Welcome to the social criminologist today’s topic is homosexuality in law-enforcement why can’t we just see blue I am your host Rick Decker greetings from sunny Charleston South Carolina.
In our society there is a dichotomy that people in law-enforcement face daily they’re living a lifestyle that is not only considered taboo but deviant and illegal and 77 countries.
LBGTQ individuals are affected by policies established by the social majority politicians and some schools of thought especially psychology along with religious organizations that have all at one time either demonize the LBGTQ lifestyle or treated it as a mental illness and still do so today.
The LBGTQ community live under extreme social stressors every day; then with those individuals who are part of the law-enforcement community in today’s society the stress doubles many of those officers are unable to disclose that very are in fact gay for fear retribution by their peers nevertheless they go out to protect the people, enforcing the laws of this country, laws that in reality support bias towards them. Our biases are deep rooted in our society it needs to change.
There are 4 components that perpetuate this bias (1) is religious organizations that support the bias and fear of the LBGTQ community and lifestyle. (2) Are politicians that use religious platforms to perpetuate the religious attitudes to cause fear among mainstream heterosexuals. (3) governments enact laws to limit LBGTQ rights and privileges thereby adding to perpetuation of homophobia and Homo-hysteria which in turn supports the negative attitudes for mainstream society. (4) it is these attitudes that are harbored by mainstream society who teach their young the same bias making difficult for the LBGTQ person to live openly.
The position I take is clear! If we are going to better the world for the marginalize person, then acceptance of negative social influences from religion and political platforms need to change. Change to attitudes of acceptance and respect regardless of ones’ lifestyle choice, ethnicity or beliefs.
Much of the controversy today concerning the LBGTQ community are over the rights. The rights of being married, the of establishment a family.
This issue especially among mainstream religious groups even before this population was granted civil right to marry. Caused bias the lifestyle has constantly been under scrutiny among mainstream populations. Particularly by men who have been taught early in life that they have if they have an attraction to someone of the same-sex that is a problem, they have some type of mental issue.
When I was coming up as a kid I was aware of what was going on in our society because of my fathers’ bias towards homosexuals and I saw during my time many LBGTQ individuals being forced out of public offices, being forced out of business and forced into reclusive lives because of mainstream society, its fears and its biases.
Civil rights for the LBGTQ Community is only part of the problem. Basic human rights have also eluded this group over the years. Human rights are supposed to transcend borders many people in this group in Third World countries have been subjected to torture, to arrest, and imprisonment… even death because of their choice of lifestyle.
Even with the advances made today in legislation many LBGTQ people have to still make the choice do they come out in the workplace and risk humiliation loss of job and loss of a cultural social identity they have created; albeit a false identity; they would have to become an individual open to vulnerability without a mask of protection, a mask that we all have.
Everybody has multiple identities they create for themselves we create these personas so that we fit into a particular environment. Cultural identity is a label that refers to the connection we form psychologically to help us identify ourselves with in a culture this connection of identity is composed of three components (1) culture knowledge, (2) culture labeling and (3) social relationships.
It is through these elements that we build an identity that fits the culture for a specific environment. In this case the work environment. These environments are part of subculture sets that we distance from the rest of our social culture. The issue for the LBGTQ population is finding a way to keep these two cultures separate from one another because of legislation and issues of diversity.
Social relationships are so important it is this identity that helps formulate close bonds with others it connects us to the larger collective, it is an identity we choose, it determines the role we play within each of our environments.
In our society there is a bias particularly against men to come out is being gay the ramifications for this action are much more extreme than for women who come out. It is perceived that men are masculine. A man who subscribes to that role feels a social undertone, a belief, that by associating himself with a more perceived feminine man he could be perceived as being homosexual. Black men are already part of marginalize group when they come out it’s a double shot because they’re now identified as being gay making them a target for not only social bias related to their ethnicity but to being a homosexual.
We have a social expectation in how a police officer is supposed to behave a d look, this goes down to even the symbolism that is associated with this career field. The uniform, the badge all of it is designed to invoke authority and fear creating a sense of control so when the police officer has contact with the citizen the citizen understands who is in charge.
For the LBTQ police officer being able to adapt to this role and remain hidden inside this culture of masculinity and from a society that is bias towards their lifestyle is essential in being able to do their job.
Homophobia has been deeply rooted into social constructs for centuries the LBGTQ individuals have been viewed as deviant by mainstream society.
This always I hasn’t always been the case. Up until the 19th century through early 20th Century homosexuality had some tolerance and there’s proof of that in the documentation going back in our history. Under the Primo de Riviera dictatorship in 1928 this administration was the first to criminalize homosexuality. That is what started the political ball rolling sort of speak. In the 1931 elections of new public officials they eliminated any reference of homosexuality in the criminal code. But then enacted new law that was referred to as the law of vagrants and thugs. This law although it took a couple years was the first law to conceptualize homosexuality as deviant behavior.
And how that came about was in 1933 an exiled member of the Spanish Socialist workers party became president Louise Jiminez de Asua, he was one of the biggest proponents of this act prior to his exile. When he was made president the law started addressing issues of criminal behavior. Identifying activities of pimps, illegal gambling, habitual drunkenness and antisocial behaviors which homosexuality was attached to as being an antisocial deviant behavior.
As you know most forms of government genuinely look out for the interest of the citizens well at least try to. There are two forms of government that are in place (1) the authoritarian type and (2) the democratic type. The United States is a democratic type in nature, however, not every person has an equal voice and not every political decision is made in the best interest of all of its citizens. Instead we have a system that seeks to maximize the benefits for the powerful at the expense of the weak.
Former secretary Clinton once said gay rights and human rights are one in the same. Ladies and gentlemen if in fact she had read the human rights doctrine she would seen in article 16 it says: men and women of full age without limitation due to race nationality or religion have the right to marry and to found a family, they are entitled to equal rights as to marriage during the marriage and its dissolution. Marriage should be entered into with free in full consent of the intending spouses the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
My question where in there does it mention the right based on sexual identity and sexual preference because how I read it; it excludes the LBGTQ community. And she would have known that if she had read it!
Beyond political agendas public opinion is responsible for the construction of laws it is public opinion that drives social stereotyping and gender assignment and how people perceive what mainstream society wants us to see it as being normal and what is different from status quo.
Currently 77 countries to date as of this recording still in-prison or execute men found guilty of homosexual activities. These attitudes primarily perpetuated by religious fundamentalist groups claiming biblical law is against homosexuality. It is this perpetuation that helps skyrocket this bias. Religion plays a significant role in the construction of our society.
The reason when into this historical context is that this is what causes the dichotomy that LBGTQ police officers face every day these officers are considered deviant by definition that yet their job requires them to regulate deviant criminal behavior homosexuality is criminalized in many countries still today. Those views and attitude perpetuate LBGTQ behavior as deviant and since where the melting pot of the world those views transcends into our borders and our society. Police work is an overbearing masculine subculture within the department environment. Being perceived as effeminate or anything that is not masculine is unacceptable. Even female officers have to tough it up when they’re on duty. Traditionally the LBGTQ community are disliked by mainstream Society it is not right that these people have to hide their identity because of the bias.
In our society somehow, we have established that heterosexuality is the social norm and we assume that everyone we come in contact with subscribers to the same sexual preference that we do. And I know religious fundamentalist will point out that the bible clearly states homosexuality is wrong. To which I point to that that same book tells us to love one another, not to judge, and man should lay with woman and vice versa. But it also states that there is only one reason God will turn his back on his child and that is if that child embraces Satan and rejects him. The book also clearly says we have free will each of us not some of us! It seems that only those who think they’re the righteous have the right to free will.
So, I ponder why is sexual identity is so important to our society? When it’s a personal decision and shouldn’t really matter in anything except in the privacy of your home. Believe it or not ladies and gentlemen I know people that flat out have told me if gay police officer or firefighter came to their aid they would not accept the help, to that I say too bad suffer the consequences of your actions. But this is the attitude there are men and women in blue and those who ride on the red trucks face every day. I know this to be fact, when I was a paramedic years ago I worked for a company owned by a openly gay man. We would be summoned to a location and be subjected to being called queer, faggot, etc. to the point some people would try to beat us up. It is this ignorance we live with today. Ones sexual preference shouldn’t matter to anyone other than who is involved in a relationship with them.
Okay ladies and gentlemen this is where I’m going to stop for today, I have much more information on this topic this is actually part of the paper that I wrote for my masters degree if you would like for me to continue on with this information for Tuesday show please email me at rdeckerphd at Gmail.com or richard@deckercriminologyadvisors . com
And based on those questions or comments I can continue this discussion. I want to thank everybody that listens to the show and if your new thank you for coming please like share. The transcripts of the show are available in the notes via a link.
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Please ladies and gentlemen let’s make a difference let’s leave this world is a wire brush stroke and not as a number two pencil until we meet again carpe diem.
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