Why are we obsessed with LGBT?

Emmanuel Joseph Emmanuel Joseph Updated 6 years ago · Published on 20 Feb 2018 7:00AM · 3 Comments

A FORUM was recently held in KL discussing the topic of LGBT. There was no representation from any of the sexual or gender orientation represented by any of the four alphabets present at that forum. Instead, it was mostly a group of people who disagree with LGBT rights, talking about their point of view to a crowd of people who probably felt the same way.

The forum was entitled “LGBT: A Chronic Cancer in Malaysia”. The choice of title is an interesting one. “Cancer” when used in this context, would usually spell certain doom and gloom, and a real adverse effect in society.

However, can someone’s sexual choices or gender expression really affect things like national identity or encroach upon sanctity of religion or social fabric? And can LGBT really be broadly termed as a movement or agenda in an “us versus them” kind of way?

This forum is just the latest in a string of talks, discussions, newspaper opinion pieces and books discussing the “LGBT problem”. But why are they seen as a problem in the first place?

First of all, as far as can be seen, there is no movement to ‘spread’ or convert people into becoming gays or lesbians or transgendered people in Malaysia. Rather the opposite, instead of an ‘offensive’ movement, most groups that look into LGBT issues would mostly be concerned with ‘defensive’ concerns – the creation of safe spaces, counselling (sometimes for abuse victims), sexual health and so on. The way some people paint it, though, is as though there is a hidden plot financed by a shadowy movement to convert half of Malaysia and proceed to host a gay parade in the middle of the Federal Highway.

Secondly, are the LGBT even any threat at all to Malaysians or their way of life? Are they demanding other people give up their personal freedoms on account of them? Are they intruding into or encroaching upon the religious practises of other people? Are they attempting to ‘convert’ straight people into their way of life? If no, what is the problem with having them around? They are tax paying, hardworking, voting Malaysians just like anyone else and contribute as much to nation building.

As such, labelling and abusing them is uncalled for. As a matter of fact, it would only make things worse. Have we not heard enough stories about effeminate men and boys being bullied, subjected to mental and physical abuse and in some rarer cases, even tortured and killed to uphold some weird form of honour or ideals on how a boy or man should behave?

How many times have we read in the news about transgendered people being mistreated and subjected to humiliating, degrading treatment, while their abusers go unpunished, or let off with barely a slap to the wrist? Why are people allowed to debase other human beings on life choices that do not affect them at all?

We shudder and shake our heads at faraway countries like Pakistan or India where this sort of thing used to occur but are we slowly becoming a resentful, intolerant and hateful country ourselves?

Even if the idea is one with religious and ‘good’ intentions, surely, engaging these people will have a better chance of success than rallying people against them. Oversimplifying a complicated topic would only serve to drive another wedge in our fragmented Malaysian society that seems to thrive on differences rather than commonalities these days.

We have bigger problems to be worried about than what other people do in the privacy of their bedrooms or manner in which they choose to express their gender.

Even if absolutely necessary, perhaps we could all learn from the gentler way of dialogue as demonstrated by the example of the good Mufti Wilayah Persekutuan who recently opened his office to a meaningful dialogue with members of the LGBT community. – February 20, 2018.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.

Sign up or sign in here to comment.

Comments

  • Humanity needs to be schooled on how to observe, examine and learn the qualities of REFRACTION. How colourless light, the source of all colours, exhibit different qualities in various mediums. How light of consciousness modulates in this universal medium to form the vibrancy of diversity and multiplicity.

    The various human tribes forget the 'colourless' source and think our true original position is differentiated into 'independent' distinct parts when it isn't independent at all. There is an interdependency of everything to the immeasurable whole, to give life its richness.

    Please allow space for all manifestations to live in peaceful co-existence for a better world. Our alarmist attitude towards minorities is essentially ignorance to life's purpose. Stop imposing our 'differentiated' limitation on the whole of life with our false arrogant absolutism; or life's beauty and diversity will withdraw into cruel monochromatic ugliness in its current savage disguise. You see this degeneracy principally in theocratic states limited by 'inerrant' dogma as oppose to secular state that have more openness to life!

    I personally see the LGBT groupings as a possible divine hint that points to 'forms' as a limitation to the vastness of the asexual human spirit; and sometimes it tries to divest its limitation to give it a greater expression. Think about it...Many LGBT people are intelligent, creative and beautiful people.

    Posted 6 years ago by Arun Paul · Reply

  • When i loudly cry out against injustice, and loudly clamour for things to change and that i be compensated for my troubles, people who don't identify with me are of course going to be alarmed, because it would seem to them that it is them that i wish will change, and compensate me for the difficulties i faced, although they don't think they had anything to do with it. Many of them will be dissatisfied by my actions, and some might even retaliate against me in alarm.

    The LGBT community seem to be quite an unhappy lot and have been quite vocal in claiming that the reason that they are unhappy is because other people are discriminating against them. They seem to be saying that they cant get things like job opportunities or promotions or feel good about their choices because they are LGBT, and this is unfair , and not only should it stop, perhaps some compensation, perhaps should be paid to term, in terms of job or promotion quota, and that other people should change the way they speak or view things, not because it is good for them, but because it would be good for the lgbt community.

    Personally, i dont agree with this idea at all. I don't see why i should change unless it is good for me to change, and things like job oppurtunities and promotions are something that i want to, so i dont see why it should be reserved out of my reach, and i think if people want to feel good about themselves, they should raise their talents and skill, and not raise their self esteem by blaming me for their plight, and bring my self esteem down.

    I feel it is unfair that i am expected to change for some one else and i feel that to reduce my oppurtunities like getting a ggod job or a promotion is unfair to me, especially when i have done nothing against the lgbt community.

    Some from the ultra conservatives i suppose, do find something wrong with the lgbt's because they are lgbt's, but most people are like me - we don't have any opinion about the lgbt's, unless they have something to offer us through their talent and skills, or because they are alarming us by making us feel as if we did them something wrong and that they wish to do us wrong in return, by taking away something we hold dear for example, out of vengeance.



    Posted 6 years ago by Nehru Sathiamoorthy · Reply

  • I was never bothered by LGBTQs. When I was a teen and first had to think about this, I figured that they aren't killing anybody or stealing anything, so as long as they are not bothering me, what they want to do in their own lives is their own business. Then I went to the US for some years. The place where I worked had an inordinate number of gay people, and they were all cool about it. We just went about like normal colleagues. (Plus point - zero sexual harassment, compared to straight men!) The only thing I didn't understand was why some were still afraid of coming out in a country which was so accepting and open about it. And this was 20 years ago. Back in Malaysia, a friend recently came out to me. It would never in a million years have occurred to me that he was gay. And suddenly I understood their immense suffering here, decades before all this Taliban ideology even started. He had attempted suicide a few times. He was certain his employer and his friends would never accept him. He was deeply unhappy his whole life, unable to be himself, to live his truth. And I suddenly had great admiration for those who dared to come out, to live loud and proud. Their suffering is entirely man-made - made by straight people who make it their lives' purpose to create misery for others. To exclude them from jobs. To not want to be friends with them. To condemn and ridicule them at every chance. To treat them like a disease. I finally felt their pain. Why must we make life so miserable for them? Even if your religion says they will go to hell, then let them go where they will, what's it to you? I think the holy shmolies should spend more time worrying about where they themselves will be going if they keep up this behaviour. I feel so sad for my friend because he passed away never having lived his truth for even one day during his time on earth. Why can't we just let people be?

    Posted 6 years ago by Chin Tu Lan · Reply