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Thursday, January 17, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
BISEXUALLY
Bisexuality is a sexual orientation which refers to the romantic and/or sexual attraction of individuals to others of both genders (socially) or sexes (biologically). Most bisexuals are not equally attracted to men and women and may even shift between states of finding either gender or sex exclusively attractive over the course of time.[1] However, some bisexuals are and remain fairly static in their level of attraction throughout their adult life.
In the mid-1940s, Alfred Kinsey devised the Kinsey scale in an attempt to measure sexual orientation and activity. The 7-point scale has a rating of 0 ("exclusively heterosexual") to 6 ("exclusively homosexual"). Bisexuals cover most of the scale's values (1–5), which range between "predominantly heterosexual, only incidentally homosexual" (1) to "predominantly homosexual, only incidentally heterosexual" (5). In the middle of the scale (3) is "equally heterosexual and homosexual".[1] Although Kinsey's methodology has come under criticism, the scale is still widely used in describing the phenomenon of bisexuality.
Although observed in a variety of forms in human societies[2] and in the animal kingdom[3][4] throughout recorded history, the term bisexuality (like the terms hetero- and homosexuality) was only coined in the 19th century.[5]
Bisexual people are not necessarily attracted equally to both sexes.[1] Because bisexuality is often an ambiguous position between homosexuality and heterosexuality, those who identify, or are identified, as bisexuals form a heterogeneous group.
Others view bisexuality as more ambiguous. Some people who might be classified by others as bisexual on the basis of their sexual behavior self-identify primarily as homosexual. Equally, otherwise heterosexual people who engage in occasional homosexual behavior could be considered bisexual, but may not identify as such. For some who believe that sexuality is a distinctly defined aspect of the character, this ambiguity is problematic. It is sometimes argued that the behavior of bisexuals may be explained by subconscious homophobia or peer pressure.[citation needed] On the other hand, some believe that the majority of people contain aspects of homosexuality and heterosexuality, but that the intensities of these can vary from person to person.[citation needed] Some people who engage in bisexual behavior may be supportive of homosexual people, but still self-identify as heterosexual; others may consider any labels irrelevant to their positions and situations. In 1995, Harvard Shakespeare professor Marjorie Garber made the academic case for bisexuality with her 600-page Vice Versa: Bisexuality and the Eroticism of Everyday Life in which she argued that most people would be bisexual if not for "repression, religion, repugnance, denial...premature specialization."[6]
Some bisexuals make a distinction between gender and sex. Gender is defined in these situations as social or psychological category, characterized by the common practices of men and women. For example, the fact that women wear skirts and dresses in Western society while men traditionally do not is a gender issue. Sex in this case is defined as the biological difference between males and females, prior to any social conditioning. Bisexuals in this sense may be attracted to more than one gender but only to one sex. For example, a male bisexual may be attracted to aspects of men and masculinity, but not to the male body.
Bisexuality is often misunderstood as a form of adultery or polyamory, and a popular misconception is that bisexuals must always be in relationships with men and women simultaneously. Rather, individuals attracted to both males and females, like people of any other orientation, may live a variety of sexual lifestyles. These include lifelong monogamy, serial monogamy, polyamory, polyfidelity, casual sexual activity with individual partners, casual group sex, and celibacy. For those with more than one sexual partner, these may or may not all be of the same gender.
[edit]
Terminology
The term bisexual was first used in the 19th century to refer to intersexed people. By 1914 it had begun to be used in the context of sexual orientation.[5] Some bisexuals and sex researchers are dissatisfied with the term and have developed a variety of alternative or supplementary terms to describe aspects and forms of bisexuality. Many are neologisms not widely recognized by the larger society.
Pansexual, omnisexual, anthrosexual, and pomosexual (postmodern sexuality) are substitute terms that, rather than referring to both or "bi" sex attraction, refer to all or "omni" sex attraction and are used mainly by those who wish to express acceptance of all sex possibilities, including transgender and intersex people, not just two. Pansexuality sometimes includes an attraction for less mainstream sexual activities, such as BDSM. Some people who might otherwise identify as pansexual or omnisexual choose to self-identify as bisexual because the term bisexual is more widely known, and because they see it as an important term in identity politics.
Bi-permissive describes someone who does not actively seek out sexual relations with a given sex, but is open to them. Such a person may self-identify as heterosexual or homosexual and engage predominantly in sexual acts with individuals of the corresponding sex, and might be rated 1 or 5 on Kinsey's scale. Near-synonyms include heteroflexible and homoflexible.
Ambisexual indicates a primarily indiscriminate attraction to either sex. A person who self-identifies as ambisexual might be attracted with equal intensity on physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual levels to partner(s) regardless of sex or gender presentation while upholding selectivity standards in other areas. Some might experience equally intense attractions that could be triggered by sex- or gender-specific traits in the given partner or partners. A person with this orientation might fall in the 3 category on Kinsey's scale, as would some who subscribe to the 2 or 4 rating (although some individuals in these latter categories consider themselves bi-permissive).
Bi-curious has several distinct and sometimes contradictory meanings. It is commonly found in personal ads from those who identify as heterosexual, but are interested in homosexual "experimentation." Such people are commonly suspected—not necessarily correctly—of being homosexuals or bisexuals in denial of their homosexuality. It can also be used to describe someone as being passively bi, bi-permissive, or open to indirect bisexual contact.
Trisexual (sometimes trysexual) is either an extension of, or a pun on bisexual. In its more serious usage, it indicates an interest in transgender persons in addition to cissexual men and women. In its more humorous usage, it refers to someone who will try any sexual experience. It is used in the song "La Vie Boheme" in the Broadway musical Rent. The term was coined by porn actress Robin Byrd.[7]
Biphobia describes a fear or condemnation of bisexuality, usually based in a belief that only heterosexuality and homosexuality are genuine orientations and appropriate lifestyles. Bisexual persons may also be the target of homophobia from those who consider only heterosexuality appropriate. The reverse can also apply in that bisexual persons may be targets of heterophobia or discrimination by some homosexuals.
Passively bi, aka open-minded is a non-sex specific term that describes a heterosexual/bi-curious person who is open to incidental or direct contact (typically in a group sex scenario) from a member of the same sex or a homosexual/bi-curious person who is open to contact with members of the opposite sex under the same scenario, which usually doesn't involve reciprocation.
Actively bi is a non-sex specific term that can describe a bi-curious person who initiates direct contact with the sex opposite his or her usual identity (either hetero- or homosexual); it can also refer to a bisexual person who engages in contact with members of both sexes on a fairly regular basis.
[edit]
Modern Western prevalence of bisexuality
Main articles: Demographics of sexual orientation and Kinsey Reports
A 2002 survey in the United States by National Center for Health Statistics found that 1.8 percent of men ages 18–44 considered themselves bisexual, 2.3 percent homosexual, and 3.9 percent as "something else". The same study found that 2.8 percent of women ages 18–44 considered themselves bisexual, 1.3 percent homosexual, and 3.8 percent as "something else".[8] The Janus Report on Sexual Behavior, published in 1993, showed that 5 percent of men and 3 percent of women consider themselves bisexual and 4 percent of men and 2 percent of women considered themselves homosexual.[8] The 'Health' section of The New York Times has stated that "1.5 percent of American women identify themselves [as] bisexual."[9]
Sigmund Freud theorized that every person has the ability to become bisexual at some time in his or her life.[10][9] He based this on the idea that enjoyable experiences of sexuality with the same sex, whether sought or unsought, acting on it or being fantasized, become an attachment to his or her needs and desires in social upbringing. Prominent psychoanalyst Dr. Joseph Merlino, Senior Editor of the book, Freud at 150: 21st Century Essays on a Man of Genius stated in an interview:
“ Freud maintained that bisexuality was a normal part of development. That all of us went through a period of bisexuality and that, in the end, most of us came out heterosexual but that the bisexual phase we traversed remained on some unconscious level, and was dealt with in other ways....He did not consider it something that should be criminalized, or penalized.... Freud felt there were a number of homosexuals he encountered who did not have a variety of complex problems that homosexuality was a part of. He found people who were totally normal in every other regard except in terms of their sexual preference. In fact, he saw many of them as having higher intellects, higher aesthetic sensibilities, higher morals; those kinds of things. He did not see it as something to criminalize or penalize, or to keep from psychoanalytic training. A lot of the psychoanalytic institutes felt if you were homosexual you should not be accepted; that was not Freud's position. ”
—Joseph Merlino, [11]
Dr. Alfred Kinsey's 1948 work Sexual Behavior in the Human Male found that "46% of the male population had engaged in both heterosexual and homosexual activities, or "reacted to" persons of both sexes, in the course of their adult lives".[12] The Kinsey Institute has stated that "Kinsey said in both the Male and Female volumes that it was impossible to determine the number of persons who are "homosexual" or "heterosexual". It was only possible to determine behavior at any given time".[12] Kinsey's book, and its companion Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, have received vocal criticism for their findings and methodology.[13][14][15][16] The New York Times called his research "conscientious and comprehensive"[17] and Professor Martin Duberman called it "skillful" and "a monumental endeavor".[18]
Despite common misconceptions, bisexuality does not require that a person be attracted equally to both sexes. In fact, people who have a distinct but not exclusive preference for one sex over the other can and often do identify as bisexual.[citation needed] A recent study by researchers Gerulf Rieger, Meredith L. Chivers, and J. Michael Bailey,[19] which attracted media attention in 2005, purported to find that bisexuality is extremely rare, and perhaps nonexistent, in men. This was based on results of controversial penile plethysmograph testing when viewing pornographic material involving only men and pornography involving only women. Critics claim that this study works from the assumption that a person is only truly bisexual if he or she exhibits virtually equal arousal responses to both opposite-sex and same-sex stimuli, and have consequently dismissed the self-identification of people whose arousal patterns showed even a mild preference for one sex. Some researchers say that the technique used in the study to measure genital arousal is too crude to capture the richness (erotic sensations, affection, admiration) that constitutes sexual attraction.[9] The study, and The New York Times article which reported it, were subsequently criticized as flawed and biphobic.[20][21][22] Lynn Conway criticized the author of the study, J. Michael Bailey, citing his controversial history, and pointing out that the study has not been scientifically repeated and confirmed by any independent researchers.[23] FAIR also criticised the study [24].
Dr. Fritz Klein claimed social and emotional attraction are very important elements in bisexual attraction. For example, a bisexual might be attracted to both feminine women and feminine men, but have little interest in masculine individuals.[citation needed] This individual, while they might be highly attracted to certain members of both sexes, would be unlikely to be attracted to most males in modern western society (who tend to be masculine).[citation needed] As this study employed 2-minute clips of standard heterosexual and homosexual pornography, the study would be blind to the this type of bisexual.[citation needed] One third of the men in each group showed no significant arousal. The study did not claim them to be asexual, and Rieger claimed their lack of response did not change the overall findings.
[edit]
Bisexuality in history
Shudo (Japanese pederasty): a young male entertains an older male lover, covering his eyes while surreptitiously kissing a female servant.
In some cultures, historical and literary records from most literate societies indicate that male bisexuality was common and indeed expected.[citation needed] These relationships were generally age-structured (as in the practice of pederasty in the Mediterranean Basin of antiquity,[25] or the practice of shudo in pre-modern Japan)[citation needed] or gender-structured (as in the Two-Spirit North American tradition or the Central Asian bacchá practices).[citation needed] Male heterosexuality and homosexuality, while also documented, appear mostly as exceptions, unless we are examining cultures influenced by the Abrahamic religions, where heterosexuality was privileged, and bisexuality and homosexuality forcefully suppressed.[citation needed] In fact, most of the commonly cited examples of male "homosexuality" in previous cultures would more properly be categorized as bisexuality.[citation needed] Determining the history of female bisexuality is more problematic, in that women in most of the studied societies were under the domination of the males, and on one hand had less self-determination and freedom of movement and expression, and on the other were not the ones writing or keeping the literary record.[citation needed] Sappho, however, is a notable exception.
In 124 CE the bisexual Roman emperor Hadrian met Antinous, a 13- or 14-year-old boy from Bithynia, and they began their pederastic relationship. Antinous was deified by Hadrian when he died six years later. Many statues, busts, coins and reliefs display Hadrian's deep affections for him. Ancient Rome, Arab countries up to and including the present, China, and Japan, all exhibit patterns of analogous bisexual behavior.[citation needed] In Japan in particular, due to its practice of shudo and the extensive art and literature associated with it, the record of a primarily bisexual lifestyle is both detailed and quite recent, dating back as recently as the 19th century.[citation needed] Bisexual behavior was also common among Roman and Chinese emperors, the shoguns of Japan, and others.[citation needed]
Nevertheless, it should be noted that the terms heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual, and the concept of "sexual orientation" itself are all modern sociological constructs and may not be appropriate in historical contexts in which behavior might be considered homosexual but people were not labeled using such terms.[citation needed]
[edit]
Ancient Greece
Main article: Homosexuality in ancient Greece
Two athletes about to have sex, while a man watches; Apulian red-figure vase by the Dinos painter, 420BCE
Ancient Greek religious texts, reflecting cultural practices, incorporated bisexual themes. The subtexts varied, from the mystical to the didactic.[26]
Ancestral law in ancient Sparta mandated same-sex relationships with youths who were coming of age for all adult men, so long as the men eventually took wives and produced children.[citation needed] The Spartans thought that love and erotic relationships between experienced and novice soldiers would solidify combat loyalty and encourage heroic tactics as men vied to impress their lovers. Once the younger soldiers reached maturity, the relationship was supposed to become non-sexual, but it is not clear how strictly this was followed. There was some stigma attached to young men who continued their relationships with their mentors into adulthood.[26] For example, Aristophanes calls them euryprôktoi, meaning "wide arses", and depicts them like women.[26]
In Ancient Greece it is believed that males generally went through a homosexual stage in adolescence, followed by a bisexual stage characterized by pederastic relationships in young adulthood, followed by a (mostly) heterosexual stage later in life, when they married and had children.[citation needed] Alexander the Great, the Macedonian king, is thought to have been bisexual, and to have had a male lover named Hephaestion.[27]
[edit]
Social status of bisexuality
Historically, bisexuality has largely been free of the social stigma associated with homosexuality, prevalent even where bisexuality was the norm.[citation needed] In Ancient Greece pederasty was not problematic as long as the men involved eventually married and had children. In many world cultures, homosexual affairs have been quietly accepted among upper-class men of good social standing (particularly if married),[citation needed] and heterosexual marriage has often been used successfully as a defense against accusations of homosexuality.[citation needed] On the other hand, there are bisexuals who marry or live with a heterosexual partner because they prefer the complementarity of different sexes in cohabiting and co-parenting but have felt greatly enriched by homosexual relationships alongside the marriage in both monogamous and "open" relationships.
Since the 1970s, there have been waves of bisexual chic, in which celebrities and other persons of some notoriety have embraced and advocated bisexuality. This has led to more acceptance of bisexuals in some regards; however, some have latched onto bisexual chic for publicity's sake, with varying degrees of sincerity and permanency. Such celebrities as David Bowie, Dave Navarro, Anne Heche and others have claimed bisexuality only to later renounce the idea.
Some in the homosexual community accuse those who self-identify as bisexual of duplicity, believing they are really homosexuals who engage in heterosexual activity merely to remain socially acceptable. They may be accused of "not doing their part" in gaining acceptance of "true" homosexuality. Some homosexual people may also suspect that a self-described bisexual is merely a homosexual in the initial stage of questioning their presumed heterosexuality, and will eventually accept that they are homosexual; this is expressed by a glib saying in gay culture: "Bi now, gay later." These situations can and do take place, but do not appear to be true of the majority of self-described bisexuals. Nonetheless, bisexuals do sometimes experience lesser acceptance from homosexual people, because of their declared orientation. Bisexual experimentation is also common in adolescents of every sexual orientation.[citation needed]
Bisexuals are often associated with men who engage in same-sex activity while closeted or heterosexually married. The majority of such men—said to be living on the down-low—do not self-identify as bisexual.[28]
Because some bisexual people do not feel that they fit into either the homosexual or the heterosexual world, and because they have a tendency to be "invisible" in public, some bisexual persons are committed to forming their own communities, culture, and political movements. However, since "Bisexual orientation can fall anywhere between the two extremes of homosexuality and heterosexuality",[citation needed] some who identify as bisexual may merge themselves into either homosexual or heterosexual society. Still other bisexual people see this merging as enforced rather than voluntary; bisexual people can face exclusion from both homosexual and heterosexual society on coming out. Psychologist Beth Firestein states that bisexuals also tend to internalize social tensions related to their choice of partners.[29] Firestein suggests bisexuals may feel pressured to label themselves as homosexuals instead of occupying a difficult middle ground in a culture that has it that if bisexuals are attracted to people of both sexes, they must have more than one partner, thus defying society's value on monogamy.[29] These social tensions and pressure may and do affect bisexuals' mental health.[29][30] Specific therapy methods have been developed for bisexuals to address this concern.[29]
Relatively few supportive bisexual communities exist, therefore there is not as much support from people who have gone through similar experiences. This effectively can make it more difficult for bisexuals to "come out" as such.[citation needed]
[edit]
Bisexual symbols
Main article: LGBT symbols
The bisexual pride flag
A common symbol of bisexual identity is the bisexual pride flag, which has a deep pink stripe at the top for homosexuality, a blue one on the bottom for heterosexuality, and a purple one, blended from the pink and blue, in the middle to represent bisexuality.[31]
The overlapping triangles
Another symbol of bisexual identity that uses the color scheme of the bisexual pride flag is a pair of overlapping pink and blue triangles, the pink triangle being a well-known symbol for the homosexual community, forming purple where they intersect.[32]
Bisexual moon symbol
Many homosexual and bisexual individuals have a problem with the use of the pink triangle symbol as it was the symbol that Hitler's regime used to tag homosexuals (similar to the yellow Star of David that is constituted of two opposed, overlapping triangles). Because pink triangles were used in the persecution of homosexuals in the Nazi regime, a double moon symbol was devised specifically to avoid the use of triangles.[33] This bisexual symbol is a double moon that is formed when the sex-specific attributes of the astrological symbol of Mars & Venus (representing heterosexual union) are reduced to the two circles open on both ends, thus symbolizing that bisexuals are open to either-sex unions.[citation needed] The color of the bisexual double moon symbol varies. The symbol is most often displayed with rainbow colors,[citation needed] signifying that bisexuals belong to the gay community.[citation needed] It also may appear with the pink-purple-blue colors of the bisexual pride flag.[citation needed] The double moon symbol is common in Germany and surrounding countries.[33]
[edit]
Bisexuality in non-human animals
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Main article: Animal sexuality
Many non-human animal species also exhibit bisexual behavior. This is, of course, common in hermaphroditic animals, but is also known in many other species. Examples of mammals include the bonobo (formerly known as the pygmy chimpanzee), orca, and bottlenose dolphin. Examples of avians include some species of gulls and Humboldt Penguins. Other examples occur among fish, flatworms, and crustaceans.[34]
Many species of animals are involved in the act of forming sexual and relationship bonds between the same sex; even when offered the opportunity to breed with members of the opposite sex, they picked the same sex. Some of these species are gazelles, antelope, bison, and sage grouse.[35]
In some cases animals will choose intercourse with different sexes at different times in their life, and sometimes will perform intercourse with different sexes at random. Homosexual intercourse can also be seasonal in some animals like male walruses, who often engage in homosexual intercourse with each other outside of the breeding season and will revert to heterosexual intercourse during breeding season.[35]
In some cases bisexuality is actually a form of fitness favored by evolution. For example, in the absence of male whiptail lizards (Cnemidophorus), females reproduce by pairing up with each other. During the breeding season females will take turns switching between "male" and "female" roles as their hormones fluctuate. Estrogen levels are high during ovulation ("female" role) and much lower after laying eggs ("male" role). While in the "male" role, a female lizard will mount another in the "female" role and go through the motions of sex to stimulate egg-laying. The hatchlings produced are all female. This all-female species has evolved from lizards with two sexes, but their eggs develop without fertilization (parthenogenesis). Female whiptail lizards can lay eggs without sex, but they lay far fewer eggs than if they engage in sexual stimulation by another female.[36]
In the mid-1940s, Alfred Kinsey devised the Kinsey scale in an attempt to measure sexual orientation and activity. The 7-point scale has a rating of 0 ("exclusively heterosexual") to 6 ("exclusively homosexual"). Bisexuals cover most of the scale's values (1–5), which range between "predominantly heterosexual, only incidentally homosexual" (1) to "predominantly homosexual, only incidentally heterosexual" (5). In the middle of the scale (3) is "equally heterosexual and homosexual".[1] Although Kinsey's methodology has come under criticism, the scale is still widely used in describing the phenomenon of bisexuality.
Although observed in a variety of forms in human societies[2] and in the animal kingdom[3][4] throughout recorded history, the term bisexuality (like the terms hetero- and homosexuality) was only coined in the 19th century.[5]
Bisexual people are not necessarily attracted equally to both sexes.[1] Because bisexuality is often an ambiguous position between homosexuality and heterosexuality, those who identify, or are identified, as bisexuals form a heterogeneous group.
Others view bisexuality as more ambiguous. Some people who might be classified by others as bisexual on the basis of their sexual behavior self-identify primarily as homosexual. Equally, otherwise heterosexual people who engage in occasional homosexual behavior could be considered bisexual, but may not identify as such. For some who believe that sexuality is a distinctly defined aspect of the character, this ambiguity is problematic. It is sometimes argued that the behavior of bisexuals may be explained by subconscious homophobia or peer pressure.[citation needed] On the other hand, some believe that the majority of people contain aspects of homosexuality and heterosexuality, but that the intensities of these can vary from person to person.[citation needed] Some people who engage in bisexual behavior may be supportive of homosexual people, but still self-identify as heterosexual; others may consider any labels irrelevant to their positions and situations. In 1995, Harvard Shakespeare professor Marjorie Garber made the academic case for bisexuality with her 600-page Vice Versa: Bisexuality and the Eroticism of Everyday Life in which she argued that most people would be bisexual if not for "repression, religion, repugnance, denial...premature specialization."[6]
Some bisexuals make a distinction between gender and sex. Gender is defined in these situations as social or psychological category, characterized by the common practices of men and women. For example, the fact that women wear skirts and dresses in Western society while men traditionally do not is a gender issue. Sex in this case is defined as the biological difference between males and females, prior to any social conditioning. Bisexuals in this sense may be attracted to more than one gender but only to one sex. For example, a male bisexual may be attracted to aspects of men and masculinity, but not to the male body.
Bisexuality is often misunderstood as a form of adultery or polyamory, and a popular misconception is that bisexuals must always be in relationships with men and women simultaneously. Rather, individuals attracted to both males and females, like people of any other orientation, may live a variety of sexual lifestyles. These include lifelong monogamy, serial monogamy, polyamory, polyfidelity, casual sexual activity with individual partners, casual group sex, and celibacy. For those with more than one sexual partner, these may or may not all be of the same gender.
[edit]
Terminology
The term bisexual was first used in the 19th century to refer to intersexed people. By 1914 it had begun to be used in the context of sexual orientation.[5] Some bisexuals and sex researchers are dissatisfied with the term and have developed a variety of alternative or supplementary terms to describe aspects and forms of bisexuality. Many are neologisms not widely recognized by the larger society.
Pansexual, omnisexual, anthrosexual, and pomosexual (postmodern sexuality) are substitute terms that, rather than referring to both or "bi" sex attraction, refer to all or "omni" sex attraction and are used mainly by those who wish to express acceptance of all sex possibilities, including transgender and intersex people, not just two. Pansexuality sometimes includes an attraction for less mainstream sexual activities, such as BDSM. Some people who might otherwise identify as pansexual or omnisexual choose to self-identify as bisexual because the term bisexual is more widely known, and because they see it as an important term in identity politics.
Bi-permissive describes someone who does not actively seek out sexual relations with a given sex, but is open to them. Such a person may self-identify as heterosexual or homosexual and engage predominantly in sexual acts with individuals of the corresponding sex, and might be rated 1 or 5 on Kinsey's scale. Near-synonyms include heteroflexible and homoflexible.
Ambisexual indicates a primarily indiscriminate attraction to either sex. A person who self-identifies as ambisexual might be attracted with equal intensity on physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual levels to partner(s) regardless of sex or gender presentation while upholding selectivity standards in other areas. Some might experience equally intense attractions that could be triggered by sex- or gender-specific traits in the given partner or partners. A person with this orientation might fall in the 3 category on Kinsey's scale, as would some who subscribe to the 2 or 4 rating (although some individuals in these latter categories consider themselves bi-permissive).
Bi-curious has several distinct and sometimes contradictory meanings. It is commonly found in personal ads from those who identify as heterosexual, but are interested in homosexual "experimentation." Such people are commonly suspected—not necessarily correctly—of being homosexuals or bisexuals in denial of their homosexuality. It can also be used to describe someone as being passively bi, bi-permissive, or open to indirect bisexual contact.
Trisexual (sometimes trysexual) is either an extension of, or a pun on bisexual. In its more serious usage, it indicates an interest in transgender persons in addition to cissexual men and women. In its more humorous usage, it refers to someone who will try any sexual experience. It is used in the song "La Vie Boheme" in the Broadway musical Rent. The term was coined by porn actress Robin Byrd.[7]
Biphobia describes a fear or condemnation of bisexuality, usually based in a belief that only heterosexuality and homosexuality are genuine orientations and appropriate lifestyles. Bisexual persons may also be the target of homophobia from those who consider only heterosexuality appropriate. The reverse can also apply in that bisexual persons may be targets of heterophobia or discrimination by some homosexuals.
Passively bi, aka open-minded is a non-sex specific term that describes a heterosexual/bi-curious person who is open to incidental or direct contact (typically in a group sex scenario) from a member of the same sex or a homosexual/bi-curious person who is open to contact with members of the opposite sex under the same scenario, which usually doesn't involve reciprocation.
Actively bi is a non-sex specific term that can describe a bi-curious person who initiates direct contact with the sex opposite his or her usual identity (either hetero- or homosexual); it can also refer to a bisexual person who engages in contact with members of both sexes on a fairly regular basis.
[edit]
Modern Western prevalence of bisexuality
Main articles: Demographics of sexual orientation and Kinsey Reports
A 2002 survey in the United States by National Center for Health Statistics found that 1.8 percent of men ages 18–44 considered themselves bisexual, 2.3 percent homosexual, and 3.9 percent as "something else". The same study found that 2.8 percent of women ages 18–44 considered themselves bisexual, 1.3 percent homosexual, and 3.8 percent as "something else".[8] The Janus Report on Sexual Behavior, published in 1993, showed that 5 percent of men and 3 percent of women consider themselves bisexual and 4 percent of men and 2 percent of women considered themselves homosexual.[8] The 'Health' section of The New York Times has stated that "1.5 percent of American women identify themselves [as] bisexual."[9]
Sigmund Freud theorized that every person has the ability to become bisexual at some time in his or her life.[10][9] He based this on the idea that enjoyable experiences of sexuality with the same sex, whether sought or unsought, acting on it or being fantasized, become an attachment to his or her needs and desires in social upbringing. Prominent psychoanalyst Dr. Joseph Merlino, Senior Editor of the book, Freud at 150: 21st Century Essays on a Man of Genius stated in an interview:
“ Freud maintained that bisexuality was a normal part of development. That all of us went through a period of bisexuality and that, in the end, most of us came out heterosexual but that the bisexual phase we traversed remained on some unconscious level, and was dealt with in other ways....He did not consider it something that should be criminalized, or penalized.... Freud felt there were a number of homosexuals he encountered who did not have a variety of complex problems that homosexuality was a part of. He found people who were totally normal in every other regard except in terms of their sexual preference. In fact, he saw many of them as having higher intellects, higher aesthetic sensibilities, higher morals; those kinds of things. He did not see it as something to criminalize or penalize, or to keep from psychoanalytic training. A lot of the psychoanalytic institutes felt if you were homosexual you should not be accepted; that was not Freud's position. ”
—Joseph Merlino, [11]
Dr. Alfred Kinsey's 1948 work Sexual Behavior in the Human Male found that "46% of the male population had engaged in both heterosexual and homosexual activities, or "reacted to" persons of both sexes, in the course of their adult lives".[12] The Kinsey Institute has stated that "Kinsey said in both the Male and Female volumes that it was impossible to determine the number of persons who are "homosexual" or "heterosexual". It was only possible to determine behavior at any given time".[12] Kinsey's book, and its companion Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, have received vocal criticism for their findings and methodology.[13][14][15][16] The New York Times called his research "conscientious and comprehensive"[17] and Professor Martin Duberman called it "skillful" and "a monumental endeavor".[18]
Despite common misconceptions, bisexuality does not require that a person be attracted equally to both sexes. In fact, people who have a distinct but not exclusive preference for one sex over the other can and often do identify as bisexual.[citation needed] A recent study by researchers Gerulf Rieger, Meredith L. Chivers, and J. Michael Bailey,[19] which attracted media attention in 2005, purported to find that bisexuality is extremely rare, and perhaps nonexistent, in men. This was based on results of controversial penile plethysmograph testing when viewing pornographic material involving only men and pornography involving only women. Critics claim that this study works from the assumption that a person is only truly bisexual if he or she exhibits virtually equal arousal responses to both opposite-sex and same-sex stimuli, and have consequently dismissed the self-identification of people whose arousal patterns showed even a mild preference for one sex. Some researchers say that the technique used in the study to measure genital arousal is too crude to capture the richness (erotic sensations, affection, admiration) that constitutes sexual attraction.[9] The study, and The New York Times article which reported it, were subsequently criticized as flawed and biphobic.[20][21][22] Lynn Conway criticized the author of the study, J. Michael Bailey, citing his controversial history, and pointing out that the study has not been scientifically repeated and confirmed by any independent researchers.[23] FAIR also criticised the study [24].
Dr. Fritz Klein claimed social and emotional attraction are very important elements in bisexual attraction. For example, a bisexual might be attracted to both feminine women and feminine men, but have little interest in masculine individuals.[citation needed] This individual, while they might be highly attracted to certain members of both sexes, would be unlikely to be attracted to most males in modern western society (who tend to be masculine).[citation needed] As this study employed 2-minute clips of standard heterosexual and homosexual pornography, the study would be blind to the this type of bisexual.[citation needed] One third of the men in each group showed no significant arousal. The study did not claim them to be asexual, and Rieger claimed their lack of response did not change the overall findings.
[edit]
Bisexuality in history
Shudo (Japanese pederasty): a young male entertains an older male lover, covering his eyes while surreptitiously kissing a female servant.
In some cultures, historical and literary records from most literate societies indicate that male bisexuality was common and indeed expected.[citation needed] These relationships were generally age-structured (as in the practice of pederasty in the Mediterranean Basin of antiquity,[25] or the practice of shudo in pre-modern Japan)[citation needed] or gender-structured (as in the Two-Spirit North American tradition or the Central Asian bacchá practices).[citation needed] Male heterosexuality and homosexuality, while also documented, appear mostly as exceptions, unless we are examining cultures influenced by the Abrahamic religions, where heterosexuality was privileged, and bisexuality and homosexuality forcefully suppressed.[citation needed] In fact, most of the commonly cited examples of male "homosexuality" in previous cultures would more properly be categorized as bisexuality.[citation needed] Determining the history of female bisexuality is more problematic, in that women in most of the studied societies were under the domination of the males, and on one hand had less self-determination and freedom of movement and expression, and on the other were not the ones writing or keeping the literary record.[citation needed] Sappho, however, is a notable exception.
In 124 CE the bisexual Roman emperor Hadrian met Antinous, a 13- or 14-year-old boy from Bithynia, and they began their pederastic relationship. Antinous was deified by Hadrian when he died six years later. Many statues, busts, coins and reliefs display Hadrian's deep affections for him. Ancient Rome, Arab countries up to and including the present, China, and Japan, all exhibit patterns of analogous bisexual behavior.[citation needed] In Japan in particular, due to its practice of shudo and the extensive art and literature associated with it, the record of a primarily bisexual lifestyle is both detailed and quite recent, dating back as recently as the 19th century.[citation needed] Bisexual behavior was also common among Roman and Chinese emperors, the shoguns of Japan, and others.[citation needed]
Nevertheless, it should be noted that the terms heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual, and the concept of "sexual orientation" itself are all modern sociological constructs and may not be appropriate in historical contexts in which behavior might be considered homosexual but people were not labeled using such terms.[citation needed]
[edit]
Ancient Greece
Main article: Homosexuality in ancient Greece
Two athletes about to have sex, while a man watches; Apulian red-figure vase by the Dinos painter, 420BCE
Ancient Greek religious texts, reflecting cultural practices, incorporated bisexual themes. The subtexts varied, from the mystical to the didactic.[26]
Ancestral law in ancient Sparta mandated same-sex relationships with youths who were coming of age for all adult men, so long as the men eventually took wives and produced children.[citation needed] The Spartans thought that love and erotic relationships between experienced and novice soldiers would solidify combat loyalty and encourage heroic tactics as men vied to impress their lovers. Once the younger soldiers reached maturity, the relationship was supposed to become non-sexual, but it is not clear how strictly this was followed. There was some stigma attached to young men who continued their relationships with their mentors into adulthood.[26] For example, Aristophanes calls them euryprôktoi, meaning "wide arses", and depicts them like women.[26]
In Ancient Greece it is believed that males generally went through a homosexual stage in adolescence, followed by a bisexual stage characterized by pederastic relationships in young adulthood, followed by a (mostly) heterosexual stage later in life, when they married and had children.[citation needed] Alexander the Great, the Macedonian king, is thought to have been bisexual, and to have had a male lover named Hephaestion.[27]
[edit]
Social status of bisexuality
Historically, bisexuality has largely been free of the social stigma associated with homosexuality, prevalent even where bisexuality was the norm.[citation needed] In Ancient Greece pederasty was not problematic as long as the men involved eventually married and had children. In many world cultures, homosexual affairs have been quietly accepted among upper-class men of good social standing (particularly if married),[citation needed] and heterosexual marriage has often been used successfully as a defense against accusations of homosexuality.[citation needed] On the other hand, there are bisexuals who marry or live with a heterosexual partner because they prefer the complementarity of different sexes in cohabiting and co-parenting but have felt greatly enriched by homosexual relationships alongside the marriage in both monogamous and "open" relationships.
Since the 1970s, there have been waves of bisexual chic, in which celebrities and other persons of some notoriety have embraced and advocated bisexuality. This has led to more acceptance of bisexuals in some regards; however, some have latched onto bisexual chic for publicity's sake, with varying degrees of sincerity and permanency. Such celebrities as David Bowie, Dave Navarro, Anne Heche and others have claimed bisexuality only to later renounce the idea.
Some in the homosexual community accuse those who self-identify as bisexual of duplicity, believing they are really homosexuals who engage in heterosexual activity merely to remain socially acceptable. They may be accused of "not doing their part" in gaining acceptance of "true" homosexuality. Some homosexual people may also suspect that a self-described bisexual is merely a homosexual in the initial stage of questioning their presumed heterosexuality, and will eventually accept that they are homosexual; this is expressed by a glib saying in gay culture: "Bi now, gay later." These situations can and do take place, but do not appear to be true of the majority of self-described bisexuals. Nonetheless, bisexuals do sometimes experience lesser acceptance from homosexual people, because of their declared orientation. Bisexual experimentation is also common in adolescents of every sexual orientation.[citation needed]
Bisexuals are often associated with men who engage in same-sex activity while closeted or heterosexually married. The majority of such men—said to be living on the down-low—do not self-identify as bisexual.[28]
Because some bisexual people do not feel that they fit into either the homosexual or the heterosexual world, and because they have a tendency to be "invisible" in public, some bisexual persons are committed to forming their own communities, culture, and political movements. However, since "Bisexual orientation can fall anywhere between the two extremes of homosexuality and heterosexuality",[citation needed] some who identify as bisexual may merge themselves into either homosexual or heterosexual society. Still other bisexual people see this merging as enforced rather than voluntary; bisexual people can face exclusion from both homosexual and heterosexual society on coming out. Psychologist Beth Firestein states that bisexuals also tend to internalize social tensions related to their choice of partners.[29] Firestein suggests bisexuals may feel pressured to label themselves as homosexuals instead of occupying a difficult middle ground in a culture that has it that if bisexuals are attracted to people of both sexes, they must have more than one partner, thus defying society's value on monogamy.[29] These social tensions and pressure may and do affect bisexuals' mental health.[29][30] Specific therapy methods have been developed for bisexuals to address this concern.[29]
Relatively few supportive bisexual communities exist, therefore there is not as much support from people who have gone through similar experiences. This effectively can make it more difficult for bisexuals to "come out" as such.[citation needed]
[edit]
Bisexual symbols
Main article: LGBT symbols
The bisexual pride flag
A common symbol of bisexual identity is the bisexual pride flag, which has a deep pink stripe at the top for homosexuality, a blue one on the bottom for heterosexuality, and a purple one, blended from the pink and blue, in the middle to represent bisexuality.[31]
The overlapping triangles
Another symbol of bisexual identity that uses the color scheme of the bisexual pride flag is a pair of overlapping pink and blue triangles, the pink triangle being a well-known symbol for the homosexual community, forming purple where they intersect.[32]
Bisexual moon symbol
Many homosexual and bisexual individuals have a problem with the use of the pink triangle symbol as it was the symbol that Hitler's regime used to tag homosexuals (similar to the yellow Star of David that is constituted of two opposed, overlapping triangles). Because pink triangles were used in the persecution of homosexuals in the Nazi regime, a double moon symbol was devised specifically to avoid the use of triangles.[33] This bisexual symbol is a double moon that is formed when the sex-specific attributes of the astrological symbol of Mars & Venus (representing heterosexual union) are reduced to the two circles open on both ends, thus symbolizing that bisexuals are open to either-sex unions.[citation needed] The color of the bisexual double moon symbol varies. The symbol is most often displayed with rainbow colors,[citation needed] signifying that bisexuals belong to the gay community.[citation needed] It also may appear with the pink-purple-blue colors of the bisexual pride flag.[citation needed] The double moon symbol is common in Germany and surrounding countries.[33]
[edit]
Bisexuality in non-human animals
Please help improve this article by expanding this section.
See talk page for details. Please remove this message once the section has been expanded.
Main article: Animal sexuality
Many non-human animal species also exhibit bisexual behavior. This is, of course, common in hermaphroditic animals, but is also known in many other species. Examples of mammals include the bonobo (formerly known as the pygmy chimpanzee), orca, and bottlenose dolphin. Examples of avians include some species of gulls and Humboldt Penguins. Other examples occur among fish, flatworms, and crustaceans.[34]
Many species of animals are involved in the act of forming sexual and relationship bonds between the same sex; even when offered the opportunity to breed with members of the opposite sex, they picked the same sex. Some of these species are gazelles, antelope, bison, and sage grouse.[35]
In some cases animals will choose intercourse with different sexes at different times in their life, and sometimes will perform intercourse with different sexes at random. Homosexual intercourse can also be seasonal in some animals like male walruses, who often engage in homosexual intercourse with each other outside of the breeding season and will revert to heterosexual intercourse during breeding season.[35]
In some cases bisexuality is actually a form of fitness favored by evolution. For example, in the absence of male whiptail lizards (Cnemidophorus), females reproduce by pairing up with each other. During the breeding season females will take turns switching between "male" and "female" roles as their hormones fluctuate. Estrogen levels are high during ovulation ("female" role) and much lower after laying eggs ("male" role). While in the "male" role, a female lizard will mount another in the "female" role and go through the motions of sex to stimulate egg-laying. The hatchlings produced are all female. This all-female species has evolved from lizards with two sexes, but their eggs develop without fertilization (parthenogenesis). Female whiptail lizards can lay eggs without sex, but they lay far fewer eggs than if they engage in sexual stimulation by another female.[36]
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is a two-time Academy Award- winning American actor and director. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his portrayals of several real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, Melvin B. Tolson, Frank Lucas, and Herman Boone.
Washington was born in New York City. His mother, Lennis, was a beauty parlor-owner born in Georgia and raised in Harlem.[1] His father, Reverend Denzel Washington Sr., was an ordained Pentecostal minister and also worked for the Water Department and at a local department store, "S. Klein".[1] When Washington was fourteen his parents' marriage took a turn for the worse and he and his older sister were sent away to boarding school so that they would not be exposed to their parents' eventual divorce. He attended grammar school at Pennington Grimes Elementary School in Mount Vernon, where he played various sports.
As a child, Washington was interested in attending Texas Tech University: "I grew up in the Boys Club in Mount Vernon, and we were the Red Raiders. So when I was in high school, I wanted to go to Texas Tech in Lubbock just because they were called the Red Raiders and their uniforms looked like ours."[2] Nevertheless, he went on to college at the University of Oklahoma but did not do well and dropped out.[citation needed] Washington attained a B.A. in Drama and Journalism from Fordham University in 1977. At Fordham, he played collegiate basketball under coach P. J. Carlesimo. He still found time to pursue his interest in acting, and after graduation he went to San Francisco, American Conservatory Theatre for one year.[citation needed]
[edit]
Early career
Shortly after graduating from Fordham, Washington made his professional acting debut in the 1977 made-for-television movie Wilma. He made his film debut in the 1981 film Carbon Copy. His big break came when he starred in the popular television hospital drama, St. Elsewhere from 1982 to 1988. He was one of a few actors to appear on the series for its entire six-year run. In 1987, after appearing in several minor television, film and stage roles, Washington starred as South African anti-apartheid campaigner Steve Biko in Richard Attenborough's Cry Freedom, a role for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1989, Washington won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for playing a defiant, self-possessed ex-slave in the film Glory. Also that same year, he gave a powerful performance as Reuben James, a Caribbean-born man who turned from a British Army paratrooper into a vigilante in For Queen and Country.
[edit]
Career: 1990s
In the Summer of 1990 he starred in a movie called Mississippi Masala where he played the character Demetrius Williams. Washington played one of his most critically acclaimed roles in 1992's Malcolm X, directed by Spike Lee. His performance as the Black Nationalist leader earned him an Oscar nomination. Both the influential film critic Roger Ebert and the highly acclaimed film director Martin Scorsese called the movie one of the ten best films made during the 1990s.
Malcolm X transformed Washington's career, turning him, practically overnight, into one of Hollywood's most respected actors. He turned down several similar roles, such as an offer to play Martin Luther King, Jr., because he wanted to avoid being typecast. The next year, in 1993, he took another risk in his career by playing Joe Miller, the homophobic lawyer of a homosexual man with AIDS in the movie Philadelphia starring Tom Hanks. During the early and mid 1990s, Washington became a renowned Hollywood leading man, starring in several successful thrillers, including The Pelican Brief and Crimson Tide, as well as comedies (Much Ado About Nothing) and romantic dramas (The Preacher's Wife).
While filming the 1995 film, Virtuosity, Washington refused to kiss his white female co-star, Kelly Lynch, during a romantic scene between their characters. During an interview, Lynch stated that while she wanted to, "Denzel felt very strongly about it. I felt there is no problem with interracial romance. But Denzel felt strongly that the white males, who were the target audience of this movie, would not want to see him kiss a white woman." Lynch further stated, "That's a shame. I feel badly about it. I keep thinking that the world's changed, but it hasn't changed quick enough."[3] A similar situation also occurred during the filming of The Pelican Brief when Julia Roberts expressed in an interview her desire to have her character in the film engaged in a romantic relationship with Washington's character. And an additional occurrence was in the 1989 film The Mighty Quinn where Washington's Quinn character did not kiss Mimi Rogers' alluring Hadley character. However, in 1998, Washington starred in a scene of a sexual nature with actress Milla Jovovich, in Spike Lee's He Got Game.
In 1999, Washington starred in The Hurricane, a movie about boxer Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, whose conviction for triple murder was overturned after he had spent almost 20 years in prison. Various newspaper articles have suggested that the controversy over the film’s accuracy may have cost Washington an Oscar for which he was nominated. Washington did receive a Golden Globe Award in 2000 and a 'Silberner Bär' (Silver Berlin Bear) at the Berlin International Film Festival for the role.
He also presented the Arthur Ashe ESPY Award to Loretta Claiborne for her courage. He appeared as himself in the end of The Loretta Claiborne Story movie. Washington is often cited as an example of human physical attractiveness due to the symmetry of his facial features.[4][5]
[edit]
Career: 2000s
In 2000, Washington appeared in the crowd-pleasing Disney film, Remember the Titans, which grossed over $100 million at the United States box office. He was nominated and won an Oscar for Best Actor for his next film, the 2001 cop thriller, Training Day, which was considered a change of pace for Washington, as he played a villainous character after many roles as a heroic lead. Washington was the second African-American performer ever to win an Academy Award in the category of Best Actor (for Training Day), the first being Sidney Poitier, who happened to receive an Honorary Academy Award the same night that Washington won for Best Actor. Washington holds the record for most Oscar nominations by an actor of African descent, so far he has earned five.
After appearing in 2002's box office success, the Health care-themed John Q., Washington directed his first film, a well-reviewed drama called Antwone Fisher, in which he also co-starred.
Between 2003 and 2004, Washington appeared in a series of thrillers that performed generally well at the box office, including Out of Time, Man on Fire, and The Manchurian Candidate.[6] In 2006 he starred in Inside Man, a Spike Lee-directed bank heist thriller co-starring Jodie Foster and Clive Owen, and Déjà Vu released in November 2006. Next, he co-starred with Russell Crowe in American Gangster and directed and starred in The Great Debaters.
Washington made a rare stage appearance in 2005 as Brutus in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar on Broadway. The production's limited run was a sell-out despite receiving universally terrible reviews.
[edit]
Personal life
In 1983, Washington married actress Pauletta Pearson (now Pauletta Washington), whom he met on the set of his first screen role, Wilma. The couple has four children: John David (b. July 28, 1984), who signed a football contract with the St. Louis Rams in May 2006 after playing college football at Morehouse;[7] Katia (b. November 1987), who is attending Yale University, and twins Olivia and Malcolm (b. April 10, 1991). In 1995, the couple renewed their wedding vows in South Africa with Archbishop Desmond Tutu officiating.
Washington and his family visited soldiers at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. He later made a sizable donation to the Fisher Houses, small hotels that provide rooms for soldiers' families while the soldiers are hospitalized. In October 2006, he published a bestseller entitled Hand to Guide Me, featuring actors, politicians, athletes, and other public figures recalling their childhood mentors. The book was published in commemoration of the Boys and Girls Club of America's centennial anniversary. Denzel had participated in the club as a child.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia named Washington as one of three people (the others being directors Oliver Stone and Michael Moore) they want to negotiate with for the release of three defense contractors that the group has held captive since 2003.[8]
On May 20, 2007 Washington received an honorary doctorate of humanities degree from Morehouse College.
Washington is also a devout Christian.
Denzel is a devoted, and ardent admirer of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. He is an alum of the Mount Vernon Boys & Girls Club, New York, and is, to this day, actively involved in the Club, and other Boys & Girls Clubs across the nation. Denzel is an outspoken defender of children's rights, particularly those children of color growing up in difficult, almost hopeless circumstances.
[edit]
Filmography
Year Film Role Other notes
1981 Carbon Copy Roger Porter
1984 A Soldier's Story Pfc. Peterson
1986 Hard Lessons George McKenna
Power Arnold Billing Image Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
1987 Cry Freedom Steve Biko Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination
1989 The Mighty Quinn Xavier Quinn
For Queen and Country Reuben James
Glory Pvt. Trip Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
1990 Heart Condition Napoleon Stone
Mo' Better Blues Bleek Gilliam
1991 Ricochet Nick Styles
1992 Mississippi Masala Demetrius Williams
Malcolm X Malcolm X Academy Award for Best Actor nomination
1993 Much Ado About Nothing Don Pedro of Aragon
The Pelican Brief Gray Grantham
Philadelphia Joe Miller
1995 Crimson Tide Lt. Commander Ron Hunter
Virtuosity Lt. Parker Barnes
Devil in a Blue Dress Easy Rawlins
1996 Courage Under Fire Lt. Colonel Nathaniel Serling
The Preacher's Wife Dudley
1998 Fallen Detective John Hobbes
He Got Game Jake Shuttlesworth
The Siege Special Agent Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard
1999 The Bone Collector Lincoln Rhyme
The Hurricane Rubin "Hurricane" Carter Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Academy Award for Best Actor nomination
2000 Remember the Titans Coach Herman Boone
The Loretta Claiborne Story Himself
2001 Training Day Detective Alonzo Harris Academy Award for Best Actor
2002 John Q John Quincy Archibald
Antwone Fisher Dr. Jerome Davenport also as director
2003 Out of Time Police Chief Matthias Lee Whitlock
2004 Man on Fire John Creasy
The Manchurian Candidate Major Ben Marco
2006 Inside Man Detective Keith Frazier
Déjà Vu Special Agent Doug Carlin
2007 American Gangster Frank Lucas
The Great Debaters Melvin B. Tolson also as director
2009 The Taking of Pelham 123 Zachary "Z" Garber
[Pre-production]
[edit]
Awards and nominations
Awards
Preceded by
Kevin Kline
for A Fish Called Wanda Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1989
for Glory Succeeded by
Joe Pesci
for Goodfellas
Preceded by
Martin Landau
for Tucker: The Man and His Dream Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
1990
for Glory Succeeded by
Bruce Davison
for Longtime Companion
Preceded by
Jim Carrey
for The Truman Show Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
2000
for The Hurricane Succeeded by
Tom Hanks
for Cast Away
Preceded by
Russell Crowe
for Gladiator Academy Award for Best Actor
2001
for Training Day Succeeded by
Adrien Brody
for The Pianist
Preceded by
Brad Pitt People's Sexiest Man Alive
1996 Succeeded by
George Clooney
[edit]
Awards/nominations
1993 - won Silver Bear (Best Actor) for Malcolm X at the Berlin International Film Festival
2000 - won Silver Bear (Best Actor) for The Hurricane at the Berlin International Film Festival
Academy Awards
2002, Best Actor in a Leading Role: Training Day (Winner)
2000, Best Actor in a Leading Role: The Hurricane (Nominee)
1993, Best Actor in a Leading Role: Malcolm X (film) (Nominee)
1990, Best Supporting Actor: Glory (Winner)
1988, Best Supporting Actor: Cry Freedom (Nominee)
BET Awards
2006, Best Actor (Nominated)
2004, Best Actor (Winner)
2003, Best Actor (Nominated)
2002, Best Actor (Nominated)
2001, Best Actor (Winner)
Black Movie Awards
2006, Outstanding Lead Actor: Inside Man (Nominated)
Golden Globe
2008, Best Actor in a Drama Motion Picture: American Gangster (Nominated)
Screen Actors Guild Awards
2008, Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture: American Gangster (Nominated)
[edit]
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Denzel Washington
^ a b Nickson, Chris (1996). Denzel Washington. St. Martin's Paperbacks, 9-11. ISBN-100312960433.
^ Leach OK with star power. Florida Times-Union. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
^ Quotes from Jet magazine, 1995
^ Cowley, Geoffrey. "The biology of beauty", Newsweek v127 n23, Newsweek, 1996-06-03, p. 60(7). Excerpted by Balancing Act. Symonics Inc. Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
^ Rodgers, Joann Ellison. "Flirting Fascination", Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, Jan/Feb 1999. Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
^ Denzel Washington Movie Box Office Results. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
^ "Denzel Washington's son among Rams signees", ESPN, 2006-05-01. Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
^ "Colombian rebels ask Denzel Washington to help broker hostage exchange", CBC Arts, 2006-11-10. Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
[edit]
External links
Denzel Washington at the Internet Movie Database
Denzel Washington at the TCM Movie Database
Denzel Washington at the Internet Broadway Database
Denzel Washington at People.com
Denzel Washington being interviewed on BBC Radio Five Live
Men's Vogue profile of Denzel Washington
Washington was born in New York City. His mother, Lennis, was a beauty parlor-owner born in Georgia and raised in Harlem.[1] His father, Reverend Denzel Washington Sr., was an ordained Pentecostal minister and also worked for the Water Department and at a local department store, "S. Klein".[1] When Washington was fourteen his parents' marriage took a turn for the worse and he and his older sister were sent away to boarding school so that they would not be exposed to their parents' eventual divorce. He attended grammar school at Pennington Grimes Elementary School in Mount Vernon, where he played various sports.
As a child, Washington was interested in attending Texas Tech University: "I grew up in the Boys Club in Mount Vernon, and we were the Red Raiders. So when I was in high school, I wanted to go to Texas Tech in Lubbock just because they were called the Red Raiders and their uniforms looked like ours."[2] Nevertheless, he went on to college at the University of Oklahoma but did not do well and dropped out.[citation needed] Washington attained a B.A. in Drama and Journalism from Fordham University in 1977. At Fordham, he played collegiate basketball under coach P. J. Carlesimo. He still found time to pursue his interest in acting, and after graduation he went to San Francisco, American Conservatory Theatre for one year.[citation needed]
[edit]
Early career
Shortly after graduating from Fordham, Washington made his professional acting debut in the 1977 made-for-television movie Wilma. He made his film debut in the 1981 film Carbon Copy. His big break came when he starred in the popular television hospital drama, St. Elsewhere from 1982 to 1988. He was one of a few actors to appear on the series for its entire six-year run. In 1987, after appearing in several minor television, film and stage roles, Washington starred as South African anti-apartheid campaigner Steve Biko in Richard Attenborough's Cry Freedom, a role for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1989, Washington won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for playing a defiant, self-possessed ex-slave in the film Glory. Also that same year, he gave a powerful performance as Reuben James, a Caribbean-born man who turned from a British Army paratrooper into a vigilante in For Queen and Country.
[edit]
Career: 1990s
In the Summer of 1990 he starred in a movie called Mississippi Masala where he played the character Demetrius Williams. Washington played one of his most critically acclaimed roles in 1992's Malcolm X, directed by Spike Lee. His performance as the Black Nationalist leader earned him an Oscar nomination. Both the influential film critic Roger Ebert and the highly acclaimed film director Martin Scorsese called the movie one of the ten best films made during the 1990s.
Malcolm X transformed Washington's career, turning him, practically overnight, into one of Hollywood's most respected actors. He turned down several similar roles, such as an offer to play Martin Luther King, Jr., because he wanted to avoid being typecast. The next year, in 1993, he took another risk in his career by playing Joe Miller, the homophobic lawyer of a homosexual man with AIDS in the movie Philadelphia starring Tom Hanks. During the early and mid 1990s, Washington became a renowned Hollywood leading man, starring in several successful thrillers, including The Pelican Brief and Crimson Tide, as well as comedies (Much Ado About Nothing) and romantic dramas (The Preacher's Wife).
While filming the 1995 film, Virtuosity, Washington refused to kiss his white female co-star, Kelly Lynch, during a romantic scene between their characters. During an interview, Lynch stated that while she wanted to, "Denzel felt very strongly about it. I felt there is no problem with interracial romance. But Denzel felt strongly that the white males, who were the target audience of this movie, would not want to see him kiss a white woman." Lynch further stated, "That's a shame. I feel badly about it. I keep thinking that the world's changed, but it hasn't changed quick enough."[3] A similar situation also occurred during the filming of The Pelican Brief when Julia Roberts expressed in an interview her desire to have her character in the film engaged in a romantic relationship with Washington's character. And an additional occurrence was in the 1989 film The Mighty Quinn where Washington's Quinn character did not kiss Mimi Rogers' alluring Hadley character. However, in 1998, Washington starred in a scene of a sexual nature with actress Milla Jovovich, in Spike Lee's He Got Game.
In 1999, Washington starred in The Hurricane, a movie about boxer Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, whose conviction for triple murder was overturned after he had spent almost 20 years in prison. Various newspaper articles have suggested that the controversy over the film’s accuracy may have cost Washington an Oscar for which he was nominated. Washington did receive a Golden Globe Award in 2000 and a 'Silberner Bär' (Silver Berlin Bear) at the Berlin International Film Festival for the role.
He also presented the Arthur Ashe ESPY Award to Loretta Claiborne for her courage. He appeared as himself in the end of The Loretta Claiborne Story movie. Washington is often cited as an example of human physical attractiveness due to the symmetry of his facial features.[4][5]
[edit]
Career: 2000s
In 2000, Washington appeared in the crowd-pleasing Disney film, Remember the Titans, which grossed over $100 million at the United States box office. He was nominated and won an Oscar for Best Actor for his next film, the 2001 cop thriller, Training Day, which was considered a change of pace for Washington, as he played a villainous character after many roles as a heroic lead. Washington was the second African-American performer ever to win an Academy Award in the category of Best Actor (for Training Day), the first being Sidney Poitier, who happened to receive an Honorary Academy Award the same night that Washington won for Best Actor. Washington holds the record for most Oscar nominations by an actor of African descent, so far he has earned five.
After appearing in 2002's box office success, the Health care-themed John Q., Washington directed his first film, a well-reviewed drama called Antwone Fisher, in which he also co-starred.
Between 2003 and 2004, Washington appeared in a series of thrillers that performed generally well at the box office, including Out of Time, Man on Fire, and The Manchurian Candidate.[6] In 2006 he starred in Inside Man, a Spike Lee-directed bank heist thriller co-starring Jodie Foster and Clive Owen, and Déjà Vu released in November 2006. Next, he co-starred with Russell Crowe in American Gangster and directed and starred in The Great Debaters.
Washington made a rare stage appearance in 2005 as Brutus in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar on Broadway. The production's limited run was a sell-out despite receiving universally terrible reviews.
[edit]
Personal life
In 1983, Washington married actress Pauletta Pearson (now Pauletta Washington), whom he met on the set of his first screen role, Wilma. The couple has four children: John David (b. July 28, 1984), who signed a football contract with the St. Louis Rams in May 2006 after playing college football at Morehouse;[7] Katia (b. November 1987), who is attending Yale University, and twins Olivia and Malcolm (b. April 10, 1991). In 1995, the couple renewed their wedding vows in South Africa with Archbishop Desmond Tutu officiating.
Washington and his family visited soldiers at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. He later made a sizable donation to the Fisher Houses, small hotels that provide rooms for soldiers' families while the soldiers are hospitalized. In October 2006, he published a bestseller entitled Hand to Guide Me, featuring actors, politicians, athletes, and other public figures recalling their childhood mentors. The book was published in commemoration of the Boys and Girls Club of America's centennial anniversary. Denzel had participated in the club as a child.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia named Washington as one of three people (the others being directors Oliver Stone and Michael Moore) they want to negotiate with for the release of three defense contractors that the group has held captive since 2003.[8]
On May 20, 2007 Washington received an honorary doctorate of humanities degree from Morehouse College.
Washington is also a devout Christian.
Denzel is a devoted, and ardent admirer of Boys & Girls Clubs of America. He is an alum of the Mount Vernon Boys & Girls Club, New York, and is, to this day, actively involved in the Club, and other Boys & Girls Clubs across the nation. Denzel is an outspoken defender of children's rights, particularly those children of color growing up in difficult, almost hopeless circumstances.
[edit]
Filmography
Year Film Role Other notes
1981 Carbon Copy Roger Porter
1984 A Soldier's Story Pfc. Peterson
1986 Hard Lessons George McKenna
Power Arnold Billing Image Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
1987 Cry Freedom Steve Biko Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination
1989 The Mighty Quinn Xavier Quinn
For Queen and Country Reuben James
Glory Pvt. Trip Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
1990 Heart Condition Napoleon Stone
Mo' Better Blues Bleek Gilliam
1991 Ricochet Nick Styles
1992 Mississippi Masala Demetrius Williams
Malcolm X Malcolm X Academy Award for Best Actor nomination
1993 Much Ado About Nothing Don Pedro of Aragon
The Pelican Brief Gray Grantham
Philadelphia Joe Miller
1995 Crimson Tide Lt. Commander Ron Hunter
Virtuosity Lt. Parker Barnes
Devil in a Blue Dress Easy Rawlins
1996 Courage Under Fire Lt. Colonel Nathaniel Serling
The Preacher's Wife Dudley
1998 Fallen Detective John Hobbes
He Got Game Jake Shuttlesworth
The Siege Special Agent Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard
1999 The Bone Collector Lincoln Rhyme
The Hurricane Rubin "Hurricane" Carter Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Academy Award for Best Actor nomination
2000 Remember the Titans Coach Herman Boone
The Loretta Claiborne Story Himself
2001 Training Day Detective Alonzo Harris Academy Award for Best Actor
2002 John Q John Quincy Archibald
Antwone Fisher Dr. Jerome Davenport also as director
2003 Out of Time Police Chief Matthias Lee Whitlock
2004 Man on Fire John Creasy
The Manchurian Candidate Major Ben Marco
2006 Inside Man Detective Keith Frazier
Déjà Vu Special Agent Doug Carlin
2007 American Gangster Frank Lucas
The Great Debaters Melvin B. Tolson also as director
2009 The Taking of Pelham 123 Zachary "Z" Garber
[Pre-production]
[edit]
Awards and nominations
Awards
Preceded by
Kevin Kline
for A Fish Called Wanda Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1989
for Glory Succeeded by
Joe Pesci
for Goodfellas
Preceded by
Martin Landau
for Tucker: The Man and His Dream Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
1990
for Glory Succeeded by
Bruce Davison
for Longtime Companion
Preceded by
Jim Carrey
for The Truman Show Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
2000
for The Hurricane Succeeded by
Tom Hanks
for Cast Away
Preceded by
Russell Crowe
for Gladiator Academy Award for Best Actor
2001
for Training Day Succeeded by
Adrien Brody
for The Pianist
Preceded by
Brad Pitt People's Sexiest Man Alive
1996 Succeeded by
George Clooney
[edit]
Awards/nominations
1993 - won Silver Bear (Best Actor) for Malcolm X at the Berlin International Film Festival
2000 - won Silver Bear (Best Actor) for The Hurricane at the Berlin International Film Festival
Academy Awards
2002, Best Actor in a Leading Role: Training Day (Winner)
2000, Best Actor in a Leading Role: The Hurricane (Nominee)
1993, Best Actor in a Leading Role: Malcolm X (film) (Nominee)
1990, Best Supporting Actor: Glory (Winner)
1988, Best Supporting Actor: Cry Freedom (Nominee)
BET Awards
2006, Best Actor (Nominated)
2004, Best Actor (Winner)
2003, Best Actor (Nominated)
2002, Best Actor (Nominated)
2001, Best Actor (Winner)
Black Movie Awards
2006, Outstanding Lead Actor: Inside Man (Nominated)
Golden Globe
2008, Best Actor in a Drama Motion Picture: American Gangster (Nominated)
Screen Actors Guild Awards
2008, Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture: American Gangster (Nominated)
[edit]
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Denzel Washington
^ a b Nickson, Chris (1996). Denzel Washington. St. Martin's Paperbacks, 9-11. ISBN-100312960433.
^ Leach OK with star power. Florida Times-Union. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
^ Quotes from Jet magazine, 1995
^ Cowley, Geoffrey. "The biology of beauty", Newsweek v127 n23, Newsweek, 1996-06-03, p. 60(7). Excerpted by Balancing Act. Symonics Inc. Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
^ Rodgers, Joann Ellison. "Flirting Fascination", Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, Jan/Feb 1999. Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
^ Denzel Washington Movie Box Office Results. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
^ "Denzel Washington's son among Rams signees", ESPN, 2006-05-01. Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
^ "Colombian rebels ask Denzel Washington to help broker hostage exchange", CBC Arts, 2006-11-10. Retrieved on 2007-03-20.
[edit]
External links
Denzel Washington at the Internet Movie Database
Denzel Washington at the TCM Movie Database
Denzel Washington at the Internet Broadway Database
Denzel Washington at People.com
Denzel Washington being interviewed on BBC Radio Five Live
Men's Vogue profile of Denzel Washington
Monday, January 14, 2008
Utoto wa Zitto uko wapi?
Padri Privatus Karugendo
Januari 9, 2008
KABLA ya kwenda mbali, niweke sawa jambo hili; kwamba kuna watoto wenye akili ya watu wazima na kuna watu wazima wenye akili ya kitoto.
Hii inatokea pote duniani si Tanzania tu. Unakuta watoto, vijana wana hekima na busara kuliko watu wazima, na watu wazima bado wananyonya vidole na kufungwa nepi!
Mfano mtu mzima anayehongwa milioni moja na kuachia mabilioni yakaondoka, au mtu anayeteketeza maslahi ya Taifa na kufumba macho wakati rasilimali za nchi hii zinaporwa kwa vile amehongwa vijisenti, huyo bado ananyonya kidole na kufungwa nepi! Ni mtu mzima, hata kama ana miaka 50-60, bado anakuwa na akili za kitoto!
Kama Zitto Kabwe ni mtoto basi ni kati ya watoto wenye hekima na busara kuliko watu wazima; atakuwa ni mtoto mwenye akili ya watu wazima!
Nilikuwa sijaisoma barua ambayo Zitto, amemwamndikia Spika Sitta. Niliposikia kwenye vyombo vya habari kwamba Zitto, alikuwa amechukua hatua za kitoto, nilijawa na wasiwasi. Zitto, ninayemfahamu amevuka hatua ya kunyonya kidole, si mtu wa kufungwa nepi; umri wake ni mdogo sawa, lakini ni ule wa wanamapinduzi wote duniani, umri wa bwana Yesu Kristu.
Hata Mwalimu Nyerere, wakati anapigania uhuru wa Tanganyika, alikuwa kijana mdogo. Joseph Kabila, ni kijana mdogo, lakini anaweza kuiongoza DRC pamoja na matatizo makubwa ya nchi hiyo. Ipo mifano mingi wa vijana wanaopambana kiutuuzima.
Nimepata bahati ya kusoma barua hiyo kwenye gazeti hili toleo lililopita. Nimeisoma zaidi ya mara tano, nikitafuta Utoto wa Zitto. Nimejitahidi sana kuona ni wapi kijana huyu kakosea. Maneno yake yote yamepimwa vizuri, kanuni za Bunge, amezizingatia. Kosa lake liko wapi? Kumwandikia Spika au barua ya Spika kuonekana kwenye mtandao? Vyombo vya habari vilimnukuu Spika Sitta, akiilalamikia barua ya Zitto, kwamba kwa barua hiyo Zitto hakuonyesha ukomavu wa kisiasa na ni dalili za ‘Utoto’.
Vyombo vya habari vyenye uchokozi viliiweka hivi ‘Spika Sitta amsikitikia Zitto’. Baada ya kuisoma barua ya Zitto, nimejiuliza maswali: je ni utoto wa Zitto au ni kuchoka kwa Sitta?, je ni utoto wa Zitto au ni dalili za Sitta kushindwa kusoma alama za nyakati?
SPIKA wa Bunge, Samuel Sitta
Inaonekana Spika Sitta, anaelekea kuchoka na kushindwa kusoma alama za nyakati. Juzi juzi alikuwa mtu wa kwanza kupinga ripoti ya utafiti wa REDET kwamba hadhi ya Bunge imeshuka. Vyombo vya habari vilimnukuu akisema: “ Sikubaliani na matokeo ya utafiti huo. Mimi nina uzoefu wa siku nyingi katika masuala ya Bunge. Inashangaza sana wakati huu Bunge lina kanuni mpya zinazoimarisha utendaji wake, lakini utafiti unaonyesha wananchi hawana imani.
Bunge limekwisha kukamilisha kufanya mabadiliko katika kanuni zake ambazo ni tofauti na za awali. Kanuni za sasa zinalipa nguvu zaidi Bunge katika utendaji. Inashangaza sana haya matokeo. Kanuni zetu ni mpya na ni nzuri.
Inawezekana hii taasisi (REDET) iliyofanya utafiti ni chombo tu kinachojitafutia umaarufu”.
Kama si kuchoka ni nini? Spika Sitta, anasema Bunge lina kanuni mpya, na wakati huo huo anasema Barua ya Zitto ni ya kitoto na ni ya mtu ambaye hakukomaa kisiasa. Labda tatizo ni kwa vile Zitto, anasema kwamba ikibainika Bunge, lilikosea, limwombe radhi. Bunge, lenye kanuni nzuri ni lazima lifanye hivyo! Inawezekana Bunge, halikosei? Bunge linaundwa na malaika watupu? Tunajua kabisa kwamba Bunge ni chombo kitukufu, lakini linaundwa na watu, linaundwa na vyama vya kisiasa. Bunge, letu karibia ni la chama kimoja, chama ambacho kinashutumiwa kuiba kura wakati wa uchaguzi, kinashutumiwa kwa rushwa na ufisadi; wingi wa wabunge wa chama hiki ndani ya Bunge unaweza kulisukuma Bunge, kufanya makosa. Mfano mzuri ni kesi ya Zitto.
Kama Spika Sitta, asingekuwa mwanachama wa CCM, kesi ya Zitto, isingekuwa kama ilivyokwenda. Ilionekana wazi, hata kwa mtu mwenye akili ndogo kabisa, kwamba Wabunge wa CCM na wakiwa na Spika wao, walikuwa wakitetea maslahi ya chama chao, si maslahi ya Taifa.
Zitto, alikuwa akitetea maslahi ya taifa kwa kuhoji mkataba wa Buzwagi. Lakini mjadala uliofuata, ulitoa picha ya CCM kupambana na wapinzani. Hata wabunge wa CCM, tuliowazoea kuwasikia wakitetea maslahi ya Taifa, walifunga midomo yao wakati wa mjadala wa Buzwagi. Waliweka chama mbele na Taifa nyuma. Aibu!
Nafikiri hapa kuna somo. Kuna haja ya Katiba mpya. Na kuangalia namna mpya ya kumpata Spika wa Bunge. Kuna haja Spika wa Bunge, kutoka nje ya vyama vya Siasa. Tukio kama la Zitto na sasa matukio ya Kenya, yanatufundisha. Spika wa Bunge na Mwenyekiti wa Tume ya Uchaguzi ni wawe ni watu wasiokuwa na upande wowote.
Wawe ni watu wanaoheshimika katika jamii, watu wasiokuwa na uchu wa mali na madaraka, watu wenye uzalendo unaozidi mipaka. Tumejifunza kwamba kumbe Mwenyekiti wa Tume ya Uchaguzi kama ameteuliwa na Rais aliye madarakani au kama ni mwanachama wa chama tawala, basi atatenda kwa maelekezo ya Rais au maelekezo ya chama chake.
Ijionyesha wazi katika Katiba, kwamba Spika wa Bunge na Mweneyekiti wa Tume ya Uchaguzi ni watu wasiofungamana na upande wowote.
Yaliyotokea Kenya, yanaweza kutokea hapa. Ubabe wa Mwenyekiti wa Tume ya Uchaguzi ya Kenya Samuel Kivuitu wa kutangaza aliyeshindwa, kwa vile yuko madarakani, hauna tofauti na kile anachokiita Zitto ‘abuse of majority’. Adhabu yake ilitolewa ‘kiubabe’ na Bunge, kwa vile ‘majority’ ni wabunge wa CCM.
Je, kesho na keshokutwa ikijitokeza CCM kushindwa, watakubali hawa? Si watakuwa kama Mwai Kibaki? Hivyo tusimpuuze Zitto. Tumsikilize na kuhakikisha mbegu mbaya za kutuiingiza kwenye machafuko zinachambuliwa na kutupwa motoni!
Kwenye barua yake, Zitto anamwabia Spika Sitta:
“Mheshimiwa Spika, kwa misingi ya kanuni zetu nilizonukuu hapo juu ninaleta kwako maombi ili Kamati ya Kanuni za Bunge ipitie upya adhabu niliyopewa na Bunge ambayo mimi ninaamini haikuwa halali, haikufuata Kanuni za Bunge, haikuzingatia tamaduni za Bunge (maamuzi ya Bunge yaliyopita) na kubwa zaidi haikunipa nafasi ya kujitetea”.
Utoto uko wapi kwenye hoja hiyo hapo juu? Kama kanuni zilifuatwa, Spika Sitta, amjibu Zitto. Kama ni kweli Zitto, alipata nafasi ya kujitetea, Spika Sitta, aonyeshe wazi. Kama ni kweli kanuni hazikufuatwa, ieleweke. Hadhi ya Bunge, itapanda, endapo wananchi watashuhudia jinsi kila kitu bungeni, kinavyofanywa kwa ukweli na uwazi. Ujana wa mbunge, jinsia ya mbunge au chama cha mbunge kisiwe kigezo cha kumnyanyasa na kumdhalilisha.
MBUNGE Zitto Zuberi Kabwe
Zitto, anaendelea kujieleza:”Mheshmiwa Spika, mimi kama Mbunge katika Bunge lako ninaamini ya kwamba adhabu niliyopewa ilifikiwa kwa shinikizo la kiitikadi na hata kufikia kundi moja la wabunge kutumia vibaya wingi wao bungeni (abuse of majority) na kuniadhibu bila kufuata kanuni za Bunge”.
Utoto uko wapi kwenye hoja ya hapo juu. Bahati nzuri Shughuli za Bunge hutangazwa moja kwa moja. Sote tuliona ushabiki na shinikizo la kiitikadi. Haiwezekani kwamba hakuna hata mbunge mmoja wa CCM, ambaye hakuguswa na mkataba wa Buzwagi.
Haiwezekani kwamba wabunge wote wa CCM, walifurahishwa na mkataba wa Buzwagi. Inawezekana kwamba walikuwa hawajafuatilia, lakini baada ya maelezo ya Zitto, kwa nini hawakuchukua hatua ya kufuatilia?
Zitto, bado anaonekana ni mtu mwenye busara kubwa, maana kwenye barua yake anaonyesha heshima aliyonayo kwa Bunge: “ Mheshimiwa Spika, licha ya kwamba nina nafasi na haki ya kuomba chombo kingine cha dola kama Mahakama kupitia adhabu hii, nimesita kufanya hivyo ili kulipa Bunge nafasi ya kujikosoa”.
Kuna utoto kwenye maneno hayo hapo juu? Ni kweli Zitto, ni mdogo wa umri, lakini mawazo yake na matendo yake ni ya mtu mzima, tena mtu mzima mwenye hekima na busara. Hoja zake zinaonyesha uzalendo wa hali ya juu. Kumpuuza ni kujiabisha, na kwa mambo kama hayo hadhi ya Bunge itaendelea kudidimia.
Kinachojionyesha wazi kwenye barua ya Zitto, ni kwamba Spika Sitta, alishindwa kulisimamia vizuri swala lake:
“Kwa mujibu wa kanuni za Bunge, wewe Mheshimiwa Spika ndiye unapaswa kuhakikisha kuwa utaratibu Bora unafuatwa bungeni..Kanuni 58(1)”.
Malalamiko ya Zitto, yanaonyesha wazi kwamba kama Spika Sitta, asingekumbwa na kirusi cha ushabiki na itikadi, adhabu iliyotolewa dhidi yake isingetolewa.
Ukweli ulio wazi, ambao inashangaza sana Spika Sitta, hauoni, ni kwamba hadhi ya Bunge, imepungua kwa kiasi kikubwa baada ya adhabu ya Zitto. Wengi waliofuatilia matangazo hayo walikatishwa tamaa na uamuzi wa Bunge wa kumsimamisha Zitto.
Madini ni sekta nyeti ambayo imekuwa ikilalamikiwa. Zitto alikuwa akihoji sekta ya madini juu ya usiri wa Mkataba wa Buzwagi. Kwa vyoyote vile angekuwa na mvuto kwa Watanzania wengi wanaotilia shaka zoezi zima la uchimbaji wa madini. Hoja zake zilikuwa na ushawishi mkubwa na hadi leo hii hazijajibiwa ipasavyo.
Ingawa watu hawakufahamu Kanuni za Bunge, kwamba hoja haiwezi kutolewa juu ya hoja, kwa akili tu za kuzaliwa, waliweza kuuona uonevu aliotendewa Zitto.
Yeye analifafanua vizuri: “Mheshimiwa Spika, Bunge lina taratibu za kuleta hoja bungeni. Taratibu hizi zimefafanuliwa kinagaubaga katika Kanuni za Bunge na zimeanisha wazi kabisa ya kwamba hoja haiwezi kutolewa juu ya hoja nyingine na kwamba muda wa kutoa taarifa za hoja umewekewa taratibu ndani ya Kanuni za Bunge”.
Kwa kesi ya Zitto, hoja ya kumsimamisha ilitolewa juu ya hoja yake mwenyewe na kuamuliwa hapo hapo!
Ni bora Mheshimiwa Spika Sitta, aanze kusoma alama za nyakati. Enzi za Bunge la chama kimoja, zimepita. Enzi za mtu kuonewa, kudhalilishwa akakaa kimya zimepitwa na wakati. Enzi za kuwasikiliza wazee na kuogopa kuwakosoa zimepitwa na wakati. Enzi za chama kimoja zimepitwa na wakati. Kwa vile Taifa letu liliamua kufuata siasa ya vyama vyingi, hakuna njia nyingine zaidi ya kuwa na Bunge, linaloendana na mfumo huu mpya.
Spika Sitta, ana nafasi ya pekee kulibadilisha Bunge likawa na sura mpya. Kama anataka Tanzania, imkumbuke, basi afanye mabadiliko makubwa ndani ya Bunge letu. Juhudi zake za kutunga kanuni mpya za Bunge, ziendane na juhudi za ushawishi wa Katiba mpya ili siku zijazo Spika wa Bunge awe ni mtu asiyefungamana na chama chochote cha kisiasa.
Januari 9, 2008
KABLA ya kwenda mbali, niweke sawa jambo hili; kwamba kuna watoto wenye akili ya watu wazima na kuna watu wazima wenye akili ya kitoto.
Hii inatokea pote duniani si Tanzania tu. Unakuta watoto, vijana wana hekima na busara kuliko watu wazima, na watu wazima bado wananyonya vidole na kufungwa nepi!
Mfano mtu mzima anayehongwa milioni moja na kuachia mabilioni yakaondoka, au mtu anayeteketeza maslahi ya Taifa na kufumba macho wakati rasilimali za nchi hii zinaporwa kwa vile amehongwa vijisenti, huyo bado ananyonya kidole na kufungwa nepi! Ni mtu mzima, hata kama ana miaka 50-60, bado anakuwa na akili za kitoto!
Kama Zitto Kabwe ni mtoto basi ni kati ya watoto wenye hekima na busara kuliko watu wazima; atakuwa ni mtoto mwenye akili ya watu wazima!
Nilikuwa sijaisoma barua ambayo Zitto, amemwamndikia Spika Sitta. Niliposikia kwenye vyombo vya habari kwamba Zitto, alikuwa amechukua hatua za kitoto, nilijawa na wasiwasi. Zitto, ninayemfahamu amevuka hatua ya kunyonya kidole, si mtu wa kufungwa nepi; umri wake ni mdogo sawa, lakini ni ule wa wanamapinduzi wote duniani, umri wa bwana Yesu Kristu.
Hata Mwalimu Nyerere, wakati anapigania uhuru wa Tanganyika, alikuwa kijana mdogo. Joseph Kabila, ni kijana mdogo, lakini anaweza kuiongoza DRC pamoja na matatizo makubwa ya nchi hiyo. Ipo mifano mingi wa vijana wanaopambana kiutuuzima.
Nimepata bahati ya kusoma barua hiyo kwenye gazeti hili toleo lililopita. Nimeisoma zaidi ya mara tano, nikitafuta Utoto wa Zitto. Nimejitahidi sana kuona ni wapi kijana huyu kakosea. Maneno yake yote yamepimwa vizuri, kanuni za Bunge, amezizingatia. Kosa lake liko wapi? Kumwandikia Spika au barua ya Spika kuonekana kwenye mtandao? Vyombo vya habari vilimnukuu Spika Sitta, akiilalamikia barua ya Zitto, kwamba kwa barua hiyo Zitto hakuonyesha ukomavu wa kisiasa na ni dalili za ‘Utoto’.
Vyombo vya habari vyenye uchokozi viliiweka hivi ‘Spika Sitta amsikitikia Zitto’. Baada ya kuisoma barua ya Zitto, nimejiuliza maswali: je ni utoto wa Zitto au ni kuchoka kwa Sitta?, je ni utoto wa Zitto au ni dalili za Sitta kushindwa kusoma alama za nyakati?
SPIKA wa Bunge, Samuel Sitta
Inaonekana Spika Sitta, anaelekea kuchoka na kushindwa kusoma alama za nyakati. Juzi juzi alikuwa mtu wa kwanza kupinga ripoti ya utafiti wa REDET kwamba hadhi ya Bunge imeshuka. Vyombo vya habari vilimnukuu akisema: “ Sikubaliani na matokeo ya utafiti huo. Mimi nina uzoefu wa siku nyingi katika masuala ya Bunge. Inashangaza sana wakati huu Bunge lina kanuni mpya zinazoimarisha utendaji wake, lakini utafiti unaonyesha wananchi hawana imani.
Bunge limekwisha kukamilisha kufanya mabadiliko katika kanuni zake ambazo ni tofauti na za awali. Kanuni za sasa zinalipa nguvu zaidi Bunge katika utendaji. Inashangaza sana haya matokeo. Kanuni zetu ni mpya na ni nzuri.
Inawezekana hii taasisi (REDET) iliyofanya utafiti ni chombo tu kinachojitafutia umaarufu”.
Kama si kuchoka ni nini? Spika Sitta, anasema Bunge lina kanuni mpya, na wakati huo huo anasema Barua ya Zitto ni ya kitoto na ni ya mtu ambaye hakukomaa kisiasa. Labda tatizo ni kwa vile Zitto, anasema kwamba ikibainika Bunge, lilikosea, limwombe radhi. Bunge, lenye kanuni nzuri ni lazima lifanye hivyo! Inawezekana Bunge, halikosei? Bunge linaundwa na malaika watupu? Tunajua kabisa kwamba Bunge ni chombo kitukufu, lakini linaundwa na watu, linaundwa na vyama vya kisiasa. Bunge, letu karibia ni la chama kimoja, chama ambacho kinashutumiwa kuiba kura wakati wa uchaguzi, kinashutumiwa kwa rushwa na ufisadi; wingi wa wabunge wa chama hiki ndani ya Bunge unaweza kulisukuma Bunge, kufanya makosa. Mfano mzuri ni kesi ya Zitto.
Kama Spika Sitta, asingekuwa mwanachama wa CCM, kesi ya Zitto, isingekuwa kama ilivyokwenda. Ilionekana wazi, hata kwa mtu mwenye akili ndogo kabisa, kwamba Wabunge wa CCM na wakiwa na Spika wao, walikuwa wakitetea maslahi ya chama chao, si maslahi ya Taifa.
Zitto, alikuwa akitetea maslahi ya taifa kwa kuhoji mkataba wa Buzwagi. Lakini mjadala uliofuata, ulitoa picha ya CCM kupambana na wapinzani. Hata wabunge wa CCM, tuliowazoea kuwasikia wakitetea maslahi ya Taifa, walifunga midomo yao wakati wa mjadala wa Buzwagi. Waliweka chama mbele na Taifa nyuma. Aibu!
Nafikiri hapa kuna somo. Kuna haja ya Katiba mpya. Na kuangalia namna mpya ya kumpata Spika wa Bunge. Kuna haja Spika wa Bunge, kutoka nje ya vyama vya Siasa. Tukio kama la Zitto na sasa matukio ya Kenya, yanatufundisha. Spika wa Bunge na Mwenyekiti wa Tume ya Uchaguzi ni wawe ni watu wasiokuwa na upande wowote.
Wawe ni watu wanaoheshimika katika jamii, watu wasiokuwa na uchu wa mali na madaraka, watu wenye uzalendo unaozidi mipaka. Tumejifunza kwamba kumbe Mwenyekiti wa Tume ya Uchaguzi kama ameteuliwa na Rais aliye madarakani au kama ni mwanachama wa chama tawala, basi atatenda kwa maelekezo ya Rais au maelekezo ya chama chake.
Ijionyesha wazi katika Katiba, kwamba Spika wa Bunge na Mweneyekiti wa Tume ya Uchaguzi ni watu wasiofungamana na upande wowote.
Yaliyotokea Kenya, yanaweza kutokea hapa. Ubabe wa Mwenyekiti wa Tume ya Uchaguzi ya Kenya Samuel Kivuitu wa kutangaza aliyeshindwa, kwa vile yuko madarakani, hauna tofauti na kile anachokiita Zitto ‘abuse of majority’. Adhabu yake ilitolewa ‘kiubabe’ na Bunge, kwa vile ‘majority’ ni wabunge wa CCM.
Je, kesho na keshokutwa ikijitokeza CCM kushindwa, watakubali hawa? Si watakuwa kama Mwai Kibaki? Hivyo tusimpuuze Zitto. Tumsikilize na kuhakikisha mbegu mbaya za kutuiingiza kwenye machafuko zinachambuliwa na kutupwa motoni!
Kwenye barua yake, Zitto anamwabia Spika Sitta:
“Mheshimiwa Spika, kwa misingi ya kanuni zetu nilizonukuu hapo juu ninaleta kwako maombi ili Kamati ya Kanuni za Bunge ipitie upya adhabu niliyopewa na Bunge ambayo mimi ninaamini haikuwa halali, haikufuata Kanuni za Bunge, haikuzingatia tamaduni za Bunge (maamuzi ya Bunge yaliyopita) na kubwa zaidi haikunipa nafasi ya kujitetea”.
Utoto uko wapi kwenye hoja hiyo hapo juu? Kama kanuni zilifuatwa, Spika Sitta, amjibu Zitto. Kama ni kweli Zitto, alipata nafasi ya kujitetea, Spika Sitta, aonyeshe wazi. Kama ni kweli kanuni hazikufuatwa, ieleweke. Hadhi ya Bunge, itapanda, endapo wananchi watashuhudia jinsi kila kitu bungeni, kinavyofanywa kwa ukweli na uwazi. Ujana wa mbunge, jinsia ya mbunge au chama cha mbunge kisiwe kigezo cha kumnyanyasa na kumdhalilisha.
MBUNGE Zitto Zuberi Kabwe
Zitto, anaendelea kujieleza:”Mheshmiwa Spika, mimi kama Mbunge katika Bunge lako ninaamini ya kwamba adhabu niliyopewa ilifikiwa kwa shinikizo la kiitikadi na hata kufikia kundi moja la wabunge kutumia vibaya wingi wao bungeni (abuse of majority) na kuniadhibu bila kufuata kanuni za Bunge”.
Utoto uko wapi kwenye hoja ya hapo juu. Bahati nzuri Shughuli za Bunge hutangazwa moja kwa moja. Sote tuliona ushabiki na shinikizo la kiitikadi. Haiwezekani kwamba hakuna hata mbunge mmoja wa CCM, ambaye hakuguswa na mkataba wa Buzwagi.
Haiwezekani kwamba wabunge wote wa CCM, walifurahishwa na mkataba wa Buzwagi. Inawezekana kwamba walikuwa hawajafuatilia, lakini baada ya maelezo ya Zitto, kwa nini hawakuchukua hatua ya kufuatilia?
Zitto, bado anaonekana ni mtu mwenye busara kubwa, maana kwenye barua yake anaonyesha heshima aliyonayo kwa Bunge: “ Mheshimiwa Spika, licha ya kwamba nina nafasi na haki ya kuomba chombo kingine cha dola kama Mahakama kupitia adhabu hii, nimesita kufanya hivyo ili kulipa Bunge nafasi ya kujikosoa”.
Kuna utoto kwenye maneno hayo hapo juu? Ni kweli Zitto, ni mdogo wa umri, lakini mawazo yake na matendo yake ni ya mtu mzima, tena mtu mzima mwenye hekima na busara. Hoja zake zinaonyesha uzalendo wa hali ya juu. Kumpuuza ni kujiabisha, na kwa mambo kama hayo hadhi ya Bunge itaendelea kudidimia.
Kinachojionyesha wazi kwenye barua ya Zitto, ni kwamba Spika Sitta, alishindwa kulisimamia vizuri swala lake:
“Kwa mujibu wa kanuni za Bunge, wewe Mheshimiwa Spika ndiye unapaswa kuhakikisha kuwa utaratibu Bora unafuatwa bungeni..Kanuni 58(1)”.
Malalamiko ya Zitto, yanaonyesha wazi kwamba kama Spika Sitta, asingekumbwa na kirusi cha ushabiki na itikadi, adhabu iliyotolewa dhidi yake isingetolewa.
Ukweli ulio wazi, ambao inashangaza sana Spika Sitta, hauoni, ni kwamba hadhi ya Bunge, imepungua kwa kiasi kikubwa baada ya adhabu ya Zitto. Wengi waliofuatilia matangazo hayo walikatishwa tamaa na uamuzi wa Bunge wa kumsimamisha Zitto.
Madini ni sekta nyeti ambayo imekuwa ikilalamikiwa. Zitto alikuwa akihoji sekta ya madini juu ya usiri wa Mkataba wa Buzwagi. Kwa vyoyote vile angekuwa na mvuto kwa Watanzania wengi wanaotilia shaka zoezi zima la uchimbaji wa madini. Hoja zake zilikuwa na ushawishi mkubwa na hadi leo hii hazijajibiwa ipasavyo.
Ingawa watu hawakufahamu Kanuni za Bunge, kwamba hoja haiwezi kutolewa juu ya hoja, kwa akili tu za kuzaliwa, waliweza kuuona uonevu aliotendewa Zitto.
Yeye analifafanua vizuri: “Mheshimiwa Spika, Bunge lina taratibu za kuleta hoja bungeni. Taratibu hizi zimefafanuliwa kinagaubaga katika Kanuni za Bunge na zimeanisha wazi kabisa ya kwamba hoja haiwezi kutolewa juu ya hoja nyingine na kwamba muda wa kutoa taarifa za hoja umewekewa taratibu ndani ya Kanuni za Bunge”.
Kwa kesi ya Zitto, hoja ya kumsimamisha ilitolewa juu ya hoja yake mwenyewe na kuamuliwa hapo hapo!
Ni bora Mheshimiwa Spika Sitta, aanze kusoma alama za nyakati. Enzi za Bunge la chama kimoja, zimepita. Enzi za mtu kuonewa, kudhalilishwa akakaa kimya zimepitwa na wakati. Enzi za kuwasikiliza wazee na kuogopa kuwakosoa zimepitwa na wakati. Enzi za chama kimoja zimepitwa na wakati. Kwa vile Taifa letu liliamua kufuata siasa ya vyama vyingi, hakuna njia nyingine zaidi ya kuwa na Bunge, linaloendana na mfumo huu mpya.
Spika Sitta, ana nafasi ya pekee kulibadilisha Bunge likawa na sura mpya. Kama anataka Tanzania, imkumbuke, basi afanye mabadiliko makubwa ndani ya Bunge letu. Juhudi zake za kutunga kanuni mpya za Bunge, ziendane na juhudi za ushawishi wa Katiba mpya ili siku zijazo Spika wa Bunge awe ni mtu asiyefungamana na chama chochote cha kisiasa.
Mambo ya Dathalama- chuna buzi kwa kwenda mbele!!
Siku ya leo nina tukio moja nililoshuhudia kwa macho yangu siku ya mwaka mpya,Unajua saa nyingine inabidi uwe mdadisi kweli,Nilitia miguu sehemu moja ili nione yanayoendelea duniani, haa kweli duniani kuna mambo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Niko kwenye kijibaa kimoja mitaa ya uswahilini na scene ninayoishuhudia mbele yangu ni kama ndoto vile. Yupo dada mmoja amejipiga mkorogo wa kueleweka na kwa kumtazama taratibu umbo lake na sura- mashalaah- si haba, amekaa peke yake anakunywa coke na kama meza mbili toka hapo alipokaa kuna jamaa mmoja hivi, kwa kumcheki chapchap kwa jinsi alivyovaa- anaonekana 'wakuja', huyu jamaa anapiga 'kili' baridi na haishi kumkodolea huyo dada aliye pembeni yake.
"Vipi kaka? mbona unaniangalia sana? umenipenda?" anauliza mwanadada bila haya kwa sauti kubwa tu huku jicho akilizungusha. Jamaa anaonekana wazi amepatwa na mshtuko, hakutarajia swali kama hili. "Aah, mtoto kama wewe kila mwanaume lazime akupende", jamaa anajibu huku akitoa tabasamu la mashaka. "Njoo basi tukae wote hapa mezani kwangu" na bila kusita, jamaa anahama na 'kili' yake na kuungana na mwanadada huyo.Kutokana na accent ya jamaa na intro yake kwa mwanadada niliyoiskia nagundua kuwa ni mfanya biashara wa mifugo toka mkoa fulani wa kanda ya ziwa.
'Waiter' mwanadada anaita kwa sauti na mmoja wa wahudumu bila kuchelewa anakuja kumsikiliza "Niletee chupa kubwa ya amarula" ,sikumsikia mshkaji akikaribisha kinywaji nikadhani labda atalipa mwenyewe, mind you mwanzoni alikua ana mwendo wa coke! Huku maongezi yakiendelea na mshikaji, namuona mdada akipokea simu na kumueleza mtu mwingine mahali alipo, baada ya kama dakika ishirini hivi anakuja dada mwingine na alipokaa tu kwenye kiti bila hata kukaribishwa, akaagiza kamzinga kadogo ka konyagi na bitter lemon.Dada mwenyeji sasa aliniacha hoi alipokuwa akitoa intro "Shemeji yako huyu" Jamaa huku akitabasamu akasema "Hee, yamekuwa hayo tena?" Akaulizwa "Unashangaa nini? kwani wapenzi si huwa wanakutana sehemu kama hizi pia?" Baada ya masaa kadhaa nashtushwa na sauti kubwa ya mdada wa kwanza, " Jikooooni", mtu wa jikoni alipofika akatoa order " Tuletee kuku mzima wa kuchoma na ndizi nne, naomba ufunge kwa kuwa tunaondoka muda si mrefu"
"Sasa mpenzi niambie umefika hoteli gani ili nikishaonana na mama nikutafute jioni? au utakuwa hapa hapa?" Mshkaji anaulizwa na yule dada wa kwanza, namsikia akitaja jina la guest moja ya Sinza ambayo mwanadada anaonekana kuifahamu lakini kabla hajaondoka anamwambia kuwa hana dola na anaomba mshkaji amuwekee dola tano ili mawasiliano yawe rahisi, jamaa akaingia king. Mzinga wa mwisho kabisa niliousikia ni "Sasa niachie kabisa basi hela ya taxi,si unajua daladala za Sinza zilivyo tabu jioni?" aflu kumi ikatoka shwaa!
Jamaa alipoletewa bill jicho lilimtoka kichizi, nilidhani angeanguka pale, nilimsikia tu akiongea kilugha mwenyewe baada ya kulipa lakini nahisi ilimbidi aguse mtaji kulipa hilo deni."Ndio mkome kuparamia mashankupe ya mjini" alisikika akisema mhudumu mmoja wa kike wa baa hiyo.
Sijui hata wewe ulishayashuhudia hayo.Ni sooo
Nakutakia kila la kheri mkuu wangu
Niko kwenye kijibaa kimoja mitaa ya uswahilini na scene ninayoishuhudia mbele yangu ni kama ndoto vile. Yupo dada mmoja amejipiga mkorogo wa kueleweka na kwa kumtazama taratibu umbo lake na sura- mashalaah- si haba, amekaa peke yake anakunywa coke na kama meza mbili toka hapo alipokaa kuna jamaa mmoja hivi, kwa kumcheki chapchap kwa jinsi alivyovaa- anaonekana 'wakuja', huyu jamaa anapiga 'kili' baridi na haishi kumkodolea huyo dada aliye pembeni yake.
"Vipi kaka? mbona unaniangalia sana? umenipenda?" anauliza mwanadada bila haya kwa sauti kubwa tu huku jicho akilizungusha. Jamaa anaonekana wazi amepatwa na mshtuko, hakutarajia swali kama hili. "Aah, mtoto kama wewe kila mwanaume lazime akupende", jamaa anajibu huku akitoa tabasamu la mashaka. "Njoo basi tukae wote hapa mezani kwangu" na bila kusita, jamaa anahama na 'kili' yake na kuungana na mwanadada huyo.Kutokana na accent ya jamaa na intro yake kwa mwanadada niliyoiskia nagundua kuwa ni mfanya biashara wa mifugo toka mkoa fulani wa kanda ya ziwa.
'Waiter' mwanadada anaita kwa sauti na mmoja wa wahudumu bila kuchelewa anakuja kumsikiliza "Niletee chupa kubwa ya amarula" ,sikumsikia mshkaji akikaribisha kinywaji nikadhani labda atalipa mwenyewe, mind you mwanzoni alikua ana mwendo wa coke! Huku maongezi yakiendelea na mshikaji, namuona mdada akipokea simu na kumueleza mtu mwingine mahali alipo, baada ya kama dakika ishirini hivi anakuja dada mwingine na alipokaa tu kwenye kiti bila hata kukaribishwa, akaagiza kamzinga kadogo ka konyagi na bitter lemon.Dada mwenyeji sasa aliniacha hoi alipokuwa akitoa intro "Shemeji yako huyu" Jamaa huku akitabasamu akasema "Hee, yamekuwa hayo tena?" Akaulizwa "Unashangaa nini? kwani wapenzi si huwa wanakutana sehemu kama hizi pia?" Baada ya masaa kadhaa nashtushwa na sauti kubwa ya mdada wa kwanza, " Jikooooni", mtu wa jikoni alipofika akatoa order " Tuletee kuku mzima wa kuchoma na ndizi nne, naomba ufunge kwa kuwa tunaondoka muda si mrefu"
"Sasa mpenzi niambie umefika hoteli gani ili nikishaonana na mama nikutafute jioni? au utakuwa hapa hapa?" Mshkaji anaulizwa na yule dada wa kwanza, namsikia akitaja jina la guest moja ya Sinza ambayo mwanadada anaonekana kuifahamu lakini kabla hajaondoka anamwambia kuwa hana dola na anaomba mshkaji amuwekee dola tano ili mawasiliano yawe rahisi, jamaa akaingia king. Mzinga wa mwisho kabisa niliousikia ni "Sasa niachie kabisa basi hela ya taxi,si unajua daladala za Sinza zilivyo tabu jioni?" aflu kumi ikatoka shwaa!
Jamaa alipoletewa bill jicho lilimtoka kichizi, nilidhani angeanguka pale, nilimsikia tu akiongea kilugha mwenyewe baada ya kulipa lakini nahisi ilimbidi aguse mtaji kulipa hilo deni."Ndio mkome kuparamia mashankupe ya mjini" alisikika akisema mhudumu mmoja wa kike wa baa hiyo.
Sijui hata wewe ulishayashuhudia hayo.Ni sooo
Nakutakia kila la kheri mkuu wangu
Sunday, January 13, 2008
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