Pedarasty -- Pashtun Pecadillo

By John Ballard

Patriotism and faith are woven together so well it is sometimes hard to discern which is which.
Military anthems are sung in churches and politicians invariably end even the most secular speeches with "...and God bless the United States of America."
The Battle Hymn of the Republic may be the most spine-tingling tune of all, especially when performed by a vast choir accompanied with an obscenely oversized orchestra replete with snare drums, trumpets and pipe organ. Think Mormon Tabernacle Choir with the Marine Band at Madison Square Garden.

I doubt that many people of faith have any idea that our young warriors are dying in Afghanistan in part to defend sodomy which has been part of the Pashtun social order for centuries.

Western forces fighting in southern Afghanistan had a problem. Too often, soldiers on patrol passed an older man walking hand-in-hand with a pretty young boy. Their behavior suggested he was not the boy's father. Then, British soldiers found that young Afghan men were actually trying to "touch and fondle them," military investigator AnnaMaria Cardinalli told me. "The soldiers didn't understand."

All of this was so disconcerting that the Defense Department hired Cardinalli, a social scientist, to examine this mystery. Her report, "Pashtun Sexuality," startled not even one Afghan. But Western forces were shocked - and repulsed.

For centuries, Afghan men have taken boys, roughly 9 to 15 years old, as lovers. Some research suggests that half the Pashtun tribal members in Kandahar and other southern towns are bacha baz, the term for an older man with a boy lover. Literally it means "boy player." The men like to boast about it.

"Having a boy has become a custom for us," Enayatullah, a 42-year-old in Baghlan province, told a Reuters reporter. "Whoever wants to show off should have a boy."

This is not news, by the way. My first knowledge of this custom was about six or seven years ago when I first started doing homework about Afghanistan. I don't recall where it first came up, but when I came across this saying it was forever lodged in memory.

Birds fly above Kandahar using only one wing
because they are using the other to cover their behinds.

Any search for "birds fly over Kandahar" yields a rash of interesting hits.

The achingly beautiful film The Kite Runner depicts Afghan customs and the horrors of war. It was not a box office smash but no one who sees the film will be unmoved by it's story. I am only a layman with no expertise, but scenes depicting various parts of Afghan life strike me as authentic. Here is a link to an Afghan montage of scenes from the movie with an oblique reference to the importance of young boys to older men at about 3:10.  A public stoning is also shown (1:15) but compared with the reality of the practice it has been totally sanitized for easier viewing. 

Old timers like Ron and I were dulled about such matters years ago by the likes of Hair,  Oh! Calcutta. and the original Deep Throat. A younger generation seems not to have been so well informed although I hear blow jobs are now the new good-night kiss.

I know a bunch of sincere Christians more concerned with criminalizing the destruction of unwanted blastocysts than teaching birth control methods, so compartmentalized thinking is part of contemporary faith.

Serial monogamy (shacking up and multiple divorces) is quietly overlooked but same-sex marriage commitments are anathema.
Such is the level of intolerance for queers.
Just thinking out loud...
It's a long shot, but  in a rush to return to faith a few Tea Party Patriots may trip across a contradiction in their defense of American young people dying in that wretched war in defense of sodomy.