This is Damian Furtch. He is 26. At 4:30am on Sunday morning, heading home from his restaurant job, he stopped at a McDonald’s in New York City’s West Village. He was followed out of the eatery by two men who crossed the street, approached him, and screamed, “You fucking faggot.” The men then proceeded to punch him in the face. Damien required four stitches. His nose needed to be re-broken and re-set. Luckily, he was able to flee his attackers and get to a hospital. The police were called, a report was filed, and it including information about the gay slurs used against him in the attack. Let’s hope there is some McDonald’s or ATM security footage sitting in a video bay right now that will identify his assailants. [via]
The sane Francis
Luckily there is surveillance so hopefully these attackers are caught quickly. Although NYC is generally an accepting place, there are a lot of bad areas filled with disaffected, poor and socially flawed individuals, gang members, and career criminals. It ain’t the hipsters or wealthy elite committing these hate crimes, it’s the street thugs, and they are more and more terrorizing the city. NYC has never done a good enough job in cleaning up these areas, and what you see are these thugs basically creating or looking for trouble, as that is all they know. Very thankful Damian is alive and hopefully he gets better ASAP. And hopefully, finally something is done to truly fix the problems within NYC population that creates these hate crimes and most violent crime in general.
Kev C
Most crimes are crimes of opportunity, including hate crimes. If an opportunity presents itself where the thug can perpetrate, that’s when crimes occur. But you have to figure any idiot with a two inch tattoo on his face should be easy to identify and probably has a criminal record. It’s just a matter of time before he’s caught.
Get well soon Damian. Start carry a weapon.
The sane Francis
Very true, Kev C. That’s why one always has to, as you say, carry something on you when walking alone at night. The preferred thing would be to walk with at least 2 friends, and really not walk at night past like 1-2 AM. Also if you do feel the threat of violence around you, always walk with your head down. Do not look into the eyes of these thugs, in their eyes, that is basically an action of instigation. Unfortunately these thugs take over the streets at night particularly in big cities, and these are prevention tips necessary to stay safe.
ewe
There are no witnesses at all?
Zonk
If it’s the McDonald’s I’m thinking of, there are lots of African American thugs hanging there at night. They certainly don’t live in the area.
The sane Francis
Ewe, it’s 4:30 AM. I don’t think many people are out at that time, outside of those walking from bars, or street thugs. If there are witnesses, they probably won’t do anything out of fear or simply not caring, many are tired and drunk. That’s why surveillance tapes and some sort of video recordings are so important with these hate crimes, and all violent crime. Those who are attacked or fear an attack should try to get their attackers’ face on their phones if possible.
Again, gay or straight, please be careful if walking the streets at night, especially in a city like NYC. There are a lot of street thugs walking the streets in NYC at night, and if you look/come off as non-threatening (ie. gay, hipster, businessman, regular every day person who is a non thug) you will be a target. Be safe.
wannabegay2
again, it’s the blacks and/or the poor? people, stop the blame game! fuck*ing racists!
GUEST
He is friends with Ian Benardo. What a Shock! lmfbao
Zonk
Wannabe- Who blamed the poor ??!
The sane Francis
Who said anything about it being the blacks? No, it’s street thugs, a majority being teenage-30 years old, most have little education, most of which live in lower-income areas with little to no family or community structure, have street thug mentalities, run the streets looking to cause problems. It’s not the wealthy elitist types committing these crimes, it’s lower class career criminal types, and it isn’t prejudiced to highlight this, because the same attacks keep happening. They aren’t just black, we saw with the Stonewall hate crime the main attacker was some young white kid from Staten Island who has a criminal record and has since been arrested again. It’s ghetto street trash. It’s thugs with cross tattoos on their face. To fix the problem you have to analyze what and who the issue really is.
Zonk
But in NYC, Sane, it has been mostly blacks. Hispanics secondly. That’s just the way it is. (No offense to my decent brothers of color).
The sane Francis
No-one has blamed the poor or blacks or anyone else for this. People don’t attack because they are poor or because of their skin color. They do so because they are thugs with a disaffected mentality. As Kev C put it, these people see an opportunity and jump on it. So therefore, you have to be careful whenever you walk alone during early mornings because these types of things are possible if you aren’t.
The sane Francis
Zonk, that may or may not be true, but these guys don’t attack gays because they are black. They do it because they see gay men as an easy target. And other non-threatening types in their eyes. So, the real problem is their thug mentality, not their skin color.
justiceontherocks
@The sane Francis: Good suggestions. There are parts of the West Village that can be as bad as the BronxN especially near the river.
James
@Zonk: Where does it say the people who did are black?
Chris
@The sane Francis: Not sure about walking with your head down, that can indicate that you are submissive and afraid. Keep your head up, walk with confidence and look people in the eye.
AFruit4Thought
@The sane Francis: The West Village is a pretty safe area of the city, and it’s well populated. That’s what makes this so scary to me. I’ve probably walked by that McDonald’s a handful of times late at night. This stuff can happen anywhere.
Get well soon, Damian. I’ll be watching to see if the NYPD catches these guys…and if the court charges them with a hate crime.
The sane Francis
True, AFruit4Thought, West Village is a generally safe area. NYC, in general, is a good place to live if you’re gay, at least in comparison to most other cities in the country. The problem isn’t the West Village per se, but the street urchins who go down there past midnight. Most of these hate crimes are committed by *generally* young disaffected thugs from lower class areas instead of people who actually live in these areas. Also, there are not so safe areas in the West Village, and overall, there are a lot of bad people who inhabit the city, all over, and there are quite a lot of run down ghettos that are filled with violent crime, and many of these places aren’t far away from the better areas. So therefore, you have to be safe at all times whenever you are out late at night, you cannot assume safety just because you are in a so-called safe zone. These thugs will come to these safe areas if they want a problem.
Chris, looking at these guys in the eye, in their view, is a dominant act. It’s an aggressive act. The #1 thing to do in these situations is ignore the hostility and just keep moving and pretend everything is fine. If you walk too “confidently” these thugs will come after you. If you walk scared (like cross the other side of the street, walk quickly) they will sense the fear and come after you. So instead, one should just walk regularly, and make sure you don’t make any sort of eye contact with them, because if you make eye contact that means you have made a connection with them and you automatically have a target on you.
Chris
Maybe if he hadn’t been such a feminine fag he wouldn’t have been beaten up.
I’m gay but i see no point of being like a chick, if you wanna talk like a chick walk like a chick and act like a chick then have a goddamn sex change or something.
I’m not that much of a butch guy but some guys just need to tone it down.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
The only bit of Gay karma that one usually can hope to achieve from these scumbag lowlifes who bash Gays (and of course its never a fair fight where one will challange a Gay, always have to have multiple attackers) is that once convicted and sent to prison they themselves are victims of some kind of forced sex in jail………
And at least in NYC the last few Gay bashers convicted recieved somewhat significant prison terms instead of the usual few months and or probation.
Chris
I’m not saying he brought this on himself but the majority of the gay guys who get bashed are the feminine type because they look the most vulnerable.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
@Chris: I saw your post as soon as my #20 was posted………and:
Are you fucking kidding? I don’t give two shits if miss thing is sashaying down the street with a fucking rainbow pouring out of her mouth leaving a trail of fairy dust in her wake. NO ONE deserves to be bashed for simply being Gay.
You need to run down to the clue store and purchase a bunch ‘o em. Cause your sad post shows you don’t possess a single one………….
The sane Francis
Some guys just need to tone it down? Oh, yeah, it’s the feminine fag’s fault that they are bashed. It’s their fault that they go out for a bite to eat, like any other person, and are hit in the face repeatedly unannounced and unprovoked by street thugs. And I’m sure you were there at the scene of the crime, so you knew that Damian provoked the entire situation, right? He must have, he’s a flaming fem fag, right Chris?
Chris, you’re a trip. Oh, and did you know that just 2 weeks ago, a straight non fem teen got gay bashed and killed by young gang thugs in NYC? Did you know plenty of heterosexuals are gay bashed? And plenty of gay men who don’t fit the homophobic stereotypes of gay men, are also gay bashed. So tell me, whose fault is it then? Did all of these people bring on their crimes, or just the feminine fags?
BTW, “I’m not that butch of a guy”? We all suspected that by your first statement. Because, guess what? Butch guys don’t flip out over the fact that some guys don’t fit your rigid ideas of what a man and a “chick” (oh, look, not even the decency to call women, you know, by their name) are. Stop blaming others for your own extremely screwed up mentality, dude.
The sane Francis
Oh, and Chris, you did say that Damien and all fem gay men who are bashed bring it on themselves. Which is effectively saying they DESERVED TO GET BASHED for being fem. Which, by all accounts, puts you in the same arena as the thugs who do the bashing themselves. Even most heterosexuals know that people don’t simply deserve to be bashed solely for being who they are or expressing themselves in the way they choose.
You’re a sick bastard, Chris. What you said is reprehensible, and you have severe problems you need to address, ranging from internalized homophobia, sexism, and empathy towards others.
ewe
@The sane Francis: Don’t tell me there was not one freagin cab driving down the street. Bullshit. Who the hell are you to imply with one blanket statement that everyone and anyone out at 4:30 in the morning is a thug? That is almost as ignorant as these gay bashing punks.
The sane Francis
First of all, I didn’t say everyone out at 4:30 is a thug. I said a lot of thugs run the streets at that time of night, which is a true statement. They are out in big numbers in many cases, and that needs to be known when you are out during those hours. Secondly, there probably were people out, but then again, we don’t know for sure. It’s 4:30. If people were out, did they see the attack? And again, as I said, just because people see an attack happening, doesn’t mean they’ll do anything about it. Witnesses have proven time and time again to be useless because they are more concerned with their own safety. Lastly, it is street thugs that commit these hate crimes. It’s the same profile of people committing the same acts, over and over, at least when it comes to NYC, and not just anti-gay attacks but violent crime in general. That isn’t a blanket statement, that’s reality.
ewe
@The sane Francis: no offense but i often see cops standing around in the afternoon and evening walking looming etc. where are or where were these cops at 4:30am? In their cars? In their precinct? In a pizza place? not mcdonalds obviously. I guess my question is being asked by and has to be answered by the investigators.
ewe
@The sane Francis: so much for all those who step out to have a smoke or let the dog take a shit then.
Zonk
No 13, The Sane Francis : That might be that they’re not gay-bashing BECAUSE they’re black, but nevertheless it’s been almost entirely blacks committing all of the recent NYC queer-bashings. (Only one was by two whites, and three cases were by Hispanics). Yes, I know poverty, etc., is a great factor in it all, all the sociological reasons. Am I mad at black gays for that? Of course not! They have to deal with black homophobia more than whites do. And not all hetero blacks are homophobic either. But the ones I despise are the politically correct bitter out-of-town WHITE gays who’ve moved to Manhattan (Andrew Towle, Andrew Belonsky, Andrew Humm) who still have their silly little politically-correct fantasies that ONLY mean white straight men gay bash, and they try to make the rest of us believe that. And they even try to push their naive hatred of whites off on the rest of us who actually grew up in NYC and know the truth.
The sane Francis
That’s a good point. Where are the cops? They should be out patrolling the streets since morning hours are when many of these crimes take place. So that is something that needs to be addressed and they will need to look into stepping up the amount of cops in these areas.
I never really thought about those who step out for smokes, or coffee or to walk their dogs that early in the morning. It doesn’t compute in my head since personally, I go to sleep earlier than 4 in the morning, and when I go to sleep, I sleep through the night. But in any case, no-one should feel unsafe when walking the streets and that is the issue at hand and what needs to be addressed.
Chris
Whoa, There are 2 Chris’ here, one of us is a self hating homophobe and it’s not me. Chris, if you are trying to make a point (and it is not a valid point) why do you do it with such hate tinged language? You gotta deal with some issues dude, and until you do, you are a weak, sad individual.
–Chris #16
The sane Francis
I see your point to a degree, Zonk. Sadly, it has been mostly cases of black/hispanic young men committing these latest hate crimes in NYC. I don’t know about the 3 men you mentioned but I agree that I don’t like the PC bullshit where people get offended in telling it like it is. With all of that said I don’t know about the whole racist against whites angle. A lot of people say that hate crimes and homophobia is a majority minority problem, but that isn’t true. It’s maybe more of a problem within minority groups but it’s not just a problem in those groups. And ultimately, I don’t think race matters that much, at least it shouldn’t. That shouldn’t be the focus here. The focus should be on these street thugs who are committing hate crimes and trying to find a way to clean up the streets, and clean up the lower-income and less developed areas in NYC that are breeding grounds to this sort of activity.
Zonk
The Sane Francis : Yes, what you’re saying is totally fair. It might be a bit too benevolent for me, but…..it’s fair. I also find it difficult to talk bluntly about this, sometimes, because I don’t want to hurt the feelings of decent black folk, both gay and straight. (The vicious politically-correct gay whites I don’t give a f–k about). But most fair-minded black dudes know it’s a problem too.
SBC19
“Zonk” is a racist. No where in the article does it make mention of the attackers race/ethnicity; and yet here he comes, bringing race into the conversation, while making some prediction based on his own bigotry. Loser. No, excuse me…racist loser.
Desdemona
@Chris: Seriously Chris, you are totally out of line. How can you say that about someone who is a part of your community- the gay community, which is celebrated for it’s diversity. NOONE deserves to be attacked just for being who they are! He shouldn’t have to conform, just to avoid being beaten by some idiot thugs. It’s so sad that we can’t just be who we are.
Zonk
SBC19 : Then why are they leaving the race out? Believe me, if the attackers were white they’d be screeching it to high heaven. Besides, I know that area.
SBC19
@Zonk: You are completely backwards. If the attackers were of color, the article would be twice as likely to make mention of it than if they were white.
All that is beside the point anyway. This wasn’t about race, it was about someone being gay-based; the race of his attackers is irrelevant. However, you want to make it about race, because…well…you’re a racist. And when the article didn’t give you something to fuel your racism, you’ll pulled all sorts of ignorant and prejudiced projections out of your ass to steer the conversation that way. Troll.
Kev C
The attackers are described by Damian as looking “latin”. But low life thugs come in all colors. The anti-gay community is very diverse. It includes blacks, whites, latins, asians, christians, muslims, atheists .. and even homosexuals.
Zonk
SBC19 : No, you’ve got it backwards. You obviously don’t know the gay ghetto mentality of NYC. If the attacker is white…the gay will scream and march. If the attacker is of color, the gay will pretend it never happened. So many of you guys seem to think it’s the other way around. Look at self-hating white fag Andrew Belonsky. He wouldn’t even admit the Latino Bronx attack on gays even happened at all! The Crown Heights reggae Straight Pride march? Gays hid from it. They hear of a gay bashing in Atlanta and all scream, “It’s those southern rednecks attacking us!!” Then the perps turn out to be African American and they drop the topic quick. Again, I’m not criticizing black gays, I’m criticizing those snivveling evil white gay creatures.
Zonk
Kev C. : I’ve assumed, for obvious reasons, that the attackers were black in this case. If they turn out not to be I will apologize for jumping to the conclusion.
KevinATL
@Chris: I genuinly wish instead of our feminine gay brothers being bashed and taking their precious lives more hyper “straight acting” self hating gay “men” would ….go away. For good. You effed up “str8 acting” types are the WORST human scum alive. You have no integrity. You have no convictions. You sell your own souls to appease people you don’t know, all in the name of being something you’re not. You play an ACT to blend in because you are too much of a coward to be who you are in in almost ALL the cases with you hyper masculine “str8 acting” types….you’re the biggest nelly fems once your gaurds come down and you stop role playing. Do us all a favor….go away. For good coward.
Dynex
@Chris: Deal with your multitude of issues you nut job. You’re the exact kind of gay many of us hate- and yes, that’s a fitting word for your kind. Your the kind of gay guy who would watch a fellow gay/lesbian person be bashed and walk the other way. Those feminine gays and butch lesbians you like to ridicule are walking this planet being themselves and are entitled to that freedom in our country. You dictating they change their clothing or mannerisms for your comforts is no better or different than a homophobe who dictates you change your sexuality to please their comfort. Your brand of hate is cut from the same cloth as the most bigoted, homophobic, irrational low life. Again, please seek professional help with your Daddy issues of always playing masculine. No truly masculine man would flip out over seeing a feminine man. Issues. Deal with yours. Sooner than later.
Dynex
Get well soon Damien. You seem very strong and you will make it through this!
The sane Francis
Yeah, the “st8acting” guys are just gays who hate themselves, and it’s obviously to anyone that it’s a front. They are so delusional that they believe that no-one can tell they are gay, when ANYONE with even little gaydar can see they are gay. There was this one guy who was “proud” of being straight acting, yet everyone was whispering and wondering if he was gay, and he didn’t understand why. Even the dumbest of people generally can figure out when a person is putting on an act. Straight men don’t act gay, they are gay. Masculine gay men don’t act masculine, they just are. And men who are secure in their sexuality and masculinity are not affected or so sensitive by the fact other men don’t play the bullshit macho game.
Zonk, I halfway see what you are saying but you can’t keep going the “they were black and whites are denying it” route if the attackers were apparently Latinos. Obviously, Latinos aren’t black. And, regardless, they are all street thugs with criminal mentalities and that is the main issue with these NYC hate crimes.
Zonk
The Sane Francis : But you’re taking a non-racial position, which is fine. You’re saying it’s street thugs who do these things, whatever color they are is beside the point. I somewhat agree with viewing it that way, EXCEPT for the fact that gay ghetto elitist whites don’t see it that way. When only the sketchiest description was given, they were already saying (because of the cross tattoo) that it must be some right-wing white supremacist type!! They try to hang onto that so desperately, to the point where they’ll go out of their way to purposely hurt innocent white people (I could tell you stories). So, I’ve sort of been forced into pointing out the majority of gay-bashers being “of color” as a reaction. (But, again, if the attackers were Latino I’m wrong to have assumed they were AfAm).
iyce
They are nothing but cowardly punks. I hope there was no permanent damage to the young man’s eye. The external scars will eventually heal. It’s the internal ones that dont heal as quickly if ever. Gays and anyone else on the streets of nyc, Arm yourself, mace, pepper spray, hand chains,brass knuckles whatever it takes, hell even perfume spray to the eyes will deter them. Please people be AWARE!!!
Zonk
Iyce : A lot of guys have forgotten how dangerous NYC is. Wasn’t that a basic thing Americans learned in kindergarten?
Jeffree
In any big city, the street-thugs look for the easy targets: someone alone or in a small group, people who are obviously crunk or high, or who keep their iPôd earbuds on while walking. If you have something they want: phone, moñey, jacket whatever, you’re at risk. Str8 guys get beat up too…
The number of foools I’ve seen walking home after too many two-fers at the bar makes me wonder if they ever take a gander at the crime reports….
katonuchiha
why do people have to be so fucking stupid ?????
Lyle
@Jeffree: You have a long streak of coming to the defense of straight people, especially straight bigots but if you knew anything about this story…you’d know this young innocent man was GAY BASHED. For being gay. Not an ipod or a sneaker, but his sexuality. You of course chose to ignore the details and go on a tangent about crimes incidents in the past making the idiotic suggestion that because some crimes are related to theft that every single person who is jumped on the street is being jumped for a possession they have and not an external hate factor. Educate YOURSELF before preaching others do.
Itbird
@Zonk: I agree with you Zonk on one comment. If the attacker is white…there WILL be an organized march on the streets. If the attacker is a minority, just to not offend other minority groups in the neighborhood…gay groups let it slide. It’s pathetic given the statistics of who is commiting CRIMES in major cities.
Jeffree
@Lyle: Why would I repeat the obvious?
The title says it was a gay bashing, and there is agreement that this is a huge problem.
The reality is that many so called “straight acting” guys get bashed, so anyone thinking that it’s only the “obviously gay” guys who get beaten is sadly mistaken.
One post doesn’t make it a “long streak”.
I teach self-defense courses & unfortunately too many people, LGBT or str8 only attend after they’ve been attacked.
Welcome to Queerty! You’re new here or have we just never cross-posted before?
Candido Lopez
I’ve had it with this thug mentality. They attack in groups like little punk bitches. How many times do you hear of a wannabe thug gay bashing on his own. He knows he’ll get his ass wooped by a gay man. These attacks are never going to end and we have no legal protection against it. It’s time to take back our space – wherever that may be – and teach them about protecting yourself vigilante style.I’ve tried everything else and it’s come to this.