Murder Music Performer Brings Violent Message To Uganda, Sponsored By Pepsi

[ccharles000]

Uganda’s independent newspaper The Daily Monitor reports on Jamaican dancehall and murder music performer Beenie Man’s concert at Kampala’s Kyadondo Rugby Club last Saturday. According to reporter Rafsangan Abbey Tatya:

The King of Dancehall stuck a sword of words into gay people through singing and talking. “In my family, we don’t have any gay person but if you’re gay, my brother that’s not my fault,” he said as he performed his song Mi Nah Wallah, in which he says he would like to cut the throats of all gay men.

George Bush and Bin Laden were also at the receiving end of the Jamaican’s wrath calling on the audience to say “murderer” as he sang about the pair’s warfare.

The concert, which also featured about a half-dozen local performers, was sponsored by Pepsi, and appeared to have had a promotional tie-in with Toyota:

The show was sponsored by Pepsi and it doubled as the Crown Beverages’ Chamuka Keys Finale with three RAV4 winners presented on stage to join 17 previous winners in receiving their car log books.

This type of performance is extremely dangerous. This past year, Uganda has experienced a round of public vigilantism, in which accused LGBT people were publicly identified in a major tabloid newspaper and on radio and television. That was followed with reports of arrests, blackmail and extra-judicial torture.

http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2009/12/06/17462#comments

[endless october]

1. what a moron.

people who use music to spread hate should be shunned by society.

[FreeState]

2. So all those promises hr made to the gay community go right out the door

Just as we said they wood...

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2009/10/exclusive_buju_banton_sits_dow.php

"The meeting, which took place at the Courtyard Hotel in Larskpur, included Banton and his manager Tracii McGregor, San Francisco supervisors Bevan Dufty and Eric Mar, LGBT Center executive director Rebecca Rolfe, queer blogger Michael Petrelis and lesbian activist Andrea Shorter. The LGBT acvists, led by Petrelis and Shorter, voiced their concerns over homophobic lyrics and anti-gay violence in Jamaica directly to Banton, and suggested various things he could do to promote human rights, such as a town hall meeting in Jamaica. Banton, in turn, pointed to additional context, such as colonialism and the Jamaican government's homophobic laws. He denied he is a hate speech or murder music artist, as his critics have insisted. "Let's face the reality," Banton said. "Whatever is said in a positive light can't get out." On the topic of the controversial tune, he added, "I don't perform the song anymore. The reality is, I've gone past that."

"You have a bad PR problem," Shorter told the three-time Grammy nominee, adding, "I'm not gonna get a medal for talking to you." She added, however, she was willing to try to forge ahead to figure out "what we can do together to fight against hate and violence in a way that is meaningful." After some testy questions by Shorter about Banton's commitment to gay-rights issues, Mar said he knows of many within the African American and reggae community who "see you as one of the most positive artists out there" - in stark contrast to the way Banton has been presented in the LBGT activist scene and queer blogosphere. "I've been actively doing some of the stuff you mention," the singer said, referring to Operation Willy, a pro-safe sex anti-AIDS organization Banton founded in 1994. "I don't advocate violence, Rastafari is not about that," he added."

[sui generis]

3. hey Beenie man - you SHOULD be worried

you wouldn't get your fat ass out of Dallas any other way than foot first in a box. Bring it you ganja head bigoted cowardly bug eating man bitch - we'll see who's left standing in Dallas if you decide you want to play.

You want to fuck up a girlie man? Look in the mirror.

[WillParkinson]

4. Statement from PepsiCo

PepsiCo statement on anti-gay Uganda concert
By Jennifer Vanasco, editor in chief, 365gay.com
12.07.2009 3:09pm EST

I emailed the media folks at PepsiCo about their sponsorship of the anti-gay concert in Uganda. Here’s their response:

Dear Jennifer,
In response to your article, Did Pepsi sponsor an anti-gay concert in Uganda? (http://www.365gay.com/news/vanasco-did-pepsi-sponsor-an-anti-gay-concert-in-uganda/), I wanted to provide you with this official statement on behalf of PepsiCo:

“We are appalled by the performer’s lyrics and find them repugnant. Our bottling partner in Uganda was not aware of the performer’s views and never would have sponsored the concert with this knowledge. Moving forward, we will work closely with our bottling partners to be more vigilant about the events associated with our brands.”

Please let me know if you need anything further.

Sincerely,
Michelle Naughton

[FreeState]

5. Has Toyota made a statement yet?

And if so I hope it's not a cop out like Pepsi's pass the buck statement.

[Smarmie Doofus]

6. Rec #5 . We tend to think our stateside battles for.....

... marriage and the like are of monumental importance... and they ARE, in and of themselves. But their real importance is their SYMBOLIC value. Every step forward we take here makes it that much easier to be gay for people in places around the world like Uganda, where the hostility has lethal, potentially *genocidal* dimensions.

Thanks pepsi and Toyota, BTW. For helping to make it all possible.

[Quantess]

7. I wonder if Beenie Man is fighing a personal battle against his own homosexuality?

Sometimes I wonder if the loudest and angriest of the homophobes are projecting their self-loathing.

I'm fairly sure a lot, maybe most of them, are. It would be interesting to know the percentage.

[Smarmie Doofus]

8. One doubts it. About 95% of most human populations...

... are primarily hetero.

Odds are he's a majoritarian. No evidence to the contrary, that I know of anyway.

Lots of straight people hate gays.

Honest!

[gaspee]

9. So so sick

and tired of that tired old meme - hate gays?! you must be gay! No, sorry, it's mostly heteros who hate us - with some self-haters sprinkled in. You can usually spot them on tv playing the roll of smarmy televangelist :>

I"m glad you answered this one - you were a lot nicer than I would have been.

[Quantess]

10. Sorry, it was my mistake to post on the GLBT board.

I clicked on this thread from "Latest Threads". I'll try not to make that mistake again.

[Smarmie Doofus]

11. You're allowed to post here. nt

[Quantess]

15. It's hard for me to understand why some people hate gays so much.

I'm about 99.8% hetero, and I do not understand the hatred involved.

For me, I can compare this disconnect to men sexually harrassing or sexually assaulting women. The majority of males out there are nice guys who would never do that, so they just assume that all the other males would never do anything like that, either. But that's only because they don't know what is really going on when no one is looking.

Peace! :hi:

[Smarmie Doofus]

17. It's complicated... then again not so complicated.

We tend to fear what we don't understand. Most straight people don't "get" homosexuality. If one is 100% straight ( if there really is such a thing) homosexuality and homosexuals are *incomprehensible*.

It's a short walk from bewilderment to hostility. Maybe not for you but for LOTS of people. Really... simple logic dictates that most antagonism toward gays is generated thusly.

Yes, there are covert and subliminal self-hating and homophobic gays.... but I think the reputed extent of this is Freudian mythology and in any case they are a rare ( even if fascinating... sort of like the aftermath of a car wreck) exception.

Most gays have been hassled about being gay their whole lives in one way or another. We know who's doing the hassling. It isn't OTHER gays.

So... we tend to get a bit touchy when non-GLBT's assume we're responsible for our own persecution.

Peace back at ya.

[mitchtv]

12. you'll get the same reaction in most of DU

I would hope

[Quantess]

13. No, I don't think so. I have expressed similar statements on GD,

not about homophobes in general, but only about Fred Phelps, Larry Craig, Ted Haggard, and the other usual suspects. So I know that some of them are self-hating closet cases. I've never had ANY disagreement, but then, maybe I never expressed it exactly this way before.

But, this discussion is helpful to get a better perspective. As a straight woman, it's a perspective that I can only see from other people's point of view, once they tell me.

Edited because I remembered the name the preacher Ted Haggard.

[mitchtv]

14. while undoubtedly there are Gay homophobes

there is no doubt that the overwelming majority are strait & to suggest otherwise is a typical strait ploy of abdicating responsibiity for the hate in their own communities, suggesting it is gays with the problem.When it is clearly not.

[Quantess]

16. Thanks for telling me. I did not know that.

And to think I lived in San Francisco for several years, without anyone telling me that. True, I had mostly straight friends, but I had several gay friends too. This specific discussion never came up, or maybe it was in light of something else, or maybe because homophobia was not a big issue in SF, or at least, not something to talk about with straight friends.