Wednesday, November 02, 2011

Is The United Kingdom's Threat to Withhold Foreign Aid From Anti-Gay Countries Working?

A number of nations in Africa that have been fertile fields for the export of American Christianist and hate group homophobia are having conniption fits over the United Kingdom's threat to withhold foreign aid funds from nations that mistreat their LGBT citizens. The Daily Mail has coverage on Prime Minister David Cameron's (pictured at left) statements on Britain's new foreign aid policy here. Zimbabwe's president - Morgan Tsvangirai pictured below left - seems to be trying to have his cake and eat it too by purportedly kissing up to American Christianist inspired anti-gay extremists by stressing his Christian beliefs while using the Gospel message as a basis to dodge supporting anti-gay language in Zimbabwe's new constitution. New Zimbabwe has coverage of Tsvangirai's statement on gay rights and the new national constitution. Here are highlights:

My beliefs on this issue are a matter of public record. My beliefs “I want to put finality and closure to an issue that has been misinterpreted, the issue of the so-called gay rights. manifest themselves in my practice.
I am a Christian associated with the Methodist church. I am a father. I am a grandfather. I am a family man.

I am a Zimbabwean and I know the strong feelings of Zimbabweans about this issue. I have those strong feelings too but in the end, Zimbabweans are making their own Constitution and it is that Constitution which will bind every Zimbabwean.

What I refuse to do as a loyal son of God and as a social democrat is to persecute, to judge, to condemn and to vilify people for their own opinions because judgment is a preserve of God the Almighty.

The Book of Luke Chapter 6 verse 37: “Do not judge and you will not be judged, do not condemn and you will not be condemned.”

The Book of John Chapter 8 verse 7: “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone…”

So while I may differ with them, as a Christian and as a social democrat, I refuse to throw a stone at them.

God bless you.

As the saying goes, money talks. Hopefully the leaders of other African nations will stop acting as "Uncle Tom's" to their Christianist masters and follow Tsvangirai lead. I'd also add that it would be a nice development if the USA adopted a similar policy on foreign aid. No doubt the whores of the Christian Right in the GOP would shriek and howl, but it would be worthwhile to force them to openly show that they support hatred, bigotry, and violence against LGBT individuals.

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