So, as you heard, Raynard Humphreys has apologized, but it's too little too late, since he may lose his job over it.
Today, we got an opportunity to speak with Caleb Orozco, Belize's most public gay rights activist, who is currently in the Dominican Republic attending the 2016 OAS General Assembly.
He's doing advocacy work on behalf of LGBT persons in Belize and the Caribbean, and so we asked him via Skype today about the concern that there is a strong undercurrent of homophobia in Belizean public sentiment - the kind that manifested itself in the Humphrey's post and many others. Here's what he had to say just before the start of news:
Caleb Orozco - Executive Director. UNIBAM
"And I also struggle with idea of that we must make a keen distinction between the right for a person to form an opinion and for people to understand that having a right to expression that, that right does not absolve you from the responsibility and the consequence of the effect of your words in causing harm to a lot of persons. Call it whatever you may, at the end of the day what this person reflected was the idea that a Belizean is capable of losing his humanity, meaning capable of not feeling the pain of another Belizean. More precisely feeling the pain that could be harmful to a mother or a family member. Is not only surprising but dangerous to our society. It was not only callous, but this person clearly had no sensitivity to the idea of somebody dying not just dying naturally but dying by the hands of somebody who had no sense of what human dignity is. For me, I couldn't figure out what to feel because at the end of the day, people are saying. Well, he has a right to opinion like, he shouldn't lose his job, but we must face our consequences in our pursuit of causing harm whether intentionally or not."
Orozco also applauded the Government of Belize for publicly condemning the Orlando massacre.
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