Gay Cruise Heads to the Homophobic Caribbean

Gay Cruise Heads to the Homophobic Caribbean

I am a firm believer that as a LGBT community, we should  always  vote with our money. 

My partner and I never want to support or give money to those who don't have our best interests at heart.

Now I don't go crazy, trying to verify that every single company I do business with is gay friendly. However, when I know a company is homophobic, I will refuse to spend my money with them.

This week in the news again is the homophobic Caribbean nations. Coming up in April is a  cruise to the Bahamas benefiting Miami Beach Gay Pride, that is once again calling attention to the appropriateness of visiting Caribbean nations that appear to be homophobic.

Source Events, a company that specializes in LGBT tours, is donating proceeds to the organization from a cruise aboard the Norwegian Sky  that will make stops in Grand Bahama, Nassau and Great Stirrup Bay. The cruise embarks two days after the second annual Pride Parade and Expo in South Beach. - Why they would choose these destinations, is beyond me. And I for one, would refuse to go on this cruise. The Carribean has made it quite clear they do not like gays! 

-In  2004 they  picketed  a Rosie O’Donnell’s Family Vacations cruise.
-In  2006  they baned  the film "Brokeback Mountain,"
-In  2007 there was a police raid on a gay cruise party.
-In 2009  there was a  jury acquittal of a man who used the "gay panic" defense in the murder of an HIV-positive male.
So if towns are this homophobic, why would we want to stop there? Why would I want to give them my money?

EDGE BOSTON reports, "Representatives of Source Events and Miami Beach Gay Pride acknowledged the problems with anti-gay discrimination in the Bahamas, but defended the cruise."

"Neither I nor Miami Beach Gay Pride are blind to the fact that homophobia exists in the Bahamas," Sharon Kersten, a Source Events spokesperson, told EDGE in e-mail. "Perhaps we can be part of the solution, rather than punishing an entire nation for the fears and heinous acts of a small portion of the population."

"While, yes, it is true there have been incidents of homophobia in the Bahamas, I suspect that whatever town you live in it happens there, too," Cindy Brown, Miami Beach Gay Pride operations director, said in a phone interview. "There are pluses and minuses to anywhere one could possibly visit. I believe that if we want to make a difference in the way people view us, we can only do that if we allow them to see who we really are." 

There are HUNDREDS of places to take a cruise?  Why pick the Caribbean?   W T F ?

Read More at EDGE BOSTON.




Source: newgaytravelguide.com