Homosexuality is said to be an “orientation” towards same sex romantic feelings and behaviour. Female homosexuals are lesbians. While male ones are gays. Schools treat homosexuality cases as indiscipline. Somehow, homosexuality compromises school safety. It also besmirches school image. It is also one of the causes of poor performance in schools.
Sometimes, homosexuality is in the area like bacteria, but we remain quiet about it. You must have read or heard, Kenya has three official languages — English, Kiswahili and Silence. Yet, Martin Luther King (MLK) warned us in the years of yore, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
So, we should sensitise students that homosexuality is outside African cultural context. Somewhat, it is a salacious social deception spreading through “subliminal seduction”, where advertisers probably without probity, use sophisticated Freudian, Jungian and Gestalt techniques: to send messages to consumers at a level below conscious awareness. Through social deception, wrong becomes right. Yet, in the distant past, Saint Augustine of Hippo advised, “Right is right even when no one is doing it. Wrong is wrong even when everyone is doing it.”
In this essay, I can say, the six stages of social deception include: shocker, outrage, discussion, tolerance, acceptance and veneration. On homosexuality, deceivers dropped the shocker that there is nothing wrong with a woman marrying a woman. Or a man marrying a man. An outrage followed suit. Misguided supporters received scathing attacks as they defended their new-fangled stance. Evil started percolating into mortal minds of people the way water swishes into tanks.
Then, a discussion ensued, where some fell into the deep ditch of deception. Now, lure of lucre is enticing some people. In Kenya, we have heard of court cases on the matter. Any sane person can also see the tragedy of many men acting like women in the name of comedy. Just in jest. When we see some men acting like women, we laugh about it. Thinking it is funny. Yet, it is a threat to the young generation. More so, boys we are mentoring to become men of substance.
Too true, things are going south as some of us watch at distance, in eloquent silence. Talking of tolerance, a parent may say, thank God my son is not a faggot. So, I do not dare to care or share what other children are becoming. Then, some invoke science. Leading to the controversial debate about “Sexual Orientation”. The questionable argument that some people are born as members of the alphabet community.
In that regard, we rush to dote on or quote UN Human Rights Charter. Dyed-in-the-wool activists talk about it. Nations swing in swift speed to “legalise” it in their Justice Systems. Powerful nations impose economic and travel sanctions on countries against it. Acceptance and veneration — focuses on entrenching it at social level. On acceptance, homosexuality becomes a conventional alternative way of living where people opposed to it become old-fashioned and intolerant. On veneration, homosexuals get plenty of plaudits. Misleading media; describe them as cool and good. In the West, it is at the last stage — veneration. Guess its age in Kenya.
Sadly, forms of sexual perversion like nudity take that ridiculous dimension. Consider women with absence of sense who dress scantily: revealing many acres of their bodies to the public, but blatant about it as they chant: My dress, My Choice. Yet, it is Monkey See, Monkey Do Syndrome. When gullible girls see that they think it is fashionable. Yet, our daughters should know nudity or exhibitionism is seen as sin.
Moreover, in a heroic book I pored over titled Sexual Perversion: An Evangelical Approach, Rev. Dr. Gang Pam (2001) courageously contends: “There are three things permeating, controlling, influencing, dictating and dominating society — Power, money and sex.” He explains perverse sexual behaviour such as homosexuality, fornication, adultery, incest, bestiality, voyeurism, masturbation and watching pornography. Therefore, you do not need great intellect to detect it.
As a practising Christian, I can join Dr. Gang Pam to say, in Judeo-Christian heritage, homosexuality is not good because it is bad. Apostle Paul penned in Romans 1:18-26. Quoth he: “…So, their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. Likewise, men abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lusts for one another.” Leviticus 18:22 warns: “Do not commit homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman is detestable sin.”
Moreover, in an unfortunate twist of fate, sodomy destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. Two ethereal celestial beings — Angels ― visited Lot. Not at night. Or midnight. But at twilight. That time the sun turn brown. Ready to go down. Lot accommodated them, but before they retired to bed, men intended to sleep with them. Lot went out, lambasted them, and was ready to offer his two chaste daughters far from age of consent. When they threatened to break the door, Angels made autochthons of Sodom and Gomorrah become blind like bats.
Then, it is right to write. Homosexuality is also behavioural. In a heroic book I read recently titled Welcome to Your Brain, co-authors Dr. Sandra Aamodt and Dr. Sam Wang argue: “Life history influences how people express their sexuality.” So, how do we confront the ugly ghosts of homosexuality jinxing students in schools? Sociologists and Psychologists posit that there are more cases of homosexuality among guests of state in prisons, which are consequences of confining same sex together for long. This explains the essence of mid-term and end of-term brief breaks in schools. Then, it justifies the need for frequent interactions among boys and girls in schools to enhance emotional stability and maturity in the growth and development of adolescents. Withal, there should be more inter-school activities such as games, sports, music, dance, drama, contests and symposia.
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Finally, schools should cordially invite informed speakers to confront the elephant in the room. Schools should constitute deft departments of Guidance and Counselling. Teacher-counsellors should take note of contemporary issues and organise group counselling sessions on sex and sexuality. Peer Counsellors should be identified, trained and empowered. Deputy principals and Discipline Committees should not compromise when handling indiscipline cases. Principals should invest in proper training of Student Councils. School sponsor (Church) and guest preachers should confront this social deception through sound doctrine while preaching and teaching. Pious people should pray for moral probity and sanity in schools. Boarding department should remain alert, vigilant and strict in dorms. Through evolution, not revolution — schools should shift from entertainment to edutainment — entertainment, which is educative.
By Victor Ochieng’
Victor Ochieng’ rolls out talks and training services in schools. vochieng.90@gmail.com. 0704420232
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