The gay-bashed Atlanta man who was asked to come forward yesterday has done so. His name is Brandon White, and he’ll address what happened to him in a press conference at noon EST on Wednesday.
White’s friend Greg Smith, the executive director of the HIV Intervention Project (HIP), asked him to take a stand against bullies and anti-gay violence. Said Smith at a meeting of the Atlanta Black LGBT Coalition, according to CBS Atlanta:
“Understand this, he is saying, ‘I want to do something. Don’t treat me like a victim.’ His issue is everybody keeps looking at him like he was weak. He is not weak. Don’t treat him like he is weak. Don’t treat him like he is broken. Ain’t nothing wrong with him besides his courage being broken. He wants to stand up and do something.”
On Saturday, three members of the Jack Gang ambushed White as he left a grocery story in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Atlanta, calling him a “faggot.” A fourth member of the gang videotaped the brutal beating and uploaded it to the internet.
After the story broke on TV Monday night and hit the blogosphere Tuesday, White decided to come forward.
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Atlanta police are cooperating with the FBI to find the attackers and are considering pursuing hate-crime charges, with a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and indictment of the assaulters. To help, call Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477.
Mike in Asheville
I’d be very surprised if the thug who posted the video is clever enough to avoid detection of his IP Address, and thus his identity. Find one, find them all; off to prison.
Fitz
I am glad that he found the strength to come forward, and I hope that
this awful thing can someday be a source of great strength for him.
CBRad
He was taken off guard by three guys (each one of them bigger than him anyway). At that point I think it was just : survive the ordeal. Anybody who’d think he was weak (just for this incident) is an idiot.
Grob Hahn
This is very typical of inner city b|ack guys. You never hear of them attacking someone their own size and you never hear of them attacking anyone 1-on-1. It’s always a very lopsided encounter than overwhelms the victim and they always keep kicking when the victim hits the ground. In a similar encounter 9 of them jumped a guy at 6-Flags park and caused him disfiguring damage that will last the rest of his life. It took months for him to be able to walk again. And they do it for “fun”. I no longer care if my opinion on this matter is deemed “rac|st”, I’m called that just for being white anyway. It’s time for law enforcement to FINALLY do something about the gang problem in America. So far ignoring it hasn’t accomplished much. And the mayor of Atlanta is known all too well for ignoring violent b|ack crime.
Grobbbbbbbbbbb
Mike UK
@Grob Hahn: It’s not just in America and it’s not just black guys, we have the same problem over here in the UK, only yesterday on my local new here in Manchester two young white guys were set upon by a group of 20+ asian guys but groups of white guys are just as bad, it’s not just confined the black or asian community.
Oh, ok.
@Grob Hahn: Yeah the guys who killed Matthew Shepard were black…oh wait.
Shut up. Racism doesn’t exactly help “your” — OUR — cause. Of course your cause seems to be to separate black gays from white gays.
Sean
@ Grob and Danny,
Intellectually, you both are as guilty as the Thugs who assaulted this man. This was an act of Inhumanity! If you feel that Blacks are prone to’animal’ behavior you are saying they are not HUMAN. This is 2012! Get a clue.
Oh, ok.
@Danny: Wow, so you’ve had it with black gays, black allies, and overall good black people because you saw some black homophobes.
Meanwhile there are plenty of white homophobes, white hate groups, and white racists yet you have no problem with that.
You’re an idiot, a racist, and a bigot using one random scenario as an excuse to air your hatred. Black gays certainly have done nothing to you yet you choose to be racist to them…why? What’s your magical excuse?
CBRad
@Grob Hahn: I was attacked by a whole gang of black guys on the subway in NYC. And, of course I don’t blame all blacks for that, but who I DO blame are the pc white gay ghetto types who were interested in reporting the story UNTIL they found out the race of my attackers. They still want to pretend it’s only mean-straight-white guys who attack gays (and anyone in NYC knows that SURE isn’t true). They only want to hear of a Matthew Shepard case (the attackers HAVE to be white, or it’s not pc to report it). Another point : most of the homophobic attacks by black gangs are against black gay men. Like they have their own rules in their own communities. White guys can usually stay away from that trouble, but my heart goes out to gay black guys (not the butch ones, but the ones who can’t help being effeminate, or even straight guys who are a little more meek and mild) who have to put up with that kind of stuff so much more than I do.
Danny
@Oh, ok.: no matter what you say to me, you’re still black and there’s nothing you can do about it. good luck dealing with that by taking your frustration out on me and the other whites who call you out on your race’s behavior.
you are not in any place to talk. i have read your comments on many articles here attacking white gays. you are the racist and you don’t deserve a damn bit of respect or understanding from me or any other white person. you’re trash. and this will be the only response you will ever get from me, you black pos.
AshNYC
Again I ask, why does Queerty seem to attract people that like to post racist comments? Any thoughts?
CBRad
@AshNYC: Maybe because Queerty is run by racists. Remember David Hauslaib saying Don Imus practically deserved his cancer just because of his “nappy-headed hoes” statement?
Tackle
@Oh,ok: You may want to ignor @Danny. That’s Isaac C posting under a different name. He may even be @Grob Hahn. He’s been know to do that on here.
Isaac C
@Tackle: LOL, no, I’m not “Danny.” I do, however, have every reason to believe that you and “Interesting” are the same person.
I must say the discussion on this post is hilarious.
Oh, ok.
@Danny: LOL, did you practice being a clown or were you born this way? Thanks for the laugh, I needed that.
Sumeet
Although I am not white, I can sympathize with the white guys frustrated with excessive political correctness. I think liberals often tend to look the other way when they run into black or Islamic hate crimes. There does seem to be a very serious problem with violence against women and lgbt folk in black and Islamic communities that has simply not been adequately addressed. Now that the US has a president of African origin, it is time that we began speaking the truth more often. I am not suggesting that we should tolerate or encourage any sort of racism. For me, Brandon White is a young hero. But lets not pretend that all communities are just the same. If there are some obvious differences, then its worth discussing them objectively and constructively.
CBRad
@Sumeet: I agree with you, but that will NEVER happen in gay communities. They like to pretend things are a certain way (that ONLY white Christian males are gay-bashers) and will totally ignore any evidence otherwise. They have their Rules about how you have to believe, and get very mean and hateful toward anybody who won’t go along with the Rules.
TASTEY GOODIES
kUDOS 4 HIM 2 TURN SOMETHING NEGATIVE INTO SOMETHING POSITIVE.
Sumeet
@CBRad I know exactly what you mean. My entire family (and extended clan) were forced out of their homes by Islamic Nazis. 65 yrs ago, almost all my relatives had to start life again as desperate refugees. But often, when I simply try to tell my story, such gay/lesbian mind controllers try to write it all off with crap like all religions are bad – all countries are bad etc. I am supposed to accept that the Islamic country that terrorized my older relatives into fleeing is no worse than the country that gave them shelter and allowed them to rebuild. When I came to the US as a grad student, one of the kindest guys I met was a devout Christian (and White), who helped me and accepted me after I came out as gay. In my experience, Christians in the US are far more gracious as people compared to what I have seen in the Islamic world. And I have seen some Black Americans harbor much more ill-feelings towards Asian immigrants than White Americans. I won’t generalize because I have run into some very broad-minded, cultured and friendly Black Americans as well. But I certainly won’t buy all the pretentious “political correctness” substituting for reality.
CBRad
@Sumeet: Sumeet : I understand exactly what you’re saying. And I’m sympathetic to your frustration. Luckily, I think (and hope) that younger gay guys are coming more into realizing that one has to go by a mixture of genuine data and personal experience to come to conclusions about other people and groups, race, religion, ethnicity, political-affiliation, etc., and not just go along with what silly Gay Community types (and college professors) try to force on them as the only “correct” way of thinking.
Hephaestion
Where is the Pittsburgh section of Atlanta? I’m a native Atlantan but I never heard of a neighborhood called Pittsburgh.