At University I'm taking an Ethics and Human Rights class, and all the students are supposed to dutifully follow a human rights issue over the course of the semester.
So, naturally, I'm starting now.
I think part of my hesitation stemmed from the daunting number of possibilities, but in the end I settled on LBGT rights in Uganda. Hopefully, these posts will be more serious than my usual fare, and include more fact than (incredulous) analysis.
I was particularly moved by news of gay-activist David Kato's death in January of this year. It's difficult, when the struggle people face deals with resources, or money, or politics, to give up the ancient tribal notion of security and give in to sympathy (to paraphrase Richard Rorty). The security problem with sexuality is more elusive to my logical mind, but I suppose that isn't the point here.
Uganda has a history of anti-gay sentiment and legislation, and in 2009 the Anti-Homosexuality Bill was introduced by MP David Bahati. It criminalized same-sex relationships and punished repeat offenders and HIV-positive people engaging in same-sex activities with death (termed "aggravated homosexuality"). In addition, those citizens who knew of any homosexual activity were required to report it or face years of jail time. The government has likened homosexuality to prostitution, and is interested in doling out life sentences for the "crime". Very recently, Uganda's minister of ethics and integrity stated, "Homosexuals can forget about human rights".
Where did this sentiment come from? As Carl Stychin mentions in his essay on Same-Sex Sexualities and Globalization of Human Rights, many Africans feel that homosexuality is a horrid Western import. They feel that same-sex sexuality is not held by any "authentic" Africans. This was only exacerbated by the influx of American evangelicals, all giving talks about the "evil institution" of homosexuality, how to turn gays straight, and the impending death of the sanctity of marriage. While these preachers maintain they had no intention of inciting the kind of bills or violence we now see, I'm not really sure what they thought would happen.
This sort of growing anti-gay fervor has been battled by the native (and authentic!) population of gay activists involved in the group Sexual Minorities Uganda, founded in 2004. They have worked to increase awareness, fight against legislation, and work for inclusion.
However, this hasn't been a fight without loss and setbacks. David Kato, considered a founder of the gay-rights movement in Uganda, was "outed" nationally by a tabloid titled "Rolling Stone" (not affiliated with the American version), which called for his execution. Kato was beaten to death in January; a great loss for the community.
Nevertheless, the fight continues on, and Kato's death has prompted Western countries such as the United States to threaten to withhold aid if Uganda doesn't alter its stance on homosexuality. We have yet to see any legislative results, but I will be following the story in Uganda more closely, and will hopefully have more progress to report soon.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/world/africa/04uganda.html?_r=2
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/27/uganda-gay-rights-activist-murder
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It's been two weeks. I'm sorry. I'm also supposed to be following human rights issues, but this particular struggle has left me depressed, upset, feeling lost...I don't know. There's this swirling in my gut that flares up every time I think about it.
You know, in 1980, in a speech against Communism, President Reagan stated "[Our moral values] remind us that where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost."
Reagan said that. Reagan!
And now we have legislation passed that effectively castrates unions and places an even higher burden on our already underpaid, underappreciated civil servants. It was bad enough that Governor Walker threatened to fire 1,500 government workers, exploited a loophole, and had the senate vote without any of the democrats present. What's worse is that across the nation, other Republicans are saying they stand strong beside him. Why? The Unions agreed to lower wages, fewer benefits - all concessions made for Walker's budget crusade - why did Walker insist on debilitating them in a completely different bill?
Fox News may pretend that teachers live in the lap of luxury, but everyone who has ever been to school should know better. Teachers get up early, teach all day, deal with troublesome and misbehaved children, coach sports, oversee clubs, go home, grade papers, formulate lesson plans, and painstakingly go over homework. Anyone who pretends teachers peace out at 2:30 and do nothing at night, on the weekends, or during the summer is simply delusional.
This whole debacle perfectly demonstrates one reason why we can't fix the school system. Teachers have an extremely important job; they educate the next generation of Americans. We need them to be passionate, excited, and good at their jobs. What we should be doing is paying them on a level that approaches doctors and treating their profession as an honorable, desirable career. There's a brain-drain occurring within our own country. Just think about it - the smartest kids don't go into education, that would be a "waste" of their abilities. They become doctors, lawyers, businessmen. The way to fix this certainly isn't reduction of pay, benefits, and collective bargaining rights! We can't continue to devalue one of the most important jobs for the future of America, otherwise we'll all end up like Texas.
You know, in 1980, in a speech against Communism, President Reagan stated "[Our moral values] remind us that where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost."
Reagan said that. Reagan!
And now we have legislation passed that effectively castrates unions and places an even higher burden on our already underpaid, underappreciated civil servants. It was bad enough that Governor Walker threatened to fire 1,500 government workers, exploited a loophole, and had the senate vote without any of the democrats present. What's worse is that across the nation, other Republicans are saying they stand strong beside him. Why? The Unions agreed to lower wages, fewer benefits - all concessions made for Walker's budget crusade - why did Walker insist on debilitating them in a completely different bill?
Fox News may pretend that teachers live in the lap of luxury, but everyone who has ever been to school should know better. Teachers get up early, teach all day, deal with troublesome and misbehaved children, coach sports, oversee clubs, go home, grade papers, formulate lesson plans, and painstakingly go over homework. Anyone who pretends teachers peace out at 2:30 and do nothing at night, on the weekends, or during the summer is simply delusional.
This whole debacle perfectly demonstrates one reason why we can't fix the school system. Teachers have an extremely important job; they educate the next generation of Americans. We need them to be passionate, excited, and good at their jobs. What we should be doing is paying them on a level that approaches doctors and treating their profession as an honorable, desirable career. There's a brain-drain occurring within our own country. Just think about it - the smartest kids don't go into education, that would be a "waste" of their abilities. They become doctors, lawyers, businessmen. The way to fix this certainly isn't reduction of pay, benefits, and collective bargaining rights! We can't continue to devalue one of the most important jobs for the future of America, otherwise we'll all end up like Texas.
