Comments on: Crackdown on gays proposed in Bahrain

By: Robert, ex-pat Brit

Robert, ex-pat Brit — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 21:46:00 +0000

Dai, I hope you didn't misconstrue any implication as to your masculinity, on the contrary. I too am "masculine", just a regular, well-behaved male, but I just don't trust the politics in those countries what with kidnappings of westerners, beheadings by islamic extremists. I'm not that brave or trusting.

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By: Dai

Dai — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:19:00 +0000

Robert Expat, there is little likelihood of my being arrested or troubled in homophobic countries unless I behave stupidly. I am a gay man who is as masculine as the next straight man (or almost!). However, if I had a thing for lots of feminine make-up, feminine jewellery, or clearly camp clothing, then, believe me, I wouldn't dare set foot on Egypt Air! But as I am I can enjoy the creations of the Pharoahs and so forth. At the same time, of course, I always connect with local gay guys and that's always appreciated by them. They are horribly persecuted and isolated and they really savour connecting with guys like us from free countries. We can help them a great deal, if even only from a distance, by letters and emails etc once the holiday is over.

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By: Robert, ex-pat Brit

Robert, ex-pat Brit — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:39:00 +0000

Dai, I wouldn't dispute the splendours of the patrimony of homophobic countries, but for me personally, I wouldn't want to risk my being held captive, harassed, maybe imprisoned if my sexual orientation became known, even by perception as is the case of Bahrain. No thank you. I wouldn't expect any help from my government either because of my orientation and being in a country that knowingly has a record of institutionalised homophobia.

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By: Robert, ex-pat Brit

Robert, ex-pat Brit — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:34:00 +0000

Zeke, I don't even spend money in red states in the U.S. let alone visit them, so I concur with you, I'd never patronise a country that calls for my demise. I also can't understand why so many gay people go to Florida (South Beach), a state that has a lot of anti-gay legislation and a homophobic governor, among others. I strongly support economic boycotts.

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By: Dai

Dai — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:34:00 +0000

Zeke, the reason why many gay people choose to include countries which are homophobic in their holiday lists is because while those countries may be homophobic they may also offer many other positive aspects entirely unrelated to sexual interests. For example, take Syria, or Egypt: here are two countries dominated by Islam, where almost everybody is Muslim, and where homosexuality is outlawed, however the architectural and artistic splendours of both these two countries alone are astounding. That's why we bravely risk travelling to such countries.

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By: Zeke

Zeke — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:06:00 +0000

It always astonishes me that so many gay people choose the most homophobic countries in the world to vacation and spend their money. From Bahrain to Jamaica to Zanzabar to Russia, gays just can't seem to get enough of supporting those who would just as soon eliminate them. It's particularly gauling when gay people choose to spend their honeymoons in countries where homosexuality is illegal and gay people are routinely arrested or attacked by police protected mobs in the streets.

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By: Dai

Dai — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:20:00 +0000

If the Bahrainis want to stop gay goings-on in Bahrain then they need to stop the 1000s of Muslim men who stream across every weekend from Saudi Arabia in search of booze and sex. Bahrain is Saudi's safety valve, a place for Saudi men to go and have some fun. That's why the Saudi's built the King Fahd Causeway – the longest and most extraordinary "bridge" in the world. It's there to transport a stream of buses and limos from Saudi to Bahrain and back. Note, Bahrainis don't bother with coming the other way, over to Saudi. Who would want to?See the Muslim bridge to earthly paradise here:

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By: Terry Evans

Terry Evans — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:05:00 +0000

Having worked in Saudi and visited Bahrain, I guess they are talking in general about Philippinos. Nice to know they have similar views to CCTV – I feel honoured to be credited with the ability to bring down the family unit and civivised society, Anyway, excuse me – must get dress, appear as gay as possible and rush off to the hairdressers. Maybe practise a vit of sorcery on the way.

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