Freedom of Speech - HAHABT 2015

Isn't it strange how people who speak out against the LGBT community tend to paint themselves as the victims? We see it happen all the time. A recent example from the USA is a small pizza place that said they'd refuse to serve at a same-sex wedding. They got nearly $840,000 from people who saw the owners of the pizza place as the true victims for the backlash they received. According to their supporters, they had a right to state their opinions, even if it showed massive bigotry. A recent example in Iceland is a musician spreading and advocating hate against LGBT people when a town decided to add education about homosexuality into their schools' curriculum. Sadly, he had supporters, about 400 of them the last time I knew. That may seem like a tiny number to the big world out there, but there are only about 320,000 people living in Iceland, so 400 is a lot. They set up a Facebook page and called it "Protect the Children" and hateful things were said. But the difference between the USA and Iceland is that ten of those people are now facing lawsuits for their words.

Image by Wilpersou via FreeImages.com

Of course, the musician and his followers are now the "true" victims in all this, not being allowed freedom of speech and stating their "humble" opinions. What they failed to understand is that freedom of speech has its limit in Iceland. You're allowed to say whatever the hell you want as long as it doesn't ridicule, calumniate, insult, or assault a person or a group of people because of their nationality, color, race, religion, or sexual inclination (General Penal Code, article 233 a). In other words, they're not allowed to verbally attack what is already a vulnerable minority group. If these ten people people are found guilty, they'll get heavy fines or prison for up to two years (but most likely it'll only be fines). 

Image by ilco via FreeImages.com

So, people over here are allowed to have their opinions, but they're not allowed to express them however they please in public. It sounds bad when you say it like that, but given the alternative of allowing hate speech without consequences, it isn't bad at all. Many countries forbid hate speech and are certainly not worse for it. Countries like Sweden, The Netherlands, France, and South Africa. Canada has banned the Westboro Baptist Church for entering their borders because of hate speech ("Church members enter Canada, aiming to picket bus victim's funeral", CBC News, 8 August 2008.).
You see, when Freedom of Speech was first introduced, it did have its limits. John Stuart Mill introduced the "Harm Principle" that would put limitation on freedom of speech. He said "the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others." ("Freedom of Speech". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 17 April 2008.).

Image by lusi via FreeImages.com

Prevent harm to others, he said. But what are anti-LGBT activists doing? They are spreading nasty messages about LGBT people to cause harm. "Harm" doesn't always mean that it's physical, it can be financial, libel, and injustice. It can be a mob yelling demeaning things at a single person, and no one can convince me that it wouldn't cause the person psychological harm. Hell, they're allowed to spread lies about minority groups without having to face any consequences. Really, outright lies!

Image by coachen via FreeImages.com

I think that officials in these countries - especially the USA that prides itself of free speech - are afraid of actually trying to put legal restriction on hate speech. They're afraid of backlash from the public and their fellow congressmen (because congressmen will use everything to attack one another in elections), of being accused of trying suppress opinions. Because that's what bullies do: they're loud, they act out, and they throw around big words and accusations to get their way. But these officials wouldn't be suppressing opinions, they'd only be limiting how these opinions are expressed in public, and the only reason they would do that would be to protect minority groups from harm. Freedom of speech is a human right, but how is it a human right not to be able to get justice for someone spreading lies about you and trying to get others to hate you because you're Hispanic/gay/Muslim/disabled/etc.?

Image by haiinee via FreeImages.com

Now, most of my readers and fellow authors are United States citizens. I respect that you may have a different opinion about freedom of speech. This post is not about ridiculing Americans. It is simply about me being unhappy with acceptance - even protection - of hate speech when it does more harm than good (in my opinion ^.^). 

In relation to this, but also on a completely different note, a study was made in 1996 about homophobes. The result? "...students who had the greatest sexual identity conflict -- young men and women who reported a straight identity while scoring highest on homosexual tendencies -- also exhibited a number of behaviors consistent with homophobia. They tended to report more negative or fearful attitudes toward gays and lesbians, tended to be biased against homosexuals in hypothetical situations, and were more likely to endorse anti-gay policies." (ibtimes.com) Meaning that those who protest the loudest are most likely to be homosexual. Here's a video that explains the study:

I should have started the post with the below introduction, but I wanted to dive right into the issue. Today is the International Day Against Homopohobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia. For the last four years, I've been organizing the Hop Against Homophobia, Bi- and Transphobia with friends. The hop starts today and ends on the 24th. Over 100 authors, publishers, reviewers, and cover designers of LGBT literature are taking part in the hop to spread the message about bi-, trans-, and homophobic discrimination, and stand together against discrimination of our books. It is tradition to offer a prize. I'm offering one of my ebooks to four people who comment. The winners will be chosen at random and may choose which ebook and in what format. I will draw the winners on the 25th and contact them, so please include your email or a way for me to contact you (e.g. a facebook link) in your comment. But everyone can get something: I have a number of free works that anyone can download.

If you're interested in more articles about the issue in Iceland, here are a couple of links:
Freedom Of Speech
Come On Kids, Let's All Join Hands And Be Gay!

Here are other links on free speech vs. hate speech:
Free Speech isn't Free
Here Is Why It's Time To Get Though On Hate Speech In America
Hate speech or free speech? What much of West bans is protected in U.S.

And below are the links to the rest of the people taking part.

Happy hopping :)

Edited: The winners are redtigerburninglust, Kassandra, MA Church, and Trix. Congrats :) You will receive email shortly. 

Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia: Holocaust

Most people have heard of the Holocaust that took place under Nazi German rule between 1933-1945. Millions of people were brutally killed by guns, gas chambers, and concentration camps. Most were Jews, but there were also other groups that ended up in those camps. The lesser talked about were the estimated 100,000 homosexuals (mostly men) who were arrested, over half of which were sentenced to the camps or simply murdered. Like the Jews and all other groups, the homosexuals were forced to wear a triangle. Theirs was pink. I doubt it's a coincidence that the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia's symbol is a pink triangle with an exclamation mark in the middle:

Take action against homophobic and transphobic discrimination!

Taking action is exactly what May 17th is all about. You can help by posting about homophobic and transphobic discrimination, reading about it, donating to LGBT charity organizations, and just get the word out there. Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia is the effort of nearly 180 writers, publishers, reviewers, and cover designers to spread the word and to try to get our readers active during the day and for ten days thereafter. Please stop by and read our messages. A prize will be given at each stop.

Back to the topic: a holocaust is a thing of the past, right? Wrong. LGBT people in all countries (even in tolerant Iceland, although it's not very frequent or visible) have to face homophobic and transphobic discrimination. In some countries, they are killed, either by officials or the public.

There are many, many countries that imprison people for their sexuality. One such country is Uganda, but they want to take things further. They have been on the verge of a homosexual and transsexual holocaust twice now, trying to push through the "Kill the Gays Bill". Politicians want all homosexual and trans* people imprisoned, and everyone who helps them in any way (this includes their landlord for renting them a roof over their heads). They want the public to point out who's gay or even displaying homosexual/transsexual behavior. If this bill ever goes through, one must make certain never to touch an individual of the same gender for too long or they run the risk of being accused of being same-sex oriented, and thereby thrown in jail or hanged. If this bill goes through, it will be a modern-day holocaust.

Currently, the bill's been put on hold, but if you ever see it prop up again (it's on the agenda for 2013), I beg you to sign petitions against it and do whatever you can to stop it. Every little bit helps. 

In honor of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, I'm donating $50 to Icebreakers Uganda, and will make it my choice of future donations when I have more money. If you have money to spare, this is a great cause. Frank Mugisha and his people have been working hard to stand up for LGBTI rights, but it's like swimming upstream with all the public and political prejudice in Uganda. They need all the backing they can get.

Now, if you leave a comment below along with your email address, you may have a chance to win a book from my backlist. I will use Random.org to choose, announce and contact 3 winners on May 28th.

Thanks for stopping by!

Banned Books Week: Luna

Fourth day of Banned Books Week and I decided to feature a book about a boy who is a girl on the inside: Luna, by Julie Anne Peters. I have read both the blurb and a short summary on Wikipedia and I must say, I have to have it! Jeeze, I think I'll probably end up buying paperback copies of all of these books and donate them to Iceland's LGBT center. Hmm...or maybe I should just donate them to my local library instead, so non-LGBT people will be more inclined to check them out.

Blurb:

Regan's brother Liam can't stand the person he is during the day. Like the moon from whom Liam has chosen his female namesake, his true self, Luna, only reveals herself at night. In the secrecy of his basement bedroom Liam transforms himself into the beautiful girl he longs to be, with help from his sister's clothes and makeup. Now, everything is about to change-Luna is preparing to emerge from her cocoon. But are Liam's family and friends ready to welcome Luna into their lives? Compelling and provocative, this is an unforgettable novel about a transgender teen's struggle for self-identity and acceptance.

Now, of course there's controversy. I mean, if books about two male penguins hatching an egg together and raising little Tango is considered by some people harmful to kids, then a book about a guy who's a girl will definitely be considered harmful. I mean, we can't let people be themselves and be accepted for it, now can we? No, that would make the world too accepting and there wouldn't be enough balance between justice and prejudice and it would result in the end of humanity as we know it.

Now, my university teacher always says that Wikipedia isn't a reliable source, but I'm going to quote it anyway:

"Although there is not much published about the censorship of Luna, the novel is part of the list of restricted/banned books of Texas due to the topics of transgender and homosexuality as well as rough language.[1] Despite winning multiple awards, the book revolves around sexual orientation, which is often left out of the school curriculum."

That's just the thing. Another way to keep these books hidden from kids (and thereby censored) is to not include them in the school curriculum. I think it should be mandatory to have some sort of (positive) enlightenment on LGBT (and racial) matters in every school - not just once but over and over to practice acceptance. I'm going to check the reading list in the school my sons will attend next year. I swear, if my Icelandic was better, I'd spend time translating some of these books and try to get the national school board to include them in the schools (I doubt they would object, the problem is that we don't have that many Icelandic MG/YA LGBT fiction).

According to the Banned Books Database, Luna has been challenged for "Dysfunctional family (family problems), Sexuality (Transexuality/Transgender), and use of Profanity".

You can buy Luna from Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and other retailers.

Giveaway: I'm offering a copy of Geography Club - the book I featured in my first post of this themed week - to a person who leaves a comment and email address on any of the banned books posts this week (only one entry though and one prize for the whole week). If you don't want your email address posted here, feel free to send me mail at eripike at gmail dot com. I will also make this contest open in the YA LGBT Books group on Goodreads, for those who aren't old enough to enter this site.

The winner will be randomly drawn, contacted and announced on October 6th - the last day of this awareness week.