Gay Kid Comes Out; Dad Pours Boiling Water On Him

by Discreet Serpent

This headline caught my attention today:

Father poured boiling water over his gay son for coming out as gay.

What made my jaw drop:

1. These Lebanese men were trying to force a 15 year old gay kid into a straight marriage.

2. The kid's dad beat him and poured boiling water on him. One of the uncles doused him in petrol and threatened to set him on fire.

3. The perpetrators were fined 1,350 Euros each.

4. These all happened after the kid came out as gay.

Image courtesy of The Economist

This is very disturbing on so many levels. First, I'm not sure about Lebanese laws against homosexuality but I believe I read an article somewhere stating that the country treats homosexuals better compared to some of their neighboring countries. In any case, it is still a bit extreme for family members to deal with a gay kid with violence and threat to life.

Nobody deserves to be at the receiving end of boiling water and death threats. Let me rephrase that. Maybe criminals of the highest order deserve that kind of treatment (maybe), but certainly not a young kid who just wants to be true to himself. Violence does not solve anything, most certainly not the "problem" of homosexuality (in other words, you can't turn a gay guy straight by washing him off with boiling water).

Then there's the issue about forced marriage. As if getting a gay guy into bed with a woman would somehow magically turn him straight. In reality, an arranged marriage like this would most likely end up in disaster. The gay husband is likely to end up cheating on his poor wife. Things will get worse if they somehow manage to produce offspring.

What irks me the most is how miniscule the penalty is. 1,350 Euros. Is this how little a gay kid's life is valued? I wonder how much the "penalty" would have been if it was the kid who doused these criminals with boiling water?


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