botswana

Right now, I should be writing my final paper for anthropology on the Ju/'hoansi people of the Dobe region in Botswana, but I've been working all day and I really don't feel like doing any more of it. So instead, I will blog about Botswana!

So it turns out there isn't much current information about human rights in Botswana. I'm not sure if this is because there haven't been any major issues lately, or because the press isn't able to cover the issues, but I have failed.

It's already illegal to be homosexual in Uganda (as it is in many sub-saharan African countries) and a current bill would make homosexuality punishable by death if one of the 'offenders' has previous convictions, is HIV positive, or is under 18. The bill would also make advocating for LGBT rights illegal, and raise the penalty for engaging in homosexual acts to life in prison.

I don't have anything new to add to the same-sex marriage debate other than my disbelief. Aren't there enough real problems in the world that need brain power and money? How can so many people think that restricting the rights of something as harmless as marriage is worth any amount of effort?
(and I know I'm about 2 months behind the media storm on this issue, but I didn't have a blog 2 months ago, and it's still important)

Yesterday a friend of mine died in a ski accident. He wasn't one of my best friends, and his death won't change my daily life, but I will always remember the times that our lives did intersect. He was 19 and a freshman in college - that time in life when you're supposed to realize that the whole world is out there presenting you with opportunities and adventures. And he did realize that, I think, and lived a great life. But he only got to live 19 short years. I don't know how many years I will get to live, none of us do, but right now we're alive. Right now we can love and we can listen and we can laugh and we can smile and we can appreciate and we can play and we can learn and we can hug and we can share and we can LIVE. And we should never lose sight of the fact that we are lucky just to be alive and free.