Homophobic backlash after couple's kiss
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Couple face homophobic backlash after kiss goes viral
“Is this another publicity stunt by the gay community?”A homophobic opinion piece, which described two men kissing on a metro train as “Simply disgusting”, went viral over the weekend resulting in a torrent of abuse being directed towards the young men.
Writing for local news website All Singapore Stuff – whose acronym pleasingly is ASS – the author of the take down piece asks the question: “What if my children saw this and asked ‘Mummy, why are the two men kissing?’
“Would I have to answer ‘It’s the same as normal love and marriage…'” It would be lovely is this is where they finished writing, but alas that’s not the case. The ‘writer’ continues: “The only difference is that one man opens his buttocks for the other man to put his private part inside but in the end, no babies come out. They only get AIDS?!”
Adding: “Is this another publicity stunt by the gay community?
“Most people in SG already know they exist but would prefer that they just go back inside the closet and stop seeking attention,” they add.
One of the men who features in the photo is Australian Peter Eggenhuizen; he explained to the starobserver.com that he “felt mortified and violated,” by the takedown piece.
“To rub salt into the wound, the author went on to attack my act of love and affection. But I feel the need to rise above it and raise awareness that this is unacceptable, he added.”
“In many countries homosexuality is still illegal and this could have real and dangerous consequences,” he said.
“By being openly gay in Australia the risk of homophobic attacks increases, whether that be verbal, physical, or in our case online.
“I will continue to spread my love and do it my way. Spread love, not hate.”
The – and we use this term in its loosest sense – ‘author’ of the homophobic piece, concludes their sentiments by quoting a member of the country’s governing People’s Action Party, Chan Chun Sing. The politician and Minister in the Prime Minister’s office was addressing around 300 students in September when he said: “I’m not going to discriminate … (You’re free to do) whatever you do behind your bedroom doors … It’s not my problem. I’m not a sex policeman … But if you tell everyone to champion pro-LGBT or anti-LGBT (causes), it (might) cause social divisions, so (I have to step in) to be the policeman in the middle.”
“It seems that we really need sex policemen like Mr Chan,” argues the article’s author, “And stricter laws to keep the urges of the gay community in check.
“The gay minority can do whatever they want in their bedroom but they should not be going around promoting the gay lifestyle and demanding for gay marriage. They can be gay but we have our right not to accept their behaviour in public.”
Homosexuality is still illegal in Singapore and same-sex activity between men can be punished with up to two years in prison, although the law is generally not enforced. The past few years have proven a difficult time for LGBT rights in the country with its Pink Dot festival – the closest thing they have to an LGBT Pride celebration – coming under fire from the government for their external sponsors.
This year’s gathering, which took place on Saturday 4 June, was supported this year by a total of 18 companies – double the sponsors from 2015 – including Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook and Apple.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) released a statement in response to the increasing popularity of the event at the time, asking sponsors not to “fund, support or influence” Singaporean issues.
They said: “The Government’s general position has always been that foreign entities should not interfere in our domestic issues, especially political issues or controversial social issues with political overtones.
“These are political, social or moral choices for Singaporeans to decide for ourselves. LGBT issues are one such example.”
The country’s Prime Minister also warned LGBT groups to not “push the agenda too hard” last year, as he believes the country isn’t ready for movements such as same-sex marriage.
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Other LGBT issues that have emerged in the past include a petition to ban Adam Lambert from performing due to his sexual orientation and the boycott Madonna’s Rebel Heart concert.
What do you think about this whole issue?
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Sounds like another non issue on a site that doesn't matter anyway. How about the gays being slaughtered in the middle east? Is that too controversial to report about in the news? Cause in my opinion that's a lot bigger problem than some conservative site whining about a kiss.