A
few days ago, a gay friend of mine asked me to sign a petition to support the LGBT
community, in light of the recent tragedy involving the murder of a transgender
woman named Jennifer Laude. I declined, and he was quite surprised with my
reaction. He started questioning where my sympathy lies and if i'm one of those who are very keen to have the GI Joe's in the country.
Well,
don’t get me wrong here. I think the military exercises are beneficial for us
especially with the military threat from China looming in the horizon, though,
I also think that the terms and provisions under this agreement should be revisited.
In my opinion as well, it’s about time we become more open minded and stop
discriminating the LGBT community. In fact, I've always been vocal about this issue. Their sexual preference doesn't make them any less of a human being. They
are entitled to every single human right that a straight individual is entitled
to. Perhaps, they may have some misguided actions but they should be judge based
on those actions not on their sexual preference, just like everybody else.
My
qualms here are more about the different organizations focusing on this tragic
incident and using it to further each of their own causes, when this is just a
small part of a bigger disease in our society. Justice must be handed out, not
just for Jennifer Laude but for all the other past and future victims of such
horrendous act. We must not just focus on sympathizing with her family and
condemning her murderer alone, but more in preventing something like this to
happen again and again. We should not just see this as a crime against the LGBT
community but as a crime against all of us, after all, we belong in one
country.
Before
we throw our harsh judgment regarding her action for spending the night with
the American while she’s actually in a relationship, let’s first try to
understand her motivation for doing this. More than addressing the LGBT issue,
the issue on prostitution should be looked at, thoroughly. After all, Jennifer
already has a fiancée who accepted her for what she is. And she’s not alone in
her plight in resorting to prostitution to earn a living. While on the other hand, it’s rare to hear a
male prostitute getting harassed or more so murdered, this is still a damning issue
for our society. There are thousands of individuals in our country who can’t
attend universities, let alone finished highschool and land a decent job to be
able to support themselves and their family.
I
don’t condone prostitution but I cannot fully blame anyone for choosing this
path. I’m sure if they have better options they will not chose to make a living
this way. Surely, we can do more than just to ask for justice or to petition
for human rights. Surely, our government can do more than just revisit the
terms of VFA. Instead of merely crying out for justice let’s look at the bigger
picture. Let’s push for a better system and reforms for our country. At the
least, we should acknowledge that all of us are entitled for some basic human
rights, regardless of our status and sexual preferences.
