Gay people have been tripping in Palm Springs since the beginning of time. They’ve been around for so long, in fact, that some gay men may think all the men there do dudes. So, what happens when they’re wrong?
A little thing coppers are calling a “reverse” hate crime.
Palm Springs police say two gay men assaulted a 68-year old man after he rebuffed their advances. Sgt. Mitch Spike tells ABC affiliate KESQ:
When two Hispanic men who were in a sedan or some type of car propositioned him and asked if he were gay and if he would like to go home with them, he expressed no interest in doing that and turned away. He then felt something hit him and he then lost consciousness.
It definitely sounds like a hate crime because anyone who doesn’t even know the gay scene, knows this is predominately a gay neighborhood.
Spike goes on to describe the assault as hate crime: the assailants allegedly beat the unidentified man because he’s straight.
If the men are caught and tried for a hate crime, what does that mean for the Family Research Council’s claim that hate crime laws give queers “special protections”.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Also, can something really be a “reverse” hate crime? Can coppers really distinguish between “straight hate” and “gay hate”? It’s all hate to us…
cjc
Greeeeaat. Something that’s not the norm, a singular or rare incident, which will probably be blown out of proportion by our favorite haters.
Gregg
Wow – that’s a pretty spectacular police report –
“in a sedan or some type of car”
Brilliant!
Paul Raposo
First off, I think it’s stupid of the police to call this a, “reverse hate crime.” If the man was targeted and attacked for being straight, that is a hate crime, nothing reversed about it.
Secondly, what if the bashers in the “sedan or some type of car,” (wink to Gregg,) were targeting gay men, but since the vic wasn’t one, they decided to bash him anyways?
Thirdly, if the perps were Hispanic, maybe it was a racist attack; maybe they didn’t like whitey and decided to settle his hash.
stonerboy711
I hope someone wants to pick me up when I’m 68 years old. The story doesn’t mention the age of the attackers. This piece of the puzzle would help A LOT! If they were young, I’m guessing they were out looking to fag bash someone.
psgoodguy
this incident happened a block from my house. gay bashing happens fairly regularly as many of the gay resorts are in this neighborhood. young hispanic men love to cruise the area and harass/beat the crap out of gay men. it’s not uncommon to be walking down the street and someone will pull up and proposition you. just yesterday some young kid hit me up in the rite-aid parking lot wanting to know if i was into “deep tissue massage.” yah right.
since they don’t know what kind of car it was or who the people were it’s only a supposition by the victim that he was bashed for being straight. anything is possible but given the history of the neighborhood i would have to wait for more evidence to support a ‘reverse’ hate crime.
we’re an extremely tolerant lot here in palm springs. the gay community is huge and a majority of our city council, including our mayor, is gay. it’s really a non issue with most all people. young hispanic men, however, seem to enjoy gay bashing as a sport.
psgoodguy
upon further investigation, the victim in this attack was a closeted gay man who falsified his police report to protect his sexual identity. so instead of inferring that we gay men in palm springs are out cruising anything with a dick and beating the crap out of them if they don’t comply maybe you could update your story to reflect what really happened and that even if you live in a place with a large gay population there are still gay bashers out there who mean to do us harm.
not very good reporting on queerty’s part.
amissio
i hate hate crime legislation. really.
Martini-boy
Maybe the ‘victim’ said some nasty things to the gays in the sedan, which incited such a harsh reaction… Really, that report is so vague it hurts:
“He then felt something hit him and he then lost consciousness.” C’mon guys — that ‘something’ could very well have been the two gay hispanic guys; on the other hand, it could also have been a disoriented seagull. “Something” just doesn’t cut it.