Irie Tools (Business & Technology)

Today, I take a detour into politics. I read this story in today’s Gleaner, J-FLAG not supporting Canadian ultimatum, but the issue doesn’t affect me directly and this blog is not about politics, so didn’t occur to me to write about this issue here. After I read this post, Canada’s Queer Ultimatum, I was about to comment on it, but then it occured to me that this is a good opportunity to talk about wider issues of justice in Jamaica. Are our laws just or unjust?

First off, let me say that I find it very irritating that people from abroad could even think that they can demand that we change our laws or run public service campaigns. Besides, a public service campaign to change people attitudes on this issue:

• Would not work (and may even backfire and make things worse for homosexuals).
• Would be political suicide for any government (you usually don’t get anywhere by demanding that people to commit suicide).

However, putting my personal irritation aside, the really important issue is. Are our laws against buggery, just? Is it justice to imprision consenting adults for what they do in private? If the answer is, yes, then we should not allow threats to change our position, but if the answer is, no, then we should not wait for foreigners to demand we change our laws? I regularly see Jamaicans on TV chanting, “we want justice”, but of course, the chant is always about justice for themselves. I don’t see many people (Jamaicans for Justice is a notable exception) concerned about justice for other people. I strongly believe that the best way, to protect my rights, is to protect the rights of everyone.

How do we protect the rights of everyone? The first step, it seems to me, is to make sure that our laws are just, but what makes a law just or unjust? In my opinion, justice must be based on principles, and not preferences. We can debate what these principles should be, but to me, there is no question that the principles come first, and that the law must be based on the principles. Luckily people are very good at coming up with just principles. My personal favourite is

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

The problem is that people are not very good at living by their principles, especiecially when these principles become inconvenient.
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