Comments

1
I couldn't do it. I couldn't interview that man and not flip out at his answers.

I thought it was kind of creepy how exuberantly he exclaimed his passion for children.
2
He was disgusting to watch. I made my way through it but just barely. That man is an ignorant, simple-minded fear-monger. Absolutely horrible. I would love for him to be detained on Crimes Against Humanity. That would be the most karmatic justice in the world.
3
the descendants of idi amin dada are alive and well in kampala. sad. how rachel didnt just say, you sir are a nut and an evil man, is beyond me.
4
That made my head hurt. And, I still think that the bill will result in witch hunts: neighbors turning in neighbors, retaliation for perceived insult, or as blackmail. It is a human rights issue.

Oh, and I want to see that evidence he promises.
5
"totally checking the junk mail filters right now," made me smile, at least
6
I watched them this morning. They were pretty horrifying.

He kept dodging around her questions, too. That's not suspicious!
7
I don't know how she does it. I would completely lose my shit. I'm guessing lots of meditation and orgasms.
8
Good lord.
9
I literally can't watch him talk. It just... ugh.
10
Maddow is far more patient than I am.
11
He really, REALLY can't answer a question. He flat out won't do it. He'll bring up something unrelated, or take issue with her phrasing, or dig up his dead parents to dangle in front of the camera. Well DONE sir.
12
@11 I totally agree. Dibs for my dodgeball team.
13
Rachel Maddow is a more professional woman than I. I wouldn't have been able to maintain her level of calm for more than two questions.
14
Well, someone in the comments was insisting that Christians didnt perform violent acts against gays. I think we need to have that conversation again. I think we need to hear from that person again...
15
@ 4:15. . . on the second video. . . I'm pretty sure I saw Rachel throw-up in her mouth.

I dunno how she did that. wow.

"the wages of sin is death." wow. that takes my breath away.
16
Why is this man walking freely in US?
WTF?!
How did he even get in the country?
17
Rachel Maddow is a consummate professional, and my hat is off to her. I do wish she had asked exactly what threat gay Ugandans having overseas sex pose to Ugandan children.
18
Ok we have to talk about the ineffectualness of Rachel Maddow's interviewing style here. Nothing she said sticks, he just dodges and talks airily around her.

As awful as Hannity or O'Reilly are - and I can't bear to watch them for more then 30 seconds - they would never have let Bahati get away like this. She just flounders querulously and gets stuck on silly details such as how the bill prosecutes Ugandans for gay behavior outside of Uganda. Rachel, who cares about that detail?

O'Reilly is a mean, dishonest pitbull who would have destroyed this monster. Now that would have been an interview.
19
I don't think that allowing a crackpot to shoot himself in the foot in front of the world instead of screaming him down is an act of cowardice. This was incredibly well done.
22
You do know it was our taxes that paid for that dickwad's suit.
How does that make you feel?
23
Mr Bahati. You need to take a serious look inside your soul and ask yourself why you are backing this bill. You know it's not right, it comes across in these videos loud and clear. You cannot discuss evidence, you cannot answer direct questions. You know this bill is a lie, and we know you know. You are fooling no one.

@18 Actually, I have to disagree with you, Regino. Rachel Maddow did exactly what she needed to do: gave David Bahati enough rope to hang himself with, and called him on his bullshit.

One last thing: if this is a 'Ugandan bill meant to protect the children of Uganda" why the fuck is he kicking around the United States drumming up support?
24
I'm hoping the one last question is, "Are you aware that I'm homosexual?"
25
Protect the children
protect the children
Or they'll go willin-
ly into sinnin.
And who's to blame then
When they start flamin?
They won't be straight men.
They'll shop at Crate &
Barrel outlet Stores!
Oh the horror.
26
Rachel should have recommended "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything" book to this human excrement.
I
Anyway it was a bad interview, somebody said it right, that ignorant buffoon Bill O'Reily would have done a better interview.

But Rachel always does poor interviews, that is just not her strong suit.
27
"I'm so pro-family, I want to kill people" Sounds like a winning bumper sticker.
28
He looks a little queer to me...
29
27

not as good as:

"Your Antigay Votes Help SLIT THEIR THROATS!"
30
He says he has a passion for children. Very telling...
31
What Rachel lacks in journalistic skills she makes up with a World Class Smarmy ShitEating Smirk....
32
Here's a thought: Let's open our arms to ALL of Uganda's gay citizens, grant them permanent visas, and then nuke that fucking country once they are safely out of harm's way. I doubt seriously that anyone would miss it... or even notice.
33
Watched this the other night- like staring into the mouth of evil. This dude is twisted. Rachel did a good job not flipping out but you could absolutely hear her voice shaking at points. She always keeps herself fantastically cool in interviews like this.
34
32

By 'let's' you mean Seattle, we presume?

Have at it......
35
In a country where the average GDP is $300 (2004 stats)- can we be surprised that they're turning to "God's law" from the rich Americans? Is this bill's extremity a ploy for increased if not continued finance from anti-homosexual American organizations? I think hunger can fuel ignorance, even if that meal is served at the cross of a Jewish carpenter's son.
36
@ 34
Nope. I meant that the US should accept them as politcal dissidents. Clearly, they are in danger. As for the rest of that putrid country... fuck 'em... or, assuming they pass this evil piece of legislation, nuke 'em.

Yeah, that's a little harsh, but seriously, how would the rest of the world AND THE MEDIA be reacting if this asswipe had come to the US to talk about his bill supporting the death of Ugandan Jews or Muslims, or Mormons, or left-handed people, or amputees??? The world would be outraged and Obama himself would be on the cover of the NYT denouncing the guy. But noooo, it's just about gays, so no big deal. I'm just fucking sick of all the hate and all the passes these people get in the press and from our politicians. I mean, seriously, how the hell did this guy even GET into this country in the first place??? Who signed HIS visa? I WANT NAMES!
37
I always think Rachel Maddow's ability to not lose it and start screaming (which is what I'd do) is impressive, as is the way she lets these hate-mongers show themselves for the unjustifiable bigots they are. Further, the respect she shows people who don't deserve any, is a contrast that sends a strong message. Who is the bigger person?
And lastly, although I also love me some self-righteous anger, I realize that that isn't what wins converts to your cause; it only preaches to the choir (I am in that choir, standing in the front row, but I want the message to spread farther than that). Calm, rational, logical hammering away at the speciousness of an argument might help persuade a tentative person, especially when he sees that no logical answers are given in return to those reasonable questions.

Uganda and its policies aren't the scary folk in this story, though. The real bad guys are "The Family," that U.S. organization funding politicians (here as well as abroad) to further their hateful, "Christian" agenda. Bahati's bill is being paid for by a U.S. organization.
38
After getting past my absolute disgust and horror at everything coming out of this guy's mouth, I am amazed by Maddow's consummate professionalism and skill as an interviewer. I know that there was some complaint above about how she let's Bahati off the hook by not pulling an O'Reilly and shouting him down, but her relentless and clear-headed questioning really paints him into a corner, to the point where he basically admits that the bill he proposes is pretty much completely based on religious dogma, not state or scientific evidence. How she kept her head through the whole interview without flipping her shit is beyond me. It just goes to show how rationality, focus, and dedication are superior to the blustery, self-righteous antics of most pundits on air today.
39
@11 It all comes down, though, to the trump card used by people on trashy talk shows who can't defend their actions: "YOU DON'T KNOW ME! Don't you juuuudge me!" He just feels like hey, man, it's Uganda, you can't tell us our culture is bad and this is our culture.

There is an absurd but common anti-gay talking point of "tolerance." The idea is that if you want to be able to teach children it's okay to gay (this is done by showing any outward sign that you are gay, of course. A kid sees two dudes holding hands and before you know it he'll be balls deep in other dudes) means that THEY should be able to express that it is not okay. And if you tell them that they're fuckwits then YOU are being intolerant. I hear this rhetoric all the time in real life-- that I'm intolerant of others' beliefs (that being gay is a sin/choice) and it's hypocritical of me to expect them to be tolerant of MY beliefs (in equality). Head explode.

I was begging Rachel to say something like "So if this is okay for Ugandans and we are supposed to respect that, do you think it is right to respect and support Mauritania's religion-bas law that declares premarital sex illegal and leads to the punishment of rape victims? Well, hey, if Mauritanians believe that rape victims are always asking for it that's fine for Mauritania and who are we to say that's wrong. BE TOLERANT GEEZ!
41
These interviews are so strange in their impersonality. I kept wanting her to say, "I am gay. I engage in gay acts. I live with my partner of 10+ years. I've never recruited kids into the "lifestyle" (because that's completely ridiculous). If I lived in your country, you think I should be put in prison for life for this?"

I know this isn't her style and maybe it's better that way. But it is strange to see such a "respectful" interview between a man and a woman that he thinks should be put to death. Or at least in prison for life since he so generously offered to take the death penalty off the table.
42
Curious how he appeals for tolerance and mutual understanding - for himself.

I'm awfully curious why this guy was granted a visa.
43
The segment with Jeff Shartlet should be posted on Slog as well. At least the bit that details the jail time for "talking about engaging in gay acts (10 years)" or "for knowing a gay person and not turning them in (3 years)".

The proposed bill criminalizes any support for gays in any way, shape or form. Ensuring that there will not be any safe space or safe community for the queer population of Uganda.

I do disagree with the eariler poster about Rachel mentioning that individuals who engage in homosexual activity outside of Uganda could still be punished (extridited where posible and made to stand trial) under this law.
By bringing this up she underscores that it isn't just "about the children" but is much, much more.

I would like to see more discussion on how the other provisions in this bill make sure that no gay Ugandan will ever have a moment or place where they will feel or be safe.
44
She missed a whole bunch of tricks here.
1. Follow up on the "what will happen as a consequence of this bill". It would be interesting to hear him go on that.
2. Play the colonialism card back at him. He was saying, you can't interfere in our values - so why is he letting a middle eastern religion interfere in Uganda's values? Perhaps that's in tomorrow's part.
3. What about gay kids? Does he want them locked up? Does he want them bullied to death like in the US?
45
I grew up around AFA types and there was nothing that I heard come out of Bahati's mouth that I hadn't heard hundreds of times growing up. There's a reason he thinks that he's not extreme and seems sincerely surprised at the outrage, and that's because American groups have gotten away with using that rhetoric for decades and still are given a seat at the table and treated as legitimate voices in the discussion.
46
There was a CBC documentary recently about this horrific Ugandan legislation and the involvement of American Christian organizations. The "sermons" which describe and speak against Ugandan homos rely heavily on the "ick" factor- homosexuals are described as insatiable shit-eaters; basically obsessed with each other's rectums in the consumptive fashion. Children are excluded from the sermons because graphic pornography of the fecal persuasion is presented.
47
I just threw up in my mouth.
48
@46:

I think this might be the documentary you're talking about? At any rate, it's clear that the Ugandan anti-gay movement (like its American counterpart) relies heavily on "appeal to revulsion" tactics, specifically the classic "fags eat poop" canard.

If anybody is hungry for some surreal-yet-depressing copy-pasta, here's a transcript of Martin Ssempa's description of homosexual sex, from a press conference last January:

I've taken time to do a little research to know what homosexuals do in the privacy of their bedroom. One of the things they do is called 'anal licking,' where a man's anus is licked, like this, by the other person. [Makes a ring with his fingers and licks it.] Like ice cream. And then, what happens, even poo-poo comes out, the other one poo-poos out, yeah? And then they eat the poo-poo. [Mimes eating poop out of his clenched hand.]

The other one they do, is they have a sex practice called 'fisting,' where they insert their hand, into the other man's hand, and it goes – into the anus, all the way.
[Mimes sticking his arm into his clenched hand, up to the elbow.] And it is so painful they have to take drugs, but they enjoy it.

Now, if we have any children, please step out. This is a parental guidance moment. That child can be moved out.

So, I've done research. This is what they do.
[Holds up laptop.] Number one . . . you can see a man here, having sucked the other person's rectum, and the other person is poo-pooing. And the other one is eating the poo-poo, all over the place.

Tell me, when you have no law against homosexuality - do you, say, accept eating the poo-poo?

I mean, look at this guy, sincerely! Bishop?
[Turns laptop toward the man sitting beside him, who recoils.]

We do not want this sickness. This is sick, and it's therefore deviant. We do not want it.


(Ssempa is a popular Ugandan pastor with ties to American evangelicals, and one of the strongest supporters of the proposed anti-gay legislation. And apparently, he doesn't save the gay scat porn for international press conferences - he also regularly shows it to his congregation. In short, the man is a piece of work on par with Fred Phelps.)
49
I live in West Africa, not Southern Africa, but wonder if the same hypocrisy exists there. Rampant homophobia, but men are obsessed with asses and anal sex.

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