There’s much more to it than what you’ve just said. The connection to the Ethio. Orthodox Church isn’t something that’s agreed upon by all Rastas, or all Ethiopian Orthodox, for that matter.

Rastafarianism is just an offshot of Ethiopian Christianity with the twist that they smoke ganja and worship Haile Selassie as God incarnate. They also hold Afrocentrist nonsense in their movement and condemn western society, even though their “moral” views descend directly from Fundamentalist Christianity and Orthodox Judaism.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/tx/documentaries/gayinja.shtml

Should help explain a bit of the background.

It also strikes me that Americans (including me) tend to assume that the rest of the world should be like us, rather than acknowledging that we don’t have any real cultural claim to “superiority.”

What I’m *not* suggesting: that Banton is right. I believe him to be very wrong on this issue. But it might help the whole cause (on many levels) if, say, Americans were to look for ways of starting a dialogue with Jamaicans in general, and with Jamaican Christians *and* Rastas. All too often, we tend to come off as arrogant (not to mention rich!) in the eyes of those in other countries who have much less than we do.

My thought is that that is exactly the place where most Jamaicans are, and that it’s not their fault. For every man who appears to be “eye candy” to American and European tourists (of all sexual orientations), there are probably 3-5 more people at home who are depending on that man’s salary. Hate and anger can be as much about people who don’t have much seeing those who do as uncaring about them and their culture. I’m afraid that observations (made by anyone) about “eye candy” might only serve to fuel negative perceptions of those who make them.

My .02-worth, anyway…

Many outrageously claim that all gay murders are done by other gays who are jealous/jilted lovers, etc. When a crowd of people beat to death a gay man, how exactly is that a crime of passion among gays? When a father incites a crowd to kill his own son, how is that pleasing to “God”?

Weird that in other countries pot makes people mellow and loving (Woodstock, anyone?). I really don’t understand Rastafarian beliefs, but the explanations here–it’s interpretation of Leviticus/connection to Fundamentalist Christianity–is very revealing.

NOTICE THAT THE OTHER DANCEHALL ARTISTS INCLUDING OTHER SMM ACTS LIKE SIZZLA AND CAPLETON TO NAME A FEW HAVE BEEN VERY QUIET DURING BUJU’S TOSSLE WITH THE AMERICAN LGBT COMMUNITY.

This is very instructive as Buju has been alone in this I feel the other acts fear there earnings and reputations may also be damaged from joining the discussions.

The level of scorn that is implied in the anti gay statements fits pefectly into the anti gay sentiments on the ground whether those sentiments are real or just clandestine gays hiding theit true selves is another matter which I have addressed and will continue to address on my blog.
(see labels on situational homosexuality and down low lifestyles)
http://glbtqjamaica.blogspot.com/search/label/Down%20Low%20Lifestyles

http://glbtqjamaica.blogspot.com/search/label/Situational%20Homosexuality

There is more to this so called opposition than meets the eye friends and those issues also need to be carefully elicidated if we are to make any meaningful moves towards tolerance as a nation.

It’s a loooonnnng run ahead.

H

You can read an important article about Buju Banton in this Time Magazine article: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1182991,00.html “The Most Homophobic Place on Earth?” Britain has given asylum to a number of Jamaican gay men because of the extreme homophobia and violence in Jamaica. This article also has an account of an alleged armed assault on six gay men in Kingston, Jamaica, in 2004. Buju Banton was later arrested for this assault, but it never came to trial. Buju claims that he was “cleared” of the assault charges. http://www.gargamelmusic.com/artists_buju_time4.html In actuallity the case never came to trial. No evidence was ever presented to a jury. Buju was neither “cleared” nor “acquitted” of the charges.

Buju Banton is a very homophobic man. He comes from a country which is very homophobic. Buju’s religious background and beliefs, fundamentalist Christian and Rastafarian, are extremely homophobic. I believe that he believes that the Old Testament of the Bible requires that homosexuals be executed. What he says in YouTube video “Elephant Man Buju Banton Shabba Ranks Boom Bye Bye” is that he thinks homosexuals should be executed, in so many words.

We need to keep the pressure on during the final two and a half weeks of his current tour. See http://cancelbujubanton.wetpaint.com/

The guy’s a moron, I don’t know why anyone would even bother talking to a guy this far gone? What they should be doing is waiting to find him on his knees in a bathroom stall.