May not be a popular statement, but a lot of religions are like that. A focus on goodness and compassion, only if you meet a narrow set of standards. Just because weed is being smoked, does not mean these dudes are chilled out rebels.
That's what bothers me most about a lot of major religions. Like Christianity for example. Don't kill, don't steal, don't cheat... Ok that makes sense. But wait wut? Stone homosexuals? lol
But- I don't this sort of vehement homophobia is really widespread. You only really stumbled across it after listening to a fair bit of reggae. I admit, it shocked or surprised me at first....
![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
I don't know, it seems pretty widespread from what little I've read at least...
Portrayal of LGBT people in popular Jamaican music
See also: Stop Murder Music
Jamaica's popular culture has a strong tradition of music, including reggae and dancehall. As a consequence, performers are high profile, both influencing popular opinion and reflecting it. The United States Department of State said that in 2012 "through the songs and the behavior of some musicians, the country's dancehall culture helped perpetuate homophobia."[2] In its 2011 review of Jamaica for compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Committee expressed regret over "virulent lyrics by musicians and entertainers that incite violence against homosexuals" and recommended that Jamaica investigate, prosecute, and sanction persons who do so.[52]
Artists such as Buju Banton,[53][54] Bounty Killer,[54][55] Beenie Man,[56][57] Mavado,[58] Sizzla,[59] Elephant Man,[54][60] Capleton,[61] T.O.K.,[62] and Shabba Ranks[63][64] have during their careers written or performed, or both, songs that advocate attacking or killing gays and lesbians.
Banju Banton, according to Time Magazine, "is an avowed homophobe whose [1992] song Boom Bye-Bye decrees that gays 'haffi dead' ('have to die')."[54] The song also "boasts of shooting gays with Uzis and burning their skin with acid 'like an old tire wheel'."[54] Buju Banton's manager, Donovan Germain, has insisted that "Buju's lyrics are part of a metaphorical tradition. They're not a literal call to kill gay men."[54]
One of Beenie Man's songs contains the lyrics: "I'm a dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays."[65] Bounty Killer has urged his listeners to burn "Mister Fagoty" and make him "wince in agony."[54] Elephant Man said in one of his songs, "When you hear a lesbian getting raped / It's not our fault ... Two women in bed / That's two Sodomites who should be dead."[54] Lyrics from Sizzla's songs include: "Shot battybwoy, my big gun boom." (Shoot queers, my big gun goes boom.)[66]
Some Rastafari have advocated for violence and discrimination against LGBT people.[67] When singing about gay males, those advocates have used terms like "MAUMA MAN (Maama Man), FASSY HOLE (or simply FASSY), MR. BURN, PUSSYHOLE, FAGGOT, FISHMAN, FUNNY MAN, BUJU MAN, FREAKY MAN, POOP MAN, BUGGER MAN and the most commonly used, BATTY MAN (butt man) and CHI CHI MAN (chi chi, in Jamaica, is the slang for vermin)."[67]
When signing about gay women, they have used terms like "SODOMITE, CHI CHI GAL or simply LESBIAN."[67] The Bobo Ashanti, including dancehall singers Sizzla, Capleton, and Anthony B, condemn everything in conflict with their beliefs: "Fire pon politicians, Fire pon Vatican, Fire pon chi chi man..."[67] Some singers have defended themselves by saying that it is "a 'spiritual fire.'"[67]
An international campaign against homophobia by reggae singers was headed by OutRage!, the UK-based gay activism group,[68] and the UK-based Stop Murder Music Coalition.[69] An agreement to stop anti-gay lyrics during live performances and not to produce any new anti-gay material or re-release offending songs was reached in February 2005 between dancehall record labels and organizations opposed to anti-gay murder lyrics.[69]
According to a 2005 published report, the Canadian High Commission in Jamaica was also requiring performers who wished to tour in Canada to sign an Entertainer Declaration that stated that they had read and fully understood excerpts from the Criminal Code of Canada, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the Canadian Human Rights Act and would not "engage in or advocate hatred against persons because of their ... sexual orientation."[70] Calls for a boycott of Jamaica and its music in Canada had provoked a debate over censorship and free expression in both Jamaica and Canada.[71]
In August 2013, Queen Ifrica made anti-gay comments at the Grand Gala independence celebrations in Kingston,[72] which were promptly criticized and labeled as inappropriate by the government's Ministry of Youth and Culture.[73] The promoters of Rastafest in Toronto, held later the same month, then dropped her from the concert lineup after various persons and groups protested her inclusion.[74]
A 2010 random survey of Jamaican adults showed that among those who most listened to reggae music, 65.0 percent expressed repulsion (the most negative word available) about persons in same-sex relationships. The percentages for dancehall music were 62.8 percent, 47.5 percent for rhythm and blues, 45.4 percent for those with no music preference, 42.9 percent for old hits and gospel, 35.3 percent for rock/alternative, and 30.8 percent for hip hop/rap.[32]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_...ayal_of_LGBT_people_in_popular_Jamaican_music
The artists mentioned in that are hardly underground nobodies that no one's heard of, at least within the genre.
I guess I could be being disingenous though...
