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Gay Man Severely Beaten in SLC *Graphic*

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    Gay Man Severely Beaten in SLC *Graphic*

    Where have I been today? I've been being social activist girl.

    Early this morning, this news article was posted on the website for a small gay and lesbian paper in SLC. Someone linked it on a board I check for former Mormons.

    The gist is that back last Friday night, this 20 year old man was leaving a club that has "gay themed" nights(I know...it's Utah), and was followed by four Caucasian young men shouting slurs. He tried to ignore them, and then they proceed to beat him to a pulp, breaking his jawbone in three places by "curb checking" him(which I am not going to define, it churns my stomach).

    The immediate response by myself and several members was this: why have none of the major news sources in Utah reported this happening? I started writing emails, etc, and it seems I wasn't alone. While the major conservative newspaper sent an email essentially blowing me off, it's competitor not only answered everyone who had written in individually, but tracked the news source back to the web forum, and posted regular updates today until they had a piece about it on their website!

    Based on my interaction with their representative, it would seem that not only is this not the first beating of a gay man outside of this club, but the victim in this case actually intervened in a similar incident. Not only that, but the SLC PD never included this incident(or the one back in April) in the daily briefings they do with news agencies. The fact this is getting any attention at this point is purely grassroots effort.

    Here is the article in the SLC Tribune.

    Right now, I'm looking forward to some answers about why the police haven't said anything about this when they weren't following any leads.
    Great Grandmother's Kitchen

    #2
    Re: Gay Man Sevierly Beaten in SLC *Graphic*

    I can think of nothing else other than -_- to describe my feelings toward this article :<

    What the hell.

    Please definitely keep us updated if you hear more about this.
    It's a really, really cool thing, to be able to show people that you can be yourself, and you should be proud of yourself, and you should own who you are and what you're about, and never make apologies for it.
    -Adam Lambert


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      #3
      Re: Gay Man Sevierly Beaten in SLC *Graphic*

      I will...I want to make sure this one gets out.

      In a perfect world, I'd also like the head of whoever at the SLC PD decided to hide this story from the news, but that might be a bit much to ask.

      ETA: It would seem that I'm getting conflicting reports about whether it was the victim or one of the club owners who intervened in the other incident. In either case, earlier that day, a man in a nearby neighborhood was taking a nap on his boyfriend's couch when the apartment was broken into. He, too was beaten, and left the apartment looking for help.
      Last edited by Dez; 01 Sep 2011, 18:08.
      Great Grandmother's Kitchen

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        #4
        Re: Gay Man Sevierly Beaten in SLC *Graphic*

        I'm honestly shocked that he didn't die after being curb stomped.

        This is so so so sad.

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          #5
          Re: Gay Man Sevierly Beaten in SLC *Graphic*

          Oh that's dreadful. I can't imagine why anyone would want to do that to another human being.
          www.thewolfenhowlepress.com


          Phantom Turnips never die.... they just get stewed occasionally....

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            #6
            Re: Gay Man Sevierly Beaten in SLC *Graphic*

            Originally posted by Tylluan Penry View Post
            Oh that's dreadful. I can't imagine why anyone would want to do that to another human being.
            Unfortunately, I can. When everything in your being says that that person is an abomination and a threat to the very fabric of nature itself, and your religious/community leaders give really inflammatory speeches and sermons that effectively condone the "removal" of such individuals, all it takes is to add a little booze into the mix and you get stuff like this.
            "Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others."
            -Thomas Jefferson

            Let a man never stir on his road a step
            without his weapons of war;
            for unsure is the knowing when the need shall arise
            of a spear on the way without.
            -

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              #7
              Re: Gay Man Sevierly Beaten in SLC *Graphic*

              Very sad and very scary.
              sigpic
              Can you hear me, Major Tom? I think I love you.

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                #8
                Re: Gay Man Sevierly Beaten in SLC *Graphic*

                I'm trying to figure out how to phrase this because (despite my attempts to the contrary) I'm sure its going to come out wrong.

                ...as bad as the attack is, in a way (because we do all know that this happens) I'm almost more upset about the ignoring of it by both the cops and the media.
                Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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                  #9
                  Re: Gay Man Sevierly Beaten in SLC *Graphic*

                  It would probably be best if I didn't voice my thoughts.

                  My feelings, however, run along the same lines as Thal's. There's a growing crown of incompetence, in certain organizations shown there, that is even more appalling than the hate crime itself. I'd have to call it negligence.




                  "Reason is not automatic. Those who deny it cannot be conquered by it." - Ayn Rand

                  "Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." - Marcus Aurelius

                  "The very ink with which history is written is merely fluid prejudice." - Mark Twain

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                    #10
                    Re: Gay Man Sevierly Beaten in SLC *Graphic*

                    I don't know if I'd call it negligence, because negligence implies a certain lack of realization that they're doing such things. To me, it seems too purposeful to call it negligence.
                    "Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others."
                    -Thomas Jefferson

                    Let a man never stir on his road a step
                    without his weapons of war;
                    for unsure is the knowing when the need shall arise
                    of a spear on the way without.
                    -

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                      #11
                      Re: Gay Man Sevierly Beaten in SLC *Graphic*

                      As far as I can tell, other then the Deseret News...the paper owned by the LDS Church, which would have liked to avoid printing something if at all possible, the lack of news wasn't intentional. The Tribune didn't even know about it until about an hour before I did, because they found out about it from the same source I did. They count on the police debriefing to let them know what crimes have occurred...no mention in the debriefing....

                      There are some big questions that need to be answered about that, IMO.

                      Now, I need to figure out how to fix the spelling in the title...I was a little worked up still when I posted...
                      Great Grandmother's Kitchen

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                        #12
                        Re: Gay Man Severely Beaten in SLC *Graphic*

                        Lets beat them for being straight, It can work both ways if they're gonna do something like that >.<
                        "Otwarty świat; rany zamknięte."
                        - Open world; Wounds closed.

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                          #13
                          Re: Gay Man Severely Beaten in SLC *Graphic*

                          I understand the feeling, hun...watching this case hit the news I've seen a lot of people say, "see...this is why gay and lesbian people need to carry guns." It's terrifying to have people going about their normal routine being assaulted, especially when others act as though it was their fault somehow.

                          I don't think that's the answer, though. During the 50's, Martin Luther King Jr. had thousands of people listening to him. If he'd told them that picketing wasn't working, and they needed to start fighting back when the police showed up, or counter-protesters got ugly, they probably would have. The fact that he didn't, though, is a major part of what earned him the respect that got people to listen, to consider a viewpoint other then their own. There are times when violence is justified, a natural organic rising up in the face of oppression. That is what happened during the Stonewall Riots, if you're familiar with that part of American history.

                          Systematic, organized violence, even in response to a legitimate wrong, never ends well, though. There is a vast difference between that and self defense, and I would hate to see the gay rights movement in America lose the ground it has gained because by having people make that choice.

                          Instead, the media needs to be pressured to ask the SLC PD why they didn't report this crime, to bring what is being left unsaid and ignored out into the open. National media needs to catch a hold of this story, realize how many others are like it, point out that time after time politicians in the state of Utah have prevented laws that would make this a hate crime, leaving the only law on the books about discriminatory violence so vague it's effectively unusable. They might bring attention to the fact that Utah has a rate of suicide for men ages 15-30 higher then the national average, and wonder why. When something like this starts to bring attention to itself, things change.
                          Last edited by Dez; 05 Sep 2011, 06:19.
                          Great Grandmother's Kitchen

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                            #14
                            Re: Gay Man Severely Beaten in SLC *Graphic*

                            DR, look up Robert Williams. He wrote a book (or maybe the book was compiled, I can't quite remember) called Negroes with Guns. It provides a decent counterpoint to Martin Luther King's nonviolence. I wouldn't say it ended BADLY for him by any means, although it didn't go as well as could be hoped, either. One of the more famous quotes from the book is "To us, there was no Constitution, no such thing as moral persuasion. The only thing left was the bullet."

                            The main thing he did achieve was getting those black people that believed in his cause to carry weapons, not to start a revolution (although that was in his cards as an "eventually" option), but just to defend themselves. There are a number of stories of people managing to fend off corrupt cops and small lynch mobs because they were armed and able to use that as a deterrent long enough to get away. In the end, it can be successfully argued that his stance probably saved some lives. His stance also gave rise to the Black Panthers, so take that as you will.

                            All of the nonviolent protests and lobbying and what-have-you would still continue to be the main focus, of course, but I think it's foolish not to take steps for your own personal safety while you're still in danger of being beaten down in the street. Most instances where a weapon has to be drawn don't end in actual shooting, as just seeing the weapon is enough to scare your typical drunken louts off. Even if somebody does wind up shot, I can't say that taking thugs that would beat someone like this and putting them in the ground is something I see as a bad thing.

                            Oh, and there's actually a gay group for this called the Pink Pistols. Cheesy name, but they get results. In the end, yeah, systematic and organized violence won't work, but all the LGBT community as of now wants is to simply be left alone and no longer be seen as targets, and I think it's wise of them to take the necessary precautions.
                            "Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others."
                            -Thomas Jefferson

                            Let a man never stir on his road a step
                            without his weapons of war;
                            for unsure is the knowing when the need shall arise
                            of a spear on the way without.
                            -

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                              #15
                              Re: Gay Man Severely Beaten in SLC *Graphic*

                              Originally posted by DeseretRose View Post
                              [...] four Caucasian young men shouting slurs. He tried to ignore them, and then they proceed to beat him to a pulp, breaking his jawbone in three places by "curb checking" him.
                              It sounds like time for a quadruple lynching.
                              "A true initiation never ends"-Robert Anton Wilson
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