brown, a black teenager, and Darren Wilson, a white police officer. But there is a pattern: a ProPublica investigation found that young black men are shot dead by police at 21 times the rate of young white men.

That’s the gulf that an American Truth and Reconciliation Commission might help bridge just a little.

This occurs partly because of deeply embedded stereotypes that trick us, even when we want to be fair. . . . . White Americans may protest that our racial problems are not like South Africa’s. No, but the United States incarcerates a higher proportion of blacks than apartheid South Africa did. In America, the black-white wealth gap today is greater than it was in South Africa in 1970 at the peak of apartheid.

Most troubling, America’s racial wealth gap, pay gap and college education gap have all widened in the last few decades.

There is a huge problem even if many don't want to talk about it.  And just as with homophobia, what's really behind it all is the inability of far too many Americans to see those who are different - "other" if you will - as equally human.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu: Homophobia is the "New Apartheid"

Modern conservative Christianity is defined by its adherents' hatred of others and discrimination against those who look different, love differently, or fail to adhere to their toxic hate and fear based religious beliefs.  It is the same mindset that has distinguished conservative Christians over the year as they have supported slavery, supported segregation, railed against women's rights and, of course, sought to denigrate and stigmatize LGBT individuals.  Conservative religion's wake always seems to involved ruined lives so that the "godly folk" can congratulate themselves on the piety.  Archbishop Desmond Tutu has been a loud and consistent critic of these modern day Pharisee types and is again speaking out against religious based homophobia which he calls the new apartheid.  Here are highlights from The Advocate:

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was a seminal figure in the fight against apartheid in South Africa, said in an interview with NBC News' Ann Curry that he would rather go to hell than to a heaven reigned over by a homophobic God.

"I am absolutely, utterly and completely certain that God wouldn't be…homophobic," Tutu told Curry, reiterating a sentiment he articulated more than a year ago at a rally hosted by the United Nations Human Rights Office in Cape Town, South Africa.

The retired Anglican archbishop also said that oppression of LGBT people is the "new apartheid." As he has in the past, the Nobel Peace Prize-winner spoke disapprovingly of the use of religion as a weapon to oppress gays. Since many antigay activists cite the Bible as justification for their views, Curry asked Tutu how he reconciled his desire for acceptance of LGBT people with the Bible.

"You don't choose your sexual orientation," the archbishop said. "The Bible is the word of God. But it is the word of God through human beings."

Asserting that he cannot rest in retirement while discrimination against LGBT people thrives in many parts of the world — not least throughout much of Africa — Tutu called for an end to the oppression of people because of their sexual orientation.

"God sits there and weeps, because God says you know what, you're all my children, you're all members of one family — my family," Tutu said during the interview. "And when are you going to learn to live amicably together?"

Dick Cheney: Nelson Mandela Was a Terrorist

Many around the globe are morning the passing of South Africa's Nelson Mandela who suffered 27 years in prison because of his struggle to end Apartheid and then went on to be South Africa's first black president, preaching a message of forgiveness as he tried to move his country forward.  But not all hold Mandela or his memory in high regard.  Take Dick Cheney - a man guilty of war crimes under the Geneva Conventions and usually referred to as Emperor Palpatine on this blog - who didn't regret his 1986 vote against freeing Mandela from prison.  Cheney, the war criminal in all but formal charges, maintained that Mandela was a terrorist and deserved to remain in prison.   Sadly, I suspect that many in the increasingly white supremacist dominated Republican Party share Cheney's revolting views.  Here are highlights from Huffington Post: 

In 1986, Nelson Mandela -- the former president of South Africa who died Thursday at the age of 95 -- was serving the 23rd year of what would ultimately be a 27-year prison sentence. The Western world was finally acknowledging the true horrors of Apartheid, a system of racial segregation that denied basic rights to blacks -- including citizenship and the right to vote -- and brutally oppressed a generation of South Africans fighting for equality.

In the U.S. Congress, lawmakers were ready to show their opposition to the South African regime with the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act, a bill that called for tough sanctions and travel restrictions on the nation and its leaders, and for the repeal of apartheid laws and release of political prisoners like Mandela, then leader of the African National Congress (ANC).

The measure passed with bipartisan support, despite strong and largely Republican opposition. President Ronald Reagan was among those most opposed to the bill, and when he finally vetoed the measure over its support of the ANC, which he maintained was a "terrorist organization," it took another vote by Congress to override it. Among the Republicans who repeatedly voted against the measure was future Vice President Dick Cheney, then a Republican congressman from Wyoming.

[T]he Wyoming Republican has never said he regretted voting the way he did. In fact, in 2000, he maintained that he'd made the right decision.  “The ANC was then viewed as a terrorist organization," Cheney said on ABC's "This Week." "I don't have any problems at all with the vote I cast 20 years ago.''

Try as  I might, I cannot avoid the conclusion that Cheney is a despicable human being.  As are many of his racist cohorts in today's GOP.  R.I.P. Nelson Mandela.

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Desmond Tutu: Going to Hell Better than Worship Homophobic God

Desmond Tutu has time and time again shown himself to be a bold voice for LGBT rights and equality and he has now stated that he would rather go to Hell than worship a homophobic god.  His point, of course, is that God isn't homophobic, it's some of his foulest self-proclaimed followers who are.  Indeed, if one is homophobic - or racist, etc. - one is not truly Christian regardless of whatever lip service one may give to false piety and religiosity.   Tutu made his remarks in conjunction with a new United Nations initiative to oppose homophobia and the deprivation of rights to LGBT individuals.  Tutu is the antithesis of bigots and and hate mongers such as Patriarch Kiril in Russia.The Christofascists have utterly perverted Christianity and are killing Christianity in the eyes of many, especially the younger generations who are leaving religion in droves.  ABC News looks at Tutu's latest declarations against homophobes:

CAPE TOWN - South African peace icon Desmond Tutu on Friday said he would rather go to hell than worship a homophobic God, likening the fight against gay prejudice to the anti-apartheid struggle.

"I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I would say sorry, I mean I would much rather go to the other place," the retired archbishop said at the launch of a United Nations gay equality campaign in Cape Town.

"I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this," he said, condemning the use of religious justification for anti-gay prejudice.

Launched by the UN Human Rights Office, the public education campaign "Free and Equal" aims to raise awareness of anti-gay violence and discrimination.

Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, compared the project to the fight South Africans waged to end the former white racist minority rule, a struggle in which he played a pivotal role.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said same-sex relationships are illegal in more than a third of countries around the world and punishable by death in five.

Even in countries where gay rights are upheld challenges remain, she said, noting that South Africa has "some of the worst cases of homophobic violence" despite having some of the world's best legal protections.

"People are literally paying for their love with their lives," said Pillay.   The campaign, which aims to push for legal reforms and public education against homophobia, will have a strong focus on working with governments.  "I constantly hear governments tell me 'but this is our culture, our tradition and we can't change it'... So we have lots of work to do," said Pillay.

 Kudos to Tutu.  It is good Christians like him that have kept me even nominally hanging on to the Christian moniker.   More like him need to stand up and publicly call out the merchants of hate in the Catholic Church, Russian Orthodox Church, and of course the Southern Baptist Convention.

Gay Teens Starved, Tortured, Killed at Camp to Make them "Straight"

Graphic Photo of Raymond Buys - Why Aren't His Parents Being Criminally Prosecuted?

I realize that I often comment on - some readers might say rant - the horrors of the Christofascists who promote the myth that sexual orientation is a "choice" and that gays can become "straight" if they but want to do so.  Having tried to "pray the gay away" my self literally for decades, I know that the "ex-gay"myth is a lie.  But worse yet, these "ministries" can drive gays to suicide or, as a story out of South Africa documents, literally kill gay youths.  It is sick, it is obscene, and it must be stopped.  As noted before, in my view, any parent who places their minor child in an "ex-gay" program needs to be charged with felony child abuse and prosecuted to the fullest extent allowable under the law.  In this day and age, it is mind numbing that parents still cling to the ignorant writings of bronze age nomadic herders - i.e., the Bible and the Koran - and subject their children to the horrors of "ex-gay" ministries.  As Gay Star News reports, three young gays died as a result of their parents' ignorance and the batshitery of "ex-gay" ministries.  Here are some story highlights:

Three ‘gay and effeminate’ teens have died after being starved, tortured and killed at a camp that promised to turn them into 'men'.

A picture of Raymond Buys, 15, taken in April 2011 showed a skeletal, emaciated figure fighting for his life.

Just 10 weeks before, the teen’s parents signed him up to the Echo Wild Game Rangers training course in South Africa in perfect health.

In hospital, Buys was severely malnourished, dehydrated, his arm was broken in two places and there were burns and wounds all over his body. He lay in intensive care for four weeks until he died.
And now, the course ‘general’ Alex De Koker, 49, and employee Michael Erasmus, 20, are on trial for charges of murder, child abuse and neglect, along with two cases of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm in relation to Buys' death.

The teen’s death is alleged to have been the third among the Afrikaans children who attended the R22,000 ($2,400, €1,900) courses, which have been advertized since 2006.

‘I sent my son on this course to make him a better man, to give him a better future,’ Buys’ mother told The Daily Telegraph. ‘I trusted Alex De Koker with his life.’

Last week, the Vereeniging District Court heard the testimony of a boy who had shared a tent with Buys, the Daily Maverick reports.

Gerhard Oostuizen, 19, claims Buys was chained to his bed every night, was refused permission to visit the toilet and on one occasion was forced to eat his own faeces.  He also said he would be beaten with planks, hosepipes and sticks when he failed to carry out manual labor tasks.

Gender activist Melanie Nathan has said the three young men were all perceived as ‘gay and clearly effeminate’.

In reference to ‘gay conversion camps’, Nathan writes: ‘With a little bit of digging [into the story], the gay reparative undertones start to emerge.’

Eric Calitz, 18, and Nicolaas Van Der Walt, 19, had both died after being enrolled at the Echo Wild Game Rangers camp four years earlier.

When Calitz requested to leave, De Koker reportedly told him he ‘wasn’t a moffie [gay] and he would make a man out of him’.

Calitz’s family was informed of his death via text message, saying he had died of a heart attack.
Afterwards, doctors said the cause of death was from a seizure, dehydration and found bleeding from the brain.

I'm sorry, but I have NO sympathy for the parents of these murdered boys.  They need to be prosecuted right along with those who physically murdered their sons.   As a parent myself, any parent who believes the lies preached weekly from pulpits and the lies promoted by "ex-gay" proponents over their own children are despicable.  They need to spend many years behind bars where they can contemplate the role they played in the murder of their own children.  As I have stated before, fundamentalist religion of all stripes is a toxic evil that needs to be eradicated from the face of the earth.  It contribute nothing positive to humanity and over the centuries has claimed many more lives than it has helped.  

Africa's 'First Traditional' Gay Wedding

This blog looks at all the bad things that often face LGBT individuals, much of it driven by hate filled, ignorance embracing religious zealots and the spineless politicians who prostitute themselves to these purveyors of hate and division.  But, from time to time it is nice to look at something positive and down right happy.  Something such as the marriage of Tshepo Cameron Modisane and Thoba Calvin Sithol (pictured above) were married in the town of KwaDukuza in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.  The two 27 year old men  were married in what is being described as a traditional ceremony that united Zulu and Tswana traditions.  On can only imagine the convulsions this must have set off amongst the American Christofascists exporting homophobia to Africa and endeavoring to brainwash Africans into believing that homosexuality is a western world import.   (I find it telling that South Africa is the only nation in Africa that has gay marriage and it is also the only country that isn't a veritable basket case economically and socially - perhaps Uganda could learn a thing or two from South Africa).  Huffington Post and Mambaonline.com both have details.  Here are highlights from HuffPo:

Two men have tied the knot in what's been proclaimed Africa's first traditional gay wedding.  Tshepo Cameron Modisane and Thoba Calvin Sithol were reportedly married in the town of KwaDukuza in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa before some 200 guests, in a ceremony that united Zulu and Tswana traditions. The newlyweds, both 27, will also have a second, more intimate ceremony in Johannesburg later this year, according to reports.

"The great step that we took in our relationship as a gay couple was introducing each other to our families," Tshepo told Mamba Online in February. "We are so blessed to have supportive families who care about us. Even though we are gay they still love us."

The men say they also hope to have children through a surrogate.   “Family is important to us and that is the number one reason why we want to have children," Thoba said. "We also want our children to grow up in an environment where they are loved greatly by both parents who appreciate them."

More information on the lead up to the ceremony from Mambaonline:

On a continent where homosexuality is often seen as foreign and unnatural Tshepo Cameron Modisane and Thoba Calvin Sithole are loudly proclaiming their love for each other. Meet this proudly gay and engaged-to-marry couple who're determined to live and love freely.

The now 27-year-old men first met and became friends while studying in Durban but lost touch after Tshepo returned to Joburg. Thoba, who is originally from KZN, later moved to Gauteng in 2011.

They then bumped into each other at the Sunninghill Virgin Active gym, reigniting their friendship and becoming gym partners; supporting and motivating each other in their workouts. "We were helping each other with weights, training exercises and eating health plans," explains Tshepo.

The chemistry between them grew and they soon realised that they were becoming much more than friends. "We finally made it official and were an item,” says Tshepo.

“The great step that we took in our relationship as a gay couple was introducing each other to our families. We are so blessed to have supportive families who care about us. Even though we are gay they still love us."

The relationship strengthened and, one Friday evening at home in June last year, Tshepo proposed to Thoba. He accepted and the couple decided to do things the African way; respecting the traditions and customs associated with marriage.

"We communicated our intentions to get married to both our families as we wanted to have a traditional African ceremony and also have a traditional Western 'fairytale white wedding,’” explains Thoba.

With their families’ support, the couple have set the date of 6 April to have the African ceremony in Thoba’s hometown of Stanger. They expect over 200 guests and the guys will dress in their respective traditional clothing (Tshepo is Tswana and Thoba is Zulu).

Here's a video clip:

Will theVotes for Gay Marriage in Britain and France Influence the Supreme Court

This blog has often noted that while the United States claims that it is the land of liberty and the home of religious freedom, on the gay marriage front, America is quickly beginning to look more like the Islamic theocracies of the Middle east than the modern developed democracies of the West.  Fifty or even twenty years ago who would have thought that Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and South Africa would be more socially progressive and in tune with equality under the civil laws for LGBT citizens than America?  With resounding votes for gay marriage in France and Britain, Andrew Sullivan speculates on how this may influence the U. S. Supreme Court in the DOMA and Proposition 8 cases.  Here are excerpts:

Two of the wealthiest Western democracies are now on the verge of having full marriage equality: Britain and France. The vote yesterday in the Commons – 400 – 175 – was echoed in the French National Assembly five days ago – 249 – 97. These were not close votes. Yes, they have divided the British right – with a slim majority of Tory MPs in Britain deciding not to follow David Cameron’s modernizing lead. But those dissenters should not be confused with the Christianist opposition in the GOP. In the UK, gay couples in civil partnerships have almost all the rights of heterosexual married partners, including immigration rights, which John McCain just dismissed as utterly unimportant to him. The Conservative opposition in Britain was nonetheless in favor of consigning gays to a separate but equal category of civil partnerships. The Christianist opposition in America is in favor of denying gay couples any civil recognition or protection of any kind.

The difference is that between a conservative party seeking to govern a country and a religious party seeking an eternal culture war. But when the Supreme Court comes to weigh the issue next month, I think the fast-growing support for equality in America, especially among the young, the growing number of states in the US with marriage equality, and the overwhelming embrace of equality by many countries both physically close – Canada and Mexico – and historically close – Britain and France – will have an effect.

Justices do not rule in a cultural or historical vacuum. They could still vote narrowly and duck a big national resolution   .  .  .  .  . But Kennedy in particular could also see the emerging future in the West as a decisive factor, believe he has played a critical judicial role in this civil rights movement in America (as he has), and decide to go big. It’s his legacy. And it will last.

Personally, I expect a narrow ruling - but I'd be thrilled to be wrong and see a sweeping ruling that brings marriage equality nationwide.

Gay Rights Are Human Rights

While motivated by recent anti-gay incidents in South Africa, the Los Angeles Times has an editorial that makes the argument that needs to be thrown in the face of anti-gay politicians and professional Christians who are little more than the daily purveyors of hate and ignorance: gay rights are human rights and that those who oppose gay rights are opposed to human rights. I'm sorry, but too much hate, violence and misery have been the principal fruits of religion - I suspect religion has ruined more lives than it has bettered - to continue to give bigots a free pass to spew lies, untruths and bigotry. The Christianist version of "religious freedom" ends when it tramples on the civil rights of others. Here are column highlights:
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When it comes to gay rights, South Africa is something of a paradox. Legally progressive, the country allows gay marriage and, in its Constitution, prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Gay groups flourish — soccer clubs and church organizations included — and middle-class gay men and women live relatively openly.
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But in some parts of the country, particularly in rural areas and townships, the progressive laws collide with deeply traditional views of homosexuality as un-African and as an import from the decadent West.
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The violence in South Africa is a reminder that the struggle for gay rights is a global one. A gay rights demonstration in Moscow was disrupted last month by counter-protesters, and Russian security forces detained people from both sides of the protest. In Jamaica, homophobic lyrics in dancehall music have been blamed for violent attacks on gay people.
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On the other hand, some countries have progressed further faster. A decade ago, the Netherlands became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage. Since then, nine more have followed — and the U.S. was not one of them.
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[A]s in South Africa, paradoxes exist. Although the United States has made much progress on gay rights, Human Rights Watch last month picked American pastor Scott Lively, an outspoken critic of homosexuality, for its homophobia "Hall of Shame,"
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While the progress is encouraging, the brutal violence in South Africa is a reminder of how much still needs to be done worldwide to show not just governments but communities that equal protection for gay people is not a Western convention, not a modern fashion, but a human right.

10 Years of Gay Marriage in the Netherlands - And Gays Have a Lower Divorce Rate

This coming Friday will mark the tenth anniversary of the advent of full same sex marriage rights in the Netherlands and - I'm sure to the shock and dismay of Maggie Gallagher, et al - the world has not come to an end. Nor have heterosexual divorce rates soared as a result of civil law recognition of same sex marriages. Indeed, the Netherlands continues to have a markedly lower divorce rate than the USA as a whole and even more so compared to the Bible Belt where divorce and unwed mothers rank the highest. One might even conjecture that Ms. Maggie and her fellow gay haters' real motivation in trashing same sex unions is because they are scared to death that we gays might be better at marriage than the heretofore privileged straights. So far in The Netherlands, gays divorce at a rate of roughly 5% versus a rate of 38% for the larger public. Rex Wockner has a few reflections on the upcoming anniversary and here are some highlights:
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In the intervening 10 years, 14,813 of the Netherlands' 55,000 gay couples have gotten married, according to Statistics Netherlands. Of those couples, 7,522 were female and 7,291 were male. There have been 1,078 same-sex divorces, 734 of them by female couples.
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Same-sex marriage is legal in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Mexico (where same-sex marriages are allowed only in the capital city but are recognized nationwide).
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In the U.S., same-sex marriage is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington, D.C. In addition, same-sex marriages from anywhere in the world are recognized as marriages in Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island and California (if the marriage took place before Proposition 8 passed) even though those states do not let same-sex couples marry.
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As noted, what is striking about the Netherlands and most of the nations that allow full same sex marriage, is that most have much, much lower divorce rates that the USA. Just as Massachusetts - the first U.S. state to have gay marriage - has a much lower divorce rate than say Arkansas or Mississippi deep in the conservative Christian Bible Belt. So just maybe, its the far right, multiple divorced conservative Christians who are the real threat to marriage. Here are some statistics from Divorce Mag.com:
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Country Divorce Rate (per 1,000 population per year):
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United States 4.1
Belgium 2.6
Sweden 2.4
Canada 2.28
Norway 2.2
Netherlands 2.1
Iceland 1.9
Portugal 1.9
Spain 0.9
South Africa 0.81
Mexico 0.41
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I could not find data for Argentina, but its neighbors, Brazil, Uruguay and Chile all divorce have rates that are a fraction of the rate in the USA. Perhaps if the Christianists worked to address the REAL threats to marriage in the USA - instead of using anti-gay animus as a fund raising tool - the nation's divorce rate would not be sky high compared to so many other nations.

End The Fear - A Guest Post from South Africa

One of the most amazing things about blogging is the way in which it has allowed me to have contact with people literally from all across the globe. I find it exciting and encouraging to find smart, articulate, sensitive and passionate activists from all corners of the world. A case in point is Ernest Oosthuizen, a 23 year old South African who with his partner (they are pictured at left with Ernest on the left) who want to do their part to end homophobia and the toll of needlessly lost and damaged lives that are too often its fruits.
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Here are some of Ernest and his partner's goals in their own words: We are working together in laying the foundation for an organization we would love to see blossom one day. It's been an idea in the making for the past 6 months and we're both very passionate. It's called EndTheFear. . . . Our lofty end goal would be to get Toll-free hotlines and counseling for LGBT teens in South Africa. But as of yet, we're still dreaming big and doing what we can with what we have.
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The following is a guest post written by Ernest. It is followed by a video that he and his partner have put together.
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End The Fear
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Bullying and homophobia stretches far beyond just the direct visible act of the word, and many times goes unnoticed by the people not involved. To the person bullied it’s a constant fear; the undertones in conversations, the smirk and jeering eye contact and that knowledge that at any moment you can become a punch line to a “that’s so gay joke”. It’s the silent abuse.
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Watching the news reports on the vast amount of bullying that goes on, shows something needs to be done. We know above all else that these kids are just the tip of the iceberg. The thing with bullying of this sort is that many times people keep to themselves, hoping not to bring more attention to the issue. So maybe the best way, is to empower the person bullied, saying hang in there, you’re beautiful! There would be nothing sadder than to see another life lost over another’s ignorance and fear.
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To most people, none of this is new; we’ve all lived with this fear. That is the thing all human beings have in common, we fear rejection, we fear ending up alone, so the Darwinian-like instinct in us want to be “normal” and fit in. In every person this fear lingers.
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So what is homophobia to me? It is the ultimate fear of homosexuals- the fear that our existence will bring harm. In truth there is nothing threatening about me. I don’t want to hunt, lock up or impose sanctions on the rights of any “straight” person. My existence has no influence on the goings-on of your daily life. Rationally and logically, homophobia makes no sense. The misconceptions are vast, and it all stems from the stagnant and oppressed views of people stuck in the past.
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How do we end homophobia? How do we end the fear? Homophobia is broken whenever people start thinking for themselves, when people ask: “What is evil about it?” It is the liberation of the mind, and change that comes from within. Informing people, bringing change to their outlook.
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Showing people that there's nothing to fear and bringing self-realization from within is our goal. To end homophobia we must end the fear.
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South African Wine Tastings in DC, Philly, New York & Chicago

My good friend Jeff Ward who operates Savvy Navigator, a gay travel tour company that specializes in trips to South Africa, Argentina and Costa Ric, is planning upcoming wine tastings events in DC, Philly, New York & Chicago. Jeff only does things first class so I encourage readers in the cities involved to experience a taste of South Africa with Julian Melck, Jeff's South African farmer host from Kersefontein Farm. Jeff assures me that Julian will titillate your taste buds with some of the best vintages from the vineyards we visit on our South African Tours. Here are the details:

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DC Wine Tasting
Monday, March 15th, 7:00 pm
At Savvy Nav HQ, 1329 T Street NW
Washington, District of Columbia 20009
Please click here to RSVP for the DC Wine Tasting

Philadelphia Wine Tasting
Tuesday, March 16th, 7:00 pm

At the home of Joe DiStanislao

622 Kater Street,Philadelphia PA 19147
Please click here to RSVP for the Philly Wine Tasting

New York Wine Tasting
Wednesday, March 17th, 7:00 pm

At the home of Hugh Duthie

70 Washington Street #8b

Brooklyn, New York, NY 11201
Please click here to RSVP for the New York Wine Tasting

Chicago Wine Tasting
Saturday, March 20th, 6:00 pm

Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Club

220 South Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60604
Please click here to RSVP for the Chicago Wine Tasting

Former Airline Exec Starts Upscale Gay Tour Company

I have done a post or two before about my friend Jeff Ward (pictured at right) and the gay tour company he has started called Savvy Navigator .

Jeff and his husband, Michael Klein are great guys and their wedding reception back in 2005 in Washington, DC, was fabulous not the least because Michael produces What Not to Wear and While You Were Out for TLC and the casts from both shows were at the reception. Now, Passport Magazine has a tremendous profile on Jeff and his company. While I will not be able to afford one of his tours anytime soon, I am sure that it would be an experience of a lifetime. For more information on upcoming trips to South Africa, Argentina and Costa Rica, check things out here. Meanwhile, here are some highlights from the Passport Magazine story:

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In the autumn of 2006, Jeffrey Ward began planning a party that would change his life. Well, change his life again. For several years, Ward, who today operates the niche gay travel company Savvy Navigator (www.savvynavigator.com), had been dealing with unexpected turbulence.
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Ward eventually took a buyout from American and started his own small executive coaching business, Northward Leadership & Development. It seemed like a logical move, “I’d spent twelve years climbing the corporate ladder, but really loving my work every single day. I never understood people who hated going to work, who felt victimized by their careers or their jobs. I felt passionate about helping people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be.”
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Which brings us back to that life-changing party. “Michael was going to turn 40 in April 2007, and we decided to have a big celebration with about 25 friends and family in Cape Town, South Africa. It’s a place we love. We’d been there together several times, including for our honeymoon after getting married at Toronto City Hall in 2004.
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Ward ended his husband’s South African birthday extravaganza with a new beginning for himself. At a debrief following his meticulously planned group adventure, Ward began to brainstorm business opportunities with Southern Destinations, the company he’d used on the ground in Cape Town to help coordinate guides, lodges, and activity providers for his clan. “I realized that using my connections, I could put together Abercrombie & Kent-style itineraries for about half their price. I started mulling it over and thought this could be enormously appealing to a segment of the gay North American audience.”
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Ward, whose well-heeled guests tend to range in age from 35 to 55, notes that just because one no longer wants to flop in hostels or schlep a backpack doesn’t mean limiting one’s self to the generic five-star chic of giant hotels that may feel no different whether you’re in Brazil or Bombay. “These are first class trips,” he notes (Savvy Navigator tours run from $4,000 to $6,000 per person), “but if you’re paying for me to arrange your vacation, I want to deliver an experience you probably couldn’t put together on your own. So many tour companies, gay and straight, use the same vendors and go to the same places. Savvy Navigator is not going to take you to a restaurant where you’ll turn around and see another group of tourists. I’m taking these trips with my groups, and they get the kind of inspiring, immersive vacation that Michael and I like to take ourselves.”
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For independent-minded travelers a bit leery of traveling in a group, Ward stresses that Savvy Navigator tours are limited to twelve guests. “My typical guest is a gay man, generally north of 40, traveling with a couple of friends. It’s about 50/50 singles and couples, and we try to avoid charging single supplements whenever we can.”
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Clearly, Ward has found a viable niche. One unexpected revenue stream for Savvy Traveler has resulted from word-of-mouth. “I was getting calls from people who heard about their friends’ experiences on my trips but whose vacation schedules didn’t allow them to travel when I had a tour going. So I started offering customized trips for couples, using a lot of the same locations. Because of my relationships with these great accommodations and guides who are genuinely gay-friendly, I’ve been able to arrange amazing gay honeymoon trips to South Africa. And there are even some hip straight people who’ve heard about us and asked me to make plans for them.”

A Savvy Navigator for South Africa

Back in October, 2008, I wrote about a friend, Jeff Ward, who had started a new business called Savvy Navigator, LLC, of conducting escorted gay friendly tours to South Africa. Now, Out Traveler has done a story on Jeff's endeavor. Jeff has plenty of travel experience both from his background in the airline industry not to mention travels with his TV producer husband. I'm trilled that Out Traveler is giving him much deserved coverage. Here are some highlights:

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A 12-day trip to South Africa can be a daunting adventure to plan well. Tack on looking for gay nightlife, day trips to the country's famed vineyards, and a few days escape to Zambia's thundering Victoria Falls and well...you'll be a travel expert by the time you get home!

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If, however, you'd rather let a tried-and-true gay traveller take over the heavy lifting, there are a bunch of gay tour operators out there with great Africa packages. Created and run by Jeffrey Ward, who earned his travel expert stripes as an executive at gay-friendly American Airlines, the Savvy Navigator has put together a fun-looking trip for this May (and other in November).

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Centering around Cape Town with an optional four-day add-on to Victoria Falls, Savvy Navigator specializes in small groups (no more than 12) and intimate luxury experiences. More than other gay tour operators to the area, Savvy Navigator will focus as much on culinary and cultural luxury as on, say, trips to vineyards and a safari -- both of which are included, too.

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Starting at $5,995 for 12 days, plus $1,995 for the Zambian add-on, plus your own airfare in and out of Africa (domestic flights are included), of course, you'll have to reach deep in these uncertain economic times. With Ward at the helm, though, there doesn't seem to be any doubt you'll have an experience worth every penny.