Is Africa homophobic?

Is Africa homophobic,
Or is it neocolonial phobic?
Terrified by your attitude,
There is something about this movement that screams dominance,
The west tramping on sovereignty,
Worn out flags hanging on fragile poles.
They fear your vision,
A diverse world with singular morality,
Where you control their thoughts, traditions and emotions,
Buy their souls,
Developmentalists,
Human rights activists,
Colonialists in disguise.
And after years of aid, IMF conditions, MDGs,
Maybe they are just sick of bending over backwards for your “valued” friendship,
So valued, it begins to sound like prostitution.

I am all for freedom,
Majority rule, minority rights,
Heck on some nights I like a little dom,
BDSM,
But who is willing to be submissive,
Who sets the rules,
Who rules?
Is it all a game?
A power struggle,
The wanna be gods versus us,
The little people,
Whose limbs will be chopped,
And bodies stoned.
Is it like the time when you threw bombs, a lot of bombs, to kill a dictator,
But they kept landing in villages with helpless women and children,
Or when you armed rebels,
That shot at little boys in schools,
Or sanctions to make some president pay,
But left innocent people without basic needs,
In your tug of war, do you care about the little ants?

I am not for Judgment,
Who is rightfully normal, and who faces fire at the end.
I am not for lies,
That reduce love into a sexual act,
And the state of being into a simple choice.
I am not for fear,
Of what we don’t know,
Of those that differ.
See, we are essentially the same,
Him and I,
Created in the image of God,
Same clay,
Evolved from the same ape,
Zinjanthropus turn Homo Sapiens,
Whatever genesis says,
We are human first,
The rest are just minor details.

But the wounds of an enslaved nation are still fresh,
Yet you shove your powers right down their throat,
Telling them it is your way or no way at all,
What part of it is rational?
Justice cannot wait you say,
So stop the aid, sanction away,
Until they do what you say.
The minority deserve freedom!
So they retaliate,
Just to show their strength,
Sign bills to ban the gays,
And as usual, the little people pay.
Don’t stop the fight I say,
Tell them all, LIVE AND LET LIVE,
then go to your office, and practice what you preach!

Notes:

• Header image from The Telegraph
• President Museveni’s statement upon signing the Anti-Homosexuality Bill (via The New Vision)
• Obama issues stern statement to Uganda about anti-gay bill (via PBS Newshour)
• Museveni responds to Obama on anti-gay bill (via The New Vision)
• Is Obama’s criticism of Uganda’s anti-gay law hypocritical? (via Al Jazeera)