Boycott Brunei

Last month, Brunei became a brutish society. As in, you know, a society of brutes.

The fellow ASEAN country introduced new criminal laws that now prescribe stoning to death for men who have gay sex. Men having sexual relations with men was already criminalized before, with a ten-year imprisonment sentence as the punishment, but this time, the Brunei government thinks what is necessary is the final solution.

So, death it is. And not just any kind of "humane" death (if there is such a thing), but instead of using quick and painless methods, the Brunei government wants to kill gay men by using chunky rocks - how unglamorous. (How many rocks would need to be thrown before they become effective? And how heavy? Imagining the implementation of this law is unsettling, to say the least).

If that law is not a return by Brunei to medieval ages, then I can't think of anything else that is.

The European Parliament, among other institutions, has condemned the draconian law, and is now considering revoking visas, freezing assets, and blacklisting the hotels owned by Brunei. And get this, Brunei wrote a letter to the parliament pleading for "tolerance, respect and understanding" for their good intentions in trying to "safeguard the sanctity of family lineage and marriage."

The cluelessness of the missive is hilarious, since Brunei cannot, in the first place, show any type of tolerance or respect or understanding for LGBTs. I mean, putting people to death means total intolerance, right? Zero tolerance. Because they just made sure the poor bugger can never....yes, that word, ever again. And seriously, how does preventing sodomy safeguard any kind of family lineage? Last I heard, pregnancy never resulted from sodomy.

What is even more hilarious is this argument. Brunei says stoning is only imposed as a penalty if "high evidentiary thresholds" are met. And what are these? Men of high moral standing and piety must show up as witnesses, a super high standard of proof that is even higher than "beyond reasonable doubt," since it is like "no doubt at all".

Err. Knock knock, Brunei. Even if it's a thousand times sure that two men slept with each other, and they even admit to the sexual act with ten thousand witnesses recording it with their cams and broadcasting it for the entire voyeuristic world to see, that's still not the point. We still should not murder them for the sexual act.

That perspective is what is wrong with the penal law, not the collateral concern that "innocent" straight bystanders can be framed, or that this law can be used as a political or authoritarian tool for oppression. Yes, those are possible repercussion, and those are reprehensible in themselves, but the kernel of the objection to the law is that it views gay sex as criminal. And Brunei doesn't get that.

Which is why putting pressure on Brunei is so crucial. We should join Ellen DeGeneres and Richard Branson in their boycotts of the Dorchester Luxury Hotel in London, Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris, and the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles (easy for me as I can't afford them anyway). Deutsche Bank has stated that it will no longer stay in those hotels, and Virgin Australia has cancelled a reciprocal agreement with Royal Brunei Airlines. (So yeah, you won't see me flying on that airline, much less flying to that country.)

As a personal penance, I'm even going to unfollow Prince Mateen on Instagram. Yes, I am taking it out on him, because unless he actively voices out his support for LGBT rights on social media (or even in any other way), his silence means complicity in his father's policies. His account is already rife with comments and catfights about the stoning law, but he still hasn't signaled any form of dissent.

I note he follows some high-society Filipinos like the Zobels, probably because he plays polo with them in the exclusive playgrounds of the rich that he frequents. Perhaps those enlightened countrymen of ours can prevail upon him to "lead" his half a million strong countrymen into the modern age?

Meanwhile, goodbye then, tmski. [email protected]