There’s a sad anecdote that circulates every Pride of an NYC subway passenger who sees fellow queers removing their rainbow gear on their ways home because they’re afraid of getting harassed away from the parade. The story is apocryphal, but it conveys a truth: It’s not always safe to express your queerness in public.
Take this incident for example…
In a video recorded in a McDonald’s during Pride weekend in Barcelona, Spain this last Friday, a man in a neon yellow tank top, short cut-off jean shorts and sneakers was harassed by a presumably hetero hater with a fauxhawk. The hater tells the man, “I’m going to beat you till you become heterosexual.”
How about we take this to the next level?
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“The homophobe expressed that he ‘didn’t agree’ with the ensemble, and told him that it was ‘disrespectful’ to be dressed ‘like that’ in public.
‘I don’t care if you’re queer,’ he added.
‘I really have to put up with a guy telling me that I can’t dress like this?’ the victim complained to the security man in the clip. Flagging that is it ‘Gay Pride Day.’
Moreover, the man replied: ‘I don’t care what day it is, it is also a good day to punch you. Do you want to see?’ …
‘When you go out, I am going to hit you so hard your queerness will disappear.’”
The person recording the video eventually intervened and police arrived soon after, though the harassed man opted not to press charges.
Here is video of the incident:
“Te voy a hacer heterosexual a ostias”
Hoy mi amigo ha sufrido un ataque en un McDonalds de barcelona por su forma de vestir tan “femenina”. Es irónico que esto pase el mismo día que el pregón del pride pero hay que seguir luchando para acabar con estos actos y estas personas. pic.twitter.com/N4yu9DJIYg— paleo_20 (@paleo_20) June 27, 2019
The Spanish accompanying the tweet above reads: “Today my friend has suffered an attack at a McDonald’s in Barcelona for his way of dressing so “feminine”. It is ironic that this happens the same day as the proclamation of pride but we must continue fighting to end these acts and these people.”
Related: Hungry? A nude restaurant just opened in Spain, where you can nibble snacks off male models
The city’s Pride organization also spoke out against the incident, urging the harassed man to file an official report so that his incident doesn’t go forgotten.
gonzo1
I was bullied in enormous amounts when I was younger for being gay, & it’s unbelievable how many of the guys who talked the most smack to me later grew up to try to hook up with me on the down low when they were completely wasted. One guy in particular who made my life a living hell ended up being at the same bar as me years later & asked if he could talk to me outside. He was completely hammered & started crying as he continuously apologized for how he treated me growing up, & then outta nowhere tried to kiss me. Another of my biggest haters drank a bottle of Southern Comfort one night then asked repeatedly in my ear if he could go down on me because he “wanted to see what it was like” as he kept grabbing my junk when no one was looking. Now, it’s hard for me to see someone like this guy in this video be so drastically bothered by a queer person without me wondering what battle he’s fighting with his own sexuality. I know that’s not always the case, but my past just has me wired that way, I guess.
Chirwa Torre Amos
Luckily, I’m wired that way too. But it’s not funny; these are very dangerous people we’re talking about here.
Billysees
gonzo1 said —
Now, it’s hard for me to see someone like this guy in this video be so drastically bothered by a queer person without me wondering what battle he’s fighting with his own sexuality.
The best answer is what Chirwa Torre Amos said —
… these are very dangerous people we’re talking about here.
They’re not fighting anything to do with their sexuality, they’re controlled by their loveless and hatefilled attitudes towards gay people.
CenterRight makes a dumb comment about the gay guy’s appearance. That guy is cute and hot looking, beautiful legs too.
Vince
The guy hates that part of himself that the guy in the yellow represents. Self loathing gay men are the most dangerous of all.
Wicked Dickie
The Hetero does not celebrate gay pride.
TheMarc
“How dare you come in here with those short shorts and turn me on?! Forcing me to yet again confront a part of me that I keep buried!”
Mikey E
I guaranty you that this is not about sublimated desire. Many studies show that effeminacy is a turn-off to the vast majority of gay and bisexual men, so even if the angry dude in the video harbors suppressed homosexual feelings, it is unlikely that his desire would be aroused by that very girlish man.
TheMarc
Mikey, statistically, guarantee is a very strong word to use logically in this instance. Just because you personally may not find effeminate men attractive, I would certainly not attempt to match my logic/desire/etc., were I you, to an obviously emotionally disturbed man who attacked someone for no other reason than what they were wearing. BTW, quite a few “macho” men are quite attracted to effeminate men and have trouble reconciling it with their masculine identity. As you are found of “studies” I would recommend looking into those studies; but stick to the credible ones.
Mikey E
No excuse for threatening others. But a more interesting question is why the gay guy feels compelled to dress, talk and act like a female. Watch that video with the sound turned off and just focus on the gay guy. It’s bizarre. How does such behavior benefit him? It certainly doesn’t attract gay and bisexual men as potential mates. More likely, it drastically reduces his dating prospects. And on top of that, it alienates him from other males generally and draws hostile reactions. It’s all detriment and no benefit, and yet he persists in this conduct. This raises interesting questions about the cause.
TheMarc
I absolutely love the absurdity of your statement. You try to deflect any potential criticism by seemingly siding with the victim regarding the threat and then immediately leap into tearing the young man apart for expressing his identity based on your own personal sexual interests and philosophy. Did he sexually assault his attacker/harasser before they approached him? Nope. So what gives someone else the right to police who he is as a person if he is not actively harming anyone? And stop with the whole “no one’s attracted to effeminate men” B.S. There are plenty of men that are. And just because you are not attracted to effeminate men does not mean they should change their entire persona and personality to please people like you.
And what interesting questions does it raise? Give me one good one. Someone goes into a public place is verbally and nearly physically assaulted without provocation. What “interesting question” does this raise? Is your question “Should we defend people who are attacked because of their appearance? When they could of course just dress, act, perform like I personally want them to?”
CenterRight
It’s unclear whether the good looking guy is straight or just someone like most of us who abhor guys wearing effeminate clothes. That disgusting and atrocious outfit sure provokes the urge in us to have a serious “talk” with him. He was just looking for attention and trouble and sure enough he got quite a bit of both.
theafricanwiththemouth
What he wears isn’t and will never be any of your business. Abhor all you want, but do so in your own small little mind. Your face and voice are probably abhorring to some folks, but no-one is gonna want to have the “talk” with you on that. Dolt!
The public space isn’t only for folks with your mindset, so it’s none of your business if someone chooses to wear an outfit such as this. You sound like a sad piece of s*it..
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
theafricanwiththemouth:
1000% co-sign. I think the Gay guy is actually very attractive, it’s not something I would wear but he has every right to do do….of course the troll is going to side with a cretin….