The principal of a high school in Jamaica has been forced into hiding after photographs of him having sex with another man were posted to the Internet, GayStarNews reports.
It all started when the principal’s cell phone was stolen. The photos first began being circulated among students before eventually being uploaded online.
The other man in the photo has not been identified, though initial rumors suggested he was a student at the high school. Relatives of the principal deny this, however. They say the other man is “not a student or child.”
The principal, who is married to a woman and has three children, claims the photos have been digitally edited and that he never posed for them. But this hasn’t prevented him for going into hiding, prompting some people to speculate that he had killed himself. Relatives say he is alive, but they will not disclose his location.
As a result of the leak, the principal has begun receiving death threats. His children, too, have had their lives threatened.
“They have fans promoting hate and treating his children saying they too should be killed as they are contaminated,” a family member told media. “This man is being crucified and no authority is seemingly trying to help.”
In Jamaica, sexual acts between two men are punishable with up to ten years in prison.
School officials are said to be holding an emergency meeting to discuss how to handle the case. The chair of the school board told the Jamaica Observer that he believes the principals story that the images may have been doctored.
Related stories:
Gay Jamaican Man Caught Having Sex Brutally Attacked By Guard, Mob
Jamaica Still “Most Homophobic Place On Earth” As Cross-Dressing Teen “Chopped And Stabbed” To Death
Landmark Case Seeks To Abolish Jamaica’s Colonial-Era Anti-Gay Laws
Stache99
Sorry that he has to live on the Island of Superstitious Savages where doing drugs and robbing tourists is considered a-ok but kiss another guy and the thugs will be out looking for you. The best he can do now is get his family the fuck out of there.
Of coarse this could be some kind of revenge thing too. Just accusing someone of being gay has consequences and will bring the mobs out.
That’s why I always keep my phone free of things I don’t want others to see just in case I lose it or it gets stolen.
Stache99
It’s really too bad because Jamaica really is beautiful. Too bad we can’t just relocate them all onto a reservation somewhere else and develop it as the tourist destination that it should be.
aliengod
How dare this man have gay sex and contaminate his children! LOL What is that even supposed to mean? I had no idea that Jamaica was this “third world”.
jwtraveler
Do not take pictures on your phone that you don’t want other people to see. EVER!
The Village Elder
Jamaica is a political cesspool. I travel and spend money when I do but there’s no way in hell I’d let that country have a penny of mine. Tragic that such a beautiful environment is polluted by such scum.
Kieran
“In Jamaica, sexual acts between two men are punishable with up to ten years in prison.”
And yet as far as I know there has been no organized Boycott of tourism to Jamaica and of Jamaican products and no cut off of US foreign aid to Jamaica.
Why the hell not?
Stache99
@Kieran: I was just thinking that. If you don’t give a fuck about human right abuses then tour away with a guilt free conscience. Just hope you don’t get mugged or robbed while there though.
I don’t think we import much besides rum and their crappy Reggai music.
Yeah, a 10 year prison sentence in Jamaica is a one way ticket. Might as well be a death sentence.
blackberry finn
I get that Jamaica has some issues with human sexuality, but words like “savages” and “relocation” take us back to a past age that, at the time, wasn’t so different for gays from the one we’re criticizing in Jamaica now.
Stache99
@blackberry finn: “some issues” Lol.
Arcamenel
Lots of not-so-subtle racism in the comment sections. Let us not forget where the anti-gay animus and Jamaica comes from. I’m looking at you white missionaries.
Charli Girl
Amazing how soooo many gay people are not aware of just how anti gay Jamaica is!!!
Derek Williams
Ah religion, so useful when you need a potpourri of excuses to rationalise your desire to belittle others, hate and kill. If the body on the slab was a fake, then there’s every reason to suppose the images of gay sex were also fake. Regardless, even if genuine, and even if adulterous, if they were private pictures, it was invasion of privacy to circulate them and those responsible should be punishable at law. All sorts of correspondence takes place between lovers that is no business of others, and would likewise cause titillation and embarrassment if circulated without consent.
ErichSchoe
Yes, Jamaica is one of the most homophobic countries in the world. I won’t ever travel there and give them my money. The fact that a guy in drag was attacked in a dance club and stabbed and chopped by the patrons should tell you a lot.
Cam
@Kieran:
There has been a “Boycott Jamaica” movement for several years. I can’t imagine any gay people even thinking about going there!!
http://www.queerty.com/really-want-to-boycott-jamaica-stop-watching-logo-or-solving-vanna-whites-puzzles-20090428
Cam
@Arcamenel: said…
“Lots of not-so-subtle racism in the comment sections. Let us not forget where the anti-gay animus and Jamaica comes from. I’m looking at you white missionaries.”
_______________________________________
Two things.
1. There were missionaries in multiple countries, including all of the Caribbean yet I don’t see St. Martin, St. Lucia, the Caymens, etc… with similar violent dangerous and govt. sanctioned attitudes.
2. Your comment seeks to avoid the fact. If your kid gets sick from another kid in school, you don’t just ignore your kid and talk about how that other kid shouldn’t have gotten him sick, you treat the illness, in this case by boycotting, political pressure, whatever is needed.
demented
@Kieran: Nobody’s boycotted the Middle-East yet.
demented
@Cam: Good point. I’m pretty sure the missionaries have nothing to do with it, and some homophobe in a government position of power does.
DuMaurier
@Cam: Okay, but “savages” is an undeniably racial term. It’s still jarring to realize that the first time I ever saw the “n-word” on a comments board it was coming from a professedly progressive gay man (directed at an African-American who, as a homophobe, deserved some kind of slapdown–but that? And it wasn’t the last or worst example I could come up with)
Stache99
@DuMaurier:I define certain acts as savage. If you act on them you are a savage. I’ve seen enough videos from there to know what this guys fate will be if he gets caught. They’ll act like animals and no one will stop them.
wild; not cultivated ?
barbaric; not civilized
savage manners
fierce and ferocious
savage beasts
a savage spirit
brutal, vicious or merciless. An uncivilized or feral human; a barbarian.
Wild, not cultivated
Barbaric, not civilized
Fierce and ferocious
Brutal, vicious or merciless
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/savage
?
NoCagada
Doesn’t sound much different than Mississippi or Alabama…
NoCagada
Jamaica…most disgusting place I’ve ever been. It’s nice only if you go and STAY in an all-inclusive resort (many resorts warn you not to leave), otherwise it’s filthy beaches, some with open sewage, constant beggars and people trying to sell you crap, cops trying to sell you drugs, crappy food, and the most unfriendly people I have ever encountered…two weeks after I got back, two friends went (since their trip was already booked and paid for)…they were robbed twice, were almost stabbed in one robbery and the cops basically laughed at them
Chris
I hope-that/wonder-if he can seek asylum in the U.S.
charlie_jackpot
I apologise on behalf of all British people for the countries that halted their development after the collapse of the Empire
money718
Just sad. This only encourages more DL behavior. No wonder Jamaican men are so sex-crazed when they come here to New York.
jonasalden
@Stache99: And avoid Jamaica and Uganda too
jonasalden
@Arcamenel: Point taken. Now that I think of it, Uganda fits that bill too. One guy said “savages”, which was a bit jarring to read. We must keep our noses clean too when it comes to discrimination and its coded language. Remember, that’s how “they” talk about us.
jmac
Just a thought from down under i set my phone to shut down after 5 mins of no activity plus the Security program on my cell phone as u call them in US emails me when it has been put in airplane mood shut down battery is low will even take a pic of who shut it down etc. Then from email on laptop etc i can shut the cell down or wipe the whole phones memory if everyone did that great i have stuff on my mobile phone i do not any one to see but as my phone is a 24/7 connection for me it is never out of my sight
jwtraveler
@Kieran: Jamaican gay organizations oppose a tourism boycott and African-American gay groups (like FIBO) continue to visit and support Jamaica. I don’t get it, but that’s the way it is. I remember seeing TV ads for Jamaica showing beautiful white beaches and blue-green water when I was a kid and I dreamed of going there. I never have and wouldn’t go now
jwtraveler
@Arcamenel: The “anti-gay animus” in many Caribbean and African countries comes from British colonialists. More recently, most notably in Uganda, the anti-gay sentiment has come from American Christian missionaries. But many African countries are becoming more anti-gay as a symbol of rejection of Western cultural values and as means of deflecting dissatisfaction with the corrupt governments. “Blame the gays, not the government that’s robbing you blind.”
jwtraveler
@charlie_jackpot: You say development; I say exploitation–po-tay-to, po-tah-to.
DarkZephyr
@blackberry finn: “some issues”. Honestly?
@DuMaurier: I don’t care what ethnicity a person is, I consider homophobia to be savage. R*cism is also savage. R*cism is also savage. Sorry. Slinging accusations of r*cism is a poor way to deal with the justifiable outrage directed at Jamaica in my opinion.
DarkZephyr
@jwtraveler: whatever their excuse is , it’s still not ok.
jockjack5
Jamaica is quite literally a toilet… culturally, economically, and politically.
You would have to be a fool to visit there.
Even staying at an “exclusive” resort can be dangerous. The beaches are filthy and reek of sewage and, yes, they warn you at the front desk about venturing out beyond the security gates and fences. But even within the so-called safety of the compound, you can be robbed. My cousin and his boyfriend were robbed at knife-point in the middle of the night, in their “safe” hotel room.
Like I said… a real shit-hole!
blondeboyz
My only experience with Jamaica was a shore excursion from a cruise. We walked the waterfalls at Ocho Rios. The whole string of tourists have to hold hands and climb the falls. The guide tried to line us all up as girl, boy, girl, boy. And I said no when he tried to move me. I said I was walking up the falls with my husband. He said “OH, don’t say that!” F@@k him. I paid a lot of money for that excursion and wasn’t going to have a homophobe ruin it for us. My husband and I walked up together.
Austrian
Jamaica is an island of savages who make money off tourists that they secretly hate. I have shocking news for you, they are not fond of gay people or white people. My one visit there was enough for a lifetime. Being warned multiple times not to show any interest in a local man (which I was with my husband and wouldnt have anyway) because if anyone saw him they would kill him. Its so typically liberal to defend the people that would burn you alive if they had the chance…hey, maybe that’s why they call it flaming liberal.
Maude
In the early sixties four of us gay guys, two in our twenties and two in their forties charted a private 68ft. sailing yacht named, “Tradition”. We were her crew, along with her captain and a native of St. Thomas we called ‘Cook” who indeed, was a very fine ship’s cook.
We boarded her at Yacht Haven, St. Thomas, V.I., and sailed her throughout the Caribbean for six weeks…stopping at many of the Islands for sight seeing… there wasn’t much to see in those days except for Jamaica, where it was hoped that Jamaica would become the new paradise that was Cuba before Castro.
It was meant to be a kind of ‘Honeymoon’ for both couples and while we were not the ‘swishy’ types, while on the islands we visited, we did occasionally hold hands and I don’t see how we couldn’t be seen as gay couples.
Point is, in Jamaica, and on all the other islands we visited, we were treated like royalty.
The captain, who was gay and hailed from Forest Hills, N.Y, and hired by the owner, Dr. Calderone, warned us early on, that “Homo’s were looked upon as freaks of nature in all of the Caribbean, but we shouldn’t have any trouble if we didn’t ‘ask for it'”….He meant if we tried to ‘sleep’ with them.
We had no intention of doing any such thing, but we did cut the trip short.
After 4 weeks, we’d had enough, and charted a plane from Guatemala to fly us back to ‘civilization’.
Enron
I live in Jamaica (born and grown) and to be honest, its not as dramatic as some make it. Yes, Jamaicans are homophobic, if you keep that out of sight and mind and avoid expressing your same sex attractions, you can live a pretty abnormal lonely life here.
That’s my situation, the only time I have ever had any sexual contact was when I was 12 with another 14 year old. I am now 30 and to be honest, love and relationship is non-existent in my life. Its hard, because it brings up another conundrum. Its hard to maintain a single life for long without it brining up questions. Don’t think its any better if you move to the urban areas, in fact, its likely worst there and dangerous.
Jamaicans are nosy and let another persons personal life become their priority. So, issues like, a single 30 year old male I have never seen with a girl or woman before. Even in the workplace, it becomes a problem after a while.
I would love to be out, but that puts you at risk of physical harm and even murder. Its just the reality. Also, you cannot confide in anyone, you just cannot trust anyone, because eventually they will tell someone who will tell someone, then the entire community ends up knowing your business.
I hope to leave the country within the next 2 to 5 years so I can really be who I want to be without fear. I live on a beautiful island and take offense to the country being poor and dirty. Yes, its a developing nation and we still have a long way to go before reaching developed status. Economically, it is tough out here, but I am able to live, afford the things I want if I save towards them.
Its just one of the core components of what makes me a human cannot be expressed and is threatened because of the countries strong Christian beliefs and a culture of hate towards homosexuality. I would some day love to meet a beautiful guy I can fall in love with and make a life with. Heck, I wouldn’t mind just having a nice guy in my life. You can’t because of the threat that exist. Sometimes I thank God for the Internet, porn, websites like this and my right hand.
Should you visit the island? Sure, do so, but do understand that you can’t openly express your homosexuality. They are not gonna ask if you are gay or straight at the airport or hotel. You can venture out and explore the island, but do it with someone you can trust and as with any strange place, be careful plus keep it platonic!
The people here are nice otherwise, very caring and appreciative, but the bad side exist, it is entrenched: Jamaicans do not like gay people. Its the same with my family, my mother and father and my siblings hate gay people. My father died a many years ago, I am not out to my family and don’t have intention to be. Do they know, sometimes I think so, but they just ignore it. One of my siblings brought up the topic to my mother, I think he is in stage of life where he should have a girlfriend and I find it strange. This is something my mother brought up to me.
So, as I enter my 30s, you know its gonna get a bit more intense.
So to conclude, the only folks who have to worry about violence are the native Gay men and women who live here, just like that Vice Principal.
jwtraveler
I feel sad for the situation you have to live in. I think the worst part must be the loneliness. I think I’ve heard that there are gay organizations and gay-friendly places in Jamaica. I hope that you can contact one of them to meet other people like yourself. Even when you’re in a difficult situation, it’s much easier when you have other people to support you so you’re not doing it alone. And I also hope that one day you can leave Jamaica and come to the US or UK, where you can have a safer and happier love. I wish there were something I could do to help. My best wishes for a good new year to you, Enron.
jwtraveler
@jwtraveler: I meant to write “happier life”, but I wrote “love”. See where my mind was. Well, I wish you love, too.
jockjack5
@Enron:
Wonderfully written comment… and so sad.
You sound like a kind and gentle soul.
Best wishes for you.
jwtraveler
@jwtraveler: I wasn’t suggesting that it’s OK and I don’t think it is in any way a reasonable excuse. The irony is that they blame Western culture for introducing homosexuality and pushing gay rights when it was actually Western culture that introduced homophobia. It’s actually a way that corrupt governments scapegoat a powerless group to divert attention and strengthen their autocratic hold on an ignorant populace. It’s a very old story used by the Nazis, the Khmer Rouge, Muslim extremists in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq to name just a very few. Even the Republican party scapegoats immigrants, blacks and gays in order to implement repressive policies that harm the white middle class in this country.
dave lopes
@ Enron: You make no sense.
You admit that Jamaican hate gays, yet you are advising gays to visit Jamaica.
Why should gays spend money on a nation/people that hates them and want to see them dead.