Dustin Lance Black and Sean Penn‘s Oscar acceptance speeches were applauded by many in the gay community. But in most of Asia, the speeches were censored and the words “gay” and “lesbian” were removed from their broadcast.
The AP reports on the anger of Asian gay activists:
“‘As a gay man, I am truly offended,” Pang Khee Teik, a prominent
Malaysian arts commentator, wrote in a letter sent out to several media
organizations. ‘Stop censoring the words that describe who I am.’ Pang said the move ‘sent a message … that gays and lesbians are still shameful things to be censored from the public’s ears.’
Users of Internet forums in Singapore and India also complained about the censored speeches.
Jannie
Poon, STAR’s [the netword that aired the Asian broadcast] Hong Kong-based spokeswoman, stressed that the company had
no intention of upsetting any viewers, but said it has ‘a
responsibility to take the sensitivities and guidelines of all our
markets into consideration.'”
I think it’s a shame they felt they needed to censor the speeches, the words “gay” and “lesbian” themselves are not offensive, and should not be considered as such. Unfortunately, the young gay and lesbian people in Asia got the exact opposite message than Black intended, which was that they are equal and “beautiful, wonderful creatures of value.” What do you guys think?
– Andy
I think that is horrible. It just shows that our community still has lots of hurdles to get over
As much as I sympathize with our gay Asian brothers and sisters, we still have much work to do in our own backyard. I am thankful that we do have the right to speak freely in this country no matter how diverse and/or divisive our views may be.
Each community has it’s own troubles to go through and it’s own battles to fight.
In this case, the gay community I believe must stand as an international community.
Being a non-heterosexual has been globally condemned and so the concerns we share with the people in Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia and South America are no different than our own.
The topic may change a little bit from “Let’s censor the word GAY.” to “Let’s disallow updating word MARRIAGE.” but our mission is identical: to create equal rights for all peoples.
Those of us who wish to be proactive in that cause should use the tools available to us, such as the internet, to request of those people, whether Asian or American, who share our cause, whether heterosexual or non-heterosexual, how we may assist them in forwarding the cause of creating equal rights for all.
This truly angers me. I think the people over there need to get their heads out of their asses. What is this the 12th century? It’s people like them that are slowing down the march toward human equality and acceptance. What a shame.
What they don’t realize is that more and more people are becoming accepting of us gays and those bigots are the freaks that are laughed at, not us.
At the same time it makes me more grateful to live in a country where we aren’t censored. Yes we still have a ways to go but at least this country isn’t stuck in the middle ages.
The gay community IS an international community. But let’s not forget the cultural differences, and respect the diversity of beliefs and customs. There are centuries-old cultures that are not so quick to adapt to modern changes, nor should they be forced to change for the sake of what we westerners call progress.
I would not go so far as to accuse the West of pushing their beliefs across the globe, but it would be difficult to not lay an amount of blame when you see the influences of Western culture abroad, and a very unpopular presence in the Mid East. As Americans, we carry the burden of blame when global matters fail and the legacy of a very unpopular President that still resonates.
Gay communities in other countries are responsible for exercising their rights to whatever extent of the laws they are allowed. They are also reminded of a greater responsibility to themselves and their culture, lest they one day find themselves in the town square as the guest of honor for a public beheading. The American community has a way of alarming other communities that I find disturbing. This aloofness and saber rattling only unifies communities that oppose our beliefs, while driving deeper wedges between “us and them”. When will we start practicing what we preach and be tolerant of ALL people? Tolerance isn’t about being selective.
I believe we can make advances, but not in one fell swoop. Several European countries, and Canada have already made sweeping progress in gay issues (yes, America too), and I believe there will be a domino effect as momentum builds. But don’t expect gay global domination either. 🙂 Peace and Love.
I believe the aim is to create equal rights for all peoples.
I believe the best tactic is to REQUEST how we may assist in forwarding the cause of creating equal rights for all.
This removes the problems of assuming “We shouldn’t be involved.” or “We should be involved.” or “How should we be involved.”
It’s a 3-step process of 1.) creating inquisitive international dialog, 2.) creating philosophical accord and THEN 3.) being proactive. This is the best tactic in our quest for Equal Rights.
Using various tools, systems and strategies to affect that singular approach is then a matter of personal involvement and taste.
So … what are YOU willing to do?
Are you willing to ASK, AGREE then ACT?
If so, How?
If you know how, When?
A three-step process? Are you kidding me? Is it really that simple enough to give the path to equal rights three steps? And if so, according to whose standards? Remember, we Americans are afforded even the most basic rights that many countries can only dream about exercising.
Someone’s putting the cart before the horse, here. Equal rights for all peoples is a great idea….in a perfect world. But the beauty of this world is diversity, and to accept that means to accept that not all cultures are willing to embrace it so readily. Most importantly, not all cultures live under a democracy.
Would you propose we impose our ideals on other cultures because that’s how we think it should be? Hardly.
So think, before you act.