Friday February 24, 2006 SGN.org |
 |
Volume 34 Issue 08 |
 |
|
Sunday, Nov 22, 2009
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
An unsettling preview of things to come, now that we've finally gotten one bill passed protecting our rights |
||
 |
||
| An unsettling preview of things to come, now that we've finally gotten one bill passed protecting our rights | ||
| '...[T]he knowledge that hooligans like this carload can threaten people they don't know to be Gay with shouts of 'faggot' and other unprintable words and get away with it is cause for some serious concern.'
by Rajkhet Dirzhud-Rashid - SGN A&E Writer Just when I'd started to feel all empowered and started even allowing myself to fantasize about the possibility of Lesbian commercials and Gay commercials hitting the airwaves in the near future-there already are a couple that could 'pass' as Queer, if you look closely and read between the lines-reality crashed my party last week. While strolling up the hill from my workout, not too far from SGN offices, I witnessed a rather frightening display of homophobia in the form of a carload of thugs yelling epithets at an innocent bicyclist. All the guy was doing was wearing the 'wrong' color bandana in his back pocket (in this case it was a red bandana), and this little 'fashion statement' (that's what the policeman who answered my call later, referred to the bandana wearing by this young man) got him yelled at and threatened, on the Hill no less. After this little incident, I rushed to my office, not more than a little upset and completely discombobulated to call Seattle's finest, only to be given a lecture on the 'wrongness' of certain 'fashion statements' and how SPD can't just drop what they're doing to respond to what might not even be a chargeable crime. Imagine my shock and dismay and yes, more than a small amount of awe. Here I was thinking that not only was I being a good citizen for reporting a possible reason for alarm, and imagining that SPD gave a damn about the safety of the GBLT community, to find out that kids, we're on our own. Or, we might as well be. To be fair, the guy on the other end of the phone-a fellow African-American-did try to allay my fears, but the knowledge that hooligans like this carload can threaten people they don't know to be Gay with shouts of 'faggot' and other unprintable words and get away with it is cause for some serious concern. After all, not only did this happen in the winter, not the summer, when the SGN usually has been flooded with reports of similar incidents and worse, but it happened in front of a large group of people, not far from the East Precinct station. Also, there is a prevailing attitude in this city as well as others that GBLT people have no rights and should stop 'bothering' the general populace by asking for 'special rights', and that there has been an increase in hate crimes makes me worry for all of us. What can we expect when the weather finally warms up and more of these cro-mags leave the hoods and trailer parks where they live to 'come a' huntin' us? And more, what the hell is SPD going to do to prevent violence that is sure to follow such blatant displays like the one I witnessed and make sure we don't have repeats of the Micah Painter tragedy? As a Dyke and a person of color, it outrages me that this city can muster the funds to placate whining babies like The Sonics or other sports teams and continues to eradicate low income housing for the poor, cannot put forth more warm bodies to protect us. Me, I think it's time we brought back groups like Q-Patrol or started learning marshal arts in force, or maybe even consider carrying around weapons like our attackers. And no, I'm not advocating a 'violence meet violence' approach, I'm just saying we need to wake the freak up and start thinking like survivors and not victims. And trust me, I'm pretty up on that dichotomy, having experienced abuse and lived to not only survive the trauma, but learn to kick some serious ass when I need to. Bottom line, what we wear, where we are, what we're doing and who we're doing it with shouldn't bring down a rain of threatening epithets or physical violence, and if it does, someone needs to be there to protect our rights. SPD, Seattle City Council, are you listening? I hope so, I definitely hope so. |
||
|
|
||
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
International Readers |
  It's new!A blog created by the SGN staff so you can be heard |
|
 |
DigitalTeamWorks presents  websites for Artists looking for a great email us for more information
|
 |
 |
 |
copyright Seattle Gay News - DigitalTeamWorks 2006