Dilemma Friday: What would you do?
Friday, January 8, 2010Posted in: Azteclady Speaks, Dilemma of the week
The setup for this dilemma should be entirely hypothetical but, sadly, it may become reality for millions of people soon.
In Uganda there is currently under consideration a bill for a law that would make being homosexual illegal (those interested can read the entire outrageous document here [and keep track of the typos while you are at it—it’s sad])
Two points of interest for the sake of this dilemma:
A) A person who knows of someone else’s homosexuality is criminally liable (up to three years in prison, in fact) if he or she doesn’t report the crime/criminal within 24 hours of coming by the knowledge of that second person’s homosexuality.
B) Promoting homosexuality is punishable by no less than five years in jail. While there is no precise definition of what “promoting homosexuality” is, the tone of the document leads me to believe that any positive statement or observation of homosexuality would be considered criminal under the law.
Today’s dilemma:
You are a resident of Uganda. The anti-homosexuality act in question has been passed and is now law. Your adult child comes to you and tells you that s/he is homosexual. Further, s/he tells you that s/he has been reading about homosexuality, gender identity, human rights, etc. online—exchanging information with other homosexual individuals inside and outside of Uganda—and then offers to share with you some of that literature, to help you understand that homosexuality is not unnatural nor a choice.
What do you do?
To clarify the question: would you report your adult child for the ‘crime’ of being homosexual and/or the crime of ‘promoting’ homosexuality through his/her reading and online activity?
~~~*~~~*~~~
You can read a bit more about how this bill came about here.
Leslee
January 8
11:47 am
Tell my child I love them and then find a way to get us out of Uganda ASAP! If the government makes it illegal than they will be able to track what he/she is doing over the internet and will be coming for him/her.
Unfortunately, I don’t know if others would do the same for their children. I would like to think that they would but I am a realist.
katieM
January 8
12:26 pm
First, get my child out of Uganda, preferably completely out of Africa. Second, get the rest of my family out of Uganda after I’m sure my child is in a safer place.
I would hope that the rest of the world would boycott and shun Uganda. Imagine if your neighbor is jealous of you or simply dislikes you, all he or she has to do is say you’re homosexual and off to jail you go. And what’s next? It’s illegal to be too dark or too light? It’s illegal to be too tall, too short, too fat, or too skinny?
Marianne McA
January 8
2:02 pm
How I’d feel would depend a good deal on to what extent and how the law was enforced, and on how democratic Uganda is.
And given my imaginary child’s an adult, it’d be their decision really. If I felt they were in real danger, I’d probably urge them to leave and be safe, but I wouldn’t feel I could make that choice for them: if they chose to stay in the country, and fight for their rights, I hope I’d have the courage to support them.
Las
January 8
2:09 pm
If leaving was a possibility then we’re out of there…if he wanted to go, that is. As an adult it’d be his choice, and while I’d urge him to be careful, if he wanted to break the (stupid, ridiculous, godforsaken American fundamentalists encouraged) law I’d be a willing accomplice.
AztecLady
January 8
2:13 pm
My apologies, I wasn’t very clear in how I originally phrased the question above.
In the scenario described, you have 24hrs to either report your child for the crime of being homosexual, or be part of said crime–punishable with up to 7 years in jail.
Lori
January 8
2:19 pm
I’d already be in jail for protesting the law so I guess it’s moot anyway.
Las
January 8
2:58 pm
Frankly, I probably wouldn’t report any real crime that my hypothetical child committed (unless he was a serial rapist or murderer). I sure as hell wouldn’t report this. I have no problem with breaking those kinds of laws.
Sparkindarkness
January 8
3:08 pm
Flee.
Not only flee but, because the law also includes provisions for extradition of gay Ugandans when they leave the country, flee to a nation that will allow asylum and not honour that law – that may require leaving Africa entirely. An extreme step, but it’s literally life or death
This law will impose the death penalty on homosexuals, or (if it is successfully watered down) life imprisonment…
There is little you can do in the face of such extreme state sponsored persecution – or given that it’s the death penalty for homosexuals – state sponsored genocide of homosexuals except flee the country.
If you don’t you risk your child being killed and your family imprisoned for not turning him in.
If fleeing wasn’t an option – well, neither’s reporting. It’s a matter of hiding and fighting and praying that the state doesn’t find and destroy your family
Shiloh Walker
January 8
3:22 pm
Get out. Only logical, viable choice.
Fae Sutherland
January 8
4:03 pm
Run. Absolutely, no question. But I’d have left a country that passed a law like that already, so it’s kind of moot. If a law like that were to be passed here in the States, I’d be gone asap and not look back. Because I’m bi and would be a criminal too.
Las
January 8
4:43 pm
It’s not that easy to leave your country and legally enter another one…at least, not a country that would be better than the one your currently in. Not to mention the issues of language and employment. If leaving weren’t a feasible option, what would you do then?
sallahdog
January 8
5:43 pm
There are laws that protect others from harm, like robbery, murder, etc.. those I would turn my kid in for if they physically or financially harmed another.. but homosexuality…no… I also wouldnt turn them in for littering.. Since this is hypothetical, I would only be living in the US, so if this law came into effect here, I would protest, do whatever I had to do, and go to jail if I must.. If enough people did that, the sheer weight of people hitting the prison system would cripple it..
Melissa Blue
January 8
9:03 pm
What everyone here said. Though I’m more curious if this is something the UN should be doing intervening with, especially if Uganda is willing to put homosexuals to death.Yes, a small minority of people would probably agree, but I think (hope) in this day and age that a majority opinion is that homosexuals don’t deserve to die.
Angelia Sparrow
January 8
9:10 pm
Me personally? Get out of the country. I’ve already stood up to everyone from my husband to the school principal for my GLBT child. But the government of a country, especially one where the majority support such a law, that I can’t stand up to.
However, as a hypothetical resident of Uganda, it is far more likely I would believe gays are serial killers, child rapists and Nazis (yes, this is a talking point from the conference held there by American Evangelicals that sparked this law) than that they are real people like my kid.
@Melissa, don’t be so sure. This law is a direct outgrowth of American meddling.
The Death Penalty is for those having gay sex while HIV positive. The average gay person would simply be imprisoned for life, or until conversion to heterosexuality.
Melissa Blue
January 8
11:05 pm
@Angelina The UN consists of more than the United States. The article referenced plainly states the US, because it’s a US paper, but I seriously doubt the US is the only country that thinks this new bill is utter crap.
katieM
January 9
12:40 am
@Angelia this is not an outgrowth of American meddling but of some crazy Evangelicals who happened to be U.S. citizens. I highly doubt the U.S. government would sanction such actions. No legitimate government would extradite asylum seekers to Uganda for death or life imprisonment just for being gay. And, what about those heterosexuals who are HIV positive and have unprotected sex – are they in line for the death penalty, too?
Remember the Holocaust? Leaving was the only option if you wanted to be safe. You can’t fight from a gas chamber. How long did the atrocities go on before the rest of the world finally got balls enough to put a stop to it? How many families died for their faith?
Karen Scott
January 9
5:11 pm
Nope, not gonna report my child, and I would do anything within my power to leave the country, however I’m speaking as a citizen of the ‘civilised’ west. Who knows what I’d do if I was a Ugandan.
Angelia Sparrow
January 9
9:39 pm
katieM, the bill only executes those guilty of Aggravated Homosexuality. It has nothing to say about heterosexuals.
Here’s the Time Magazine link on the US cause of the bill.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1946645,00.html
It names Scott Lively and Rick Warren, yes, Obama’s good buddy from the inaugeral. But those of us following this knew that much.
The BBC is up in arms. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8412962.stm
What worries me is the grass-roots who are cheering it on saying that the US and UK and everyone needs the same kind of laws.
Julia Rachel Barrett
January 10
12:15 am
1. Shades of Nazi Germany. Very scary. The political situation in Uganda has been calm, or rather, calmer, of late. I’m sad to learn this is now happening and I think Americans need to educated themselves about the rest of the world before they open their damn mouths. I would get my child the hell out of there because death can come very quickly. Remember Rwanda and the Congo? Remember Wyoming and Matthew Shepard? Remember the movie Boys Don’t Cry? I lived back in the Midwest when that happened.