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I have never been a fan of Janet Street Porter and that was rather confirmed by a guest column she wrote in today’s Independent entitled “After Turing, the shameful abuse of gays goes on” and as someone pointed out, it should have read, “After Turing, the shameful abuse of gays in Jamaica, goes on.”

But to be honest, she has always struck me as a lightweight who would always clutch for an easy option most times but, check it out for yourself: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/janet-street-porter/editoratlarge-after-turing-the-shameful-abuse-of-gays-goes-on-1786621.html

My First Mail In

I quite often write into articles that interest me and that can spark a debate with others which can be stimulating because other people’s opinions are often thought provoking. Sadly, sometimes all you see are comments from the “usual nutters” with some fixation or other. However, below my first post:

For a lady of such considerable media experience, this whole piece is appalling lightweight and Middle Class or, should that read Muddle Class ?

I wonder if an aborted property deal influenced her ? How come if she holidayed there so frequently, she was unaware of the “real Jamaica”, had she never heard 10cc and their hit “Dreadlock Holiday” ? Odd, I thought she was connected to children’s TV.

I am quite sure that she would be the sort of person to “apologise” for the British Empire period and yet here she is encouraging us to interfere in the way the people of Jamaica wish to conduct their own affairs, is that not inconsistent ?

I would have no more sympathy for a gay couple wanting to holiday in Jamaica as I would for a student taking a gap year in Helmand Province or a woman wearing a bikini in Mecca. I would have thought that we should have left all this crap thinking behind, it is rather simple, when in Rome do as the Romans do, if you don’t agree just don’t go there !

I then picked up the following response:

“According to your logic we should have just left the German’s to get on with executing Jews and other “undesirables”. I can agree that Janet was naive not to know about Jamaica’s attitude towards gay people while holidaying there every year but I do not agree that we should turn our backs on human rights abuses, whether it is forced marriages, genital mutilation, genocide or homophobic murders based upon the idea any country can decide to deny rights to vulnerable groups of people. Should we just let the Taliban ‘get on with’ terrorizing girls who would like to get an education? The list is endless. When in Rome? Come on man! Is that the best you can do?”

There Had to be a Reply:

Time for some Realpolitik:

We were obliged to go to War in 1939, people in power in the UK were perfectly aware of what was happening to the Jews although they were not at that time being “exterminated en-mass”. The full horror of what happened only became apparent towards the end of the War, it was not the reason for going to war.

I would totally agree with you in preventing the list of abuses you list in any place that falls directly under direct UK administration, my personal remedies for a number of such offences would be Draconian.

When it comes to Afghanistan, although I deplore the way we have sleepwalked into the position we are but for the next 2-3 years feel that we are forced to stay if only to squeeze the Taliban against the Pakistani Army operating in the Tribal Areas. The biggest internal threat to the UK originates from Pakistan, we need a stable and secure Pakistan.

Would Afghans girls getting an education be desirable ? Of course but in a deeply Tribal Society and regardless of the Taliban, would it be sustainable ? The answer is no, it is unlikely and as an objective given the falling support for the engagement in both the UK and US, not worth a single soldier’s life according to a majority of the public.

During the days of the British Empire, there were many Victorians who saw it as their duty to “convert the natives” to Christianity. That same or a parallel mistake has been made by the US and the West generally except this time based upon concepts of civil liberties and democratic governance and it just doesn’t work.

We only have to look at former colonies in Black Africa to see that, notional democracy run along tribal lines, not much difference to the recent election in Afghanistan, same rules apply, get into Government, get the biggest kick backs – depressing isn’t it ? To me some of the worse human rights abuses in reducing the country to starvation is by the African Pol Pot, Robert Mugabe and yet all the other surrounding countries have done nothing, should we invade ?

I don’t despise your idealism but the question must be put, just how prepared are you through your taxes or even putting on a uniform yourself to get Afghan girls an education ? How many British families should be prepared to lose their…Sons, Daughters, Fathers, Brothers, Sisters and to have them returned in a flag draped coffin to be paraded through Wootton Basset ? You want to talk the talk but be prepared to also walk the walk and accept a personal price.

The media likes to portray the insurgents as Islamic fundamentalists but this is not about religion, it is about tribalism and what tribe you belong to. One day perhaps, so called Muslim countries may evolve out of the Middle Ages but frankly it is pointless trying to foist a “gift” on an unwilling recipient.

Coffee Shop talk is cheap but think of this said I believe by a British Mystic many centuries ago: “Lord give me the courage to change what can be changed. Give me the humility to accept what cannot but above all, give me the wisdom to know the difference between the two.