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Yesterday saw the march of several different LGBT (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders) groups and their supporters from inside the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City to the office of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to celebrate this year’s International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHO). Although PATAS is composed mostly of straight individuals, we proudly joined yesterday’s rally to show our support for the advocacies of our lovely LGBT brothers and sisters.

The theme for yesterday’s event was “Working with the Government to Stop the Hate (Sa Pagtigil ng Karahasan, Kasama ang Pamahalaan)”. And it is with this theme in mind that the CHR was approached for help in doing something in order to cut back on the number of hate crimes that seemingly keep occurring here in the country.

Part of yesterday’s objectives was to get the CHR to acknowledge the severity of the hate crimes being committed against LGBT people and to get them to start giving the issue the attention it deserves. This was accomplished via a small gathering in front of the CHR office where representatives from the different LGBT groups that were present got the chance to voice their concerns on the matter. There was also a quick tree-planting activity. I think it’s an apt metaphor for what was actually happening: the seeds of the movement’s advocacies were carefully put in place, and in time the seeds will grow into deep-rooted structures that no one will be able to simply “take away.”

The role of PATAS as a group in yesterday’s event, as always, was to stand in support of fairness and equality for all. After all, the group is a namesake and a literal Tagalog language translation of the word “fair” itself. The nearly 3KM walk from UP’s Palma Hall to the CHR office was nothing. For the promotion of a deeper understanding and appreciation of the presence and contributions of the LGBT community in our present-day society, and how they deserve to get the exact same rights and privileges as their heterosexual counterparts here in the country, PATAS would gladly walk to the ends of the earth. And we’d do it while holding up banners and placards while shouting clever chants to lighten up the mood, too.

Straight Without Hate, They Just Can’t Relate

PATAS wishes it could speak for all Filipinos on the issue of LGBT rights and acceptance. But in light of the fact that we routinely hear comments such as those from former beauty queen Miriam Quiambao and more recently, world-famous boxer Manny Pacquiao, it seems that LGBT rights supporters like us have got all our work cut out for us. With such hateful remarks coming from these seemingly upstanding and outwardly amazing and inspiring Filipino citizens, it can be quite difficult to understand exactly how they even come up with such thoughts in the first place.

“It Wasn’t Me” a.k.a. The Pontius Pilate Mentality

If there’s one thing that all of these anti-gay remarks that have been floating around have in common, it’s that the person saying it (i.e. Pacquiao) tries to absolve him/herself right after dropping the bomb. In the case of Pacquiao, he told a local news channel that he didn’t really hate gay people, but that homosexuality is a sin according to the bible and he’s only trying to help. This is following a worldwide backlash from his own fans and supporters after finding out that he made anti-gay remarks on the web site Examiner.com.

Ms. Quiambao tried to work her way around the same idea with a different choice of words: “Homosexuality is not a sin but it is a lie from the devil. Do not be deceived. God loves gays and wants them to know the truth.”

It’s always nice to see well-intentioned individuals share with us their well-informed opinions. However, that does not apply in the cases that have been mentioned above.

Where It’s Better To Have Loved And Lost

The LGBT community’s movement for equal rights is strong. Do you want to know why? It’s because the people who comprise the community fill it with love. Indeed, love is the biggest driving force of the movement, and if you have ever experienced the feeling of love yourself, you will find this whole issue much easier to understand.

Bianca Santos, an incoming freshman at the University of the Philippines, joined yesterday’s event merely as an individual, unaffiliated with any of the LGBT groups in attendance. And yet she didn’t have any trouble mingling with all of the people involved in the rally. In fact, she found herself feeling like she was in a place where she belonged.

“I felt so… involved,” said Bianca. “I’m passionate about this cause but, being straight, I thought I would feel out of place. I was wrong. I felt like the entire crowd was pulsing as one.”

Because Bianca knew exactly where she stood on the issue of LGBT rights, it was only a matter of actualizing it and that was what she did during yesterday’s march. “We were all united toward reaching that singular goal: to end hatred,” she said. “It felt amazing to be among so many open-minded people. It was a very fulfilling experience.”

Where Love Goes Around, Love Comes Around

Comedian Bill Hicks used to end his shows with a piece where he says that life is just a ride, and that we can change it any time we want. We just have to make the choice. “No effort, no work, no job, no savings of money, only a choice right now between fear and love,” he said.

“The eyes of fear wants you to put bigger locks on your door, buy guns, and close yourself off,” said Hicks. “But the eyes of love, instead see us all as one.”

The journey for equal rights and acceptance for all humans may be a long and arduous one filled with difficulties that need to be overcome. But as long as love exists in the world, this is one battle that will never ever be lost.

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A brief review of history will easily reveal that religious conservatism has always been anti-progress, anti-justice, anti-equality and anti-rational thought — from the issue of slavery to racial segregation, from women’s suffrage to women’s reproductive health. Although morality and traditional values might be invoked, religious conservatism was never about morality but mainly about bigotry and backward mindset invoking the ‘god-said-it-so’ argument and the so-called appeal to absolute truth.

Same thing can be said about the current opposition of the religious conservatives against same-sex marriage. It is as if God will again bring down his capricious wrath upon the earth much in the same way that Sodom and Gomorrah were allegedly consumed by fire from the sky — well, assuming that the story was not a mere myth.

Conflicting views

It should be pointed out that not all religious people are religiously conservatives. Some are actually liberal-minded and emphasize compassion rather than condemnation. Some Christian sects such as the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland and the Metropolitan Community Church of Metro Baguio (Philippines) conduct special blessings of homosexual unions.

However, majority of these church-sanctioned wedding ceremonies and blessings for homosexual partners are still not legally binding in many countries and considered as taboo. This is especially true here in the Philippines where the mere suggestion of possible legislation in favor of LGBT rights to marry is preemptively rejected by the righteous and respectable lawmakers.

Fundamentalism

It can be argued that religious conservatism is closely related and corollary to fundamentalism. This brand of conservatism is particularly common in the three major categories of monotheistic, Abrahamic religions, namely, Judaism, Christianity (with its several thousands of sects and cults), and Islam.

Religious conservatives, in their self-righteous splendor, will unapologetically and pontifically declare that homosexuality is an abomination and a great sin. Of course, the rants of homophobic religiots (i.e., religious idiots) will not be complete without quoting some scriptural passages.

Some of the favorite biblical passages that are fondly quoted by Christian fundamentalists include Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1:26-27. Islamic fundamentalists, on the other hand, are fond of quoting Qur’an 029.028-29 and some specific hadiths or sayings attributed to Prophet Muhammad.

One hadith impliedly prohibits homosexuality or at least the temptation towards homosexuality:

“Narrated AbuSa’id al-Khudri: The Prophet said: A man should not look at the private parts of another man, and a woman should not look at the private parts of another woman. A man should not lie with another man without wearing lower garment under one cover; and a woman should not lie with another woman without wearing lower garment under one cover.” — Book 31, Number 4007, Sunan Abu Dawood

Spirit of the law

One should not be surprised why some Islamic teachings on homosexuality seem to correspond with the teachings of the Torah of Judaism and the Apostolic Epistles of Christianity. The historical and theological origins of Islam can be traced back to Judaism and Christianity. In fact, some passages in the Qur’an are either paraphrased or quoted from the Old Testament.

Despite of the apparent homophobic teachings of the three great Abrahamic religions, the interpretations and applications of these teachings are still dependent on the mindset of the adherents. Unfortunately, religious conservatives and fundamentalists emphasize hatred instead of compassion. They are keen on blindly following the letters of the law rather than trying to understand the spirit of the law. In their dirty minds, they confuse love from mere carnal lust. They arrogantly assume that heterosexual domestic partnership is the only valid and natural form of love that deserves to be legally protected under a supposedly secular government.

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A story about a gathering of non-believers in a mostly religious and God-fearing country such as the Philippines seems like it could be a great start to an interesting novel, one that people are going to read, love and learn many valuable lessons from for many years to come. And yet this story is much more than just a work of fiction. Last month, atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, and skeptics from all over the country got together with like-minded people of different nationalities for the first ever convention of atheists and agnostics in Southeast Asia.

I had been looking forward to this convention since last year. And thanks to a generous donation by one Ms. Sasha Palo, I was able to secure myself a slot for the convention. So I went to the designated place at the designated time, found myself a table near the stage, took a seat, and it was from there that I saw history in the making.

The idea for the convention came from PATAS founder John Paraiso, who has been advocating atheism and non-belief for many years now, going back to the days of his debates with outspoken religious folks out in Luneta Park. Interestingly enough, the convention was held in the “Luneta ballroom” of the Bayview Park Hotel in Manila. If I were religious, I’d probably chalk this funny coincidence up as an “act of god”.

However, as a devout atheist, I am fully aware that none of the events that transpired on the day of the convention would have happened if it weren’t for the acts of the men (and women) that made it all possible. And I couldn’t be happier. Being seated in a room full of free men and women who I know are able to make conscious life decisions filled my heart with pride and joy. Simply meeting all of the other Filipinos who shared my views was more than enough to make me happy. It’s the kind of thing that would give you hope if you ever find yourself hanging at the end of a rope. And Apollo knows that the Philippines need more of that right now, more than ever.

Of course, the purpose of the convention was more than simply food, drinks and polite introductions. The headline of the event said, “GODLESS PHILIPPINES: Are you ready for this?” It was in a way a preparation for what was about to take place in one of the most religious countries in not only Southeast Asia, but also the world. And that is a widespread atheism awareness campaign spearheaded by the great minds that form the event host PATAS.

The one-day event began with everyone singing the Philippine national anthem, everyone except all the foreign guests, of course. And no, there was no opening prayer. Although if there were, I imagine it would have gone something like this:

“Dear god, since we did all the work necessary in order to make this convention possible, thanks for nothing. Amen.”

When I first learned that the convention was supposed to last from 8AM all the way to 8PM, I could only wonder how exactly they planned on keeping us all there in one place for so long. Were there any games for the attendees to play? Were there any planned intermission numbers? It just seemed like a pretty long schedule, even for a one-day event, to me.

But as the speakers each took their turn on stage, starting with PATAS’s very own Marissa Torres-Langseth, it became clear to me that even 24 hours was not enough. It was during Dan Barker’s speech in particular that I wished that time would stop. Not that I wanted to tire the person out by having him go on forever and ever. Mr. Barker, along with Tanya Smith, Jeremiah Camara, Dr. David Orenstein, Roar Johnsen, Norm Allen, and Mark Tier were at once my idols and great sources of inspiration. If I am to continue walking this road of advocating atheism and non-belief, these are definitely the kinds of people I should aspire to be.

Things got interesting during lunch time as the people in my table gathered to talk about all kinds of stuff ranging from the topic of “coming out” as a non-believer to your parents to putting an “Atheist” option under the Religion field in standard documents or application forms. The weird thing was, even though all of us shared the same general views, we still found ourselves somewhat arguing when it came to the finer details of any subject. No real conflict ever arose from our conversations, of course. In fact, I walked away from the table knowing that I’d just made a few new great friends.

All in all, I would say that the event was a huge success. I didn’t have low expectations or anything but I genuinely didn’t know what to expect before attending the convention. Sure, I thought I’d get a chance to talk with and possibly debate other rational and freethinking individuals like myself, which is always great fun, but I never really thought that the speakers would be so awesome. That and the experience of meeting my fellow non-believing Filipinos was a lot better than I expected.

In short, the first-ever atheists and agnostics convention held in the Philippines last month was better than anything that I’d ever imagined. And I’m looking forward to attending the next one, because I know in the future, things can only get better.

I would like to say thanks to everyone who was involved in this truly historic undertaking. If there is a word that can be used to describe what is greater than generosity, then that’s the word that I would like to use for all of the foreign speakers who had to fly in just to share their views, opinions, and inspirational messages for all of us non-believers out here in the country. PATAS is but a young organization, and yet it is already making much of an impact. And the journey for non-believers has only just begun. Atheists and agnostics in the Philippines have definitely got a long road ahead in terms of spreading awareness and eliminating irrational fear and uncertainty in the hearts of many Filipinos. But just like PATAS itself, I am in this for the long haul, not only for the betterment of Filipinos but also the benefit of all humans worldwide.

Continue reading »]]> IHEU VP Roar Johnsen and AAI President Tanya Smith interacts with the delegates as the participants share their joys as well as their struggles of being nonbelievers living in a society dominated by the christian religion.

For more information about IHEU, please visit http://www.iheu.org/

For more information about AAI, please visit http://www.atheistalliance.org/

Continue reading »]]> Dr. David Orenstein, an anthropologist based in New York City, shares his joys of being an atheist and how freedom from dogma and religious subjectivity has brought forth a life of personal and social peace, justice, morality, and goodness.

For more information about the speaker, please visit www.davidorenstien.info