If a person engages in gay bashing or any crime that entails battering or even assaulting another human being for bigoted reasons, then they should no doubt be prosecuted and if found guilty, punished to an extent that is commensurate with their crime. The case involving three young men accused of gay bashing David Hauff on a Chicago CTA train has gotten much attention in the media and on the Internet, as well it should. As I look at the coverage, I can’t help but notice that it is terribly one-sided and in most instances, there seems to be an unfair rush to judgment. If Benjamin Eder, Kevin McAndrew, and Sean Little are guilty of gay bashing, then they should be appropriately punished. But, the operative word is guilty.

As a former Sergeant of Police with the City of Chicago I know that there are always two sides to every story. If a person or organization only listens to one side in the development of their theoretical posture or opinion, then they will be very strongly exposed to the possibility that their position will be inherently flawed. I am making this assertion because there are many organizations whose intentions and/or missions are fundamentally grounded in morality and righteousness (some even include the word “justice” in their titles) and yet, they engage in act of prejudice and promulgate these misdeeds all over the Internet and in the media under the color of justice.

I don’t know Mr. Hauff, so I would be unwilling to cast aspersion over his character. But, I implore all people and organizations wanting to see justice served (especially any potential jurors that may have been subjected the highly prejudicial and extremely one-sided coverage of this case) to consider some of the facts that may not have been given proper attention. They are as follows:

- All reported events in the media are not necessarily 100% true and, most certainly, not necessarily accurate. In most instances, it’s not reported maliciously, it’s just that sometimes it’s hard to get the facts right. (I make this assertion, having been involved and around numerous incidents that when I read the newspaper or saw the news broadcast, it was apparent that it wasn’t reported quite right)
- Reports on the Internet, well, let’s just say it would be ill advised of anyone to place much credence in this popular, yet unregulated communicating medium without a thorough investigation of the facts. Facts, not just comments recklessly advanced and bandied about on the Internet.
- The alleged offenders in the Hauff incident were let out of custody on I-Bonds: this is rarely, if ever, done when serious offenses are involved or alleged. This indicates that the police deemed the incident minor: a judgment by professionals who handle thousands of batteries. (Misdemeanor and felony)
- The Arresting Officers didn’t think it was a hate crime or even a crime serious enough to call in the Cook County State’s Attorney Office (ASA), neither did any Supervisors at the District of arrest. (Again, deeming the incident minor)
- The first Judge threw the initial charges out. (Apparently even the misdemeanor case couldn’t stand-up)
- At the Probable Cause Hearing for the felony case, the Judge’s (A different one from the first Judge) initial action was to throw the upgraded Hate Crime, Felony charges out, but after the ASA allegedly threw a temper tantrum; the Judge rescinded his first decision and held the case over for trial. He did this while admonishing the ASA that he did not see how she was going to prove a felonious hate crime case. One must remember that weeks had gone by since the incident, giving Mr. Hauff ample time to garner possibly unwarranted support. Certainly enough time to turn it into political issue by well intended, but because of their lack of objectivity, possibly duped organizations and media. (If this is the case, it wouldn’t be the first time well intended people were duped. Remember the Duke University Lacrosse team or Susan Smith, claiming an African American man stole her car and kidnapped her sons, when in fact, she actually had killed them?
- The alleged gay youth who Mr. Hauff supposedly rescued is non-existent at this time and has never been produced. Was he in fact being picked on because he was gay? Was he picked on at all or just in a debate between loud and inebriated participants? Was he even gay? (These answers are essential and not known. Further, they won’t be known, if these guys don’t appear.)
- Mr. Hauff interjected himself into a confrontation; these three didn’t go looking for a gay to abuse.
- Mr. Hauff is an Activist, astute and well aware of the value of publicity
- Mr. Hauff has extensive experience in marketing and advertising, again, very astute and cognizant of Media value and very experienced in how to get invaluable publicity.
- Mr. Hauff’s activist colleague, Nathan Runkle of Ohio, and allegedly gay also, got lots of publicity and support, both for himself and his organization, after he was beaten outside a gay bar. (Hopefully justice was served in his case.)
- Mr. Hauff is to be admired and commended for his activism, but being an activist also gives him both experience and exposure to the workings of lawyers and lawsuit. As I shared, I wouldn’t dare cast an aspersion over Mr. Hauff’s character, but being a former Sergeant of Police, I wouldn’t ignore the theory or neglect to consider possible motives. (Perhaps the attorneys for the City of Chicago and the CTA considering these possibilities.)

As a result of this case being tried in the media and on the Internet, let’s take a look at the effects and ask ourselves is this right:

- Without being found guilty of the allegations, Sean Little is kicked out of Loyola University.
- Without being found guilty of the allegations, Sean Little is terminated from his job at the YMCA.
- On Mr. Hauff’s word alone, these young men have been vilified in the media and on the Internet and prematurely relegated gay bashers, stained forever. What ever happed to innocent until proven guilty?
- On Mr. Hauff’s word alone, these young men have to bear the legal expense of defending themselves in a case that in the eyes of the police was just a misdemeanor. Related to Sean Little that expense already exceeded ten thousand dollars and climbing. Money to which his family can ill afford.
- On his word alone, Mr. Hauff says he was intervening on behalf of a gay guy being abused. Where is this gay guy? If the guy was gay, how did he manage to escape the so-called gay bashers unharmed?
- On his word alone, Mr. Hauff has managed to garner tremendous media attention and publicity for himself and his organization

Any fair-minded person considering the above would have to say to himself or herself, maybe we should wait until the case has played out in court before we render judgment. As the uncle of the father of Sean Little, whom himself was a Chicago Police Officer, I implore everyone not to prejudge or convict in the mediums available prior to these young men being given a fair trial.

If I were asked:

- Is Sean a stupid little S.O.B.? I would say for certain, but who amongst us is free from acts of stupidity at the age of 21.
- Does Sean use ill chosen words? I would say being his Grand Uncle I don’t know, because he probably uses caution with his choice of words around me. But outside my presence, he probably does. But I would submit that everyone who uses the N-word is not necessarily racist.
- Is Sean a gay basher? My answer is unequivocally NO.

Please give this plea for true justice your utmost consideration and hold off on unfairly pressuring the politicos with their untold aspirations.

Richard D. Wallace
Former Sergeant of Police, #1960
Chicago Police Department

… like some of the others, I didn’t notice either, but I also didn’t pay much attention to the pictures.

Oh, you’re correct about the quality of reporting and the fact of the matter is I did state that the “race” angle began with the way the Tribune reported the story. Queerty added to the train wreck, although as a blog I don’t hold them to the same standards of high quality journalism that I would hold the Chicago Tribune.

And for those talking about these three in prison, i highly doubt that will happen. remember, this is the same state’s attorney’s office that let that homo-hating cop in the 23rd District slide for stopping and harassing gays. I bet they get probation and a few weekends of picking up garbage on the side of the road.

My previous posts on it were the following:

No. 8 – nothing at all about race: it merely points out the rules in the student handbook (if you misbehave off campus, they can still kick you out) and that felons usually do some time in jail, making suspension or expulsion irrelevant (its readmission instead).

No. 13 – nothing at all about race: when someone raised the number of student offenses (e.g., underaged drinking), I pointed out that it was the number being caught that was relevant. I also pointed out that the other two (who were white BTW) might not have been students, might not have jobs, and that QUEERTY might not have found any organization with publicly stated rules about kicking them out. If you objected to me calling two of the gay-bashers “lowlifes”, what’s racist about it? They weren’t even members of a racial/ethnic minority, judging from the pictures.

This is a also story about a hero, stepping into a situation which he COULD have just ignored. It’s also about the lack of security on Chicago’s transit system, and gaybashing. There are public safety and racial aspects to consider as well; there is university policy at play, and journalistic ethics to consider [the Chicago Tribune and Queerty, among others].

There’s also the issue of personal safety to consider: being aware of our surroundings, being able to physically defend ourselves and knowing who alert/call/contact when danger strikes. What’s the first thing we should do when we sense or come into contact with violence?
Do we intervene when we see someone being attacked? All good —and difficult —questions to ask and answer.

When bullies start bashing you what will you do?

When you see a minority (e.g. GLTB, physically or mentally challenged person, a racial or ethnic minority, etc.) being threatened, what steps will you take? What measures would you want *that person* to take when you’re being the target of hate?

http://www.youtube.com/watch#p.....XXjcYCUB2Y

Sit back, enjoy it and hopefully everyone will walk away happy after viewing it.

You ain’t never lied about that.

It was pure and simple drunk shit, more than likely. There’s all types of weird shit that goes on on the Red Line at three in the morning.

The motherfuckers are lucky that the drag queens outside Berlin were still arguing and fighting amongst themselves at that hour and not on the train.

“You’re defending a man who attacked 2 gay men in a senseless manner because you sniffed out so called racism where there isn’t any in a case where there is lethal homophobia.”

Actually, there were 3 attackers and not just 1.

It’s the focus on the one attacker that I am questioning.

Exactly.

So much bullshit on this thread. Where oh where do I begin?

@Dalton:
Proof and documentation, please.

Oh, and they were attackers, there was no one single attacker. My problem is in the racial bias of the coverage.

Oh, granted that my off campus drinking example was a bit far fetched, but I am talking about the publication of student crimes committed OFF-CAMPUS in the student newspaper.

Nothing else.

@Krisinatl:

If he is convicted of the crime lock him up. But why the focus on this black guy’s life, where he goes to school, etc. and not the other two guys (at least one of the other guys threw a punch).

Whenever I read the term “community standards,” I can hear the thundering echo of a thousand lawyers going “ca-ching.”

In many parts of the world, those very things are happening to gay people. Sadly, most of which occurs right here this very country.

“I hope you’ll consider the perspective that by standing up for oppression wherever you see it, you will ultimately be helping to end your own. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Pretty heavy concept, when you think about it.”

I only wish Sean Little thought about that concept and considered that prespective too.

Therefore, I will just correct some of your assumptions about me and call it a night.

1. I didn’t just “log on” to comment on this, I have been commenting here for some time.

2. I work for a major gay rights organization, so it would be odd for me to join NOM. Likewise odd for me to be a homophobe.

3. My agenda, which I share with most people working for social justice, is to end prejudice and oppression in all its forms, including homophobia, racism, sexism, classism, agism, ableism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia. I include all these categories as part of “gay rights” because there are people of color, women, poor people, elderly people, handicapped people, Jews and foreigners in the LGBT community.

4. Immediately before the paragraph you quoted above, it says that the whole reason Little and Hauff started interacting was because McAndrew was bullying another gay rider (the “other person” in your quote). You can pick the point when Little got involved and call it the “start” of the fight so that the “black guy started it,” but by ignoring the actions of the white homophobe that came before then, you are showing your true colors.

5. The YMCA is not an advocate for LGBT rights and is homophobic institution in many areas of the country that does not recognize same-sex partnerships or families, so I am unclear what the irony is about a homophobe working for them.

6. Queerty’s racism doesn’t make Sean Little a victim. Apparently this is hard to grasp, so an analogy: Andrew Cunanan was a gay man and a serial killer. If, say, Sean Little called him a faggot, that wouldn’t make Andrew Cunanan any less of a serial killer or a despicable person. It would just make Sean Little a homophobe. Likewise, Queerty’s racism doesn’t make Sean Little any less of a homophobic criminal.

7. I haven’t called anyone a name. Go back and examine my comments and you’ll see that’s true.

8. As soon as you show me someone who has been enslaved, lynched, kicked out of a restaurant/hotel or fired simply for being white, we can talk about “reverse racism.”

I hope you’ll consider the perspective that by standing up for oppression wherever you see it, you will ultimately be helping to end your own. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Pretty heavy concept, when you think about it.

Ok, now that you have brushed your teeth and said your sorry after figuring out that yes, I did mean it sarcastically, can we kiss and PLEASE go back to being friends (I know I don’t know you but still). No hard feelings on this end.

The person I aimed my comment at would have recognized my sarcasm. I never hold grudges against anything anyone says about me because our unasked for opinions are our unasked for opinions. Take care.

Care to spin that to fit your agenda, which is a clear one to deflect attention away from the blatant horrid homophobia in this case and turn a guilty man into a victim. You have some nerve to log on a gay blog and start name calling gay posters who have emotional cords hit with this gay bashing story that hits too close to home for many of us, for having a reaction toward these attackers. There’s been many caucasian attackers featured on this site and other gay blogs who have had far worse said about them and their families than stating the irony of them working with an organization that’s sole purpose is to promote advocacy (YMCA). That former (white) Miss California had her grandmother called a trailer trash c*nt on here. The difference is, when a black gay basher is featured on any gay blog, we’re threatened to not comment on their character or else the racist battle cries come out. If a white gay basher is featured on any gay blog, all is fair game. Something to be said about both the reverse racism in gay bashing incidents, and your swift reaction to take the spotlight off the homophobia of the story itself all to recreate a subtext story about latent racism to fit that agenda of yours. Your own homophobia is more pronounced than any racism I’ve observed here, and if you expected a good majority of us to not call you out on that, then you need to click the reload button and realize you’re on a gay blog where we don’t stand back and try to put a veneer on going after the ones who choose to attack us. If you do, go to town and join NOM while you’re at it, but don’t go calling the posters on here names for not joining you in that warped mentality.

Racism = something Queerty is perpetrating in this story

Hate Crime = something Little, Eder and McAndrew perpetrated in Chicago

One is only tangentially related to the other. The fact that Little, Eder and McAndrew committed an horrific hate crime and the fact that Queerty is reporting on it in a racist manner are not mutually exclusive. They can both be true.

I, Sam, gay man and commenter on Queerty, hereby do officially condemn homophobia in all its forms, including but not limited to homophobic statements and actions of Sean Little, Kevin McAndrew, Benjamin Eder, Maggie Gallagher, Ryan Dobson, Timothy Dolan, Lauren Ashley, Rev. Martin Ssempa, Doug Manchester, Iris Robinson, Dr. Paul Miller and any other homophobes mentioned, now or in the future, on any post I may comment on.

Now that that’s out of the way, maybe you can stop using it as an excuse to avoid discussing the clearly racist bent of this post.

Any attempts to turn this story in to a racist one is an attempt to turn one of these vicious animals in to a martyr they are not, and is most definitely coming from a homophobe themself.

Question of the hour.

There’s an infinite list of undisputed facts I didn’t mention. Perhaps you could compile a list for me and I could append them to every comment I make on things actually being debated, so that you won’t attack me for not stating the obvious.

Oh, and you’re also claiming the black guy started it when he didn’t. But I’m sure that’s not racism, right?

The news reports clearly state it was McAndrew who was verbally assaulting the original victim. But maybe they got it wrong. Must be the black guy, right?

“Why do black gay individuals always side with a perpetrator who shares their skin color over a victim who shares their sexual orientation?”

You’d have to ask a “black gay individual.” I’m white.

“You’re defending a man who attacked 2 gay men in a senseless manner because you sniffed out so called racism where there isn’t any in a case where there is lethal homophobia.”

I haven’t defended anyone, much less a man who has, allegedly, committed a hate crime. I called out Queerty and the Tribune on their racism. There is a difference. Why don’t you re-read my comment and see if you can figure it out.

Physically harming a gay man? deserves no disdain or mention from you two.

Featuring a story of the attacker who is black? RACISTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Interesting duality.

A gay man was nearly beaten to death and kicked in the head while being called gay slurs, and this gay site dug up fascinating info on the MAINE attacker who happens to be black (he was the one who verbally assualted the original victim and went after the other gay man) and you want them to withhold that, and say we should not be discussing his ties to the YMCA and a prominent University until we have information on the other two?

Why do black gay individuals always side with a perpetrator who shares their skin color over a victim who shares their sexual orientation?

You’re defending a man who attacked 2 gay men in a senseless manner because you sniffed out so called racism where there isn’t any in a case where there is lethal homophobia.

Elsewhere on this site there is a lot of talk about how calling Johnny Weir “flamboyant” while calling Evan Lysachek and the scary Russian dude “athletes” is homophobia. This is the same thing. When you have three figure skaters dancing around in feathers and sequins but only talk about the gay one being flamboyant, that’s homophobia. When you have three gay bashers but only focus on the black one, that’s racism.