Parts of Mexico, like several others in the Americas, is experiencing terrible violence from murderous gangs which are involved in the drugs and crime industry. In some places, there is nothing ordinary about the living of the proverbial ordinary citizens; their living is circumscribed by the rule of the drugs and crime barons. How they live and how they die, is largely determined by the machinations of the gangs, and the state of play between them and the authorities at any given time.
On Saturday, there was a demonstration in Mexico, with people who are opposed to same sex unions marching to demonstrate their opposition to the Government's proposals to allow same-sex marriages throughout the country.
The demonstration is reportedly organised by the National Front for the Family. That there should be this kind of demonstration in Mexico is not surprising, considering that the country is one in which centuries old traditional, conservative and catholic values and dogmas are integrated within the very fabric of Mexico.
So, yes, it is to be expected that many Mexicans, like people in many other countries and conservative societies, would not willingly embrace an egalitarian proposal and policy aimed at bringing to an end the stigma and oppression under which Mexicans who are also gay and lesbians, are having to negotiate how the conduct their living.
Of course, that is not to say that all of Mexico, again, like other countries, are opposed to same-sex marriages. As such unions are already permitted by several Mexican states, including Mexico City. All of which gives some credence to my belief that, at any given time and age, you could find people living comparable lives to that lived by people at different times throughout the past; even if to a lesser degree, in some instances.
Society does not evolve at the same rate and in uniformity.
So, no, I do not have too great an issue with some people demonstrating against same-sex unions or marriages, per se, as that is an inevitable part of the process of social evolution. It shows that same-sex marriages or unions has been placed on the agenda, and that people have been made to inform themselves about it and debate the pros and cons of it. Along with its implications for the individuals and groups involved, and for society as a whole. Including the commonly cited fear, that, if we are all gay and lesbians, how will we continue to procreate and ensure the survival of the specie?
I might come back to this one another day and time, but suffice to say, for now, all humans are not gays and lesbians, and there is no imminent threat to our specie survival.
No, the issue I have with the people who are demonstrating, is that of what are they doing about the much bigger and more devastating threat to Mexico; that of the reign of the drugs and crime gangs, of corrupt 'law enforcement officers' and state and federal functionaries? The scourge which is making the living of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Mexicans, a misery?
We all begin life at the beginning and will lose it at the end of the journey; why add to the obstacles which are already inherent in navigating it? Better to live and let live!
Would it not be more beneficial for the people of Mexico, if there were to be persistent marches against this malignancy in the fabric of the country's society?
For those who are or would be opposed to same-sex unions and marriages, what benefit do you expect to get from opposing the ending of the oppression of people who are gay and lesbian, in their sexual preferences? This, arguable, is not in the interest of the greater good.
The enlightened approach has to be one of 'live and let others live', whether or not you are comfortable yet, with their sexual orientations.
Living is not always about having and making choices; sometimes we are presented with a given.
No comments:
Post a Comment