The Moral High Ground

I was over at the Throckmorton blog. There is a guy, a Ugandan. He calls himself Maazi, and he has taken it upon himself to educate these 'western gay lovers' on the pitfalls of their course of action. And, he asserts, in the name of the continent of Africa, how we shall not be intimidated into accepting the 'homosexual agenda'.

I have been kind of following the guy's seeming obsession. But, of a sudden I did lose my temper.

He is speaking in my name as an African. As a Ugandan. He discounts the fact that I am what I am, gay, African, Ugandan. Spouts hatred like it is a virtue. He is abusive, ignorant, arrogant. Certainly knows much less than the people he is debating, but, because he has a mouth, and a voice, he speaks. And very loudly.

Very similar to Ssempa. Pastor Dr 'eat da poo poo' Ssempa of infamous fame.

Ignorance is put on a pedestal and worshipped. The loudest, most demanding voice is listened too, because it is loud. And, the fact that it is stupid, ignorant, shameful is discounted. He seems to speak for me, as an African.

No. He doesnt. He shames me instead. He shames me as an African.

I came from commenting on the Throckmorton blog with the realization that we have to take back the moral high ground. The Ssempas of this world should be ridiculed as they richly deserve. Their ignorance, their hatred, their base vileness should be exposed for what it is. Thanks be to the deities that the 'eat da poo poo' monica went viral. He richly deserves the ridicule.

And, if he is stupid enough not to realise that he is showing off the paucity of his grey matter, well, it is his privilege.

In Africa, in Uganda, he seems to have the moral high ground. And, it is this piece of real estate that we should seize back from the likes of him. They are not moral, they are not Christians, the ones who want to kill and imprison whole parts of a populace, simply because they are different. The Ministers of 'Ethics and Integrity' who frankly believe that fellow human beings should forget about human rights, simply because they are homosexuals.

Yes, the Bahati's of this world should be exposed for what they are. Good that they were given the forum to do so. And, I did highlight his high lack of intellect. But, as we expose them, we should also claim the high ground by asserting their stupidity. For, that is what exactly it is. Stupidity. Crass ignorance. The worship of ignorance, in the name of ignorance. The deification of ideals, simply because a 'man of god' says so.

Saw this excellent article from the Independent. Ssempa, dear Dr 'eat da poo poo' Ssempa is the world's laughing stock. Nobody dealt that blow to him. No one but his very steps, his mouth that he opened wide, and wider and went on speaking, deeming charisma as enough of a substitute for ignorance. That is what he did.

Recently, however, Westerners have been learning more than usual about Ugandan culture. The reason for this is a YouTube video named “EAT DA POO POO,” which has been spreading virally over the internet. The video documents a series of anti-gay tirades by Ugandan Pastor, Dr. Martin Ssempa. Armed with explicit visual aids, Ssempa argues that what homosexuals do in the privacy of their bedrooms is simply far too disgusting to be protected by the law. Homosexual men, he claims, lick each other’s anuses like, “ice cream and even poo poo comes out...This one smears the poo poo all over the other one’s face.”

To date, the video has almost three million hits on YouTube, has spawned an auto-tune remix with some four-hundred-thousand hits, and is listed on Ebaum’s World, a popular archive of internet curiosities.

But, Ssempa deeply shames me. And, he shamed Uganda. As did Bahati, as he faithfully uttered what had been put in his mouth to say. Theirs is the infamy of proud ignorance.

Now, if I assert that not all Ugandans are like so, eyebrows will be raised.

But, I am a Ugandan. And true, even if I have had the luck to grow up feeling ashamed of what I am, I have to assert myself here. I am Ugandan, and, despite the pariah status of what I am, the antics of the likes of Ssempa, Bahati, Nsaba-Buturo and Maazi are deeply shameful.

It is simply matter of fact that not all Ugandans are that clueless. Not all of us are that impervious to common sense and knowledge. We don't all live back in the days of the Stone Age, glorifying ignorance as a virtue against the realities of knowledge and what the rest of the world knows as common sense.

We have to claim back the moral high ground from these nonsensical people. We simply have to.

gug