Here is just a small taste of what violence against the LGBT community looks like:

[JackBeck]

Man attacked outside of nightclub



SALT LAKE CITY -- A Salt Lake City man says he's lucky to be alive after being brutally beaten outside a nightclub in what he calls a hate crime.

Dane Hall had a hard time being interviewed by KSL not just because of the emotional scars from the attack, but because his jaw is wired shut.



The 20-year-old has six missing teeth, his jaw is broken in multiple places and a piece of broken bone was shoved into his brain.

(snip)

He said a group of men approached him yelling "fag" and other gay-based slurs. They started hitting and kicking him until he fell to the ground. They then held his jaw to the curb and kicked his head in an attack known as "curb checking" with the goal of breaking open a person's jaw.



More of the story and video of the interview at: http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=17065565

[sabrina 1]

1. Horrible! The hate, where does it come from? Children are not

born hating.

Every time I read a story like this the one thing that stands out regarding the perpetrators, is how cowardly they are. It is always a mob against one person.

I don't know if this is a new phenomena, mobs going after individuals, but it certainly shows a total lack of honor, fairness and any kind of integrity.

I wish just once they would pick on someone with super powers who would teach them a lesson they would never forget. But I know, that only happens in the movies.

Poor guy, I hope he fully recovers in every way.

[ldf]

8. south pacific lyrics

You've Got To Be Carefully Taught

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!

[sabrina 1]

15. So true!

[SusanaMontana41]

34. Wow. Nice! K&R nt

[Whisp]

10. hate is all over, no one is safe

[JackBeck]

11. A good friend of mine used to say

that any time a kid is involved with a hate crime, the parents should be arrested. I'm starting to think he was on to something.

[sabrina 1]

16. They should at least be confronted and asked if they are responsble

because of what their children were exposed to at home. But I do definitely believe that in most cases like this, they learned their hatred at home. I think your friend was on the right track.

[The Doctor.]

22. Oh no! We can't do that!

That might interfere with their 'religious freedoms' or 'personal beliefs'!

:sarcasm:

Sadly though, that is exactly what they will say when their indoctrination is put to question. Even more sadly, we can't stop people from teaching their children to hate.

We can make it very expensive for them if their minor commits a hate crime, but once they're of age, the parents are off the hook. The closest we might be able to come is civil suits against people that taught someone else to hate, but that would be so difficult to prove when all they have to do is disavow any influence.

[sabrina 1]

25. Yes, it is difficult, but private citizens can at least confront them

and point out to them the harm they are doing to their own kids, if they ever should run into any of them. And the more we as a society, condemn it, the less comfortable they will feel being so open about their hatred. I think the climate in the country today has allowed it.

[The Doctor.]

73. I agree. I had such an opportunity;

I was at the park with my kids last fall. For a bit, I was just standing on the playscape-thing watching them run around. There were three middle-school kids there. After glancing at me from across the playscape and making conspiratorial gestures, one of them approached me and said, "Didn't I see you at the Paris Show?"

I said, "Paris show? What's that? I haven't been to Paris in a long time."

He said, "No, Paris Hilton."

I picked up on it pretty quick. It's exactly what I used to deal with constantly throughout school. The insinuation that I was gay, and therefore a target.

"No, sorry... I wasn't there. How did you like it?"

He went red, the other two laughed, but it didn't end there. The 'leader' and most obvious smartass of the group then asked me if I was married. He picked the wrong person to 'play' with. I was soft, smiling, friendly, and I pinned him to his intentions mercilessly. I asked him why he asked me that. He couldn't actually say it, so he came up with; "Oh, I'm just curious about people."

"Great.", I said, "Why didn't you ask her that though?", indicating a woman nearby. I kept tearing away his excuses with friendly questions.

Shortly, some guy in his 40's and a younger, but more built guy walked toward the playscape and said "Hey! Why are you talking to my kid?"

"He asked me if I was married."

The guy told the kid to come down. They walked away.

I walked up to the guy and said something to the effect of, "Is there a reason your kid was trying to insinuate I was gay?"

By now I was with my own kids and getting ready to leave.

He said; "I'll yell at him when I get home."

I replied, "He doesn't need to be yelled at, he needs to understand that what he was doing was inappropriate. Not everyone would react as mildly as I did."


I know that I missed an excellent opportunity to ask about why his kids thought it was okay to be disrespectful to an adult simply because they thought I was gay. But I hope the point about his kid being a little shit wasn't lost on him.

[sabrina 1]

75. Sad. But I think you handled it very well.

[WhiteTara]

24. Parents and Church and (Polite) Society.

[Kali]

27. Careful,

advocating a "fair" fight against gaybashers, even in a jokeing manner can be majorly misinterpereted on this site. Even get you banned.

And, truthfully - much as some might seem to deserve it, violence rarely fixes anything.

[reggie the dog]

42. i will go there, gay people carry concealed weapons if you can legally

and fucking shoot gay bashers dead in self defense

like when the black panthers suggested to carry guns

[Lionessa]

2. That's what violence looks like regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

It doesn't look any "better" on mothers, or children, or rape victims, or inmates, or anyone.

[JackBeck]

5. My post was not meant to diminish any type of violence.

But like any group there are unique characteristics that apply to the type of violence experienced by each particular group.

Women in DV relationships tend to be murdered while they are in the process of leaving, for example.

For the LGBT community, the phenomenon of 'overkill' tends to be associated with the type of violence and what this young man experienced reminds me of that.

[FLAprogressive]

19. +1

[Duncan Grant]

26. Please feel free to create your own original posts on violence.

Hopefully, someone won't feel compelled to offer you an object lesson -- but rather, much more empathy than you bothered to express.

[JackBeck]

51. Without going into a rant about intersectionality,

I don't think they realize that we are also members of all of those groups that they mentioned.

[Warren DeMontague]

58. really?

that's the first thing you think to say, here???

[Ohio Joe]

3. K&R - nt

[Aerows]

4. Horrific

I just cannot imagine what propels people to gang up and beat the tar out of someone, for any reason. I would imagine all of those guys thought they were acting like real tough guys, beating up a gay man. Yeah, they were really tough considering that it took a group of them to attack this poor guy.

Stories like this remind me of just how sick some people in our sorry society truly are.

[JackBeck]

14. Not only that, but the first punch was in the back of his head.

They attacked him from behind as he was walking away, the ultimate act of cowardice.

[reggie the dog]

43. i have ganged up and beaten a man before with 3 other men

but we only did it because he was beating the shit out of a woman behind the night club we valet car parked at

[LetTimmySmoke]

6. How fucking horrible.

[JackBeck]

17. '...a piece of broken bone was shoved into his brain.'

I've wanted to vomit so many times today thinking that a group of people would think it was normal to grab someone, force their teeth on the curb, and then repeatedly kick their head because they were gay.

Violence against the LGBT community continues to rise. If anyone supports satirizing this emergency than you are not part of our movement.

[Kali]

31. Satire and humor are common and effective means for messaging many issues.

No, violence is not funny, especially when perpetrated against vulnerable people. But a pretend call to pick a fight with opponents whwould appear fully capable of not only defending themselves, but reversinb the intentions of the aggressors (while turning some stereotypes around) does not make the poster an enemy of "the movement"

Satire can teach things to people less receptive to other methods of presentation. Diversity in methodology as well as biology is a good strategy, don't you think?

[JackBeck]

33. No, I don't. (nt)

[Kali]

36. No, I suppose not.

Only one possible correct way to do things, eh?

[JackBeck]

38. Kali, since 2004 we've passed 212 LGBT equality laws in NJ.

As Vice Chair of Garden State Equality, I'm pretty confident we know what we're doing.

But thanks for the advice.

[Kali]

40. Impressive number.

Not sure exactly what it has to.do with messaging the public, but congratulations on all tnat work.

[JackBeck]

41. It has everything to do with messaging.

How else do you think we accomplished so much?

By asking nicely?

Every time we throw an event, hold a press conference, or lobby elected officials, messaging is integrated into everything we do.

The most compelling way to gain support has never been through using satire, but by simply telling our personal stories.

[Kali]

47. I think the collective you have worked the system admirably.

Lots of incremental pieces can add up to dramatic change. I also think personal stories are important. I guess we mostly differ on the use of satire/humor to.help poke holes in bigoted beliefs.

[JackBeck]

49. In other movements, it certainly may work.

But when you are part of a minority that has historically had satire used against them during their fight for equality, it definitely is in poor taste.

Since People of Color still haven't gained full equality in this country, would your consider it satire if a picture of a muscular African-American or Black man was posted and then someone dared others to call him the N-word, just to see what would happen to the bigot?

[Kali]

56. Sure.

It doesn't play with the stereotypes as much, but daring a bigot to start something with ANY victim class, when The "victim" is obviously going to come out the winner would be satirical.

To be sure, I have never mentioned taste. What I HAVE discussed is INTENTION. Bad taste, combined with good intentions only equals a mistake. One that likely requires an apology for distress caused to some members (and there is real now-recognized remorse, thanks to the reasonable discussion by some.) As well for headaches caused to those caught in the middle, perhaps some time off for reflection. But I hardly think it warrants being called a homophobe and other names or being compared to other reprehensible types. Certainly not a permanent banning.

[JackBeck]

60. The problem with the entire scenario is that no one knows who the 'winner' would be.

Having bulging muscles does not mean you know how to throw a punch. And it also disregards the mental trauma inflicted on LGBT people who are on the receiving end of physical violence. So inviting violence against any minority class is reprehensible, regardless of intention.

And thank you for hijacking this thread without offering any remorse or empathy for the young man mentioned in the OP. You've done an excellent job at showing all of us your agenda and insensitively, not to mention your heterosexual privilege.

Per Skinner's advice, some people should think before they post.

On edit: corrected spelling of 'highjacking'.

[Kali]

61. I apologize for my half of this subthread.

It felt like real dialog until this strawman attack on my credibility. That is the reason I continued the "hijacking" and never replied directly to your OP.

I will bow out now. Obviously, nothing I could say about the horrble event in your post would matter now.

[JackBeck]

62. Post #27 came before #31.

On edit: But I welcome if you could point our where you see any strawman used.

[JackBeck]

63. Seriously? You're going to get snarky about one spelling mistake?

When I've been more than respectful about your 'technobind' by not calling you out on your punctuation and spelling mistakes?

[JackBeck]

68. "It doesn't play with stereotypes as much"

From a social justice frame of mind, before I completely blow a gasket, what do you mean by this statement?

[NMMNG]

7. Sick beyond words

Such nice, wholesome people there.

[JackBeck]

18. Why hasn't the Salt Lake community rallied around this survivor's story?

Oh.

Right.

[stevedeshazer]

35. Actually, there is such a group

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705390124/Gay-man-severely-beaten-outside-club-says-he-was-victim-of-hate-crime.html

[JackBeck]

54. I'm happy to see that a week after the attack the community is starting to mobilize.

And find it curious that another gay man was attacked the same night by a group of 'straight-edgers' (boy, does that term brings back high school memories).

I apologize for the snark since I totally forgot about former mayor Rocky Anderson and his support of the LGBT community and marriage equality.

[stevedeshazer]

59. True. It's easy to bag on SLC, but there is a dedicated liberal community there.

I happen to be straight, but was mistaken for gay once and attacked by some macho bastards in a pickup truck. Fortunately I escaped with minor trauma when they chased me up an alley and kicked me around.

That was 33 years ago. It sure changed the way I think even today.

I'm not from Salt Lake City, but I've been there and it's not as bad as many think.

No apology needed, my friend.

:hi:

[JackBeck]

65. I've been on the receiving end, as well.

Sorry you had to deal with all of that, buddy. It reinforces that any of us could be the survivors of anti-gay violence, due to perceived sexual orientation.

My co-worker and her daughter got verbally assaulted with anti-gay comments while her 10 year-old was wearing a rainbow t-shirt that had nothing to do with LGBT equality. And this was in NYC.

I hope you've had time to fully heal. I've only recently started dealing with the psychological stress associated with being attacked because of my sexual orientation. Years after I was jumped, I was robbed at gun point in New Orleans while doing outreach after Katrina.

I'm now 38, so after years of built-up trauma and youthful arrogance, some things have finally caught up to me.



:pals:

[HughBeaumont]

9. Well, it's because America in particular is a cesspool of violent and hateful shit.

Starts in the schools with violent kids who come from violent homes and continues on with 20-40-year-old adolescents let loose with alcohol and drug habits. Unless I'm familiar with the crowd, you won't catch me near a fucking bar or a club, anywhere.

I mean, some of the posters on DU itself don't think bullying is a crime. In fact, more than a few blame the victim for not being a karate expert and defending themselves (based on their anecdotal experiences of once being picked on but beat their bullies up without getting in trouble for it. Because that's SO common in real life, you know).

Nobody cares about anyone anymore. "Might makes Right" is the rule now.

[reggie the dog]

44. dont forget that most of us with drug habits or most who drink

are not out doing shit like this, i have done weed hash, shrooms, lsd, mdma, mda and cocaine in the past year (no alcohol though) and havent beaten anyone

[Shandris]

12. This kind of thing is why I can never be a complete pacifist.

If there had been a reasonable chance to inflict harm on his attackers and prevent damage to him, I would have. This kind of behavior can not be tolerated in a civilized nation.

I've heard that in many states, curbstomping is considered attempted murder. I hope this is one of them, and I wish nothing but vile ill on the perpetrators. I hope he has a good, solid recovery. :(

[mitchtv]

13. K&R

,,

[FLAprogressive]

20. K&R

[Starbucks Anarchist]

21. How horrible.

I hope he recovers as soon as possible. As for the pieces of shit that attacked him, I would be more than happy to have even worse happen to them.

[JackBeck]

72. If they are never caught, their violence will always haunt them.

There is no way they can burry that much hatred and aggression without repercussions. It will always stir around in their subconscious.

[Behind the Aegis]

23. Given some of the political rhetoric and attitudes I have seen lately...

...I am afraid we are only going to see more of this.

[SidDithers]

28. K&R...nt

Sid

[piedmont]

29. Kicking a person in the head is attempted murder.

I hope they find these assholes.

[reggie the dog]

45. even if the person punched you in the back of the head first?

i got beat bad once valet car parking but i manage to trip the guy and did a full out soccer kick with a planted left foot, the fucker started bleeding out of his ears and nose at once; it was priceless

[NOMOREDRUGWAR]

30. Republicans say there are no hate crimes against gays

They say that the Matthew Shepard execution was not a hate crime (it was), and they say that the only hate crimes are committed by gays against straights. Then again, Republicans also believe that the Earth was created 4000 years ago and that Sarah Palin is intelligent, so it's pretty hard to take them seriously.

[hifiguy]

32. Gads, what sick, sick people

who richly deserve to be in the state pen for about thirty years. Unbelievable that assholes like this are running around loose. :grr: :cry:

[reggie the dog]

37. why would people be so disturbed by gay men?

here in france us men hetero and homosexual kiss each other hello on the cheeks, the fact that i have kissed gay men on the cheek and been kissed on the cheek by gay men does not bother me and i do not understand how it could bother anyone. i am hetero but when gay men have hit on me in the past i was just as flattered as if it had been a woman. once in the subway in paris a man saw me and fell head over heels and invited me to go on a romantic weekend with him to the french riviera and i told him something like "that is really cool man; i am flattered but i am not gay and already married to a woman but props to you for being so confident in yourself that you were not afraid to tell me what you told me, he blushed and walked off like i have when i hit on women and it didnt work. the hostility is just beyond my comprehension. would these people bash their own kids if they turn out to be gay?

[reggie the dog]

39. one suggestion to help change this country for the better

gay pride is great just as black and proud is great but i would have felt a bit strange being a white man at a black and proud rally just as i do being hetero at a gay pride rally as i am not part of the group asserting their pride, now a civil rights rally on the other hand i would go march in so a gay equality march may attract a shitload of heteros and show the biggots just how outnumbered they are as the civil rights marches did in the past.

[JackBeck]

46. Great idea! We're actually doing that at the end of the month in New Jersey.

http://equalitywalk.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=993257

I just started my fundraising page the other day, but need to get DU Admin approval before I post it.

[reggie the dog]

48. that is great to read

i didnt go to the gay pride in nice because i am not gay and cannot be proud to be gay and would feel like a party crasher but if they had a gay equality march in Nice i sure as hell would go to protest for equality.

[TK421]

50. The fuckers that did this need to be found and have the same thing done to them

fuck the law, fuck second chances and all that bullshit...fucking make these pigs pay

I'm sick and tired of hearing about cases like this with nothing being done about it

this is fucking blatant

[lunatica]

52. I'm so sorry this happens!

I'm glad he has friends to make it less horrible.

[myrna minx]

53. Oh god.

:cry:

[MagickMuffin]

55. What a horrible experience this young man had to go through

Perhaps this needs to be a warning call to everyone leaving a nightclub. DO NOT LEAVE ALONE, LEAVE IN A GROUP. AND CARRY PEPPER SPRAY. Also nightclub's should hire bouncers, to protect their patrons to make sure that they are safe and have nothing to fear upon leaving to go home. These thugs should not be allowed to prey upon people for any reason.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least if these thugs sit in their cars getting drunk and waiting for the sole person to leave the nightclub alone so that they can jump them from behind. Please people there is a lesson to be learned from this. DO NOT LEAVE ALONE, LEAVE IN A GROUP. AND CARRY PEPPER SPRAY.

May this young man recover fully without to much emotional trauma that will not carry around with him the rest of his life. And yes indeed he is lucky to be alive :cry: and :grouphug: for anyone who has experienced violence.

[Warren DeMontague]

57. Jesus Fucking Christ.

here's hoping he has a speedy recovery & they catch the scum who did this.

[Divine Discontent]

64. I pray for him and his health to return. He did not deserve this. People can be such animals.

God bless him, and I pray for the hate against Gays to be squashed! The reason I think we see the teahadists exploding these past few years is because we're making headway into destroying the bigotry of the past, and they are starting a culture war, and literally are ok with their young participants taking these kinds of violent actions against us.

[ThatsMyBarack]

66. I just read a book called "BAT 6"

The story is about girls' softball in 1949. On one team is a Japanese-American girl and on the other is a disturbed girl who lost her father to Pearl Harbor. The latter girl despises anyone of Japanese race as a result, and ends up severely hurting the former.

That's what these sad pix remind me of....

[flvegan]

67. Curb checking? This shit has to end.

Where are the witnesses? Somebody had to see this.

I really wish there was an aggressive GLBT collective. And maybe there is, and I just don't know about it. I'm an activist, but not the best nor the most up to date. But, I will say this once again. Hate is an emotion, and in these cases it's only acted upon in cowardice. One thing, one emotion trumps cowardice in action. Fear. Those that breed hate need to have a tidbit back in their tiny little fucking minds that *if* they act in this sort of way, the prison they build doesn't end at the jail exit door.

I'm an animal rights activist. An extremist to some. I again highly recommend a good, solid read of our handbook to my GLBT brothers and sisters. It's wide open. I'd love to preside over a GLBT/AR roundtable. Then, unleash some brutality on people that choose to hate.

When done for the right reason, ruining a life is absolute bliss.

[JackBeck]

69. Buddy, I'd be the first one to sign up for that:

http://www.creatingchange.org/downloads/cc12_proposal_rfp.pdf

Take some time to think about it. It's in Baltimore this year. And Creating Change isn't some elitist, expensive event. You can apply for various scholarships to cover a variety of expenses, making it relatively inexpensive to attend. Contact me if you have any questions.

[flvegan]

70. Hold on...

you really want me to submit a workshop suggestion for that??? Expenses, I don't care about.

"It's Not Vengeance, It's Punishment" isn't something I see them liking, LOL!

[JackBeck]

71. As long as you can figure out a way to integrate LGBT capacity building

One of the most intense sessions I participated in two years ago was an entire day about the Black Panthers. We were asked to let go of the misogyny and guns right at the beginning, which was pretty hard. But once the group let go of those negative elements we were able to explore all of the positive things that they did within their communities to build infrastructure in the presence of institutionalized racism.

Please submit an abstract. Tweak it if you feel it's necessary. Again, contact me if you are interested.

[fishbulb703]

74. That is why I am glad to live in a CCW state. No one is going to do that to me or my bf.