Being the Change I Wish to See

This article is part 17 in a series about the Ugandan anti-homosexuality bill of 2009, better known as the Ugandan kill-the-gays bill. It is still alive and on the newly-elected Ugandan Parliament agenda for debate in 2012, after being kept tabled in 2011.

The first 16 articles can be accessed at the following links:

• Part 1: Born in the USA
• Part 2: Horrific Details
• Part 3: American Silence is Deafening
• Part 4: HIV-AIDS Statistics in Uganda
• Part 5: State Dept Must Make US Policy Clear
• Part 6: Richard Cohen and debunking gay cure
• Part 7: Evangelicals were for it before they were against it
• Part 8: Rick Warren forced to oppose Ugandan bill
• Part 9: Condemn the bill to Uganda’s President
• Part 10: The Family finally condemns bill
• Part 11: Not to become law
• Part 12: Family leader Bob Hunter interview
• Part 13: Now it’s the imprison-the-gays-for-life bill
• Part 14: Obama Speaks of Ugandan bill at U.S. Family National Prayer Breakfast
• Part 15: Archbishop Orombi still supports draconian bill
• Part 16: Rachel Maddow Interviews David Bahati

Jeff Sharlet’s book about his visits to Uganda and conversations with government officials:

There is a link at the bottom of each article that will take you to the next one in the series for easy navigation.

David Kato was the highest profile gay in Uganda, and was a strong activist for gay rights. He was brutally murdered on January 26, 2011. His name and photo were published on the cover of a Ugandan news magazine along with 99 other people suspected or known to be gay. Here is a link to the Maddow Blog coverage of Uganda.

In May 2011, Ugandan police used a water cannon to spray pink dye on anti-government and economic protesters in the capital city of Kampala and 5 other cities. Permanent President Yoweri Museveni seems to be repeatedly reelected every time the people vote, and there are questions about the validity of election results.

This is also an update on the Ugandan legislation. Death penalties have not actually been removed. David Bahati says he will take them out, but they seem to stay in the bill. To date, Mr. Bahati has not sent any evidence of recruiting Ugandan children to become gay.

David Kato burial controversy and story overview video from Feb. 4, 2011 (~ 9 min.):

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Here is a reminder of some of the provisions in the bill that will call for the death penalty if it isn’t removed as a punishment. Box Turtle Bulletin excerpts the definition of “aggravated homosexuality” from Mr. Bahati’s original legislation:

(1) A person commits the offense of aggravated homosexuality where the
• (a) person against whom the offense is committed is below the age of 18 years;
• (b) offender is a person living with HIV;
• (c) offender is a parent or guardian of the person against whom the offense is committed;
• (d) offender is a person in authority over the person against whom the offense is committed;
• (e) victim of the offense is a person with disability;
• (f) offender is a serial offender, or
• (g) offender applies, administers or causes to be used by any man or woman any drug, matter or thing with intent to stupefy overpower him or her so as to there by enable any person to have unlawful carnal connection with any person of the same sex,

(2) A person who commits the offense of aggravated homosexuality shall be liable on conviction to suffer death.

(3) Where a person is charged with the offense under this section, that person shall undergo a medical examination to ascertain his or her HIV status.

As of March 2012, a law suit has been filed against Scott Lively, one of the Americans involved in bringing this bill to Uganda.

The Box Turtle Bulletin does extensive coverage on this story, and you can read about it at the above link.

Technorati Tags: Box Turtle Bulletin, David Bahati, David Kato, kill-the-gays bill, Maddow Blog, Scott Lively, The Rachel Maddow Show, Uganda, Yoweri Museveni

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I want to explain what pepper spray is before I launch into posts about it’s use as a chemical weapon against peaceful protesters, protesting for Occupy Wall Street, protesting for the 99%, and America’s not-too-distant history of protests.

Pepper spray is an internationally illegal chemical weapon. We couldn’t use it against foreign soldiers in war. Our State Department railed against other governments using tear gas and pepper spray on their own citizens during the Arab Spring. So what do we do? We use it against our own people during Occupy. But I digress…

The following video explains what the hot stuff in pepper is (capsaicin), how hotness is measured (Scoville units), a chart to compare the various hotness of peppers we’re familiar with, and how capsaicin can harm us over time when it gets in our eyes and respiratory systems. (8.5 min):

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To review, the capsaicin bonds with pain receptors and causes extreme pain, and capsaicin is mildly corrosive and causes chemical burns. All burns, heat or chemical, cause scarring of the tissue that is burned. Being sprayed in the eyes many times will eventually cause permanent blurring of vision from corrosive damage to cornea cells. Inhaling pepper spray causes chemical burns to the nose, mouth, throat, and lungs. Burns cause scarring, and those scars will cause any respiratory, sinus, or eye problems to become worse.

Keep the Scoville unit chart in mind whenever you see pepper spraying occurring, and whenever you are working with hot peppers in the kitchen.

Photo Credit: The Maddow Blog

I’ve gotten jalapeno pepper juice in my eyes chopping them in the kitchen, and cayenne pepper in my eyes after failing to thoroughly wash my hands and clean under my nails after eating boiled crawfish. We put lots of cayenne in the boil. It burns like crazy, and I was crying and splashing water into my face holding my eyes open for at least 30 minutes.

For those who haven’t gotten pepper in their eyes, a jalapeno is about as bad as a very strong onion, but the pain from onions goes away much faster and doesn’t cause permanent harm. The chemicals in onions form sulfuric acid with your tears and that’s what burns. But because it’s a vapor mixed with air it’s a very small dose compared to peppers and pepper spray. You actually have to get pepper physically into your eyes for it to burn.

Protesters out there, be careful about putting yourself in the line of pepper spray fire multiple times. It can have long-term negative health effects to your eyes and respiratory system. If you’ve been pepper-sprayed recently, you might want to take some time away from the line where the spraying is being done and give your body time to heal. I know there is plenty to do besides getting sprayed and arrested.

Please ask any questions you may have about the science of peppers and pepper spray in the comments and I’ll answer them. I may have to do some research for some questions, but I’m willing to do so. Thanks for reading.

Technorati Tags: capsaicin, hot peppers, Occupy Movement, Occupy Wall Street, Pepper Spray, Scoville unit

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