Course accreditation crisis in top Ugandan Universities

Thankfully, this is just an opinion rather than determinative.

It is also judgmental and rude and should be met in-kind.

 

Explanation: Your rigorous biblical morality seems to have many similarities to the rigorous Quran morality of the Taliban.

Of course there are differences also like as mentioned, the Taliban has a much larger organization supporting their philosophy.

 

Bill, when the US Supreme Court effectively declared sodomy to be illegal in 1987 (Bowers v Hardwick), did you see substantial similarities between the high court and the Taliban? I recognize this ruling was later overruled, but that isn't my point. What you and Garp call "similarities" with the Taliban are actually quite traditional Western and American viewpoints. The appeal to the Taliban is an appeal to low-hanging fruit-- an indefensible and ahistorical comparison designed to scandalize sound-bite intellectuals.

 

I assume that the comparison to the Taliban was a hopeless attempt to get you to see your position from a fresh perspective.

 

As I've matured and have tried to look at things with more complexity, I'm often given to ask, "What am I attempting to do here?" And if that is not possible, I stop.

 

And I mean this respectfully to all. I'm sure someone with convictions this rock-hard regarding the issue isn't going to be swayed by an argument on an internet chat board. That person's beliefs are far too strong for that.

 

I agree completely. It seemed clear to me that Garp also accepted that his statement about the Taliban was not at all likely to bear fruit. The reason I even mentioned it is that Michael seemed to think it was somehow meant to be getting into the details about the rightness or wrongness of the position. Which I'm sure wasn't the case. Like you said that you try to look at complex issues from multiple perspectives.

 

I am African and a non-muslim but primarily African society isn't in on gay activities. I ask a simple question, how come the West keeps pressuring Africa but do not mutter a word to the Emiratis who actually practice Sharia, I guess it's because no thanks to our leaders they've positioned themselves to be collectors when we have enough resources actually to cater for ourselves. In Nigeria it's not punishable by death but a prison term. However, there ar a lot of gay people walking around.
Sorry to sound this way but the gay conversation isn't put biggest headache in Africa at this time, getting to a better place is. We have economic and security issues which take priority. I bet many people in the West have never experienced tribal or religious unrest before or lost family members to these unrests and wars.
It's like saying because we like burgers, you should too.

 

I'm sorry, Elbulk. You're completely right and I apologize. I've upset some non-Africans here, too, for the same reason. The issues you mention are certainly the priorities. There is a lot here that I don't really know anything about, due to non-experience. etc. You said "I bet many people in the West have never experienced tribal or religious unrest before or lost family members to these unrests and wars."
I certainly haven't. I have much to learn here - and I should be quiet and take it all in. Thanks.

 

I'll be brief because we're outside the political forum but it's more like, we allow people to like burgers without the penalty of death, others should too.

Decriminalization of LGBT relationships has benefits for Africa, including economic (https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/lgbt-inclusion-economic-dev/)

Gay people are not a Western import.

 

I get it, but I'm not going to chime in here, because:

(1) I don't think I know enough to accomplish anything good by getting up again on my poorly-informed soapbox.

(2) I think there are hardly any (or perhaps no) gay people out there who would feel I'm doing anything positive for them by just pointing out punishments and saying they're unjust. And certainly, my type of criticism here doesn't appear fair or helpful to Africans in general, regardless of orientation.

I like your style, on this, Dustin. I'll keep reading what you and others say on this and hopefully I'll be a little smarter.

 

First off not every country has a death penalty, secondly, I'm Christian and cannot hate anyone. As I said before. we have more than enough resources in Africa to thrive. Personally, I don't criminalize anyone. Is the death penalty or other "punishments" too harsh? Yes. I believe that if I see your value as "wrong" the best way to deal with you is with love. I have been hit on by gay people, I have a friend who still struggles and I encourage him and have never in my life been cruel to him, we all have a side of us that doesn't sit well with others.

 

Your opinion is golden I must say. We are just different societies and may never understand each other's differences in some areas. People like me were brought up in educated societies with muti-culture and multi-nationalities and it's easier for us to comprehend or treat some things differently, the bulk of the population holds the culture they believe into their chests and strongly too. All I'm saying is let societies choose what they dim as next for them. By the way, I worked for a USAID-sponsored NGO before and they had programs for the LGBT. Am I an LGBT fan? No but do I love humanity? Yes. I would relate with people as people, we just need to respect each others' spaces as yours isn't superior to mine. They say opinions are like butts, we've all got one.

 

So again I ask, why don't these studies even apply to the Arab world? Why can't the West stand up to them? They are very cruel to these guys, the death penalty and more. It's like going for the easy prey. If the same hand is handed to say the Arab world, who by the way is like a straight dried stick that won't bend, then it may make more sense.

 

That is an interesting and poignant observation. Up until two weeks ago, I had a Ugandan national living with my family for several years. When I asked about the criminalization of sodomy in Uganda, I was told this: "We believe in the right to shape our culture and of self-determination." Like many nations, Uganda hasn't imbibed the new Western morality and, for some reason, many Westerners believe sovereign nations should roll over and accept whatever ethical position they decide. Ironically, the same people decry colonialism.

 

This is true, at least from where I stand.

 

In this country those two concepts are not mutually exclusive.

 

Or do I say I shouldn't hate anyone and I choose not to.

 

I am not sure that your assumption is correct that we "pressure" Africa but don't mutter a word about Arabs. If by pressuring you mean reporting on. I've seen many articles discussing this issue?

It doesn't really prove much but a search of:

Saudi Arabia turned up "About 190,000 results"
https://www.google.com/search?q=lgbtq+persecuted+in+saudi+arabia&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS869US869&oq=lgbtq+persecuted+in+saudi+arabia&aqs=chrome..69i57.380515488j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#ip=1

Emirati Arabia "About 83,000 results"
https://www.google.com/search?q=lgbtq+persecuted+in+emirati+arabic&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS869US869&sxsrf=AB5stBhSRU6KeqsCCu52PO9sMTB1GjY27g:1689612941680&ei=jXK1ZKGFKZWZwbkP2_-u6AI&oq=lgbtq+persecuted+in+emerati&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiG2xnYnRxIHBlcnNlY3V0ZWQgaW4gZW1lcmF0aSoCCAEyBxAhGKABGAoyBxAhGKABGApIgqkiUM-aIFjm4iFwBngAkAEAmAHFAaABpA6qAQQwLjExuAEByAEA-AEBwgIGEAAYFhgewgIEECMYJ8ICBRAhGKABwgIIECEYFhgeGB3CAgUQIRirAsICChAhGBYYHhgPGB3iAwQYASBBiAYB&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

Africa "About 616,000 results"
https://www.google.com/search?q=lgbtq+persecuted+in+africa&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS869US869&oq=lgbtq+persecuted+in+africa&aqs=chrome..69i57.381376139j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#ip=1

 

I say it again show me where the West comes out to tell the Emiratis that can face sanctions for not allowing LGBT people to express themselves freely. I may be wrong but it hardly exists. The way Africa is addressed is always different and its the fault of Africa for being too lazy to harness her resources and grow.