ANALYZING THE STORY - THE MARINE WHO KILLED TRANSGENDER

A U.S. Marine was found guilty of killing of a transgender woman who was found strangled in a Philippines hotel room in October last year.

The court in Olongapo, a city 77 miles (124 km) northwest of Manila, sentenced Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton to up to 12 years in prison, according to CNN Philippines' Ina Andolong, who was at the hearing Tuesday.

My take:
I am a controversial person and i try to have a view most will never have or quickly dismiss if they do. The award winner author, Chinua Achebe believes that to every story, there are two sides and there is an eminent danger to a single story.

His story has already been told, I will just like to look into that dark room that no one has been willing to shed some light on.


His Story: Pemberton told police in October that he'd choked Laude, but then tried to revive her. He said he had become angry with Laude upon discovering she had male genitalia, according to police.

How many of you have heard of the word "homophobia?". if you haven't, Homophobia is the hatred or fear of homosexuals - that is, lesbians and gay men - sometimes leading to acts of violence and expressions of hostility. Homophobia is not confined to any one segment of society, and can be found in people from all walks of life.

Those who suffer from phobias become extremely anxious when exposed to an object or situation that triggers their fear. Some sufferers may become anxious from simply thinking about their fear. Individuals may take great measures to avoid trigger objects or situations.

Phobias commonly cause panic attacks, characterized by difficulty breathing, sweating, racing heartbeat, and confusion. Many individuals have specific triggers that make them feel nervous or frightened. Fear transitions into phobia when a situation causes an extreme response.

Do you see where i am going with this, Pemberton is Homophobic and in that state of extreme anxiety, as a marine who is programmed to attack and defend effectively, he used the only tool he knows how to.

I am not in anyway justifying what he did, i mean, manslaughter or murder is an inexcusable crime, but the victim was not completely free as she should have made known her true identity before engaging in oral sex and by not doing this, she became an unfortunate trigger to a homophobic man.

Though he will serve his time, i just thought we deserve to see the dark corners of the whole story, to help us see beyond the action, and look upon the intention. Because though the intention is arguably uncontrolled due to the phobia, his intention might not have been to kill the she-man.