Subscribe to Breaking NewsWithers: A phone message left by a “fan”
I’ll understand if no one believes this story. Heck I don’t believe it myself. And it’s not a April 1 joke. I’m not that clever.
Yesterday I was getting rid of the messages on my phone. Standard stuff. Bill collectors demanding cash I don’t have. Friends. Telemarketers looking for cash I don’t have. Ahhh, but one stood above the crowd. The message leaver was a gentleman. He paused before saying this:
“You sound like a faggot.”
At first I thought it was a cheeky friend having fun, but I didn’t recognize the voice. Played it again to make sure it wasn’t anyone I knew, then deleted it from the system.
I should have kept it and did some research to find the number of the caller, but thinking is not my forte. It was early morning and the coffee had not kicked in yet. Now if this was a heated election, I would follow the example of Ashley Todd, scrawl a letter on my face, and say it was done by someone with a Bible. However, my handwriting is wretched.
If I’m not mistaken, this is my first hate voicemail. Oh I’ve had many a dealings with constables over the years (my favorite is when a friend and I were stopped on the New Jersey Turnpike and my friend was asked by one of the troopers if “he was smoking that crack”), but overt crap over sexuality has not been my lot. Could be my demeanor. While I’m convinced I’m the gayest thing out there (especially when I clap my hands), my gay ways have been called into question. Once I was drinking a cosmo, by myself, in a gay bar in Nyack, NY and the guy next to me asked if I was straight. He said I wasn’t giving out a “gay vibe.” Too bad my message leaver wasn’t with me that night. He could have vouched for me.
And while we are on the topic of my gentleman caller, I have a special note for him: why the nasty language baby? You didn’t talk like that when we were making that sweet sweet love last week. Instead you were calling out to the gods. But I understand. You are scared about your feelings and your boys are giving you grief for not being manly enough, so you had something to prove. And we always hurt those we love. But don’t worry. I know how you really feel you nasty boy.
Be careful dude. Can’t have anything happening to you. I enjoy watching you piss some people off too much for that.
Hang in there James. There are a lot of anti-gay bigots in the world. They are not your god, your decider.
James, sorry you have to put up with that crap.
James Withers said: “but our responsiblity is to gather the facts and the rest is up to you.”
I don’t know what that means, but thank YOU for the conversation. AND thanks for “keeping an eye out”.
Sincerely,
Debra
Debra,
“What if this becomes fact and you are left with only the option of reporting on it after the fact?”
But isn’t this our job as a news organization? To give the facts. You are right about findiing out if it is true, but our responsiblity is to gather the facts and the rest is up to you.
Thanks for the conversation.
James
ps: I’ll keep an extra eye out and if I find out anything, I’ll report it.
I realize things are whack in the Middle East in terms of punishment for “crimes”. I mean, they still hang people publicly there. There has been story after story of how they treat their population. The big interest in this story is the place in which it is taking place, namely, Iraq. We have the ongoing debate of DADT, and now this news, and I was curious why this gay site hasn’t addressed it. What if this becomes fact and you are left with only the option of reporting on it after the fact? It seems we could be contacting someone about this as we do when Governors threaten vetoes and such. We should be able to confirm with Barbara Boxer’s office that she was contacted about this and was going to check on it herself. That is interesting to me, and I want to know if this is really happening in the country where our soldiers, gay and straight, have died.
Debra,
There are alas way too many important stories for our small staff to cover on any given day. I saw Sullivan’s post and if I’m not mistaken it was also picked up by Towleroad.
Sincerely,
James
Hi Debra,
It’s not here because we really don’t know if it’s true. Right now it seems to be part conjecture, part Internet rumor. It looks like Iraq is executing 128 prisoners. Whether any of them are gay, or whether any were imprisoned for being gay, is not clear yet.
James…I suppose I should have posed the follow-up with the original question….why is it not on 365GAY.com? Andrew Sullivan wrote about it in the Atlantic yesterday. Is this true what is happening there to GLBT citizens?
Tiger,
I’ve been kicking myself for not keeping the voicemail. Thanks for the concern. Everything will be cool.
Sincerely,
James
Debra,
I have. Thanks for the info though.
Sincerely,
James
James, in the future make a record of all such calls. It is possible to track an address using a phone number. If, God forbid, this was to escalate into some form of stalking or other harrassment, such messages might be the difference in deciding if it is a hate crime. Please take precautions and if possible, arm yourself. (even mace or pepperspray if you are uncomfortable with a gun). Hopefully this was just another coward trying to make himself feel more macho. Would hate for you to become yet another statistic.
http://papastraighttalk.blogspot.com/2009/03/gays-to-be-executed-in-iraq-while-we.html
James…have you heard of this story about gays in Iraq being executed?
Is that the picture of the Bat-Phone?
Ah, what some people won’t say or do!
Win ;D