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UPDATE: DAKAR,
Senegal -- A mob attacked gay
people in a neighborhood in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria,
dragging young men from their homes, beating them with nail-studded clubs and
whips, and shouting that they were "cleansing the community" of gays, several
Nigerian activists and a witness said Saturday.
"Silence Is Golden"
And it says a lot: the recent violence in Nigeria against gays and Uganda's new
draconian law have drawn criticism from around the world at the highest levels
(President Obama chimed in on Uganda), but America's Christian Right has
remained obsequiously silent, perhaps because it is satisfied with a job well
done.
LAGOS, NIGERIA -- Activists say that dozens more people have been rounded up, arrested and questioned across Nigeria for being perceived to be gay just over a week after the president signed a law criminalizing gay organizations, meetings as well as same-sex marriage.
Ifeanyi Kelly Orazulike, Executive Director of the Nigeria-based International Center for Advocacy on Right to Health, said Friday that over two days more than 30 people have been detained. He says 12 people have been arrested in Oyo state in the southwest, six in Imo state in the southeast, eight in central Abuja and six in Anambra state in the southeast.
In Bauchi State, in northern Nigeria, police have reportedly arrested dozens of gay men in the past few weeks. The AP reports that police targeted gay men, tortured them into naming others, and are hunting more gay men down...As Africa's most populous country, developments in Nigeria echo across the continent, and there appears little other countries can do except condemn the new legislation.
And while Britain's
Anglican Church has spoken
out against the rise of violence, virtually no African churches have called for
a stop to the "diminishing" of gays.
The Irony Is Not Lost
"Nigeria is a Godly nation" say supporters of its latest bill
criminalizing homosexuality. The "Godly" could have been added last
week, however, replacing "corrupt, for c orruption in Nigeria has been endemic to the country for
over 100 years. The "Nigerian Scam" (or "419 scam") plagued
the early days of the internet, but was born from colonial days. And with the
corruption, mob violence has a place in Nigerian minds as a part of its
justice, hence the current violence against gays erupting in places like Lagos.
No Real Response ... Yet
After a dignified period of time, left-leaning journalists, gay activists and
even MSM might start asking questions of our sacred cows. Of course, Bryan
Fischer will cheer the violence by saying "they asked for it" and
Scott Lively will respond with "I've never advocated violence," so
today's tacit approval lies in the hands of people like:
Tony Perkins - when called
upon to address the situation, Perkins will probably say the same thing he said
during the appearance of Uganda's "kill the gays" bill: we should
keep out of the affairs of foreign countries.
Mike Huckabee - part of
the "Blood Libel" group ("AIDS is the gay plague"), Mike
Huckabee once advocated quarantining PWA's while everyone knew he was simply
calling for all gays to be rounded up. His rhetoric has since toned down a bit,
linking gays to evil liberals. His true feelings (and views towards a possible
response) were probably lost in those 10 years of sermons conveniently
destroyed (or lost, or something)
Rod Parsley - the man who
said "Islam is of the devil" during John McCain's candidacy and
doomed his own megachurch's future (it's in terrible debt), once conspired with
Mike Huckabee to convert the African nation of Zimbabwe away from
homosexuality.
Franklin Graham - Graham
will say nothing. It is not in the interest of God's America to say anything.
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