(Graphic: an update of a file from the Tidmus archive)
My acquaintance with British activist Peter Tatchell goes back many years and began with efforts to cancel European and North American concerts by the Jamaican hate-singer Beanie Man. While there have been many successes, clearly the hate-singers are still advocating death for us queers. I rarely endorse censorship, but the lunatic, murderous ravings of these hate-mongers has to be silenced. Let them sing about ganja, or Babylon, or Bob Marley’s ghost, but don’t let them encourage their audiences to kill queers.
As Peter Tatchell points out, “There is a clear correlation between murder music and homophobic violence, especially in Jamaica, where the release of anti-gay tracks often coincides with a rise in queer-bashing violence.”
UK Gay News has closely followed as the London Metropolitan Police, who would never countenance a performer who sang Kill all the Muslims or Kill all the Jews, stand poised to allow the Jamaican hate-singer, Bounty Killer, to appear on a London stage, despite his ongoing incitement to murder queers. Tatchell notes that the police have said the only thing that might bring about a halt to Bounty Killer’s concert is the threat of rioting in the streets of London. The Metropolitan Police might well get their wish.
From UK Gay News:
Tatchell Fumes at Cops and Home Secretary Over Anti-Gay Singer’s Concert
Police will not cancel Bounty Killer concert unless there are threats of disturbances
LONDON, November 21, 2008 – The concert of the Jamaican “kill faggots” singer Bounty Killer is ahead this Sunday in London with the official sanction of the Home Secretary and the Acting Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
And the police say that unless there are threats of disturbances they will not cancel the concert.
“Jacqui Smith and Sir Paul Stephenson have ignored all polite, peaceful lobbying by the LGBT community,” said gay rights activist Peter Tatchell who is the coordinator of the Stop Murder Music Campaign.
“They have treated our community with total contempt. They condemn gun and knife crime, and deplore the terrible killings of young Londoners, yet they facilitate a singer who promotes murder.”
Mr Tatchell said he has been tipped off by an officer at New Scotland Yard that the Metropolitan Police has decided they would only cancel Bounty Killer’s concert if there is a likelihood of public disorder.
“This is a tacit encouragement of violent protests,” said Mr Tatchell.
“The police are effectively saying that if someone to threatens to firebomb the concert venue and kill the manager they will cancel the performance. Otherwise, if the protests are peaceful, the police will ignore them.
“It is utterly appalling that the Met Police will only respond to threats of violence and will ignore peaceful lobbying. This is a complete disgrace.
What can you do?
Bounty Killer’s concert is scheduled for this coming Sunday. First read the collection of articles at UK Gay News. Then email the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, and the British Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith. Let them know that queers outside the UK are every bit as outraged as our brothers and sisters within the UK, and that providing a forum for advocating death for any minority population is wrong. Here’s the contact info, via UK Gay News:
Email addresses (remove the spaces and substitute “at” with the usual) are: commissioner at met.police.uk and public.enquiries at homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk.
UPDATE: (11-21, 01:46 pm) The Metropolitan Police Commissioner’s email service twice blocked my email, which included a link to this post, with this message:
MPS automated content monitoring gateway has
stopped the following e-mail for the following reason:It believes it may contain unacceptable language, or
inappropriate material.
However, when I removed Bounty Killer’s words, ”Faggot, I kill every one of them” from the link and resorted to tinyURL.com for an abbreviated URL, the message went through without a problem.
Apparently, a police department computer in London is more easily offended by Bounty Killer’s words than the Metropolitan Police are.
Click for Printable Version
Here’s a sample email. I have no idea what the correct form of address for the British Home Secretary is, but if her sensibilities are not offended by Bounty Killer’s call to kill queers, who cares.
Dear Madam Secretary:
I am writing to register my shock and disbelief that the Metropolitan Police of London would stand idly by, while the Jamaican hate-singer Bounty Killer mounts a London stage and advocates the murder of gay people. It is impossible to imagine the Metropolitan Police, who would never countenance a performer who sang “Kill all the Muslims” or “Kill all the Jews,” would refuse to intervene and stop this concert.
I’m not normally an advocate of censorship, but the lunatic, murderous ravings of these hate-mongers has to be silenced. Let them sing about ganja, or Babylon, or Bob Marley’s ghost, but don’t let them encourage their audiences to kill queers.
This is an outrage, and I have brought it to the attention of the readers of my blog in the United States in the hope they will also petition you and the Metropolitan Police to cancel the concerts of this hate-monger.
Respectfully yours,
Mike Tidmus
What the hell gives in Jamaica?
These homophobe brothers are probably all on the “DL,” and have issues.
All I know is I won’t be traveling there anytime soon.