Comments on: Withers: Another hate crime victim

By: Bruce

Bruce — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:23:58 +0000

This entire article is an exercise in hat by Withers.

Withers … your the pot calling the kettle black.
The man in this photo may have had his heart, soul and spirit crushed, broken and desicrated by your words and the pen IS mightier than the sword!
Withers: Some (corpulent) people should not wear certain t-shirts
By James Withers 10.08.2009 8:43am EDT

Let’s say you are a little pork chop (if you are insulted by fat jokes move on, Boo. Move on). Let’s also assume as a bigun, you need a motorized cart to get to the potato chip aisle. If these things are true, it seems prudent your big booty should not be wearing a t-shirt with homophobic crap.

The above pic was taken from the bestest internets site People of WalMart. The photo of “too fat to walk Mr. Homophobe” was taken in Nebraska. As a rule I care little about sartorial choices, but the clothes of my large clan do bring pause. Lycra bike pants are terrible for those with ham hock thighs, and bigoted t-shirts should not be worn by those with too much blubber to defend themselves.

What unnerves me though is that this handicapped butterball, too lazy to even walk, got up one morning and thought it would be nice to wear an anti-gay shirt. Doesn’t he have family who can give him advice? We know he has no friends. Who would want to freely associate with such a little disgusting roly-poly?

I’m sure husky man is never online (his fingers are too chubby to type), but if you are out there, drop by and explain yourself sir. Ex-gay? Bitter over love lost? Sodomized by your best high-school friend—he was the star jock of the school—and loved it so much you freaked out? And what’s your favorite potato chip? I’m guessing Ruffles (which is a good choice).

By: Jessi Hartman

Jessi Hartman — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:11:33 +0000

We would be doing great if those who commit -regular- crimes would have as much attention paid on them as is paid on those who commit *hate* crimes.

By: Facebook User

Facebook User — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:35:31 +0000

Longtime straight LGBT Ally…. I resent that remark, period.

By: kerry

kerry — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 03:17:10 +0000

How tragic and how sad, it has to come to this.This guys were so filled with hate,they forgot the penalties involved if they got caught.Throw the book at them.I am a victim of anti-gay violence and I remember how obsessed these guys were,with battling{usually there own gay demons,but not always.

By: Gerry Fisher

Gerry Fisher — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:45:08 +0000

>Seriously, if anyone can show me one crime victim that wasn’t a result of hate…

Hate crimes are not about all hate. It’s about hate for a *group* of people that’s being taken out on a member of that group. The effect of the crime goes beyond the individual(s) beaten or killed–it’s designed to created a chilling effect, to keep all members of that group “in their place.”

The “design” can be either conscious or subconscious. Doesn’t matter.

By: Gerry Fisher

Gerry Fisher — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:42:41 +0000

>It’s like, no matter how nice or friendly I act around a gay person, they’ll either ignore me or be flat out rude. There are exceptions (not counting guys I dated, since their intentions were clear from the start), but they’re few.

Honey…MOVE! Or hang around the bear community…”step right up…free bear hugs!”

By: Gerry Fisher

Gerry Fisher — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:39:28 +0000

>Anyone want to argue that some straight’s don’t have a certain bigotry?

You really had to bend logic to write this sentence.

“Anyone want to argue that some gays don’t have a certain bigotry?”

“Some” members of any group will hold some despicable points of view.

By: Drewski

Drewski — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:21:03 +0000

Uh, Jeff, the reason hate-crimes laws ever got passed in any US jurisdiction might have something to do with a failure to enforce the existing civil-rights laws. You don’t want hate-crimes specifications, then ENFORCE THE CONSTITUTION. I don’t hear you saying that, and instead you equate hate crimes to stealing an iPod. If I’m standing on a corner in, say, Chelsea, and I see ten, twenty, thirty people go by–men, women, young, old, black, white, asian, hispanic–then I go after one guy. In fact, I signal to a couple of my buddies. He has an iPod, but I’ve seen much nicer ones in the crowd. I’ve seen people with cash in hand, people with expensive clothes and jewelry, people with shopping bags. I’ve seen people with canes, with walkers, with Seeing Eye dogs. People with kids in tow. But I don’t attack any of them. I attack some dude, 5’7″ and maybe 130, with a faux-hawk and a Lady Gaga t-shirt. Me and my two buds spot him, make sure he sees us, herd him into an alley, and beat the shit outta him. Just why do you think that happened? It was presumption of his sexual orientation. Tell me it doesn’t happen, or that it hasn’t happened. Tell me that there hasn’t been a question about the NYPD’s response to something that sure looked like a gay-bashing in Hell’s Kitchen. I don’t care for different standards under the law, because I think it’s corrosive to the concept of equality. However, since we have significant evidence in the last fortnight that it DOES take hate-crimes laws to enforce EXISTING civil rights, then you need to re-examine your rigid ideological stance and stop providing de facto cover to those who choose their targets by identity instead of opportunity.

By: Kari

Kari — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:24:23 +0000

Jeffrey Barea: Hate crimes have a destabilizing effect on communities. They create psychological issues among even those not directly involved in the crime.

Antisemitic violence, for example, has created a situation where most Jewish organizations border on paranoia regarding the security of their offices and buildings, even though the number of major incidents in a year is usually zero.

By: Jeffrey Barea

Jeffrey Barea — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:02:00 +0000

Seriously, if anyone can show me one crime victim that wasn’t a result of hate I’d be the first one to codify special rules.

But, to me, if you steal any of my CD’s, iPod, or even a frozen steak in my fridge – fuck you and your hatred of my having property.

So give me your best defense of special laws enhancing crimes. Any crime against me deprives me of what’s mine. So why should any reason to do that be considered special?

Don’t even try to throw out deterrence. There are laws against murder, 15 extra years won’t be like “I can do 10 years for murder, but 20? Oh hell no!”