At this year’s Reggae Rhythm and Blues Festival in Queens, Democratic U.S. Representative Yvette Clarke honored Jamaican performer Beenie Man by welcoming him with a framed letter from the festival’s organizers. She said, “We welcome you back to the United States of America… We honor you. You have been an outstanding performer and you have made all Jamaicans proud.”
We’re guessing when she said that she probably didn’t know about his lyric that goes, “I’m dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays” or his other ones about hanging lesbians, slitting gay men’s throats, and shooting them in the head.
He certainly doesn’t make all of Jamaica proud nor does all of America welcome him either.
Via Think Progress. Images via Dplanet:: and Wikimedia Commons
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t2
Super LOL considering her most recent tweets are anti-discrimination
BinghamTun
What a couple of clowns.
tookie
She has a superbiguglyface.
Bobby
Give it a rest Queerty just because gays hate someone doesn’t mean everybody else has to.It’s just a song I happen to like his music.
calvin
What a dumb bitch.
Thomas Maguire
What a cunt.
And the representative should be ashamed of herself, too.
Whit
@Bobby:
Bobby’s right. I mean, it’s *just* a song: it can’t incite violence, reinforce bigotry, or anything else harmful or negative. It’s just the artist portraying their feelings in a creative and artistic manner- Wait a second…
Ronbo
@Bobby: I don’t know where the kids learn to hate! They just pick it up on the streets, I guess. A mystery we’ll never solve. You can’t blame his loving and inclusive song lyrics. It’s just like skin mags; kids don’t beatoff to them, they just buy them to read the articles.
Kev C
@Bobby: Which anti-gay song? Beenie Man has 5 of them.
Batty Man Fi Dead (shoot all gays)
Mi Nah Wallah (cut all gay men’s throats)
Bad Man Chi Chi Man (chase and kill gay DJs)
Han Up Deh (hang lesbians)
Damn (dreams of killing all gays in Jamaica)
the crustybastard
@Bobby:
So if an ethnically German US congressman presented a commendation to a German White Power band, and added, “we honor you and you have made all Germans proud,” that’d be okay, because…y’know, it’s just music.
jason
Yvette Clarke is a piece of shit and so is anything else that comes out of Jamaica, the Caribbean’s anus.
jason
She’s a Democrat, by the way. Speaks volumes.
TMikel
She is obviously an idiot and typical of those in Congress [the great majority] who don’t think before they speak, don’t research topics and people careful, and don’t really inform themselves on the issues.
Jollysocks
She’s not hateful, just severely misinformed about his views of the LGBT community. She has consistently voted for our rights and was very vocal in her support of NY’s recently passed marriage equality law.
pedro
@Jollysocks: She’s black and therefore a born homophobe…there can be no other explanation! It’s completely out of the realm of possibility that she’s just uninformed about some obscure Jamaican rapper and in the process of pandering for a few votes compliments this loser…No she’s black and ergo a natural born homophobe…
Gay Veteran
@pedro: lol
Eric
@Bobby: Then why are you on a queer news site. If you a self loathing gay that hates fems and thinks every one should look like a Falcon Blow up Doll then fine. I get it there is no help for you.
Kev C
@pedro: Did you watch the video of the ceremony before you wrote that?
(5:15)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0yjblB-JmE
Bobby
@Kev C: I’m not self loathing,I just think that people in the gay media are going to far.
Gay Veteran
@Kev C: Who cares?? She honored him for being a “Outstanding Musician”.. as long as she’s voting in support of LGBT rights.
He’s irrelevant.
Kev C
@Gay Veteran: Evette knows and likes Beenie’s music. She knows about his visa cancellation which was lifted last month.
http://fromtheleft.wordpress.com/2010/04/05/viciously-homophobic-jamaican-singers-banned-from-u-s
But some seem to think she’s ignorant and uninformed. Based on what evidence?
WillBFair
@Kev C: It’s a fair assumption, given that they say she supports our rights. The two views are incompatable, so it’s fair to assume she’s ignorant of this creeps record.
Steven
A post by Daniel Villarreal that attempts to paint African Americans (and other darkies) in a bad light? Color me surprised…
Kev C
@WillBFair: It’s fair to assume she’s a politician. Dishonest and disingenuous.
Harry
What a dumb bimbo. This is what we’ve got in Congress today? No wonder the country is in such a mess. “We” do not welcome this talentless piece of shit to America. Keep your trash in that tropical island ghetto of Jamaica.
forgot
queerty forgot to accuse her of being gay
jason
If Yvette Clarke were white, I’d still be on her case. While it’s true that she’s been supportive of gay rights issues, she’s basically dumped on us by welcoming Beenie Man.
the crustybastard
@pedro: …”It’s completely out of the realm of possibility that she’s just uninformed about some obscure Jamaican rapper…
It’s clearly within the realm of possibility YOU are uninformed about Beanie Man.
He’s hardly “obscure” — he’s won a Grammy, which is pretty much the definition of “mainstream.” Also, he’s also not a “rapper” — he performs dancehall reggae.
Beanie Man made news in 2004 after MTV kicked him off the music awards pursuant to protests by gay organizations furious over Beanie Man’s “murder music,” which celebrates the assault and murder of gay people. He made news the next year when England cancelled his concert tour for violating hate speech laws. He issued an apology through his record company. A couple years later, he made news again by signing a pledge promising not to perform murder music. He now denies he signed it.
So while YOU may have missed all that news, US Representative Clarke is provided a sizable and talented research staff, which gives her no excuse for being so “uninformed.”
the crustybastard
@Steven:
By “paint in a bad light,” you are stating that Mr. Villarreal is misrepresenting the actions of Beanie Man and Rep. Clark, and doing it because they’re black.
That’s quite a harsh and offensive accusation. Please follow through, and use specifics. Let me get you started.
• Does Beanie Man NOT perform “murder music”?
• Did Rep. Clarke NOT “honor” him for his music?
• Did Rep. Clarke NOT claim his music does “honor” to all Jamaicans?
• Precisely how is Mr. Vallarreal misrepresenting those actions?
• Where are the falsehoods, and how are they intended to slander all richly melanined people?
Don’t just show up and fling poo. Back your shit up.
Mike in Asheville
@jason: @Harry: Just like the wingnuts who smear us, you blanket your bigotry and racism across ALL Jamaicans. Well, just like everyplace else, 5-10% of Jamaicans are GAY too and endure a difficult life among the many homophobes.
You too easily forget that the Stonewall Riots began as a protest against institutionalized homophobic discrimination backed by the New York Police Department, when engaging in homosexual sex was punishable by 5-20 years in prison, depending on the state. And in some states, that continued until 2003 LESS THAN 10 YEARS AGO.
Jamaica among many other countries have a long way to go for gay/lesbian civil rights — but do not forget that that battle was waged here too and fought by many so that the next and younger generations have their rights today.
SteveC
She is a moron.
I don’t believe she is a bigot.
BUt I do know that she is ignorant and uninformed.
No wonder she decided to be a politician.
Mykey
is beenie wearing lip gloss??
jason
I support any Jamaican who is on the side of fairness and justice. I do not support the prevailing Jamaican pigs who oppress their own gay citizens. I include Jamaican women in this pigs category.
Samuel Kestu
There’s a lot of great information about homophobia in Jamaica in the online December 2010 Guernica Magazine article “Murder Music.” http://bit.ly/gjX4Iu I strongly recommend this article.
Homophobia in Jamaica is extreme and is widespread among the population. Approximately 96% of Jamaica’s population, in polls, say that they support keeping Jamaica’s laws that make male homosexuality illegal and punishable by a prison term of up to 10 years are hard labour. The entire Caribbean region is strongly homophobic.
You can read about Beenie Man’s performance of “Mi Nah Wallah,” in which he says he wants to cut the throats of all gay men, in Uganda on 12/05/09 here http://bit.ly/aJzNbQ