The pastor’s cause was utterly repugnant
Dear Editor,
On Saturday, the 20th of August, a pastor in Linden staged a march against homosexuality and expressed his displeasure in President David Granger’s consideration of repealing the current laws which criminalise homosexual acts. Also, he vividly expressed his hatred for the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD). What an abhorrent thing to do. Firstly, we need to remember that Guyana is a secular nation and while everyone is entitled to free speech, it’s quite clear that this pastor’s cause was utterly repugnant. The President’s consideration of repealing the anti-gay laws is actually a move in a positive direction. The march only shows how backward Guyanese citizens can be. In first world countries such as America or France you’ll find that society has accepted those whose sexual orientations are different from what is perceived as normal, well, except for the Ku Klux Klan.
Also, you don’t have to be gay to know that being attracted to a male is a choice. A man can choose who he wants to sleep with but he absolutely can’t choose who he is attracted to. It’s simply how people were born, and they shouldn’t be ostracized for being like that. Does it affect the quality of work done? Absolutely not. Hating somebody for being born differently is just like racism. And this world is no place for such hate groups. Many people have hidden their sexual preference (‘hiding in the closet’) due to people like the pastor who staged that march. The same fear of these haters leads some to commit suicide; instead of taking their lives they could have been valuable to the growth of the nation. And we still ask ourselves why Guyana is a third world country.
This march comes exactly one week after the Ku Klux Klan and Neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in America. The KKK is noted for its hatred of coloured people as well as homosexuals. It left fifteen injured and one dead. While these hate groups have become minorities in America, they still are everywhere even though they shouldn’t be. The march in Linden echoed the Charlottesville incident, and it probably was influenced by it. As a student, I strongly condemn the anti-homosexual march in Linden as well as all forms of hatred towards those who are perceived as ‘different’.
The only way we can move forward in this world is if we put our differences aside and come together as one.
Yours faithfully, Nikhil Sankar