Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Wonder!

What grounds does the straight man have to sign off on the fate of a gay man? Does the straight man think the gay man is sub-human, deranged and mentally inconsistent so he needs to be decided for?

I Know this has been debated about for ages and ages but i just wanted to get your views, people!

Monday, February 22, 2010

Uganda, as is!

Have you heard of the expression 'Ntwaala nga bwendi'?
That is where our Uganda has come to, my friends.
This morning i was driving past Banda on my way from home, and at two different spots, huge deluges of floods gushed angrily across the road post the early morning downpour. Traffic was heavy, and at the first spot, a big bus was wedged in a huge water filled crater by the side of the road. Water rushed from the opposite side of the road, and on the other side, outside a row of houses stood grief stricken men and women, you could see the pain on their faces as they futilely scooped water with tin cooking pans from their open houses, as if trying to ward off the angry brown water coming at them, stymying them.

I regarded this sight, and silently wondered how long Ugandans will have to deal with situations like these! It had only rained for three hours, a heavy downpour i know, but with the roads in the situation they are in, disaster preparedness has been defeated, hands down. Poor drainage, poor engineering, poor workmanship and a lackluster attitude by the government is what is driving this nation to the backwaters.

I remarked to a friend i was driving with 'there is no significant change in the Uganda today than that of 1993' he nodded in agreement.

This road, (Jinja road) had for a long time been a killer like no other, as a number of people perished in accidents as a result of potholes, rugged road shoulders and poor lighting. Last year when the Ministry of Roads et al decided to have mercy and put one little flimsy layer of tar on the road, which, of course, did not last given quack workmanship, deluges continue to run freely across the 'new' roads and of course more people perish!
Had the bus this morning had passengers, we would be reading about the death toll off the news tomorrow, of course it would end up as another forgotten statistic!

I wonder if common folk in this country know that all these debacles and dramas in the news about the anti-homosexuality bill etc are just meant to steer our attention away from the despair happening in our back-yards!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Floating!

So is this writers block? When you start, pause, start, refrain, cursor blinking at you, muster the courage to write a few words, mumble words as you type them feverishly before your mind goes blank again?
you stare stupidly at the screen, and then your gaze wanders, you descend in a stupor, looking like an irish milking cow.
You then listen to this jazz-rock band, and the guy, in pure American jazz style intones some gibberish: "i just watched Pink Panther last night so i am trying desperately to be funny...."
You visit the New Vision or monitor websites to find something remotely interesting to comment on in your blog, and all you stumble across is this story about 'National Medical Stores and how they plan to start doing a delivery of drugs to districts without prior orders from respective health units', and then further down come across the part where they talk about 'this working towards avoiding expiry of drugs in NMS stores' you guffaw and wonder then why hospitals and health centers across the country cry of drug scarcity problems and here the drugs are rotting in NMS stores!

You drift on and look at other bloggers work (by the way, is wordpress.com the new bloggers haven?) if so i am going. You hear about BHH an acronym that stands for Bloggers Happy Hour and wonder when the next meet will be, here in Kampala...
Some of the bloggers whose blog sites you have visited like Afrogay give you a lesson in humility as you observe how beautifully they weave their words, you are then jostled back to reality when your Outlook reminder goes off "Your next meeting starts in 5 minutes" Fleeting gratitude that this is not an editorial meet, and that writing doesn't pay your rent floods through your bloodstream, and you happily trot off to your next 'Health Unit Mapping exercise meeting" Whew! lucky i am a techie!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

A good write-up by James Onen a.k.a Fat Boy of Sanyu FM For those who didn't see it.

The Anti-Homosexuality Bill and the Triumph of Pseudoscience
February 1, 2010 in Anti-Homosexuality Bill | by James Onen | 3 comments

During his speech at the start of the Uganda Conference for Science Communication in November 2008, President Museveni said, “There is need to develop enough science communication capacity of our own which can easily explain new concepts early enough to make sense to our needs.”

I have decided to heed his call.

The claims we often hear from our legislators, government officials, and our religious leaders, pertaining to the nature of homosexuality (and the purported ‘gay agenda’) come not from actual peer reviewed scientific literature – but straight out of conservative and fundamentalist Christian anti-gay propaganda books, and claims of practitioners of scientifically discredited “reparative” or “conversion” therapy.

Ever since the ‘anti-homosexuality’ conference which took place in Kampala in March 2009, the works of authors such as Richard Cohen (‘Coming Out Straight’) have been brandished as ‘evidence from authoritative sources’ that homosexuality is a disorder, and that homosexuals can become straight if they choose to. Don Schmierer of Exodus international, Scott Lively of Abiding Truth Ministries, and Caleb Brundidge of the International Healing Foundation met with Ugandan legislators and other leaders during this same period and made presentations in which they reiterated their various theories on homosexuality – and our MPs uncritically accepted their claims as facts. Their views were heralded as views of ‘experts’, and today their words can be heard coming out of the mouths of nearly all the proponents of the Anti-homosexuality bill. Especially the words of Lively.

But just how authoritative are these individuals and organizations, and are their claims scientifically valid?

Scott Lively, by his own admission is not a medical doctor nor qualified as a psychiatrist, but merely a pastor and a lawyer. His wild, unsubstantiated claims about an imaginary ‘global gay agenda’ have fuelled public hysteria over homosexuality, leading to unjustified vilification of homosexuals all over the world. It is indeed puzzling as to how a person who claims that homosexuals were responsible for the Rwanda genocide can be taken seriously, let alone be considered an authority.

Richard Cohen, founder of the International Healing Foundation, who is often cited as an ‘expert’ by the most vocal promoters of the anti-homosexuality bill, is actually not licensed as a therapist, having been permanently expelled in 2002 from the American Counseling Association for multiple ethical violations. In a statement released on December 11th 2009, the president of the American Counseling Association wrote, regarding Richard Cohen, “.. his writings have been exposed as inflammatory and filled with erroneous facts and suppositions. His writings lack research evidence and should not be used as the basis for any public policy. ACA does not support his position or the use of his work in any way.”

In his book, “Coming Out Straight“, Cohen relies on studies carried out by Paul Cameron to promote the idea that homosexuals, among other things, have a higher propensity for sexual predation of minors. But who is Paul Cameron? Paul Cameron is an American psychologist who was expelled from the American Psychological Association in 1983. In 1984 the Nebraska Psychological Association issued a statement disassociating itself from what they said were “the representations and interpretations of scientific literature offered by Dr. Paul Cameron”. In 1986 the American Sociological Association passed a resolution condemning Cameron for consistent misrepresentation of sociological research. In 1996, the Canadian Psychological Association disassociated itself from Cameron stating that he had “consistently misinterpreted and misrepresented research on sexuality, homosexuality, and lesbianism”. In a revealing interview on December 8th 2009 during MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show“, Richard Cohen stated he would remove the passage in future editions of his oft-cited book “Coming Out Straight” in which he makes reference to Cameron’s studies linking homosexuality with sexual predation. This same book, containing this same flawed information, can be seen on YouTube being quoted from at the Kampala March 2009 Anti-Homosexuality conference. Paul Cameron is also cited as an expert in an article appearing on the Uganda Media Centre website titled “Homosexuality: We Can Still Avoid Foreign Bad Press.”

It is quite remarkable that these individuals, and their organisations, whose works are being touted as authoritative science – actually lack any credibility in the scientific community of certified professionals in the fields of psychiatry, psychology, sociology, pediatrics and counseling. What is even more remarkable is that Uganda’s scientific community isn’t making this known to our policy makers and the general public, whose views on homosexuality are being shaped by this bad science from individuals devoid of credible expertise.

THE SCIENTIFIC CONSENUS:


Below is a summary of the consensus views of actual certified experts and scientists relevant to the subject of sexual orientation. Their views are based on empirical research whose results are published in respected peer-reviewed scientific journals:

On whether homosexuality is a mental disorder



According to the American Psychological Association (the major professional organisation representing certified psychologists in the United States, with about 150,000 members), “research has found no inherent association between any of these sexual orientations and psychopathology. Both heterosexual behavior and homosexual behavior are normal aspects of human sexuality. Both have been documented in many different cultures and historical eras. Despite the persistence of stereotypes that portray lesbian, gay, and bisexual people as disturbed, several decades of research and clinical experience have led all mainstream medical and mental health organizations in this country to conclude that these orientations represent normal forms of human experience. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual relationships are normal forms of human bonding. Therefore, these mainstream organizations long ago abandoned classifications of homosexuality as a mental disorder.”

On whether sexual orientation is a choice



According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists (the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom with 15,000 members), “It would appear that sexual orientation is biological in nature, determined by a complex interplay of genetic factors and the early uterine environment. Sexual orientation is therefore not a choice.”

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (with approximately 60,000 members who include pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists, and pediatric surgical specialists. More than 34,000 members are board-certified), “The mechanisms for the development of a particular sexual orientation remain unclear, but the current literature and most scholars in the field state that one’s sexual orientation is not a choice; that is, individuals do not choose to be homosexual or heterosexual. “

On whether homosexuality as an orientation can be ‘unlearned’


The American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association (the main professional organization of psychiatrists, in the USA – with 38,000 members), and National Association of Social Workers (a professional organization of social workers in the United States – with 150,000 members) state: “Sexual orientation has proved to be generally impervious to interventions intended to change it, which are sometimes referred to as ‘reparative therapy.’ No scientifically adequate research has shown that such interventions are effective or safe.”

The Royal College of Psychiatrists states that it “There is no sound scientific evidence that sexual orientation can be changed. “The best evidence for efficacy of any treatment comes from randomised clinical trials and no such trial has been carried out in this field.”

The Australian Psychological Society (the professional association established to represent psychologists in Australia – with over 15,000 members) acknowledges “the lack of scientific evidence for the usefulness of conversion therapy.”

The view on the general immutability of sexual orientation was also reiterated by the US Surgeon General David Satcher in a statement released on July 9th 2001 titled, “The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behaviour” . In it, he stated: “there is no valid scientific evidence that sexual orientation can be changed.”

It is therefore interesting that one of the adjustments being proposed to the current bill is making “reparative therapy” mandatory for convicted homosexuals. Claims of practitioners of so-called conversion, or reparative, therapy such as Exodus International, NARTH (National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality), and Richard Cohen’s International Healing Foundation have been called into question by mainstream scientists, and are not considered to be validated by peer reviewed research. In fact, it has instead been found that such therapy is detrimental to the individuals that are subjected to them, and is therefore not advised. By endorsing forced “reparative” therapy for Ugandans who are homosexuals, they will go down in history as legislators who endorsed pseudo-science. Incidentally, both Exodus and NARTH, the world’s foremost practitioners of conversion therapy are opposed to forced therapy, so to whom do the advocates of the bill intend to send the homosexuals for ‘rehabilitation’? Even its so-called ‘experts’ want nothing to do with such an idea.

Conclusion


The view that homosexuality is a “mental disorder”, or claims that “homosexuality is learned, and can be unlearned” (as the Bahati bill boldly declares) are thus completely unscientific. The proponents of such fringe views have failed to validate their claims through the scientific peer-review process, as is required by all scientists who intend to have their work taken seriously.

Of course, anti-gay religious groups and gay conversion ministries are usually quick to dismiss the scientific consensus on sexual orientation as biased. Many reading this article will probably try to convince themselves that some kind of sinister “international gay agenda” controls all the scientific research institutions of the world, therefore the view of scientists cannot be trusted. On any other day such a silly conspiracy theory should evoke laughter among those that are sensible, but in today’s Uganda, where such silly conspiracy theories have found a more than receptive audience and led to the tabling of one of the most inhumane pieces of legislation ever drafted, the joke stopped being funny a long time ago.

Homosexuals will always exist, and will always be among us. It is not true that they are all defilers, and we are yet to be presented with any verifiable evidence of organised, systematic recruitment. In Uganda, incidences of defilement of girls are rampant, but no sensible person claims that hetero-sexuality is the crime – the crime is defilement. Likewise, even if there are cases of defilement of boys by men (whose numbers pale in comparison to that of defiled girls), it does not mean homosexuality is the crime. The crime, also, is defilement. Many homosexuals and lesbians are kind, loving people who contribute positively to our society. The sooner we accepted this fact, and learnt to be tolerant of them, the better.

Therefore, not only should the egregious Anti-Homosexuality bill be scrapped -it is also high time homosexuality is decriminalised all together.


Please visit James Onen's blog on http://freethoughtkampala.wordpress.com

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Facebook

Finally, grudgingly, ambivalently.. i decided to join Facebook. That's when my worst fears came true.

Internet creeps sending friend requests and then asking the most inappropriate (and grotesque) questions.

Twinks posting semi-nude pictures of themselves, in the lewdest poses ever...!

Wayward posts by responsibility challenged people... ".. i am now in town, just got a haircut, all the men are staring..."

Quotes... and some more, Not inspirational! Not funny!

And of course, the rabid gossip by all and sundry...

And i press on with nothing if not Morbid fascination!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Realization of the new years dreams

OK!

So 31st December gongs in and you gibberishly make resolutions for a new year. What next?
A friend of mine decided to sell his car and use, pooh.., public transportation, in order to cut down on costs, gitty up and buy a piece of land, build a house...., Another friend decided he was ready to meet a soulmate and love them intensely, and that is what he did, until the soul-mate moved!
Another friend said he wanted to make wads and wads of cash.

So there, we start the year, resolute, collected, inspired.

January comes in, the unpredictable tropical weather, rain pellets down and huge gusts of wind blow straight into your eyes, after a few rounds in the smelly taxi park teeming with funky smelling touts screaming a cacophony of destinations you didnt know existed in the greater kampala and her neighbors, you implore inwardly "did i really make the right decision to sell my car?" Had you known that doe-eyed little kid skipping happily in the taxi park could gut your bag and steal your phone in 2 seconds, you would not have gone near the park in the first place.

You meet someone new, young, incredibly cute! After two weeks of non-stop humping, you decide you are ready to take the next step, propose matching napkins perhaps? Or a mini-move in? But you know what they say about kampala and her mediocrity, you decide that soul-mate is not 'it' afterall, they probably wanted to rob you blind or hump you and then blackmail you in no particular order, so you ask yourself, am i moving too fast? Have my resolutions become the blinding headlights infront of me, am i pummeling my resolve a tad hard? Am i spinning? Am i flailing?

Then you remember that sweet-natured, unjustifiably smug friend who droned in your ear not so long ago "Love will find you, don't push it" and you realise that he probably went through what you are going through and then some, explains his smugness, that the poor lad didn't have a choice!

By mid February, you can NOT reiterate your resolutions to those you had incessantly crowed them to a month ago, when they ask you "Oh, by the way, how is the cost cutting thing going for you?" or "Oh! are you still in love with that young'un?", your constipated smile is properly justified.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Inspiration

As i was riding on the bus this morning, i struck up a conversation with this workmate whose daughter i studied with. I remember this lass was quite smitten with me in days gone, in my high school to be precise.

This girl finished college a few years ago and started doing a few odd jobs, did a bit of counselling, then went on to teach nursery school, and other odd and end jobs just to get by, but with the stubborn resoluteness inherited from her mother, no less, she kept trudging on.

This morning, My workmate bursting with joy told me her daughter is now a businesswoman, curiosity piqued, i asked, thinking maybe she was into some humdrum business like fruit selling (no offense) with a flourish, she pulled out a number of soft-back young-level 1 - 4 English and maths books her daughter now writes!!! i was bedazzled! You know the usual "... then John climbed up the mango tree and hid from his mother who was looking for him to do household chores...." (well, she didn't exactly say chores, that would be too advanced for a level 1 - 4, right?) complete with diagrammatic illustrations! On the cover of all books bore her name!

My workmate, now feverish with pride, told me how she injected capital into the business, bought a number of computers, printers and copiers and set her daughter and two sons up in her living room, (daughter writes, her two siblings draw) she continued to say that the house has now become a printery, with her car ferrying printed papers to printeries for binding, and subsequently to bookshops for selling. She now exports books to Rwanda and Sudan, and has started doing market research in areas of Nothern, eastern and Western uganda.
We are talking a girl who came across as young, callow and uninspired not so long ago.

For me, given my interest in writing, and all that comes with it, this is quite an inspiration, that someone i know closely took it and made it professional! Props to her!
Notwithstanding, the books are directed to young English learning, however, everyone starts somewhere, right?

This has struck a chord in me, making money in this town shouldn't only be by selling clothes or shoes, egg farms, real estate etc, i think, Ugandan's minds have reached a discerning stage where we can think outside the box and start creating jobs for ourselves, in addition to being enterpreneurs.

I will meet her later this week for a run-through.