SUDAN
Jonglei Workers’ Union dissolved, leadership arrested

Civil servants protesting in Bor, Jonglei State in 2021. (File photo)


Authorities in Bor town, Jonglei State, on Friday dissolved the Jonglei Workers’ Union and arrested the body’s senior leadership a day after civil servants in the town went on a sit-down strike over unpaid salary arrears.

Abraham Mading Amer, the deputy chairperson of the union, told Radio Tamazuj Saturday that the state government’s decision to dissolve the union and arrest its leaders was effected while the body was organizing a peaceful demonstration over unpaid arrears on Friday afternoon.

He identified the arrested as the union’s chairperson, David Mayen Deng, Secretary-general Samuel Majier Loch, and Ruben Matiop of the teachers’ union respectively.

“They were arrested by the police on Friday at 1 pm while at the state education ministry premises trying to organize a peaceful demonstration over the issue of our salaries,” he said. “They are still at a police cell now (Saturday). Our union was also dissolved. The governor and his security committee made all these decisions.”

“The state government is doing this because they want to silence us and do not want us to complain about our rights,” he added.

Mading said they had already filed a complaint in Juba regarding the dissolution of the union.

Ibrahim Geu, the union’s spokesperson, called for the release of the detained officials, saying the detention was aimed at intimidating them.

For his part, Ter Manyang, the executive director of the civil society organization, Center for Peace and Advocacy (CPA), condemned the arrests, saying it is a human rights violation and demanded that the detained officials be released.

“Arresting people for demanding their rights is unlawful. The government is worsening the situation by arresting them so I am calling for their release because they are demanding their salaries,” he said. “Also, dissolving the union by the government because these people protested is not procedural.”

Attempts to reach Governor Denay Jock Chagor, his information minister, Samuel John Manyuon, and the state police for comment were futile.

On Friday, Jonglei State Information Minister John Samuel Manyuon acknowledged the civil servants’ demands and said they would work with the state workers’ union to address the worker’s demands.

“As the state, we admit their rights and we have some challenges that is why there is a problem in payment,” he said. “We are working to address these concerns through the workers’ union. So, our appeal is that they should not go on the streets and present their demands in a nonviolent way because it is their right.”

Jonglei civil servants down tools over unpaid arrears



Civil servants in the Jonglei State capital, Bor town, have gone on a sit-down strike over unpaid salary arrears.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, Ibrahim Dhieu, the spokesperson of the Jonglei Workers’ Trade Union, said they took the industrial action Thursday because the state government misappropriated monies meant for their salary arrears.

“We are on strike. The state hospital and all other government institutions are closed. The state government continues denying our rights,” Dhieu said. “The whole state did not receive salary arrears for May and June. Apart from these, all counties also need salary arrears for last September and October while Akobo County alone has an extra month of April which is not paid."

He added, “We do not understand what the state has been doing with our money yet the rest of the states received theirs. Also, the government has formed a committee to oversee payment but that committee is meant to embezzle money because it is made up of individuals who are not in government and it can not reach out to counties due to the floods."

Samuel Majier, the union’s secretary-general, called on the national government to intervene, saying state authorities failed to heed their demands.

“Money has been wired to the government of Jonglei two weeks ago but they do not want to pay us. Again, in the ongoing payment, they pay some ministries and counties but they reject others. As civil servants, we want to be paid uniformly. So we want the national government to look into this issue,” he said.

SUDAN

Humanitarian Coordinator calls for end of attacks on humanitarians

© UNOCHA/Dan De Lorenzo. Displaced people flee violence in Abyei, South Sudan. (File)

The UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator, Sara Beysolow Nyanti, has called for a joint action to address the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan and an immediate end to attacks against civilians and humanitarian workers on World Humanitarian Day.

In 2008, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution designating 19 August as World Humanitarian Day. Each year on 19 August, World Humanitarian Day advocates for the survival, well-being, and dignity of people affected by crises and for the safety and security of aid workers.

Nyanti said it takes a village to raise a child, and in the same way, it takes an array of partners to support crisis-affected people.

“We need urgent collective efforts to help the vulnerable population in South Sudan,” she said. “I commend the humanitarian workers and all those risking their own lives to alleviate the suffering and save the lives of others.”

The Humanitarian Coordinator expressed gratitude, appreciation, and respect to the aid workers, communities, local authorities, and first responders that provide life-saving assistance to thousands of people experiencing dire humanitarian needs.

South Sudan continues to be the most violent context for aid workers, followed by Afghanistan and Syria. Five humanitarian workers have been killed in the line of duty in South Sudan since the beginning of 2022.

According to the UN, across the country, humanitarian workers and overwhelmingly national humanitarian workers are affected by the impact of armed violence, bureaucratic impediments, and targeted violence. 232 incidents related to humanitarian access constraints were reported between 1 January and 30 July this year.

The areas where humanitarian access constraints were the highest experienced were Jonglei and Central Equatoria, which account for 40% of all reported incidents since the beginning of the year.

“People across the country, especially women and girls, face many protection risks including conflict-related and gender-based sexual violence, armed violence, crimes, abductions, and destruction of properties,” A press release from OCHA said. “These critical protection risks are compounded by the rule of law and access to justice deficits.”

Nyanti said impunity is a perpetuating factor and a driver of conflict and insecurity.

“There is an urgent need to bring perpetrators to justice. We need strengthened joint action, multidimensional dialogue, and engagement to address this,” she said. “All armed factions must immediately cease targeting civilians, humanitarian personnel, and their assets. Impunity must end.”

The Humanitarian highlighted and honoured the humanitarians, especially women, who she said work tirelessly on the frontlines in the most difficult environments, trying to reach thousands of crisis-affected people.

“On this day, we come together to pay tribute to all responders supporting people in need of humanitarian assistance, and we should do so every other day,” she added.

South Sudanese refugee women in Sudan protest ration cuts

South Sudanese arrivals in Sudan’s White Nile State wait in a shaded area for registration and assistance at Al Waral site on 12 April 2017 (UNHCR Photo)


South Sudanese refugee women have staged protests outside the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Sudan’s White Nile State, saying that cuts to a food ration program are unfair.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj from Alagaya refugee camp this afternoon, several refugee women said rations are being cut in half by the relief organization.

Aliza John Jok, a women leader at the camp, said: ''What happened is that yesterday we were invited to come to have durra on Monday. Today morning we came to take our ration, but we were told that the food ration has been cut in half.''

Aliza says they would continue protesting in the camp until their voices are heard by the relief agency.

Angelina Simon, another refugee woman, said: ''We were hoping to have our ration without cuts this morning, but the cut came as a surprise to us. The women decided to stage protests because they are unhappy with what happened.''

According to Angelina, many protesting refugee women have decided to return to their country.

Rebecca James, a refugee in the camp, said: ''We are tired of this situation; we do not know where to go. Every day we wake up with surprises. The food ration given today is not enough.''

The UN United Nations aid agency in While Nile State could not immediately be reached for comment.

South Sudan’s refugee crisis remains the largest in Africa, with over 2.3 million South Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries.

In June, the UN food relief agency warned that further food ration cuts were imminent for refugees as humanitarian needs multiply around the world while funding struggles to keep pace.

THE FREE MARKET
SUDAN
Torit citizens fault traders for arbitrarily hiking prices

Traders at a market in Torit [Photo: Gurtong/Peter Lokale Nakimangole]


Citizens in Torit town in Eastern Equatoria State have faulted traders for arbitrarily hiking commodity prices daily which they said impacts them negatively.

Some residents said some unscrupulous traders even hiked prices on an hourly basis while local authorities looked on.

Monday Magdalene Huwaha, a resident of the Odikolong suburb in Torit town, said commodity prices have doubled and that ordinary people can no longer afford necessities.

Previously, 50 kg of maize flour sold at 14,000 but now sells at SSP 27,000, cement was 4,000 but shot up to 7,000, among other essential items.

“Commodity prices have gone beyond the reach of the people and even things which used to cost 100 are now SSP 500. I do not think these prices will come down,” she said. “One of the problems is that of poor roads which makes it difficult to transport local commodities. The authorities should fix the roads then prices will reduce.”

Thomas Obale, a resident of Hai Korton, urged the government to intervene and curb the rising prices in the market saying the grassroots population is suffering.

“Prices have been hiked and I think the government has to find ways of reducing prices because people in the rural areas are suffering because they cannot afford to buy things,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lilly Hidita Nartisio, the chairperson of the chamber of commerce in Eastern Equatoria State, attributed the price hikes to exorbitant taxation at border points and a weak local currency.

“The dollar rate has indeed gone up to 60 and every trader looks at increasing prices but we are calling on them to reduce the prices so that the poor citizens can look after their children,” she said. “Another challenge is that of poor roads which lead to increased costs of transportation. Also, there is taxation which makes traders increase prices.”

Stephen Ihude, the state’s director general for trade, commerce, and industry, admitted that commodity prices, especially for food, had doubled.

“As a government, we have been dialoguing and it is our priority to harmonize taxation,” said. “There are still some cases of multiple taxations but it has now reduced compared to the past and there is a normal adjustment according to the trends in inflation. So, this is what has been done within the state.

Biden said to put off Lapid call as Iran deal looms

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid was told by the White House that the president is “on vacation,” according to Israeli media reports.

U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid i

n Jerusalem on July 14, 2022. 

Credit: Avishag Shaar-Yashuv/GPO.

(August 25, 2022 / JNS) The White House reportedly refused an initial request from Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid to speak with U.S. President Joe Biden, saying he was on vacation, according to Israeli media reports.

The Americans say the talk is expected to take place in the coming days, Ynet reported.

The delayed call comes against the background of renewed momentum to revive the 2015 nuclear deal as the U.S. on Wednesday, responded to Iran’s latest offer.

“We have conveyed our feedback privately, and I’m not going to get into further details,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said Wednesday.

Israel has expressed opposition to a U.S. return to the nuclear deal, a priority for the Biden administration.

Lapid said at a briefing for foreign correspondents on Wednesday, “On the table right now is a bad deal. It would give Iran a hundred billion dollars a year. This money will not build schools or hospitals. This is a hundred billion dollars a year that will be used to undermine stability in the Middle East and spread terror around the globe,”

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz was scheduled to travel to the United States on Thursday for meetings with senior American defense officials.

He will hold meetings at U.S. Central Command in Florida and meet with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Washington, D.C., according to reports.

However, he will not meet with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

"Harvey" was retired as a hurricane name due to the impacts on Texas

Randi Mann
Digital Reporter

Thursday, August 25th 2022, 4:33 am - On this day in weather history, Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas.

Hurricane Harvey tied Katrina for costliest tropical cyclone on record

This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by Chris Mei from The Weather Network, featuring stories about people, communities and events and how weather impacted them.

Hurricane Harvey formed in the Atlantic on Thursday, August 17, 2017. The storm lasted until Sep. 2, 2017, impacting many areas including, Suriname, Guyana, Nicaragua, Honduras, Belize, Cayman Islands and the United States.

The storm was especially devastating for Texas and Louisiana. Overall, the hurricane caused 68 direct, 39 indirect deaths and $125 billion worth of damage. It tied Hurricane Katrina as the costliest tropical cyclone on record.

 

*"As Tropical Storm Harvey continued along the Gulf Coast, NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik took this photo of the storm Aug. 28 from the International Space Station–52." 

Courtesy of Wikipedia*

Harvey hit Texas especially hard. The hurricane hit Texas a Category 4 storm. Within four days, Harvey brought 1,000 mm of rain to areas in eastern Texas. The extreme rain caused unprecedented flooding. Nederland, Texas, received 1,539 mm worth of accumulated rain. The excess water flooded thousands of homes, displacing over 30,000 people.

The National Weather Service (NWS) added two colours to the rain index to accommodate the added rainfall accumulation that Harvey dropped. On Aug. 26, the NWS issued flash flood emergencies across the Houston area.

 

*"Damage by Harvey to a marina in Rockport, Texas, on Aug. 28, 2017." 

Courtesy of Wikipedia*

A family of six was killed in the Houston area when flooding swept their van off a bridge. Harvey also brought Texas several tornadoes, which severely damaged dozens of homes.

During the storm, both George Bush Intercontinental Airport and William P. Hobby Airport closed.

On Aug. 28, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started to control the flooding by releasing water from the Addicks and Barker Reservoirs into the Buffalo Bayou watershed. "It's going to be better to release the water through the gates directly into Buffalo Bayou as opposed to letting it go around the end and through additional neighbourhoods and ultimately into the bayou," explained the local Corps commander.

 

*"Houston's very flat topography makes flooding a problem." Courtesy of Wikipedia*

In Texas, there were 103 Harvey-related deaths.

In response to the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Harvey, President Donald Trump signed H.R. 601 into law. This designated $15 billion for relief.

On April 11, 2018, the World Meteorological Organization retired the name Harvey from the Atlantic cycle, mostly because of the devastation caused to Texas.

To learn more about Hurricane Harvey, listen to today's episode of "This Day In Weather History."

UK singer Roger Waters pays tribute to slain reporter Shireen Abu Akleh during concert

NEW YORK, Thursday, August 25, 2022 (WAFA) – English rock musician Roger Waters, best known as bass player, co-lead vocalist, lyricist and principal songwriter in the rock band Pink Floyd, recently paid a tribute to slain Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh during concert in New York.

The 78-year-old songwriter and composer and former member of the English rock band Pink Floyd displayed Abu Akleh's name across the concert’s backdrop along with words saying that her crime was “being Palestinian” and that her punishment was “death.”

On May 11, while covering an Israeli army assault in the northern occupied West Bank refugee camp of Jenin, Abu Akleh, 51, a Palestinian-American journalist from Jerusalem, who worked for al-Jazeera for over 25 years, covering the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, was murdered by a bullet to the head fired by an Israeli sniper.

Last week, Palestinians around the world marked 100 days since Abu Akleh's killing 

Waters has been vocally advocating for Palestinians and their rights and is known for his support for the BDS movement.

K.T.

The delusion of Pax Americana

Azhar Azam

Opinion  25-Aug-2022

The U.S. Capitol is seen through a police barricade in 

Washington, DC, August 2, 2022. /CFP

Editor's note: Azhar Azam works in a private organization as a market and business analyst and writes about geopolitical issues and regional conflicts. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of CGTN.

There is a sharp division between Americans, who are deeply skeptic of the U.S. overseas intervention, and the country's political parties, which believe it is the right and in the interest of the U.S. to impose its will and wield power to stoke tensions between other countries for the restoration of Pax Americana (Latin for "American Peace") or the post-1945-international order of American global dominance.

Leaders in the U.S. remained in a state of denial as ambitious regional powers such as Brazil, Turkey and Indonesia challenged the unruly U.S.-led international order and China marched toward achieving the status of a great power at an "astonishing" pace.

The U.S. is as stubborn as it has been with some lawmakers believing the country can still stop China's rise by coercing allies to rupture ties with the world's second largest economy or shifting focus from Europe to Asia.

All the notions of the right, left and center – the U.S. should shy away from Russia to take on China and vice versa or handle both without starting new or losing existing wars – are utterly misplaced. The idea will turn out to be a farce as it fails to realize the U.S.-led world order has begun to crumble not because of outside threats but due to the U.S.'s imperialist policies abroad that ignored omnipresent internal challenges: political polarization, populism and social and economic problems.

Invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq are a handful of instances of how the U.S. blew up politically, militarily and economically weak countries in the name of freedom to herd them into the American system. The so-called U.S. international campaign for human rights is just an extension of its imperialist foreign policy, which uses human rights to further its neoliberal agenda.

More recently, the U.S. has devoted its concentration on creating new hotbeds of tensions the world over. Acting as a spearhead of America's imperialism, the U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a Congressional delegation visited China's Taiwan region. The trips, part of the global Pax Americana, signaled to reverse the 50-year old political settlement between the leaders of China and the U.S.

The provocations, designed on the Cold War pattern, risk to spark a conflict by supporting the "Taiwan independence." But such efforts cannot stop reunification of Taiwan into the Chinese mainland as China is a much stronger political, economic and military force whose stance on Taiwan is backed by more than 170 countries. The U.S., on the other hand, is on the decline and increasingly isolated for its double-standard, illegal and unilateral wars and interventionist policies on humanitarian grounds.

Since the end of the Cold War, the U.S. has been using its military power to assert its world hegemony. It destabilized vast swathes of the Middle East and North Africa as well as South and Central Asia by frequent invasions, eventually abruptly ending its military campaigns and leaving the regions with tails in legs.

Deluded by the Cold War nostalgia, the U.S. President Joe Biden spun the Ukraine conflict into a battle of democracy versus autocracy and incited China through serial interferences in the Taiwan region. His promotion of democracy and "freedom" is another shot to revive the era of Pax Americana. Yet global publics don't condone this offensive posture concocting an imaginary threat to democracy from "autocracy," warning economic inequality is the biggest challenge for the survival of the Western form of governance.

U.S. President Joe Biden visits the Lockheed Martin's Pike County Operations facility, where Javelin anti-tank missiles are manufactured, in Troy, Alabama, May 3, 2022. /CFP


The hawkish U.S. mindset is encountering a strong resistance from several emerging countries across the continents where majorities don't want to cut ties with Russia on the Ukraine conflict. Given a large global support for China's view on the Taiwan region and Washington's implicit recognition of China's sovereignty over Taiwan, the U.S. Cold War mentality including forging military alliances like the Quad and the AUKUS and democratic bloc will not triumph.

Over the years, the U.S.-led international order has produced a "huge, unmanageable financial bubble" and deep inequalities and encroached on nations' territorial integrity. China doesn't need to "reshape" the system; America's own policies are leading the way for a more balanced, multipolar and symmetrical global order based on respect of national sovereignty and shared interests.

The trend is gathering momentum as regional economic powers, unwanted by the U.S.-led blocs, are considering joining inclusive regional and global organizations such as BRICS or Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Pax Americana is becoming even more elusive for it didn't adhere to international law and undermined peace and stability and multilateralism. As a result, the world is witnessing end of the unipolar and emergence of a multipolar order. The U.S. pursuit of hegemonizing the world and efforts to inflict its self-styled rule is solely responsible for the country's decline and potential sudden collapse.

In the age marked with intense global challenges of the 21st century and mutual interdependence, the 20th century strategy to contain China and reestablish a unipolar world order is inoperable and fatally flawed.

Today, not many countries will be tricked by Pax Americana, veiled in Washington's illusory campaign for democracy. Biden needs to understand changing global attitudes, emphasize internal weaknesses and review his aggressive policies to avert the looming American decline.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com. Follow @thouse_opinions on Twitter to discover the latest commentaries in the CGTN Opinion Section.)

Okinawa gubernatorial race begins with U.S. base relocation in focus

Islands' strategic importance highlighted as risks in Taiwan Strait grow

The U.S. military's Futenma base in Ginowan, Okinawa, has been

 the target of complaints for decades.

 © Kyodo

August 25, 2022 

NAHA, Japan (Kyodo) -- Campaigning began for the Okinawa gubernatorial election on Thursday with candidates backed by the ruling and opposition parties set to clash over the contentious and long-running issue of the relocation of a key U.S. Marine Corps base within the southern island prefecture.

Reviving the all-important tourism industry is also a focus of the Sept. 11 election with the Okinawan economy having taken a heavy battering from travel restrictions put in place during the coronavirus pandemic.

The three candidates running in the election are incumbent Denny Tamaki, 62, backed by the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and smaller opposition parties; former Ginowan Mayor Atsushi Sakima, 58, backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition ally Komeito; and Mikio Shimoji, a 61-year-old former member of Japan's lower house.

The first major election since Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reshuffled his cabinet earlier this month could alter the course of the relocation plan. Tamaki, who is seeking a second four-year term, is opposed to the relocation of the Air Station Futenma from the densely populated Ginowan to the Henoko coastal area of Nago, preferring instead that it be moved outside of the prefecture completely.

"I will not let a new base be built in Henoko," Tamaki said in his first stump speech in Uruma. "I will do my utmost."

Sakima, who was defeated by Tamaki in the 2018 gubernatorial race, supports the base transfer.

"I will end the U.S. base issue and pave the way for the future. I will realize the return of (the land occupied by the base in) Futenma by 2030," Sakima said at a campaign launch gathering in Naha. Shimoji said in a YouTube video shot near the landfill site of Henoko that he will "change Okinawa," proposing to turn the base into an airport to be shared by commercial and military aircraft.

The central government maintains the current Futenma base relocation plan is the only solution that ensures deterrence under the Japan-U.S. alliance and removes the dangers posed by the base at the same time, while Okinawa wants the controversial air base moved outside the prefecture.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno reiterated the central government's position on the relocation plan, first agreed upon between Japan and the United States in 1996.

"We will continue to make full efforts to alleviate Okinawa's burden of hosting bases while striving to gain local understanding," he said in a regular news conference.

Okinawa still hosts the bulk of U.S. bases in the country over 50 years after it was returned to Japan from the postwar U.S. administration in 1972. The Japanese government places strategic importance on Okinawa due to its proximity to potential geopolitical flashpoints such as Taiwan, which has come under increasing pressure from a more aggressive China.

The Cabinet Office is set to request 279.8 billion yen ($2 billion) in the fiscal 2023 budget for Okinawan development, less than 299.8 billion yen for fiscal 2022, according to government sources and ruling bloc members.

Some lawmakers of the ruling camp had earlier suggested accepting a prefectural budget request for 300 billion yen or more would help Tamaki win the election. Sakima has called for increasing the budget to 350 billion or more.

Other issues at the forefront of voters' minds include Okinawa's per capita income remaining the lowest in Japan and the problem of child poverty in the prefecture.

Okinawa election kicks off with U.S. base project in the spotlight

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

August 25, 2022 

Kokusai-dori main street, a popular tourist spot in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, is mostly deserted on June 19 as the local tourism industry is hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.   (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

NAHA--Campaigning for the Okinawa gubernatorial election officially started on Aug. 25 with three candidates divided over a controversial plan to relocate a U.S. military base within the prefecture.

The three independents had filed their candidacy papers for the election as of 9 a.m. and will have a little over two weeks to make their case to voters.

Two key issues already at the forefront of the campaign are how to revive the local economy and how to deal with the central government’s project to build a new base off the Henoko district of Nago to take over the functions of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan.

The election was called as the term of incumbent Denny Tamaki, 62, will end on Sept. 29.

Tamaki is seeking re-election with the backing of All Okinawa, a broad coalition of groups from progressives to conservatives, including business leaders, united under the banner of stopping the base relocation project.

He is also vowing to rebuild Okinawa’s economy and tackle child poverty.

Tamaki will face off against Mikio Shimoji, 61, a former Cabinet minister for postal service privatization, and Atsushi Sakima, 58, a former mayor of Ginowan, who lost to Tamaki in the previous gubernatorial race four years ago.

Shimoji, a former Diet member, is advocating for a partial modification of the U.S. base relocation plan. He has vowed to “resolve the issue” so that the prefecture can allocate more resources for “investment in children.”

On the other hand, Sakima, who is backed by the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, endorses the Futenma relocation project.

He is spending much of his time addressing what he calls the “crisis” of the prefectural government’s administration. Sakima blames the prefecture’s ongoing confrontation with the central government for the sluggish local economy.

He is pledging to work to secure upwards of 350 billion yen ($2.56 billion) annually from national coffers for promoting Okinawa, by drawing on his close ties with the LDP-led administration.

Voting is scheduled for Sept. 11.

The Far-Right Crusade Against Human Sexuality

BY KENN ORPHAN 

 AUGUST 25, 2022

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Photo by Heather Mount

It has become impossible not to notice the trend. Whether it is banning the word “gay,” or banning books that contain topics related to human sexuality, or the Supreme Court decision to overturn a woman’s federal right to an abortion, the war on human sexuality and those who are sexually divergent is ramping up on multiple fronts. Even I’ve been a target of this war. Because of my outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ+ youth, I have been labeled a “groomer” by a few figures on the far right.

To be called a “groomer” in our society carries a specific weight. When the far right brands someone with this moniker it is intended to associate them with pedophiles and child abusers. A “groomer” in this context refers to a person who conditions and accustoms children to accept or normalize abuse or exploitation. The term comes from actual instances of child abuse, but recently it has been used against virtually anyone who is LGBTQ+ or an ally. And there has been an uptick in its use since the antigay legislation passed by far-right Florida governor Ron DeSantis. The intent is to terrify and silence those who dissent from a very narrow understanding of human sexuality. And this smear tactic has been employed against a wide spectrum of people, from teachers, to librarians, to healthcare providers, to drag queens.

Real child abuse is a serious and corrosive societal malady that needs to be addressed with empathy and well-funded structures of support and protection. Most of it occurs in the home by someone well known to the child. Much of it has been perpetrated by religious figures, such as priests or pastors. But this recent war on human sexuality has nothing to do with protecting children. In fact, thanks to conservative governance, many of the social supports for victims of abuse have been systematically cut and consistently underfunded or under-staffed. This has one reason: rigid social control.

There are many fronts in this war on human sexuality. Some are in the classroom, others are in the doctor’s office. Whether it is in the censoring of certain words or terms or in the legislation of transgender or women’s healthcare, the far-right is tapping into an old American angst related to ludicrous and impossible notions of purity and deviance. And the anti-porn crusade has appeared to capture that angst in an relatively easy way.

Ever since the dissemination of pornography in the modern era, there have been efforts to censor or ban it completely. Along with religious fundamentalists and evangelicals, there have also be several radical feminists, the late Andrea Dworkin being one, who sought the legal end to the production and distribution of porn. To those particular feminists, the objection was primarily due to the dehumanization and denigration of women rife within the industry. Their argument, although flawed in many ways, was understandable. Misogyny is rife in the porn industry because it is rife in society in general. But the bulk of the anti-porn crusade has been dominated by ultra-conservative evangelicals whose animus toward pornography is based solely on an extremely narrow understanding of human sexuality and its expression. And they wish to impose that worldview on everyone else in society, by any means necessary.

In a society which was founded on rigid social and religious doctrines and mores, this subject was bound to continually cause friction. And not only within religious circles. There are some who consider themselves “material realists” who reject any new understanding of our sexual diversity. But this has all too often become an excuse for bigotry, discrimination and cruelty. It is also a poor application and understanding of how science actually works. The more we discover about a certain thing, the more our understanding of what is “materially real” changes as a result. These “materialists” have often become unwitting allies to racists, anti-Semites and fascists.

A popular conspiracy theory in many white supremacist circles is that the porn industry is a Jewish plot to weaken white men and exploit white women through the normalization of interracial intercourse. The infamous white supremacist David Duke said that Jews “see pornography as a weapon of revenge for real or imagined European wrongs against Jews from the time of Romans to the modern day.” In addition to this, the anti-masturbation campaign, which is apparently a thing, is of a piece with the broader anti-porn crusade. And it, too, has links to white supremacy. In fact, sex panic among racists is no small thing. The Proud Boys, for instance, demand its members eliminate viewing porn completely and limit masturbating to once a month.

The current sex panic must be understood as a legacy of American puritanism. And the supposed protection of white women and children’s “purity” is at its core. There are many examples of how that legacy has played out over the centuries, from the Jim Crow demonization of Black men as “sexual brutes” to the persecution of homosexuals during the Red Scare. In 1977, beauty contest winner and orange juice spokesperson Anita Bryant came right out saying what it was about when she launched the “Save Our Children” campaign, which aimed at discriminating against LGBTQ+ people in housing and employment.

Today, the panic is most often reflected in chatrooms, Bible studies, camp meetings and political rallies. Many have been ensnared by the unhinged QAnon cult which elevates this all to another level of conspiratorial insanity, one where Satanic pedophile rings in the top echelons of the Democratic Party are trafficking children for abuse and to extract a “life-prolonging” chemical known as “adrenochrome.” But it has also become mainstream, with ultra-conservative pundits like Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham and Candace Owens using their platforms to peddle odious and misleading tropes and stereotypes about queer people.

It cannot be understated that sexual minorities have bore the brunt of this puritanical cudgel. In connecting with other far-right fascists like Orban from Hungary, Bolsonaro from Brazil, or Putin in Russia, ultra-conservative evangelicals are hoping for wider global movement to purify and purge the world of everything and anyone they consider “sexually deviant or perverse.” It is the reason queer theory evokes such rage among them and galvanizes their animosity. And that brings me to the controversy over Maia Kobabe’s award winning book “Gender Queer.”

“Gender Queer” is an honest and intimate memoir by the author about the journey from adolescence to adulthood. It explores the complex feelings one has as they go through these often difficult periods, but from a queer perspective. Unsurprisingly, it has been cast as sexually explicit or even pornographic by ultra-conservatives because it contained some graphic imagery. It was never intended for young children, but for older teens and young adults who may be struggling with their identity and sexuality. None of this mattered. The rallying cry against the supposed “sexualization of children” has become a popular motto for censoring discussion of human sexual development. And instead of empowering young people with knowledge and agency over their own bodies, it is creating a culture of fear and repression that will undoubtedly lead to even more abuse, exploitation and self-harm.

As an adolescent and teenager, I know I would have appreciated Kobabe’s book as I was traversing those confusing times, especially since I grew up in a religiously conservative environment where human sexuality was seldom discussed. And queer sexuality never addressed at all. I knew I was different from the age of 7, and I wasn’t “groomed” or abused. I had loving parents. But my growth and development would have been so much easier if I had been given access to queer-affirming literature and adults who I could have been open and honest with.

And that is another reason why the smear of “groomer” is so loathsome and infuriating. Queer kids need adults with whom they can be comfortable with, now more than ever. But the current puritanical crusade is creating an atmosphere that will only alienate vulnerable youth from a society which is lurching backward to the dark ages every day. They deserve better. They deserve a safe, affirming and supportive culture provided by queer adults and their allies. The one which I never had.

Kenn Orphan is an artist, sociologist, radical nature lover and weary, but committed activist. He can be reached at kennorphan.com.