Ha ha! Off you go then!
I imagine you could get a number of folks to spot you the money for a ticket.
Actually my ‘outrage’ is that they’ve ok’d putting people in prison for say, holding hands in public. Or for getting together for a meeting. I have no interest in telling them they have to allow same sex marriage, much as I wouldn’t want them saying we have to allow 3+ partner marriage. I just think it’s insane to imprison people for being gay, much as I would think it insane for us to imprison people for being in a poly relationship.
I was hit up for a bribe once when I was there. Through sheer obstinance, and probably some luck, I avoided having to pay it. But if you’re there on official business, I imagine you’d encounter a lot more corruption than I did.
I visited Nigeria for a month, basically as a tourist, when my parents lived there in the 1970s, and it was a real eye-opener for someone who had never been outside of Western Canada. I was expecting widespead poverty and miserable people and what I found was widespread poverty and people who were happy anyway. Number one lesson I got was that you didn’t have to have money and lots of stuff to be happy. Not that they didn’t want money to make their lives easier, but if they didn’t have it, it didn’t get them down. I loved my time there, and actually had greater culture shock coming back home. The affluence here struck me as wasteful excess, and everything looked so artificial, exemplified especially by all the advertising. It seemed like I couldn’t look anywhere without being accosted by phony, impersonal appeals for my money. Travelling to Nigeria was a great lesson in perspective.
(Kind of funny story: I arrived at the Kano airport in the middle of the night and was taken to a hotel to wait for a connecting flight in the morning, so my first look at the place wasn’t till it got light and I peered over a high wall that surrounded the property, and Wow! Even in the heart of the city, some buildings were made of mud and some clapped together with random materials, and the road was just dirt. But it was filled with black people (imagine that!) in bold colourful outfits, most on foot and carrying stuff on their heads, a few riding donkeys or bicycles, with the occasional vehicle inching its way along. They were more animated and chatty with one other than I was used to seeing at home. Amid all of this was a single white man staggering drunkenly along a wooden sidewalk, rumpled shirt half-hanging out of his pants, bumping into things and almost falling down. The Nigerians gave him a wide berth but otherwise paid him no mind. So my first glimpse of Africa was like a microcosm of the colonial experience there.)
I was in Lagos for about two weeks in the mid-90s. Bribery was so pervasive, they have a word for it – “dash.” When I got off the plane, the customs official asked, “Did you bring any presents for me or my family?” I only had to deal with well-to-do business people, was not allowed to roam on my own (we were provided with a driver, told only to go with him, and if anyone else showed up and said they were the replacement driver, not to go with them.) The poverty is appalling, and beyond comprehension. Human life is cheap. And the billions of dollars of money that the oil companies spend all goes into the pockets of the top officials, none goes into infrastructure.
Sure, people are “happy” because they don’t know better.
I suspect that these anti-gay laws will be like all the other laws – unenforcable. My guess would be that the evangelists trying to promote these laws give lots of money to the “law-makers” who will pocket the money, go through the motions, but not actually do anything to enforce such laws. Heck, they can’t enforce laws against murder, how would they enforce anti-gay laws?
Only now you don’t want to visit Nigeria?
Street view in Lagos: http://www.pandrillus.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/hyenas-lagos1.jpg
Has a nice zing to it, ain’t it? A few weeks ago there was a thread on this forum about something or other, and yours truly was labeled “an avowed crypto-racist” (no, I don’t know what that means either). I realized then that one doesn’t have to have an argument (not that I don’t). Just throwing around labels is good enough. I came up with this one all on my own. Don’t steal it (alas, googling reveals that there was at least one usage of it in 2006 by some glory-stealing son of a bitch–but I’ll just pretend I haven’t seen it. http://citation.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/2/4/4/6/4/p244644_index.html?phpsessid=gbnprjkvoo156h924blt0isev4 )
Below, I’m gonna use another word I just came up with–see if you can spot it.
Thank you, thank you (bowing)
Next, you’ll be telling me to drink lots of water during heat waves.
Pretty much whole.
Here’s European Parliament Integroup on LGBT rights, admonishing Nigeria and telling it what laws it should and should not have (no, I don’t know what “European Parliament Integroup on LGBT rights” is–probably another bloated puss-infected and festering wound on the august body that is European parliament)
http://www.lgbt-ep.eu/press-releases/nigeria-and-uganda-adopt-harsh-anti-lgbt-laws-in-same-week/
Here’s Canada admonishing Nigeria on and telling it what laws it should and should not have.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-deeply-concerned-over-nigerias-new-anti-gay-law-baird-says/article16319770/
I’m sure the US State department already bleated something or other to the same effect as well.
You have quite a vivid imagination then, my friend. Nigeria appears to have no interest in imposing its own values on European Union, Canada or the US. Imagine that, eh?
See the difference here? One country thinks it should not impose its own values on other countries, while other countries think that they should.
It could be worse. He could’ve been called something like “Barack Hussein Obama”. Imagine if those two ever met. Oh, wait…
And I’m trisexual who’s also into golden showers with a bit of emetophilia thrown.
Why, exactly, did you feel the need to tell us that you’re a bisexual?
I have travelled to Africa several times, most recently in October of 2013 (Kigali-Bukavu-Entebbe-Capetown)
I just told you that I have travelled to Africa several times.
The OP hasn’t said anything about crime or graft. He regailed us with the tales of his bravery and with his heroic sacrifice of refusal to go to Nigeria.
There might be countries in Africa that are nice. I haven’t come close to visiting the whole Africa, but the whole continent, on average, is a giant shithole. Decaying (or non-existing) infrastructure, poverty, etc, etc, etc. I’ve never been to Nigeria, but the rule of thumb when going to Africa is to expect the worst.
There’s only one redeeming quality from what I’ve seen: peeing in public is completely, 100% normal. I have a weak prostate and drink lots of beer, so you can imagine my happiness to discover that urinating whenever and wherever you get the urge is par for the course.
What does it have to do with a topic at hand, though? I don’t intend to live any length of time in Africa, but visiting for a few days as a tourist? Nothing wrong with that.
Why are you working up yourself into a hizzy by telling us what anyone who’ve been to Africa already knows?
Would you like to put your money where your mouth is? I’m gonna open an account on a crowd-sourcing site, specifically for raising funds for a Nigeria ticket (travelling for free while earning FF miles? sign me up any day!).
How much will you be donating?
I got the impression that the OP was roaring to go to Nigeria, all oiled-up and ready, and if it wasn’t for this bit of nasty business with the new laws and such, he’d be there within a week or two.
His brave decision to strike
shall forever remain in history as an example of audacious courage and heroic sacrifice. That’ll sure show those pesky Nigerians!
So, just how many husbands is a woman allowed to have in Nigeria, anyway?
Have no clue, myself…but one thing’s for sure: Nigeria does not and will not demand that the US, Canada or EU adhere to Nigeria’s cultural norms.
Our good friend burunduk34 has previously shown us his opinion of homosexuals, although not quite this vividly.
As for why we should dictate to another country what laws they should have? Simple. “Cultural norms” isn’t an excuse for violating basic human rights. In some countries it’s the “cultural norm” to have women jailed for being raped. I don’t think that should be excused either.
Cultural relativism is wrong.
Ah, thank you, Guinastasia, I was looking for that thread!
Well, Nigeria seems to be content to overlook the fact that polygamy (which is a basic human right, don’t you think?) is not legal in US, EU or Canada.
With all due respect, Barack Hussein Obama, for one, would strongly disagree with you, Guinastasia, . I believe I clearly outlined my stance in the thread you so kindly reference above.
It sounds to me like cultural relativism might be wrong some of the time, but it’s certainly not wrong, when, say, you meet King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
In this particular case, you just keep your mouth shut about the gays and their precious rights, sign the 30B weapons deal, and who cares if being gay in Saudi Arabia can cost you your money, your freedom, your bodily health, your life, or all of the above.
Yes. But “violating basic human rights” has long been an excuse employed by certain countries to force their own agenda in that and other reasons. Fun fact, said agenda usually did not have a hoot to do with human rights.
By the way, this is oldie, but goldie: the classic “do you want to bring eat da poo-poo as a human right to Africa?” video.
“Dash” is a term from colonial days when European administrators demanded money from the natives before they would deal with them. Now the shoe’s on the other foot.
Yeah, I wasn’t in Lagos which I’ve heard is worse than the rest of the country.
Politically, the country is a mess. The offshore bank accounts of the leaders and high-ranking military officers would make Mitt Romney’s look like a piggy bank. Meanwhile, teachers run out of school supplies in the middle of the year, and sometimes don’t get paid.
Oh, they know better. They have TV and newspapers and movies and they like what they see, but they have little hope of getting ahead by honest means. With 175 million people, more than twice as many as the next African country in population, it grows by 5.5 million annually which means there are that many more Nigerians in dire straits every year. There’s a reason for the 419 scams and all the corruption.
Granted, when you have to put up with the corruption, you don’t really care why it’s like that, but there is a reason for it.
I think that’s it exactly.
Then please show me where any US state, EU member, or Canada throw people in prison for living in a poly relationship, have meetings where they discuss making it legal, or…I don’t know…have dinner together and hold hands.
If you can do so, then you just MIGHT have something resembling a point.
Antinor01, my friend! Allow me, once again, applaud you for your bold and courageous decision to strike Nigeria off of your travel list. That’ll sure teach those pesky Nigerians how to enforce their cultural values. I’m sure you were all ready to go, had your tickets in hand, and had Nigeria not adopted these pesky laws, you’d already be there. Your principled stance is greatly admired.
Now, from what I understand, polygamy is illegal in all 50 US states, with punishment varying from misdemeanor to felony.
As to your request to show you where any US state, EU member, or Canada throw people in prison for living in a poly relationship… I’ll be more than happy to!
Tom Green, for example, was convicted of four counts of polygamy (in a subsequent trial, he was also convicted of rape, but let’s not worry about that)
http://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/supopin/greeni090304.htm
In general, according to this NPR article around 50,000 to 100,000 Muslims are involved in a illegal polygamous marriages in the US.
That’s right, the US denies these Muslims the same human rights Nigeria so freely provides. Yet, Nigeria (quote nobly, IMO) refuses to demand that the US stop this violation of basic human rights. Simply because Nigeria prefers to mind its own business and would (I’m guessing) prefer that other countries would follow its suit.
I just did.
Do I might, just MIGHT have something resembling a point?
That Utah law has been changed, I am one of the ones that condemned that law and applauded it being overturned.
The 2nd is regarding legal marriages, which still doesn’t address what I said. I never said anything about Nigeria and their marriage laws.
Again, what I quoted in the OP - They just passed a new law that states “A person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs, societies or organizations, or directly or indirectly makes public show of same-sex amorous relationship in Nigeria commits an offense and is liable on conviction to a term of 10 years.”
No, you really don’t. I agree that the Utah law situation was unfortunate since it was enacted because they were trying to strongly separate themselves from legal polygamous marriage and they went too far. Further than any other state. As mentioned in my other reply, they have thankfully overturned that.
- It is my understanding that polygamy is illegal in all 50 states. Please correct me if I’m wrong. Why is the US denying its citizens the basic human rights that Nigeria so freely provides to its citizens?
- Admittedly, I’m not familiar with this “Utah law that has been changed”, but did Nigeria demand at any point, either before or after this law has been changed, that the US cease and desist violating the human rights of Americans?
Nigeria marriage laws allow consenting adults to enter into polygamous marriage.
All 50 of US states have laws, prohibiting consenting adults to enter into polygamous marriage.
Why do you think Nigeria is not protesting this clear case of human rights violation by the US?
You asked me to
I showed that to you. You’re welcome.
I’m not talking about legal marriage, and haven’t during this entire thread. If all you want to talk about is legal marriage, then we have nothing further to discuss here. Perhaps you want to start a thread regarding the topic. If you want to address anything that I’ve actually said in this thread, feel free.