By Marke B.
Joe Holladay, beaten June 29, in New York. Image via Towleroad
Well, I guess it wouldn’t be the 40th anniversary of Stonewall if a few “fagits” (sic) didn’t get their heads bashed for daring to be all gay about it, right? Some sad reports coming in on the tinsel-footed heels of this week’s celebrations (see below). My thoughts — beyond the usual initial rage and helplessness — are that, just like right-wing wingnuts with liberals, the idiot perpetrators are coming out of the woordwork because they feel threatened by our continued uptick in acceptance, visibility, and flair. Plus they’re probs hella gay.
So of course we have to keep the burners on high and continue the fight (but always keep your eyes open and your heels short). Another thought is that a lot of the commenters on some of the blogs breaking these stories are starting to advocate bashing-back violence — which dismays. By all means we should get riled up by all this and use our anger constructively. But let’s pass on the late-’80s testosterone-blind posturing, please. A, it’s dated, darling. B, yuck.
1. Fort Worth, WTF? Twenty-six-year-old Chad Gibson was put in intensive care with a blood clot in his brain after Fort Worth cops raided a gay bar (old school!) and roughed up the customers on June 30, for nebulous, yet pretty damning, reasons. (Basically no reasons at all.)
A cell phone capture of Gibson grounded by police at Fort Worth’s Rainbow Room
FTW police chief Jeff Halstead actually claimed the gay panic defense. To whit:
“You’re touched and advanced in certain ways by people inside the bar, that’s offensive,” he said. “I’m happy with the restraint used when they were contacted like that.”
Appropriate hysteria ensued. Then, under heat, Halstead kind of freaked out and claimed there would be a full, in-depth investigation. Hopefully the touchy, advance-y kind.