Dear Editor,
The following message was sent to The Shrine, an entertainment venue at which notorious "kill the gays" Dancehall singer Beenie Man is scheduled to perform. Gay Liberation Network (GLN) has asked The Shrine to cancel the performance and has offered to meet with The Shrine to discuss the matter.
The Shrine did not respond to a request for the name of an owner or manager to whom our message might be addressed. GLN is asking WCT readers to contact The Shrine to ask that Beenie Man not perform at the venue: 312-753-5700 (phone) | 312-753-5704 (fax) General Email: info@theshrinechicago.com
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To Whom It May Concern:
The dancehall artist Beenie Man is scheduled to appear at your venue on Thanksgiving night, Nov. 22.
I wish it were possible to say that this artist performs music that is simply engaging entertainment with a great beat and sometimes gritty lyrics. Sadly, this is not the case due to Beenie Man's history of frequent calls for violence against gays and lesbians. Such calls are anything but "entertainment" when directed against a vulnerable and oppressed minority.
Two of Beenie Man's songs (which he has not repudiated and which he has, in fact, continued to sing) call for "hanging lesbians with a long piece of rope," and "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays."
It's true that in recent years, Beenie has at times sounded conciliatory; he even signed the Reggae Compassionate Act (RCA) in 2007. However, he later denied signing the RCA. As for any apology to gays, in a video statement Beenie Man says, "I Never Apologize To Gays" (5/23/12). As recently as 2009, Beenie performed a "kill the gays" song in Kampala, Ugandaa country that is a murderous hot bed of anti-gay oppression.
He granted an interview to The Advocate (8/1/12), a gay magazine, that was billed as an "apology." However, in it he said that in Jamaica the only homosexual activity involved older, wealthy men preying on heterosexual youtha narrative directly contradicted by LGBT people on the scene. Beenie's subtext would seem to be that anything is justified to protect youth from sexual predators.
For more information on Beenie Man, his lyrics, and the twists and turns of his often hateful relationship with the global gay community, go to my.firedoglake.com/heathen07/2012/07/06/who-is-beenie-man-and-what-is-he-doing-now; and
http://www.petertatchell.net/pop_music/Pic/Dancehall-Dossier-FINAL.pdf.
Because of his advocacy of violence toward our people and his checkered and inconsistent relationship to the global LGBT community, we respectfully request that management of The Shrine show its respect for our community and rescind its offer to have Beenie Man perform at its venue Nov. 22. We would be happy to sit down with you to discuss this matter further.
Thank you.
Truly yours,
Gay Liberation Network