Letters to the Editor
View(s):LGBTQI rights: It’s time as a country we grew up and shed a bit of ignorance
I have been watching with interest the ongoing posturing and contortions in the media, civil society groups, and government over the reaction to the Equal Ground project to encourage LGBTQI tourism in Sri Lanka, and if nothing else, it amplifies how far behind Sri Lanka is in its thinking on homosexuality compared to the rest of the world. If what we are led to believe by our religious leaders, who appoint themselves our moral guardians, LGBTQI tendencies are repugnant, deviant, and forced upon us by liberal Western thinking that has no place in Sri Lanka and should be resisted at all costs.
This despite the fact that same sex relationships have been a part of the fabric of all societies for centuries including Sri Lanka among both men and women, and our historical records make mention of this. Religious doctrine on the other hand appears to be less tolerant of human nature. However, both Lord Buddha and Jesus Christ preached a doctrine of compassion and tolerance, and as the late Pope Francis is to have said “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?” Perhaps Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith might wish to reflect on that before making his next pronouncement. It is indeed ironic that the Catholic Church around the world is mired in investigations into sexual abuse of young and vulnerable (usually male) children by its (male) clergy, and the covering up of these incidences seem to take priority over the well-being of the victims. Similar allegations against (male) Buddhist clergy regarding Samaneras in their care are common, though the popular consensus is that such acts could not be committed by such good Sinhala Buddhists so don’t really happen at all.
As the parent of a young gay man, I can confirm that a person is born the way they are and cannot taught to be gay, whatever the hysterical, misinformed media hype around the subject might be. Of course, young people are curious and may go through a period in their teens of uncertainty and experimentation before settling on their sexuality. In my son’s case we had an idea from a very early age that he might be gay, but we never discussed it with him in either a positive or a negative manner, and we allowed him to find his own way. He told us he was gay in his early twenties, and I will admit, his mother and I had many sleepless nights following this. Not because we were ashamed for him. Quite the contrary, we were proud that he had decided to take a principled stand and be the person he was despite the adverse environment he would have to live in.
As parents we would never stop loving him, but we were afraid of the hate and mistrust that we knew would come his way because of the way he was made. The hate, mistrust, and hypocrisy that has long been a part of Sri Lankan society, even while LGBTQI has been a part of it at every level for centuries, but never really had the label that it has today. That hypocrisy is being articulated today by civil and religious leaders and our media including in Columns of the Sunday Times of October 5. It is time that as a country we grew up and shed a bit of ignorance.
C. Rajasinhe Via email
The bags should have prices printed on them
Regarding the article in your newspaper of October 12, I wish to submit my opinion and suggestion.
The govt. plans to issue a gazette notification for consumers to pay for shopping /sili-sili bags issued by traders along with goods purchased. This will cause confusion and chaos between consumers and traders as to what price to charge for different size bags. To overcome this potential problematic situation, the manufacturers of these bags must be requested to print a price on each of the different size of bags, so that the trader can charge this extra cost to goods purchased and issue a bill accordingly and the consumers are aware of this. Hope the authorities concerned, consider including this in their proposed action plan.
Jayasingha Perera Via email
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