~Divi

PS: Lets carry on this discussion on facebook. Its too messy for a blog. ;)

You write so well.

I am not blaming Indian politicians and ministers. Afterall, they not only represent, but also reflect on the peoples’ social and moral philosophy, thoughts, and actions. There is deep rooted homophobia in India not only among the masses, but in high society also, at the very top. The President and Prime Minister could stir from their lethargy and take a leading role, to guide the nation towards modernity, and to accept gays, but they seem to be very reluctant to act and, instead, have chosen to remain silent.

Gay marriage is now legal in seven countries: Sweden, Spain, South Africa, Norway, the Netherlands, Canada and Belgium. Japan is considering making it legal there also. In the US, it is now legal in only four states: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and Iowa.

I hope wisdom and a sense of fairness will find a welcome home in the hearts and minds of Indian people and their political leaders, and I hope India will decriminalize, in the near future, not just gay sex but all consensual sex among adults. Is that too much to hope for?

Yesh Prabhu, Plainsboro, NJ
http://asanevoiceforpeaceinthemiddleeast.blogspot.com

[A source of conflict too... just not involving guns and blood! ;) ]

Not too surprisingly, my colleagues spent more time looking at the picture of my favourite drag queen (also on my cubicle wall) instead of this.

Alo, I found your words moving. (Forgive the Inanity of the abovementioned statement)

But more importantly, this is so easily transported to any conflict of any nature.

I now have dreams of proclaiming “We Refuse to be Enemies” outside Singapore’s parliament house, or at least outside my mum’s kitchen (after she’s yelled at me for something).

However, common sense and a healthy fear of being arrested (and yelled at) holds me back.

;)

~Div

:D

“Subtle”?

~Div

PS: I can’t view the poster.

Great stuff, as always. I love the juxtaposition of the peace motif with the strident tones expressed in the poem through the co-opting of war-like lingo to express a fervent desire for peace.

I recently observed a heated debate on a friend’s facebook page following the posting of a cartoon that lampooned the Israelis by drawing a parallel between the treatment of Native Americans by the government of the United States. In the interest of full disclosure, I fall on neither side on that debate - I see both sides holding shamefaced mea culpas.

Leaving aside the details of the discussion, what struck me was the vitriol that seemed to flow copiously amongst the various participants in the discussion. I wouldn’t be going out on a limb if I were to guess that none of these people are currently in Israel or Palestine. In fact, I know that most of these were people in plum jobs in the relative safety of NYC. Observing the back and forth, I had a depressing epiphany that if these people so far removed from the actual conflict couldn’t agree on a starting point to resolve the problem and resorted to touting their versions of history as the truth, what hope is there to ever solve this problem (and many similar ones)? I find it increasingly hard to believe that folks who are getting their homes blown to smithereens or worse will ever find it possible to overlook the differences, when those to whom the discussion is merely an intellectual exercise cannot. I just hope my Cassandra-like pessimism is misplaced and your Pollyanna-like optimism triumphs - in my lifetime.

Sona di, oooooh yes. :-)) I did think about it all a lot - as you can well imagine - and then gave it up as a bad case of too many words, and too little substance on most fronts. I agreed with a lot of what she said in principle, but then Arundhati has this strange ability to decry stereotypes and binaries and then descend into using them herself. I’ve also never been sure if a tone of overwhelming self-righteousness is an effective strategy for advocacy. I’m sure I sound stridently self-righteous myself on occasion, but I do try and catch myself at it… Anyhow, now I’m clearly being heretical! We should definitely continue this conversation - offline if I don’t manage it online. :-)