Not too “I-Rey” at Castro Bars: Jamaica Boycott Continues
with Some Exceptions

By Ted Andersen & Maiko Tsumenine

A boycott of Jamaican products among LGBT establishments, namely bars, in the Castro has garnered attention since its beginning at the end of March although some have refused to buy into it.

Organized in San Francisco and other cities by several gay bloggers, including Michael Petrelis of San Francisco, the boycott calls on the gay community and the bars that serve them to stop purchases of Myers’s Rum and Red Stripe beer along with vacations to the island nation because of reports of violence, homophobia and discrimination against the LGBT community.

According to the U.S. State Department’s 2008 Human Rights Report on Jamaica, attacks have occurred against the offices of the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All Sexuals, and Gays (J-FLAG), which reports human rights abuses in the country. Such offenses include arbitrary detention, mob attacks, stabbings, harassment of homosexual patients by hospital and prison staff, and targeted shootings of homosexuals with police often not bothering to investigate such incidents. The report mentions Jamaican law prohibits “acts of gross indecency” (generally interpreted as any kind of physical intimacy) between men, punishable by 10 years in prison.

According to Amnesty International, several Jamaican recording artists have written lyrics variously urging graphic violence towards gays.

The boycott has created a variety of opinions in chat rooms, discussion boards, and blogs, leading to virulent disagreements regarding the efficacy of tactics. Despite the fact that Supervisor Bevan Dufty urged Castro merchants to support the boycott of all things Jamaican at a merchant meeting in April, neighborhood drinking establishments seem to be going to their own drum, with bars such as The Midnight Sun, Moby Dick and Last Call supporting the boycott, and places such as Harvey’s and Q Bar continuing to serve Myers’s Rum.

J-FLAG Program Director Jason McFarlane issued an open letter on April 12 critical of the boycott’s naming of Red Stripe, given the fact that the distributor, Diageo, ended its support of certain music festivals on the island where anti-LGBT sentiment was thriving. J-FLAG has instead targeted artists and the radio stations, record labels and music stores that distribute and promote the songs.

Kevin Harrington, a bartender at Last Call, said that the situation in Jamaica needs more attention.
“I am not sure about the Red Stripe’s support of gay rights or not in Jamaica, but I think that a boycott bringing attention to the situation is justified, and even though they may not be directly responsible, it still brings attention to the situation and I think it’s a good thing,” he said.

Copyright 2009 Castro Courier