(The Root) — The country of Jamaica is almost as well-known for violent homophobia as it is for dreadlocks, reggae and Bob Marley. In 2006, Time magazine named Jamaica the most homophobic place on earth. The country is certainly living up to that title. On Monday, Feb. 28, a man believed to be gay was foundraped and murdered, with his throat slashed, in downtown Kingston. Last December, a J-FLAG (Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays) activist was stabbed to death. His name was never released to the public, but he was only 26 years old. Most famously, in 2004, a father encouraged a schoolyard mob to attack his son, whom he believed was gay. The teen’s fellow students tore boards from benches and beat him until he was unconscious. He was in the 11th grade. Allegedly, his father watched with a smile.
One would think that the police would protect the people, regardless of sexual orientation. Not in Jamaica. Within the past month, gay bars in the tourist area of Montego Bay were raided by the police. A letter to the editor of the Jamaica Observer stated, “About 20 heavily armed officers jumped from the vehicles, kicked in doors, aggressively accosted patrons, indiscriminately beat and pistol-whipped them, and chased everyone from the venue. During the operation, homophobic slurs were hurled and this seemed to have encouraged patrons of nearby clubs to join in the melee by throwing bottles, stones and other missiles as individuals fled for their lives.” This sounds like a scene from Mississippi Burning.
The illogical rage at gays in Jamaica is popularized by contemporary reggae music. Buju Banton is considered a “pioneer” of sorts with his song “Boom Boom Bye.” Released in 1992, the dancehall track is an anthem for burning, shooting and killing anyone who does not fit into the rigid constructs of male-female gender roles. There is also Beenie Man, whose signature song, “Bad Man Chi Chi Man,” meaning “bad queer man,” is a crowd favorite. Beenie enthusiastically tells his audience to kill gays: “Some bwoy will go a jail fi kill man tun bad man chi chi man/Tell mi, sumfest it should a be a showdown/Yuh seem to run off a stage like a clown/kill dem DJ.”
