By definition, cruel and aggressive governments stay in power because they don’t care what people think. People don’t tolerate cruel governments, nobody does. They get more cruel precisely because people resist.

African leaders do not always reflect their people’s will. And the people’s will does not always reflect in what leaders do.

Perhaps to summarise what I was saying in a way that others could understand -

I felt the article sees Africans as politically docile when it comes to bad leaders; in spite of the actual reality; that people are fighting dangerous battles on this continent and losing their lives for it.

Pick any country, and even a basic Google will reveal that our fellow citizens have been fighting despots for 50 years since the end of colonialism.

By definition a cruel and oppressive government is one which stays in power IN SPITE of what the people want. Hence the torture and imprisonment.

Apartheid lasted close to half a century – not because people were subservient.

Even in Swaziland the monarchy is bombing and torturing people for their resistance.

So what we have in fact, are South Africans who are ignorant of African politics and confusing the resilience of cruel regimes with people’s approval of them.

That’s just bull. Perhaps the problem is South Africans know VERY LITTLE about the continent. No really perhaps, it’s pretty much a fact.

While I get that you’re addressing this to your fellow Africans – Your conceptual perspective on the collective that is ‘Africans’ and our subservience to ‘our’ leaders is quite patronising, and very didactic in tone and possibly, reflects what you think and not so much what is the reality. [Come on, tell the thousands of tortured MDC and ordinary Zimbos they are subservient.] Subservience certainly doesn’t reflect the on-going struggle in South Africa.

But bhat makes homophobia a problem anywhere in the world??

The broad and vague rhetoric in the article tells us nothing about a global problem rooted in stubborn patriarchy, reintensification of conservatism, and the instrumental use of state power by violent onservative political elites (incl. institutional power such as in the U.S. to prevent gay marriage.)

The argument of this argument fell into that common trap of so much analysis in mainstream media – which is to project an opinion on a principle without any substantive empirical knowledge on the political situation being analysed; in this case, homophobia in Kenya.

For we must ask in the first place, where does the bravery of these men come from? Clearly, they are not subservient. What is their local context, what is the queer movement doing in East Africa?

Note – I am using Africans as you are (geographically).

Animals do what comes naturally, and thats exactly why all other animals wont have actual sexual intercourse with another of the same sex, but will at times, mount another of the same sex, merely to assert dominance.

It is rather ludicrous to suggest that our natural sexuality has developed due to social conditioning. You just have to look at the physical structure of the male and female body and it is glaringly obvious that the two were naturally designed, to fit together sexually.

@Judith…

Unlike your view that heterosexuality in animals can be disproven any day of the week, is false, as actual sexual contact between same sexes of any animal species, but humans, has never been proven.

The Praetor

The interesting thing about that, is that it suddenly forces you to have to allow other people who have reached a different conclusion from consensus, and to freely continue with that. You may protest because you disagree, but on what grounds? That you disagree?

I am not defending or criticising Malawi at this point, I have my view on the matter; I’m using this to try and unravel what is going on in this discussion… When someone emphatically says that something is wrong, on what grounds is that being said?

I truly believe there is a right and wrong (some people even deny that) – so I’m not trying to dismiss the issue… I just have a different way of determining it. How do you determine it, Jennifer? Anyone else?