Tory Minister Alan Duncan slammed for saying 'primitive cultures' have anti-LGBT problem
41 replies, posted
[quote]
A Conservative Minister has claimed that homophobia is worse in “more primitive cultures,” sparking criticism from LGBT campaigners who have called his language “inappropriate” and have accused him of “forgetting that anti-gay laws were a colonial import.”
International Development Minister Alan Duncan, who is the first openly homosexual Conservative MP, used the vocabulary during an interview with The Huffington Post UK in which he was asked about the UK’s international campaign against homophobia.
“Some countries are going backwards [on LBGT rights] and the use of gay hate as a vulgar form of nationalism is contemptible in my view,” he told the website.
Asked whether there are religious motivations behind some of the anti-gay laws in Africa and elsewhere, Mr Duncan replied: “All over the world there is often a collision between gay rights and religious fundamentalism, if you want to call it that. And that collision is difficult to resolve, particularly in more primitive cultures.”
“A lot of the religious zeal is not within the formal Episcopal Church. And of course in a lot of cases it’s also Islamic,” he added.
“But all countries are different, all societies are different. The leadership and influence structures in all societies are different. It’s an issue which has to be advanced in different ways in different countries in a variety of different approaches,” said Mr Duncan.
Mr Duncan's comments have since come under fire from LGBT rights activist Peter Tatchell. Mr Tatchell, who has on two occasions attempted a citizen’s arrest of President Robert Mugabe against alleged torture in Zimbabwe, condemned Mr Duncan’s comments for “demonising” populations.
“"Primitive" is not appropriate language. We mustn’t forget that homophobic attitudes were exported to many of these countries by Britain during the colonial era,” he told The Independent.
“We imposed anti-gay laws upon them. Our missionaries created an ideology of homophobic hatred. Prior to colonialism most of these societies had no anti-gay laws and no serious homophobic prejudice.
“We must always remember that there are liberal progressive people in some of the most homophobic countries. They are fighting against homophobic ideas. We should support them rather than demonising the general population.”
“I don’t think it is right to generalise about other countries no matter how bigoted some sections of the population are. Alan Duncan’s language risks fuelling racist stereotypes. I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way but a self-correction might be a good thing,” he added.
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[url]http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tory-minister-alan-duncan-slammed-for-saying-primitive-cultures-have-antilgbt-problem-9255058.html[/url]
Many people in India recognized 3 genders before they were westernized.
[QUOTE=Rubs10;44521182]Many people in India recognized 3 genders before they were westernized.[/QUOTE]
true, hijras and the like.
[QUOTE=Paige;44521964]true, hijras and the like.[/QUOTE]
what about tulpas
[QUOTE=HOT PISS;44522486]what about tulpas[/QUOTE]
I think that's a Tibetan thing.
[QUOTE=HOT PISS;44522486]what about tulpas[/QUOTE]
for a moment i forgot what a tulpa was and when i slowly remembered i felt the same disappointment that i felt the first time i learned what it was
The Middle East though has nearly always hated gays and I'd call them primitive.
I agree with this guy, mostly.
I don't see the problem with this, it's mostly true. There are some cultures that accept it more then others but for the most part he's completely right.
Homophobia is a symptom of primitive, slack jawed, knuckle dragging and ignorant [U]thinking[/U], more like.
[QUOTE=Vodkavia;44523201].[/QUOTE]
extremist liberals can be anti-gay and extremist conservatives can be progay.
[QUOTE=Rubs10;44521182]Many people in India recognized 3 genders before they were westernized.[/QUOTE]
They also had a caste system, sati, child marriage, women couldn't own property, widow disfigurement, and homosexuality was poorly accepted.
[QUOTE=download;44523016]The Middle East though has nearly always hated gays and I'd call them primitive.
I agree with this guy, mostly.[/QUOTE]
The example is very situational, that'd imply most countries were primitive up until 20 or so years ago.
Still, nobody's going to argue that the middle east isn't behind the times on a lot of things.
[QUOTE=minilandstan;44523283]The example is very situational, that'd imply most countries were primitive up until 20 or so years ago.
Still, nobody's going to argue that the middle east isn't behind the times on a lot of things.[/QUOTE]
There's a difference between not liking gay people and the government executing gays.
This is really offensive to us Muslims. I hope that the liberal fools are aware that they're offending a group of minorities while they defend another.
[QUOTE=Allah;44524033]This is really offensive to us Muslims. I hope that the [U]liberal[/U] fools are aware that they're offending a group of minorities while they defend another.[/QUOTE]
[quote]A [U]Conservative[/U] Minister has claimed that homophobia is worse in “more primitive cultures,”[/quote]
[QUOTE=Lonestriper;44524064][/QUOTE]
Jokes on you, I was only pretending.
[QUOTE=J!NX;44523205]extremist liberals can be anti-gay and extremist conservatives can be progay.[/QUOTE]
Perhaps a Libertarian but gay rights and "Family values" never really mix politically unfortunately.
[editline]12th April 2014[/editline]
To think that 60 years ago people in the UK were forced to undergo chemical castration and suffer in mental asylums for their homosexuality. Glad to see the UK kind of leading the way.
[QUOTE=download;44523016]The Middle East though has nearly always hated gays and I'd call them primitive.
I agree with this guy, mostly.[/QUOTE]
I'm not sure anybody can call the Middle East 'primitive', given that they've contributed more to mathematics and science over the past thousand years than many European countries have
If the only imagery of the Middle East that you have seen is the ramshackle huts and dusty cracked streets with soldiers walking down then I suggest you find some more realistic imagery
Are we too scared to admit that Western cultures are generally superior to those with less human rights and religious fascism indoctrinated into theirs? Yes I'd say Western culture is quite superior to those who don't support those things the West aspires too, and would call them primitive.
[QUOTE=Allah;44524079]Jokes on you, I was only pretending.[/QUOTE]
allah not so akbar
[QUOTE=Vasili;44524495]Are we too scared to admit that Western cultures are generally superior to those with less human rights and religious fascism indoctrinated into theirs? Yes I'd say Western culture is quite superior to those who don't support those things the West aspires too, and would call them primitive.[/QUOTE]
Who's to say that some aspects of Western cultures don't feature human rights violations and religious fascism? Look at the bible belt in America.
[QUOTE=Maloof?;44524258]I'm not sure anybody can call the Middle East 'primitive', given that they've contributed more to mathematics and science over the past thousand years than many European countries have
[/QUOTE]
Yeah, up until that one Islam leader decided to basically challenge science, and 'won'.
As of right now, and compared to the morals of most 20-30 yr olds in the US and Europe, the Middle East is very primitive.
[QUOTE=J!NX;44523205]extremist liberals can be anti-gay and extremist conservatives can be progay.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, when it suits them
[QUOTE=Maloof?;44524258]I'm not sure anybody can call the Middle East 'primitive', given that they've contributed more to mathematics and science over the past thousand years than many European countries have
If the only imagery of the Middle East that you have seen is the ramshackle huts and dusty cracked streets with soldiers walking down then I suggest you find some more realistic imagery[/QUOTE]
Middle east isn't exactly primitive. However east of it in the Stans.
Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc. Those are tribal and primitive comparatively.
[editline]12th April 2014[/editline]
Also muslim africa isn't exactly the greatest. Somalia and such.
[QUOTE=Maloof?;44524258]I'm not sure anybody can call the Middle East 'primitive', given that they've contributed more to mathematics and science over the past thousand years than many European countries have.[/QUOTE]
It depends. The Middle Eastern countries did a lot between about 600 and 1300, but after that they heavily stagnated. The Europeans meanwhile began to pick up during the early modern period, and became the main centre of scientific and technological advancement until recently.
Is it true that the vast majority of countries in Africa that are extremely anti-gay are former British colonies?
[QUOTE=Maloof?;44524258]I'm not sure anybody can call the Middle East 'primitive', given that they've contributed more to mathematics and science over the past thousand years than many European countries have
If the only imagery of the Middle East that you have seen is the ramshackle huts and dusty cracked streets with soldiers walking down then I suggest you find some more realistic imagery[/QUOTE]
500 years ago, when we were still burning people at the stake for witchcraft.
Right now the West is far superior.
[QUOTE=Vodkavia;44524063]Who believes what is not the point I was making.I am talking IDEAS not people. If a liberal suddenly thinks complete laise faire economics is a nice and dandy idea, does that make it a liberal idea? Maybe a few hundred years ago but not today. Especially not homophobia, because the very premise of homophobia is NOT liberal in any sense of the word.[/QUOTE]
Believe it or not, there are way more important ideals than gay marriage to base a political structure on. And conservative thinking isn't ignorant thinking, it's something different. It's ignorant to be anti-gay however. You can be ignorant and a liberal, libertarian, conservative, whatever.
[QUOTE=Stockers678;44525176]Is it true that the vast majority of countries in Africa that are extremely anti-gay are former British colonies?[/QUOTE]
Well it doesn't help that missionaries from the US and Europe are helping fuel this or that Islamic groups influenced by the middle-east hate it.
[QUOTE=Rubs10;44521182]Many people in India recognized 3 genders before they were westernized.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, but doesn't stop the third gender from being treated like total shit
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