On gay rights, South Africa offers a model for the rest of the continent

[LuckyTheDog]

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — The barman at Café Manhattan is buff and shirtless as he mixes afternoon drinks for two men sitting together on bar stools topped with cowboy saddles. The cocktail list is long but the African Queen (crème de banana, triple sec and orange juice) is always popular.

On the sunny terrace outside most tables are occupied by men, some in couples, some in groups.

At the heart of Cape Town’s gay village Café Manhattan, on a corner of Waterkant Street, has for years been a mainstay of the city’s vibrant, thriving, visible and open gay scene.

No one here is hiding. Nearby are a diner called Beefcakes where pastel pink and white flamingo statues welcome punters, a long-running gay nightclub called Beaulah (“Where Cape Town’s fabulous gay community meet to party”) and the popular Amsterdam Action Bar, among other joints.

MORE HERE: http://wonkynewsnerd.com/on-gay-rights-south-africa-offers-a-model/

[Swede Atlanta]

1. The South African experience mirrors what I observed in the Netherlands........

My company sent me to Amsterdam to work for 3 months in the late 1980s. It was probably the busiest 3 months I ever spent but in so many ways the most rewarding.

First of all the country manager made no bones about it that he was gay and had a partner. It wasn't in an offensive manner but he wasn't afraid of who he was. The entire staff knew this and they all seemed to treat him and his partner just as one would treat any of them with their spouses or partners. It was so refreshing to be so visible and yet so subdued...no one considered it a big deal.

Later my first week the country manager called me into his office. He said I was absolutely not allowed to answer the telephone, "Mr. XXXXXX". He said I should answer the phone with my first name or my first name and last name but never "Mr". I told him that was the company standard but he said that didn't apply in Holland.

He said the "Mr so-and-so" harkened back to the German invasion of the country during WWII and the aversion the Dutch have for the Herr this and that or Herr Doktor this and that.

Culturally he said the Dutch eschew German formalism and embrace a sense of equality for all.

That was eye-opening for me. Today I wish I could talk to him about the issues that the Dutch have had with Mallacan extremists and Islamic extremists in general. It appears it has caused a backlash in the country with some Dutch pundits claiming the Netherlands have been lost to these interests forever.