Rape treatment!




I had a heated argument once with a friend of mine on homosexuality. My friend, a doctor, is a born again Christian and a strong believer and has answers for all the questions from the Bible .He reminded me of the fire and destruction at Sodom and Gomorrah as the example of God’s attitude towards homosexuality. The people of Sodom were so obsessed with homosexuality that when the angels came to visit Loath at his home, they crowded in front of his house to get at those good looking guys. Loath, in all his good will to protect his guests, even offers them his own beautiful daughters for sex, but they were not interested. Thus the story goes. The name sodomy came from the name of this destroyed city.



This came to my mind when recently a gay boy joined the department as male nurse. From the beginning, I had felt he was different, but later came to know that a ‘friend’ of his had joined another ward, and they had come together to this place to work. They walk around as intense lovers can be, and share the room. He is one of the best behaved persons in the ward, and committed to his work. I have seen and heard the so called “normal” people secretly ridiculing them, but have wondered at the way they are able to live happily, unconcerned at all the jeers.

Then, last week, I came across this shuddering piece of news.

Lesbians living in South Africa are being subjected to "corrective rape" and severe violence by men trying to "cure" them of their sexual orientation, a human rights group have said. A report by the international NGO Action Aid, backed by the South African Human Rights Commission, said the horrific crimes against lesbians were going unrecognized by the state and unpunished by the legal system. The ferocity of the attack became clear in April last year when Eudy Simelane, former star of South Africa's national female football squad, became one of the victims. Miss Simelane, an equality rights campaigner and one of the first women to live openly as a lesbian, was gang-raped and brutally beaten before being stabbed 25 times in the face, chest and legs.


But scores more women have been deliberately targeted for rape, the Guardian reported.
Research shows 86 per cent of black lesbians from the Western Cape live in fear of sexual assault. Triangle, a gay rights organization, said it deals with up to 10 new cases of "corrective rape" every week.
Same-sex marriage is legal in South Africa and the country has among the most liberal laws on sexual orientation on a continent where many others ban gay sex. But the rapes in South Africa are a brutal sign that cultural attitudes remain deeply conservative.


In a country long plagued by violence, corruption, and an authoritarian government, Zimbabwe’s President Mugabe is one of the worst anti-gay autocrats in Africa. Mugabe has repeatedly located blame for his country’s ill fate and problems on lesbians and gay men, cultivating widespread bigotry and violence. His virulent homophobia has given rise to the rape of lesbian and gay male Zimbabweans, under the guise of “correcting” them into heterosexuality.


Isn’t it hard to believe such brutal crimes happen in the same world we live in, where we talk about equality and justice? Is being gay or lesbian something to be blamed and ridiculed?
The debates about homosexuality, in part because they often involve public policy and legal issues, tend to be sharply polarized.


The policy and legal debates surrounding homosexuality involve fundamental issues of morality and justice. Perhaps most centrally of all, they cut in to issues of personal identity and self-definition. Hence there is another, and even deeper, set of reasons for the polarization that marks these debates.


I still don’t see the rational in people thinking that being gay is a choice. Could you choose to be attracted to the same sex if it was socially beneficial to you? I was born with urges towards the opposite sex, and there is nothing at all that leads me to believe that it is the same feeling homosexuals have towards their sexuality. People are so ….ing arrogant sometimes, they will rationalize anything to fit their agenda. It has yet to be proven scientifically beyond a doubt, but the world of scientific research has determined that it is most likely a developmental and not a true genetic defect. Rather, a low hormone level during normal fetal development is the most likely culprit. It is not a choice for most, no more than say Down's syndrome or autism is a choice. Some straight, gays and lesbians, however, find attraction to both sexes as they likely received more normal hormone levels during development than a completely gay or lesbian individual but not as much as say a common straight individual.


We see a homosexual and say ‘Eeeeeh !”, but consider this, if later in life you get to know that your friend, brother, sister or your very own son or daughter are gay what would you do?
If you want to talk choice, let us talk about choice. There is a choice in being a Hindu, a Muslim, Baptist, Catholic, Pentecostal, or Evangelical. There are even so many "options" in being a Christian and each group will say they are right and the ones going to heaven.


Making a choice is limiting men and women based on a belief. For all those that say "Where's the gay gene." I would ask, "Where's the straight gene?" I personally hope they don't ever find it. If they do, then people will start screaming for gene therapy to get rid of gays. Then therapies to get rid of other things they find offensive.






27 comments:

  1. lol..the last pic made me laugh .

    I agree with you. Gays and lesbians have right to live the way they want. If someone is attracted to the same sex and is not bothering or disturbing others let them live happily.

    Good post doc..as always

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  2. Well I hope thye are allowedot live in peace .. Though personally I am not in favour of this all but i do accept that its there way of living we are no one to change them ...

    Bikram's

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  3. well... its never treated nice in our society n this part of world and even personally i don't support it either..... but its individual's choice....and if they feel comfortable with each other then ok, let them be.

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  4. .

    Everyone has the right to live in their own way, be it homo or heterosexuals.

    .

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  5. I am reminded of someone quoting a holy book of a holy religion which promises both homo and hetero sexuals pleasures in heaven! ;-)

    Sometime back I had written something on the same issue. http://mytravelsmylife.blogspot.com/2010/05/society-and-homosexuality.html

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  6. I support full freedom of choice and profession.
    until it does not hurt others.

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  7. ..well its choice and freedom...i dont support this But jus ignore it ..Cuz being brutal is not mankind ..nice post..as always!

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  8. Good to know the scientific facts about Gys and Lesbians!never ever thought in those lines..Now when you said about the hormone levels affecting their sexual orientation,I gave it a thought.An eye opener truely.

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  9. Thought provoking post @Doc! My thoughts below:

    If a person was born neither male nor female and someone chooses to love them truly, I believe that is acceptable.

    On the other hand if a person was born male or female but choose to live their life as they wish, I believe that is sin and abominable.

    God weighs the heart and so how He will judge this would be on a case by case basis for the straight and others alike and hence we can't judge or condemn either.

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  10. Doc,
    Welcome back from the long hiatus.
    I read the word “sin” in the comments on the post. I guess that is transgressing the Constitution of the heavens. Is the laws of the heaven written or unwritten and followed by convention? Gentry who speak about sin must clarify this first and before they label and foist sin on acts of Man.
    I go by your conjunction that sexual orientation might be a developmental problem or even may be like autism and dyslexia a minor unevenness in the fetal stage in certain ways.
    I would leave it to the individual to choose his preference perhaps driven by these factors that he has no hold. Hunting them like they hunted witches in medieval times is abhorring.
    But the basic fact is that the urge and craving for the opposite sex is a natural means of Nature to sustain and endure procreation that is the basis of biological evolution. If Nature had it thought other way it would be certainly parthenogenesis in all living creatures including the mighty “homo sapiens” . Hence I guess that sexual urge for the opposite is certainly natural.
    The rest of the matters like corrective policies being enforced is abominable and partisan

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  11. Corrective actions? Ridiculous! Each individual has the right to choose his/her way of life; unless it is going to trouble anyone else. Being a gay or a lesbian is their personal orientation and its private choice. Its not our headache as long as it doesnt hurt. Calling it a 'sin' - well who created these rulebooks? What is sin and what is not sin?

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  12. Oh so sad! Homosexuality bothers most people, but to go to such extremes is horrible. Each individual must have the basic sound to choose the way they want to live.

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  13. Corrective actions I.e. Rape....that is the most idiotic thing I've ever heard. I've no strong opinion about lesbians or gays. I think it is not because of choice ...I mean their choice is because of hormonal issues. Regardless we shall not look down at them - wharever be the reason - who are we to judge

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  14. Judge not for thou shalt not be judged, says the God i believe in.

    difficult as it is for the straight to understand the queer, let's not become selftyled judges and jury. let's eave judgement to the extra terrestrial.

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  15. Why bother/ punish fellow citizens of this earth when they do no harm? It is all too easy to say that they are doing wrong. Judge not.

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  16. Absolutely wonderful post! We are so prejudiced against homosexuality. Actually I must confess that I could not understand it either until I read the book "Phildelphia" which is about a gay couple. I think there is a gender discrimination among homosexuals too- while people are tolerent about male homosexuality the same level of tolerence does not extend itself to include women who are homosexuals. Somewhere along the way, women are expected to comply and conform to traditional values or face the music... AWFUL!

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  17. Great post, Dr. Antony, and I agree with you fully. Though I'm somewhat sad at the number of your other commenters you still claim not to like homosexuality. I see nothing to like or not like; we are all people. I have some wonderful gay friends, and know some gay people who are total a**h****, just like straight people.

    The actions you describe are chilling, but they are inevitable so long as people still look on homosexuals as "unnatural." Sometimes I wonder about the human race...

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  18. I dont agree with the corrective actions being practiced in Zimbabwe and some other parts f the world..I appreciate your courage to raise this issue through such a wonderful thought provoking post, dr. antony. But, I feel that somehow u have kept hidden your point of view about this issue..I don't find any reason in people being homosexuals or lesbians, when the nature has given such a wonderful mode of intimacy called sex, for the male and female to indulge in. Since humans are not animals, since they are created with superior intellect, i think, individuals should think wisely and should follow some behavioral discipline, as they are part of the society with some ethical patterns to follow..But still, I believe, I have no right to exert any pressure on any individual except upon myself..

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  19. Wonderful post.. and in some countries where rape is very common, being gay is just another excuse. It is only giving the rapist more power over the victim.
    As for homosexuality, when one has grown with certain beliefs, it is not easy to discard them in a day.. but every individual has a right to his/her choice and who are we to judge? Have read that the sexual orientation is not out of choice but those who sodomise children are making a choice. Not that this more prevalent amongst the homosexuals.

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  20. This was a very thoughtful and much appreciated post. We live in a very large world and the same God - whatever we call him - made us all. I don't understand the virulence that this issue brings to the surface. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  21. anyway, every society have their different "rules" about this controversion, but even if some people can't receive their sexual orientation I think people must respect them as human being.

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  22. When we as a species, give up our insane need for adjectives, an extraordinary thing will happen. We will accept what is, in ourselves. We will accept what is, in others. We will know/remember that Whatever Grand and Wondrous Being God is, That Being doesn't care about where we put our body parts, because That is the Teacher of Love, not labels.

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  23. Thanks for such an interesting post and being brave enough to post it. I guess its true that ignorance breeds fear and fear intolerance.

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  24. I feel its personal choice,period.The last pic is funny:)

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  25. To all my friends,
    Opinions differ as much as we see in these comments.The question is, on what do we base our arguments.
    Like Anil said,the concept of sin is alien to those who do not believe in religions.Those who are used to seeing them in public life,would find it easier to accept them.I have had occasions to work with them,never realizing that they were homosexual.I have found some of them as the best behaved among my colleagues.

    Altering the orientation is not an easy task.And for what reason?
    Whatever,I cannot agree with any forcible correction,like most of you.
    To Taio,Rosy..welcome to the blog.come as often as you can.

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  26. This is a very thought-provoking post. I'm with you, gays and lesbians have the right to be respected. How horrible to hear about the lesbian's rapes and stabbing in South Africa. How is it that all that is happening in the 21st century? Here in USA, there was a recent incident involving an anti-gay church protest at a soldier's funeral. What kind of church is that, which uses the bible to promote hate and discrimination. Homophobic people are not too far from racism, for what I have seen.

    Thanks for your advocacy.

    Doris

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