Vik Kouassi

A Ghanaian Londoner en Suisse

I wanna be a paperback writer (querying) • #capoeira monitor • @[email protected] • gallivanter • EN/FR • he/him

[Rightify Ghana @RightifyGhana]

'Slavery was justified with fake science (Scientific Racism); don't repeat that injustice against LGBTQ people' — Sister Deborah says you can't criminalise people and call them mentally ill at the same time

Ghanaian musician and LGBTQI+ ally Sister Deborah @deborahvanessa7 has criticised the use of outdated scientific claims to justify discrimination against LGBTQI+ people, drawing parallels with historical pseudoscience that was once used to legitimise slavery, racial oppression and the dehumanisation of Black people.

Speaking in an interview with Adu Kumi on Asempa FM's Showbiz programme, Sister Deborah argued that society should learn from history rather than repeat it.

She noted that scientific theories once falsely claimed Black people were intellectually inferior to white people, providing justification for slavery and systemic racism. According to her, those theories have since been discredited, and she believes outdated claims that classify LGBTQI+ identities as a mental illness belong in the same category.

"It was outdated research. During slavery they said Black people were dumber than white people, and that was considered scientific research at the time," she said, adding that those who continue to rely on such narratives are promoting ideas that modern science has rejected.

Sister Deborah questioned what she described as an inconsistency in efforts to criminalise LGBTQI+ people while simultaneously claiming they suffer from a mental illness.

"You are passing a bill to criminalise lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex people, allies and advocates, but at the same time saying it is a mental illness. If you truly believe it is a mental illness, why would you jail someone for it?" she asked.

She also challenged claims that children can be "recruited" or influenced to become LGBTQI+, arguing that sexual orientation cannot simply be changed through exposure or education.

"If hearing about LGBTQ people could make someone gay or lesbian, then by now I should have become a lesbian," she said, explaining that despite years of advocating for LGBTQI+ rights, her own sexual orientation has not changed.

Sister Deborah further argued that comprehensive sexuality education is often misrepresented. She said such education is intended to help children recognise abuse, understand consent, identify grooming tactics used by predators and appreciate that people are different, rather than recruit children into any sexual orientation or gender identity.

She also expressed concern about violence and abuse directed at LGBTQI+ people, claiming that some families have subjected their own children to abuse because of their perceived sexual orientation or gender expression. According to her, fear, stigma and misinformation are driving division and harming vulnerable people instead of addressing more pressing social issues affecting children and communities.

[Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus @DrTedros]

Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating at twice the global average. Right now 150 million people are living under extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are shut, grids are buckling.

Driven by climate change and global warming, the phenomenon of the “once-in-a-generation” heatwave is now occurring nearly annual. We were warned.

More than 1300 excess deaths have been recorded since 21 June linked to high temperatures in Europe.

Heat stress is often called the “silent killer” – and European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures.

@WHO is working with its Member States and partners to address the health threats posed by extreme heat through focusing on preparedness, prevention and stronger health system responses.

In particular, we are encouraging European countries to implement heat health action plans, as part of the broader agenda to protect health against climate change.
https://t.co/0e5Vu4EBhK

[Jakub Wiech @jakubwiech]

Powyżej fikcyjna prognoza pogody na 18 sierpnia 2050 roku wyemitowana przez francuską telewizję w roku 2014, co miało przestrzec przed fatalnymi skutkami globalnego ocieplenia.

Poniżej prognoza pogody na 22 czerwca 2026 roku.

Wnioski wyciągnijcie sami.

[Zack Polanski @ZackPolanski]

This is only the beginning.

The climate crisis is here.

So why are politicians and most of the media still acting as though this can wait?

It can't.

We can still avoid some of the worst impacts - but only if we find the courage to act.

https://t.co/BFF5sccaKk

[katie @pipterino]

2-4pm when working from home is awful

[Oli Dugmore @OliDugmore]

If it even needed saying, trillionaires shouldn’t exist

[Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @NYCMayor]

Reason #1,000,000,000,000 why we should tax the rich.

[Ash 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇨🇼 @theashrb]

We have trillionaires before we have eradicated poverty, whew!

[martha @mxmsworld]

Trillionaire is obscene. I cannot believe it.

[Hans senfuma @senfumahans]

African Values have never included criminalizing people based on their sexuality.

[Ash Sarkar @AyoCaesar]

Crime is now being viewed through an entirely racialised lens – but only when the perpetrators aren't white.

When Chas Corrigan stabbed a Saudi student to death, or Paul Doyle mowed down Liverpool fans, white people didn't have to fear being a target of collective retaliation.

[Rightify Ghana @RightifyGhana]

'Anti-LGBTQ Bill Damages Citizens and Families in Ghana' - Professor Audrey Gadzepko says it denies LGBTQ persons their dignity and right to exist as consenting adults

She highlighted that the bill is encouraging rejection, isolation, hopelessness, fear, and forcing parents...

[maybe: clare @clur19]

me at any given point of the day

[JustRight Ghana @JustRightGhana]

MPs have queer children. They know it. They take them abroad to countries that protect LGBTQ rights. Then they return to Parliament and vote to imprison other people’s queer children. Their children get London, Amsterdam. And NYC. #newsfile

[Vik Kouassi @vimko90]

I am confused because they all obviously look like they are from ChatGPT and they all look awful, yet we should all be OK with it?

[Elsie not Elise 💿 @ElsienotElisee]

We’re in a ChatGPT flyer pandemic

[Vik Kouassi @vimko90]

I have been writing on substack, check it out if you like:

https://t.co/2639EvMuNV

[Ayorkor 🌈🇬🇭 @fantastic4real_]

the floods don't know who is Christian and who is straight. The galamsey chemicals, when they enter our foods, don't know who is straight and who is Christian. Christian council, media houses and news outlets, you need to bring your minds home!

[Activism Ghana @ActivismGhana]

This is not a story about protecting African values from foreign influence. Rather, it raises important questions about the growing role of foreign conservative networks in shaping laws and policies across Africa.

#BackToSender #GhanaCheckYourAura

[pin-tailed whydah. @weghanaread]

Some books by Ghanaian authors with LGBT themes for Pride Month!!

[Ms. Christine Anderson @CNY_Anderson]

However bad you think galamsey is, it’s a thousand times worse 💔