Hate will always be among us, but good people can expose and nullify it

A Dallas-area hotel abruptly cancelled the stay of Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni, a local news site reported on Thursday, days before demonstrators planned to protest his country’s anti-gay policies. Museveni is scheduled to be in Texas this weekend to speak in Irving at the local Convention Center, according to Dallas Voice, which touts itself as the “premier media source for LGBT Texas.”…. On Wednesday morning, the site posted a follow-up story, reporting that the Four Seasons in Irving had cancelled the accommodations that Musevini and his first lady had booked as a result of their original post. Instead, Museveni was “currently negotiating with the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine to host his stay.”

There’s much in this story to find solace in. That a top-tier hotel like the Four Seasons would bother to take note of the controversy surrounding the Ugandan President’s stay to whatever degree they did is significant. Sure, I suspect their decision was taken largely out of self-interest given the extra security they would have had to lay on for the protests. Nor do I imagine they relished the prospect of the bad press that would have put their hotel front and center. Yes, self-interest was undoubtedly in play, but the fact that a Four Seasons Hotel in a very red state turned Yoweri Museveni away sent a message (even if indirectly) that haters around the world could stand to heed.

Uganda’s virulent anti-gay policies (including the “Death to gays” law) need no introduction. Being gay or lesbian in Uganda (and much of the rest of Africa) can mean facing harsh punishment, up to and including death. Prominent members of the American Taliban like Scott Lively have viewed Uganda as a useful laboratory for exploring the real-world impact of their hateful, intolerant theology. The question has always been how the international community would react to a Uganda increasingly interested into attracting foreign investment. Would there be a willingness to overlook the unpleasantness for the opportunity to make money…or would companies balk at doing business with a regime steeped in hatred and homophobia? Would it be about the money or about knowing that they’d be targeted for protests if they were to get in bed (pun fully intended) with Uganda?

One hotel turning away President Museveni isn’t going to change the world…but it does send a message. It tells the world that hate and oppression are no longer going to get a free pass. Today an upscale hotel in Dallas, perhaps tomorrow an investment firm on Wall Street. Once a few dominos begin to fall, it’s quite possible that Museveni and his regime may have to face the need to change Uganda’s legal environment or risk becoming an international pariah, their exports being viewed along the lines of blood diamonds.

Doing the right thing is often not as simple or transparent as we might like…but there are times when doing the right thing- whatever the reason(s) may be- is still the best and most human choice. It’s how change happens.