A 15-year-old gay teenager in Scotland continues to recover after a violent beating at the hands of homophobes at a city bus stop.
British newspaper The Courrier reports that law enforcement has withheld the name of the teen in question in order to protect his privacy. According to police, the attack occurred in the Scottish town of St. Andrews. On October 27, while riding a city bus, three men approached the teen and began calling him homophobic slurs. When the victim exited the bus, the three men followed, and began punching and kicking him to the ground.
“There were three of them, they attacked him from behind, he fell on the ground and hit his head,” the victim’s mother told the newspaper. “They punched him in the face and started kicking him on the ground.”
Several bystanders who witnessed the attack managed to chase off the attackers. Fortunately, the teen did not require hospitalization and can recover from his injuries at home.
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“It’s really upsetting,” the teen’s mother added. “My son came from an environment where we never had a closet for him to come out of, we were always very open and understanding. For him to be faced with that sort of prejudice to the point where he says: ‘people hate who I am to the point that they’re willing to beat me up’ – I think that’s really serious emotionally for anyone who is going through teenage years and already dealing with homosexuality, which is a lot of the times a sensitive issue. I think that, if anything, that made me think: ‘are these people telling my son that he should be in the closet?’”
“My son doesn’t hold back who he is and I think that’s the problem,” she concluded. “Is he going to feel like he has to hold back from being himself?”
Police in St. Andrews have opened an investigation into the attack, but have yet to name any suspects. This is the latest in a rash of attacks on LGBTQ people in the United States and Europe. Earlier this month, police in California arrested a man for beating a gay couple and a police dog in a violent attack. In June, law enforcement in Washington DC also detained a man for threatening a group of gay diners at an outdoor restaurant with a machete. In Spain, protesters took to the streets after the murder of a gay nursing student in July. Also in July in Spain, a man suffered a smashed jaw in an apparent hate crime outside a popular gay nightclub.
ThinkPIease
I guess you will just ignore what’s currently happening to the LBGT people in Afghanistan.
Jon in Canada
Yes, because homophobia only exists in Afghanistan. No one is ignoring what’s happening there, it’s been in the news for, sadly, decades and is still reported on, especially now that the Taliban have full control. Gays, Girls and Women who dare to think are being killed with tragic regularity. Getting pissy because this story involves a Scottish kid is petty virtue signalling and a sad display of performative sanctimony. Give your head a shake dear, people can care about more than one thing at a time.
Cam
Always desperate to deflect away from violent attacks against us when they’re possibly committed by white Christians aren’t you?
KyleMichelSullivan
And I guess you consider that more important than what’s happening to gay people in Russia and Turkey and Brazil and Saudi Arabia and Uganda and a dozen other countries around the globe.
It ALL matters to us. Problem is, there’s so damn much homophobia encompassing the world, it’s damn near impossible to keep track of.
Jon in Canada
OFFS, another “you should only report homophobia from certain countries” moron. Newsflash kid, homophobia is sadly on the rise everywhere and while Queerty may not be reporting on it the way you want them to doesn’t mean it’s not being covered. Also, if Queerty is the only place you’re getting your queer news from, might I suggest you broaden your horizons. How limited is your scope and worldview? Do you have a problem with Scotland? Are gays from certain countries off limits when reporting homophobic violence? Seriously, like ThinkPlease, give your head a shake.
Celtic
Ever notice how these thugs travel in packs? They are so WEAK, the only way they can act out their hate is in numbers.
charette8596
You’re right about the gutless, cowardly thugs. Why can’t people just live and let live? Hopefully these creeps get caught and charged.
Hank31
That’s not true at all. Sometimes they attack in groups. Sometimes individually. Sometimes they attack even when outnumbered by their targets. The numbers don’t matter because the one common theme in all of these stories is that the victims are passive, weak and cowardly pseudo-men, who never fight back. So while in this particular case, it was 3 vs. 1, it could just as easily been 1 vs. 3, and it wouldn’t have mattered. The outcome would be the same.
Kangol2
Homophobia and anti-LGBTQ attitudes and violence continue to be a problem all over the globe, including in a libera university town like St. Andrews, Scotland, UK. Anyone who thinks we’re past homophobia and anti-LGBTQ hate even in the West has their head in the sand.
aka_Buzz
“ThinkPlease” … I guess you will just continue your ignorance.
Absolutely no one here believes this to be an either/or issue.
Rather than sow non-existent conflict do better.
Doug
I’m reading more and more about gay hate crimes in the UK, Scotland, Ireland in the last year. Wondering why there is such an increase.
Hank31
So this boy was sitting alone – i.e., not with a boyfriend – on a bus and yet these 3 strangers magically knew his sexual orientation and attacked him for it?
No, absent some further information which is omitted from the press reports, he was not attacked because he is gay. Because there is no way these strangers could have known. More likely, he was attacked for some form of effeminacy or bizarre dress and appearance, which the attackers observed on the bus. There is an effort on the part of the “queer” press to mischaracterize anti-fem crimes as anti-gay crimes, in an effort to get G/B men to care.
cliche guevara
How fragile are you that you consistently need to attack children?
Cam
A well known screename of the right wing troll on here will ALWAYS show up to claim that an anti-LGBTQ hate crime wasn’t a hate crime.
Please tell your bosses to send smarter trolls, you’re really really really bad at this.
cliche guevara
@Cam
HankyPanky is weirdly obsessed with kids and gender expression. I’m kinda surprised he doesn’t post in the Duggar threads to defend Josh, seems like they are kindred spirts.
blackhook
More strange, frustrated closet cases. All they can do is lash out at guys they find attractive, because they can’t deal with it. Probably puritanical Christian upbringing, and/or general homophobic idiocy in their hometown. Sad!
nunya
Until the world evolves, we gays need to take matters into our own hands and take self defense classes. Nothing will send a faster message to these “tough” guys as getting an ass whooping from a gay man.
charette8596
While that might help to some extent if it was a one on one thing, generally these creeps attack when they have size and numbers in their favor. Rather than put them in jail where they might become celebrities and definite reoffenders, how about a good old fashioned caning?