My Take on LGBTIQ Rights in Cuba

The Cuba I wish for (3)

By Repatriado

HAVANA TIMES — The “Agenda for Rights of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transsexuals, Intersexuals and Queers in Cuba” which was published recently, is a first class civil act. Cuban society is trying to breathe under the suffocating totalitarianism of a regime which has manipulated and altered civilian matters in an attempt to neutralize it.

This Agenda is an example of a consensus between Cubans, who practice tolerance and use logical thought to create a concrete proposal about what should be done to objectively improve all of their lives for the better.

In the Cuba I wish for, normal treatment should stem from the fact that we all belong to the human race, which is enough and beats any racial, sexual, cultural or political characteristic. Human rights need to be clearly defined and apply to everyone no matter what their identity or orientation, race, sex or origin.

I understand that the LGBTIQ’s reason to ask for positive discrimination is that they are coming from a disadvantaged position, which I accept is our reality unfortunately, but by treating LGBTIQ rights differently we are perhaps discriminating against others. I believe that neither our identity or sexual orientation should be treated as legal subjects.

We don’t need explicit legislation looking out for subgroups’ rights, whether that’s because of their sexual orientation, their gender, race or origin, as this would be an act of discrimination against everyone else. Plus, it would be redundant because any legislation against any kind of human discrimination, for whatever reason, would offer protection.

A transsexual’s job shouldn’t be more protected than any other factory worker’s, but if this transsexual, or black person, or woman, or person from Guantanamo (if the factory is in Havana) feels discriminated against, they can seek protection under the law which protects all of us, in a general manner, from being victims of this kind of perverse behavior.

Defending the right every human being has to be treated equally, no law should be exclusive and no public service should show prejudice.

Defending equality in our differences, all of individual needs should be met and treated accordingly. Everyone has the right to have their educational and health needs covered, for example, in the same way everyone else does.

Defending our right to marry whoever we wish to and thereby taking on the rights and duties of this contract, it would be illegal to make a purely contractual and legal act, like civil marriage, depend on the gender of those taking part.

Defending the fact that a family is whatever those family members understand it to be, without the State having to make any more laws in this regard other than those which stipulate their human rights.

Defending anyone’s right to adopt, no matter what their sexual orientation and identity is. Whenever childs’ rights are in the picture, these should be prioritized, and if science confirms what intuition seems to indicate (which is that it’s better for a child to be raised by both sexes), then this should be taken into account and heterosexual couples will be given preference to other family models, just as various other factors will be taken into account.

Defending sex education without accepting that this is a private moral issue. Noone will be able to deny a child (even if it’s their own) the right to know who they really are as a sexually diverse human beings because it goes against their morals or religious beliefs. That child’s education in tolerance will also play a huge role in how they adapt to the society we all share.

Defending an explicit differentiation between individual and institutional behaviors. State-run institutions belong to everyone and therefore they have no right to discriminate in their actions, neglect or speech.

People do have the right to think however they wish to, even intolerantly, and that can’t be punished. This isn’t being tolerant towards intolerance; it’s being tolerant towards freedom of thought and speech, which should always be maxims when these don’t violate other people’s rights.

Nothing I’ve written above is an excuse to pick LGBTIQ activism and associationism apart. We need people fighting on every front to improve our lives together, minimizing discrimination and understanding that discrimination is one-dimensional, even though it can be manifested in very different ways.

I believe that absolute and total equality should be our goal. If every historically belittled group: women, races, LGBTIQ or any group because of its differences, stands together and defends our general right to living in a civilized society, they would be much stronger and more effective than these subgroups defending their alleged rights or privileges on their own.

There is no real freedom, there is no real democracy, there is no real harmony if it doesn’t stem from the unconditional principle of human equality. A society which is tolerant of its differences can only be built with this equality as its foundation, where being different doesn’t imply advantages or disadvantages, making differences in lifestyle according to everyone’s own merits legitimate in the Cuba I wish for, which might resemble the Cuba you wish for too.