![\"\"](\"http:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/commentary2.jpg\" "\\"commentary\\"")
Many people seem to want to attribute the incident involving two gay cruise ship passengers to \u2018Homophobia\u2019, a label, that like \u2018bigotry\u2019, when misapplied or used in a coercive manner, intimidates, stigmatizes and, subsequently silences opposing views, rather than appealing to
\nreason and intellect; in fact, these labels are often used as a substitute for reason and intellect..<\/p>\n
As no one wants to be associated with a word label that implies negative connotation and because people fear others treating them differently, most people will do anything to avoid these labels, including becoming silent and\/or malleable.\u00a0 Since the social effect of this kind of manipulation is potentially long lasting, it constitutes a particularly insidious form of psychological abuse.<\/p>\n
Other people seem to be more interested in the semantics of the charges these men originally faced, rather than acknowledging the fact that we have policies against public sexual activity and indecent exposure here in the United States, as well.\u00a0 In fact, if either offense takes place anywhere where children may be present, a person can be charged as a \u2018Sex Offender\u2019 in many jurisdictions.\u00a0 Never mind, both men appear to have been found guilty of the lesser charge of indecent exposure in an act of leniency.\u00a0 Police and the courts often show such leniency here in the U.S. too.\u00a0 I am sure this occurs in other countries, as well.<\/p>\n
Still others seem to be maligning Dominica in an attempt to exploit the incident as a means of acquiring a larger piece of the Caribbean tourism pie; this is both despicable and repugnant.<\/p>\n
Traveling to another country can be compared to being a guest within someone\u2019s home.\u00a0 A visitor to someone’s home must respect their host\u2019s traditions, culture and house rules, even if the visitor disagrees with them.\u00a0 It is never rational to willfully disregard someone’s house rules or disrespect prevailing convention, but expect the host to accept or respect deviant behavior (behavior that deviates from the expected norm).\u00a0 Using disagreement as justification to disrespect the host\u2019s views, rules, or expectations of conduct is unreasonable.\u00a0 Willful disregard will always result in dissonance, often ejection and, potentially legal action, in both domestic situations and abroad.<\/p>\n
People need to respect the values, customs and laws of other countries when traveling. When visiting another country, it is the GUEST\u2019S responsibility to learn about the local values, traditions and laws of the land; that is part of what makes travel fun!\u00a0 If someone is unwilling to familiarize his or herself with local convention to avoid behavior that may conflict with local convention, that person should not leave their own home.<\/p>\n
It was irrational for ANYONE to engage in sexual activity OR to be in a state of undress within clear view of any highly public area where children are frequently present, in blatant disregard for local convention regarding public decency expectations and existing law, yet not expect negative reaction.\u00a0 I imagine there was at least a little public pressure to prosecute both Dennis Mayer and John Hart to the fullest extent of the law; there certainly would have been in the good \u2018ole U.S.A.\u00a0 As there were multiple eyewitnesses (despite what some have claimed) and pictures, not only of both men\u2019s state of undress but sexual activity as well, the men were fortunate the court chose to be merciful and pursue a lesser charge of indecent exposure.\u00a0 Many courts in the United States would not have been as lenient, regardless of the orientation of the individuals involved.<\/p>\n
As in other countries, indecent exposure is not acceptable in the U.S.A.\u00a0 Most likely, they would have spent more than one day in jail and been charged a heftier fine.\u00a0 Moreover, had this happened within the U.S.A., in light of their proximity to children and schools, they also would have risked being prosecuted as sex offenders and carrying the stigma associated with the label \u2018Sex Offender\u2019 for the rest of their lives if found guilty.\u00a0 Why then would any rational person think such behavior was acceptable in someone else\u2019s backyard?<\/p>\n
The bottom line: Both overt sexual activity and indecent exposure are inappropriate, unacceptable behavior in most countries, including the United States of America, the country both men are from.\u00a0 They should have known better, regardless of how ignorant or ill-informed they claim to have been.\u00a0 Considering that Mr. Mayer, was allegedly a law enforcement officer at one time, they really have no plausible excuse for their behavior, spectacular scenery or not.\u00a0 In fact, being a former law enforcement officer, Mr. Mayer should have been more sensitive to the moral and legal aspects surrounding their actions.<\/p>\n
Both men should take responsibility for their poor judgment, instead of attempting to avoid personal accountability and salve their bruised egos by trying to obfuscate poor judgment and actions behind a curtain of discrimination.\u00a0 At best, this scenario is like someone who trips in a public place and then jogs a short distance in a vain effort to mask the embarrassing moment.\u00a0 At worst, it is like someone who intentionally spills their drink on the floor of a store, slips in the resulting puddle, makes a scene to dupe unwary sympathizers, and blames the store in an attempt to appear the victim and profit from the staged incident in some way.\u00a0 Then again, maybe some of the distortion is attributable to others co-opting and exploiting the incident to serve their own agenda.\u00a0 Regardless, the mens\u2019 actions were reprehensible; it was foolish, shameful, and unacceptable behavior, especially as guests in someone else\u2019s country.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the spin on these events really is not that surprising, considering this is the same arrogance and disrespect many countries complain about and expect from American tourists.\u00a0 I only hope that the rest of us are not judged based on the poor example these two men have set.<\/p>\n
One thing is certain, if it is as easy to get swept away by Dominica\u2019s beautiful mountains and clean, clear fresh air, as was claimed in defense of these men during trial, Dominica sounds worth visiting.<\/p>\n
Jared Marshall is a U.S citizen who has been following the gay cruise debacle from the very beginning.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many people seem to want to attribute the incident involving two gay cruise ship passengers to \u2018Homophobia\u2019, a label, that like \u2018bigotry\u2019, when misapplied or used in a coercive manner, intimidates, stigmatizes and, subsequently silences opposing views, rather than appealing…","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n