A homophobia that kills

What happened to Jennifer Laude is undeniably a hate crime. Her life was brutally ended because of who she was. And yes, I am going to use “her” and “she” as a way of respecting the identity that she fought hard for in her life, and may have also been the reason for her death.

 

And the reactions of some people in social media are even more disturbing, for they reveal a way of thinking that is so insensitive, if not callous, to even suggest that Jennifer deserved to die.

 

This is characteristic of a raw homophobia that is so disturbing not only for its prevalence, but also for its virulence. It is disturbing that some people would justify the rage of her killer, even as they accuse her of being a two-timing hooker, even a thief. Some chastise her for cheating on her German boyfriend. Some say that her death was karma and she got what she deserved as a punishment from God for her sinful violation of the laws of nature. And this homophobia has even infected some in the media in the way they reported the events, and the investigating bureaucrats in the manner they labeled the parties involved.

 

I don’t know what really happened inside Room No. 1 of Celzone Lodge in Olongapo City on that fateful night of October 11.

 

But what I am certain about is that there are indeed many people with disturbed minds in this world, and no, I am not just referring to whoever pushed Jennifer’s face into a toilet bowl and held her there until she drowned.  

 

I am also referring to those people who are so insensitive, if not cruel, to judge Jennifer Laude on the basis of a stereotype, and justify her death as if she deserved it.

 

Hateful comments spawned by a hate crime, all just because the victim is gay.

 

As a father who is proud of his only son who is gay, I could not but condemn this homophobia to be as equally culpable as the one who killed Jennifer.

 

The world of male homosexuals, despite the cheery demeanor they usually project, is a dark and difficult one. The rejection they experience even in the hands of loved ones is coupled by a burden not only from the discrimination and ridicule that one can suffer, but also from the financial burdens that one has to bear. Most of the gays I know are productive people who serve as financiers not only of their parents and siblings. They also end up bankrolling the predatory men who take advantage of their cravings for what they imagine as love, but in the end are merely exploitative illusions preying on their fantasies and vulnerabilities.

 

The virulence of the remarks condemning the lifestyle of Jennifer Laude, where her being transgender has become the point that somewhat lend an air of justification for her murder, is but another manifestation of this homophobic bigotry.  

 

It is indeed easy to condemn people like Jennifer. But for whatever her flaws were, these are not enough justifications for murder. Nobody deserves to die just on the basis of one’s identity. 

 

But sadly, being different has always been a justification to be bullied not only in life, but even in death. And being gay has always been a reason to physically harm people. Homophobia is so pervasive that we can only take cold comfort when it is benign, and is simply manifested in unfair stereotyping and derisive labeling. Unfortunately, in its malignant manifestation, gay people who become its object end up getting mauled, if not killed, as what happened to Jennifer Laude.

 

When we learned that my son is gay, I felt fear and apprehension not for the fact that he is, but for the fact that the world out there would be unkind to, even unsafe for, him. It is precisely because of this that I made it a point to ensure that our home will become his refuge from the bullying, his sanctuary from the hate that I know would always be awaiting him in the darkest corners of our otherwise Christian and civilized society.

 

Jennifer had a wonderful family. She had loving siblings, all accepting her for what she was. She had a host of friends like her. She was loved.

 

But these were not enough to provide her a secure place to become the person she wanted to be. It is our warped sense of morality that allows us to elevate the corrupt to positions of power even as we silently or violently condemn people like her that forced her to live a lie. And if one would believe the angle that her assailant was angered after knowing her true identity, such lie may have caused her death.

 

If and when justice is finally served on Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, if indeed he is guilty of the crime, the certainty of his punishment and incarceration can be at least determined, barring any political concessions that may arise from what has also been revealed to be a problematic Visiting Forces Agreement.

 

But there is something that could not be imprisoned despite its culpability as having denied Jennifer the life she deserved, and has now denied her the dignity even in death.  

 

It is the deep-seated homophobia that roams freely in the minds of those who think that being gay is an excuse to be maltreated, even murdered.  

 

Under the laws of presumption of innocence until proven guilty, it has yet to be established beyond reasonable doubt if indeed it was Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton who killed Jennifer Laude. It is now up to our criminal justice system to prove that it was he who mauled and strangled her, and forced her down the toilet bowl until she drowned to death.  

 

But there is no doubt in my mind that it is these unsympathetic, condemnatory voices now plaguing social media that are symptomatic of a cultural malaise that has inflicted structural violence on her, and killed her in her life, and is now maligning her even in her death. To the eyes and minds of those who carry deep in their souls a bigoted homophobia, the likes of Jennifer Laude lived lives that are not worth living. And to these disturbed and bigoted minds, Jennifer and people like her, including my son, may have been already as good as dead.
 

 

The author is a former dean of De La Salle University. He is currently a full professor of political science at DLSU. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of this website.