Uganda passes tough anti-gay laws.

[Sol]

The point that everyone here is trying to make is that calling Ugandans "savages" has rather unfortunate historical racial connotations, and that that attitude is the kind which encourages that kind of legislation in Africa.

And actually, a lot of homophobia in Africa is due to attitudes either introduced by European colonizers like Britain during the Victorian era- which was of course, outlandishly homophobic, or by American Missionaries.

[Sol]

The point that everyone here is trying to make is that calling Ugandans "savages" has rather unfortunate historical racial connotations, and that that attitude is the kind which encourages that kind of legislation in Africa.

And actually, a lot of homophobia in Africa is due to attitudes either introduced by European colonizers like Britain during the Victorian era- which was of course, outlandishly homophobic, or by American Missionaries.

So it's your position that Black Africans are borderline retards incapable of understanding context or being held responsible for their own actions, therefore we should walk on eggshells to avoid offending them, least we somehow upset them and cause them act barbarically? I mean, obviously you wouldn't phrase it that way but how is that inaccurate in substance?

You know, I don't even know where to begin with this post.

Firstly, my point about calling the Ugandan government "savages" is more based on Nathan's previous point:

The problem is that this specific manner of saying 'f**k you' to homophobic Ugandans tends to function as an incentive for them to find new ways to say 'f**k you' to LGBT Ugandans.

A huge part of the discussion of homosexuality in parts of the world other than North America and Western Europe is the idea that social acceptance of it and recognition of gay relationships is 'un[insert denomyn for non-Western country or region here]' and a Westernizing tendency or a symptom of some kind of decadence. This is false, and in the case of Uganda ultraconservative American Evangelical missionaries--whose actions and attitudes are often trusted more than those of Western governments--share a huge amount of the blame for encouraging these notions, but since it's fundamentally a form of scapegoating as a perceived cultural defense mechanism and moreover precisely since it does ruin people's lives, it's a false notion that we need to try our best not to inadvertently strengthen by choosing to refer to these people in, well, the sorts of terms that Western imperialists interested in ruining their countries' cultures would use. That is, calling them 'savages' is about the worst and most counterproductive possible way of expressing an obviously understandable and to an extent accurate sentiment.

It isn't thinking they're dumb- It's that calling Ugandans "savages" encourages the persecution of Gender and Sexual minorities in Uganda. Furthermore, "savages" has all sorts of unfortunate racial connotations- wouldn't "Jerks" be more appropriate, perhaps? Or "Bigots"?
The latter is really calling a spade a spade, eh?

[Sol]

The point that everyone here is trying to make is that calling Ugandans "savages" has rather unfortunate historical racial connotations, and that that attitude is the kind which encourages that kind of legislation in Africa.

And actually, a lot of homophobia in Africa is due to attitudes either introduced by European colonizers like Britain during the Victorian era- which was of course, outlandishly homophobic, or by American Missionaries.

Yeah cuz tiptoeing around their sensitive feelings, treating them like the victims of homosexual hedonism, and begging them not to kill me for being born wrong....
is totally how we should go about this.

Nope.  Savages.  Every last one who supports this law, whether they're black, green, or just have a blackened shriveled soul that they try to treat with hateful Bible verses.
SAVAGES
You think I give Russia a pass for their savagery?  As far as I'm concerned both countries need to be reeducated.

Snowguy, I see where you're coming from. I'm gay too, and I'd actually like to visit Uganda without having fear for my life. But using the word savages is not optimal in this situation. You can cuss at 'em all ya want- but "savages" can be read as racist.

[Sol]

In Malawi at least, the idea that American evangelicals are the major force behind the anti-gay agenda is, I think, not an easily supportable hypothesis.

I can't speak for Malawi, but I know that anti-gay laws and attitudes in a lot of countries is a direct legacy of colonialism. Is that the case in Malawi?