Seriously, South Carolinians, Knock It The F**K Off

It's been scarcely a month since Joshua Esskew was hit with a beer bottle and then beaten by at least five men, and, well, here we go again. 

Vonte Fuller, a 22-year-old gay man from Spartanburg, was just sitting in a bar--Sideline's Sports & Spirit's--on Sunday, just minding his own business, which I guess gay folks aren't allowed to do in certain parts of South Carolina.

Vonte says a customer simply walked over to him and a pitcher of beer on his head. When he turned around to see what was going on, he was hit in the head with a beer bottle, and then more men joined in, throwing bottles, throwing fists, throwing anti-gay slurs: "I hate you faggots and ... you punks are sick. And all ya'll going to die slow."

Finally, the club security broke up the fight, and kicked Vonte Fuller, and his attackers, out of the bar. Security did not call the police, the bar owner did nothing, and has since said nothing. Luckily, for Vonte Fuller, one patron did call an ambulance.

Taken to the hospital for treatment, Vonte Fuller was visited by a Spartanburg Public Safety officer, who never bothered to take a report. When Fuller said he didn't know the men who attacked him, the officer shrugged and said there wasn't much that could be done.

Um, how about questioning the other patrons in the bar? Bar security might have some answers. The bar owner might know the men's names. Shrug.

But Vonte Fuller didn't give up. After leaving the hospital, he and his family went to the police station to file a report. It was there he learned that the officer's failure to take a report at the hospital is a violation of department policy, according to Lt. Regina Nowak, who said, "Bottom line: a report should have been taken. We have a duty to file that report, even if [the officers] don't agree [that a report needs to be taken.]"

The officer who visited Fuller in the hospital and just shrugged has not been identified, but will be investigated by the department's office of professional standards.

And, of course, since South Carolina has no Hate Crimes Laws, the beating of Vonte Fuller isn't being designated as such by local authorities, though, and remember this is South Carolina, there could be a lynching charge, if the attackers are caught.

See, we have laws against lynching, which is a sad comment on South Carolina, but not against beating a gay man in a bar just because he's gay and you're a moron with nothing better to do.

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UPDATE TUESDAY: Just a Thought: Sticks and Stones, Kobe and Bret, Sticks and Stones



Sheriff Bruce Bryant

 Last month I posted the story of Joshua Esskew [HERE] who was called an anti-gay slur, hit in the head with a beer bottle, and then attacked by a group of up to eight people. Hate crime, no? No, not in South Carolina where our politicians don't believe in that sort of thing.

But there is some good news now. York County authorities have arrested and charged five men with assaulting Joshua Esskew.

And while these men, er, boys,, er, morons, could not be charged with a Hate Crime in South Carolina--though the FBI is investigating it as such--Sheriff Bruce Bryant, of Rock Hill, South Carolina, says the five have been charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. Those charges carry a prison term of up to 20 years.

All five suspects are from York, South Carolina, and they are: 

Cortezio Laquise Douglas, 21



Lortarius Anthony Duncan, 22



LaJames Mitchell, 22

Darenco Markie Wilmore, 20

Bobby Wilson, 20

The melee started after an altercation between Joshua Esskew and Bobby Wilson, standing in front of the convenience store. Wilson threw a beer bottle at Esskew's head, and when Esskew confronted him, the fight began; soon, the others joined in the beating of Joshua Esskew.

Sheriff Bruce Bryant says the store surveillance video helped in the arrests of the five men, as did those people who stepped up to identify the attackers; Bryant praised their "willingness...to get involved and not let this violent crime go unpunished." 

i praise Sheriff Bruce Bryant and the police from York County for not treating this as just another case of kids being kids, and for realizing the hateful nature of this attack.

Via The Charlotte Observer

Yes, We Have No Hate Crimes Laws In South Carolina

In the days following the brutal beating of Joshua Esskew [see post HERE], a gay man, that was caught on a Rock Hill, South Carolina convenience store's surveillance camera, the sponsor of a hate crimes bill that got nowhere in the state legislature last year, John King, a Democrat from Rock Hill, plans to re-introduce the bill this week and ask that it be discussed immediately by legislators.

Of course, two Republican legislators , who admit that the attack on Joshua Esskew, was "horrific," say that existing laws are enough to prosecute people who violently attack others. And spokesmorons for our asshat-wingnut governor, The Transparent Nikki Haley, say she doesn't support state hate crime laws either. Naturally.

Rep. John King

John King, however, will still ask that his bill be taken directly to the House floor when the Legislature reconvenes after a week off, because he feels that hate crimes should not be tolerated and deserve harsher punishments: "We need an all-inclusive hate crime law in this state that protects all people regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation."

Now, for those of you who think that hate crimes laws are unnecessary because we punish people who attack and mug and kill other people anyway, let me offer up a little scenario:

I'm walking down the streets of Smallville, and someone decides I must have a pocketful of money, and they hold me up at gunpoint and steal from me. Then, perhaps they don't think I'm handing over the cash fast enough, so they beat me to a pulp.

Hateful, yes. Hate, no.

But, say I'm walking down the street and some guy decides that, oh, from the way I walk, or my clothes or whatever, that I'm a big old queen, and he beats me to a pulp just for being gay.

Hateful, yes. Hate, yes.

We need hate crimes legislation, in the states and at the federal level, to protect anyone from being attacked simply because of who they are, or are assumed to be, This goes for your gender, your orientation, your skin color, your religion, your age. 

If you are attacked, beaten and killed because of who you are, then it is an attack motivated by hatred.
If you are attacked, beaten, and killed because someone wants your money or your watch or your car, then that attack is motivated by greed.

Hate. Greed,

If you hate someone enough to beat them to unconsiousness, and leave them to die, say on a fence in Wyoming, or on  street in Brooklyn, then you deserve the fullest punishment of the law.

Hate is hate and should not be diminished.

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Dharun Ravi Charged With Hate

RIP Tyler Clementi

Dharun Ravi, that former Rutgers University freshman, who used a webcam to spy on his roommate's same-sex encounter, which then lead to the roommate, Tyler Clementi, killing himself, has been charged with a hate crimes, and accused of deleting tweets and texts to cover his tracks. If convicted of the most serious bias charge, Ravi could face five to 10 years in prison.

See, a hate crime doesn't always involve a bat or a beer bottle or steel-toed shoes or fists. Sometimes a camera and the internet are the weapons.
 

Dharun Ravi has already faced invasion of privacy charges, along with another Rutgers student, Molly Wei. Prosecutors believe Dharun Ravi used Molly Wei's dorm room computer to activate a webcam on a computer in his room in order to view, and live stream, Clementi's encounter. Prosecutors also say Dharun Ravi did this twice to Tyler Clementi, the last time being the day before Clementi's suicide.

Charges against Molly Wei weren't presented to the grand jury, and it isn't clear if charges will ever be filed against here, or whether she helped prosecutors in the case against Ravi. Molly Wei's attorney declined to comment.

Dharun Ravi posted a message on his now-closed Twitter account on September 19 that read: "Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly's room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay."

Two days later, he again Tweeted: "Anyone with iChat, I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes it's happening again."

The indictment against Dharun Ravi states that the sexual encounter was viewed by others, and accuses Dharun Ravi of targeting Tyler Clementi and invading his privacy, knowing Clementi would be intimidated because of his sexual orientation.

The indictment also suggests Dharun Ravi tried to cover up his actions; he allegedly deleted his Twitter post in which he let his followers know about the second encounter, and replaced it with a false Tweet. Dharun Ravi is also accused of deleting text messages sent and received by witnesses, and giving false information to police.

Almost worse than all this, is that Tyler Clementi had apparently complained to the university about his roommate, and Rutgers officials have said they did all they could.
After that second video, Tyler Clementi left a note on his Facebook page: "Jumping off the gw bridge sorry."  Clementi was a promising violinist--and out to his parents. He took his own life during his first weeks of college.

So you see, it isn't fists and boots and bottles, it's words, it's actions, it's Twitter. It's hate.

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Quinn Matley Is A Liar...The Worst Kind

I'm sure you all read the story of Quinn Matley, who said he was burned on his hand by a hot piece of metal, simply because he's gay. A hate crime, no? No, it seems that the story isn't true, and now Quinn Matley has been charged by police in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for filing a false police report.

This disgusts me.

How many gay men and women, and men and women simply assumed to be gay, have been attacked, beaten, and killed? And how many wingnut politicians say we don't need Hate Crimes legislation? How many people call it 'special rights' because every crime is a hate crime?

And then we have this young gay man, making up a story about being attacked; about a hate crime; about being persecuted for his sexual orientation. When people like Quinn Matley make up stories about being attacked for being gay, they diminish the attacks on every other man or woman who was brutalized for being gay, or being assumed to be gay.

Hey Quinn Matley? Think about Joshua Esskew [HERE] who had a beer bottle thrown at his head, and was beaten by eight strangers.

Hey Quinn Matley? Think about that nameless couple in North Carolina who had their house set on fire [HERE].

Hey Quinn Matley? Think about the victims of a gay bashing too terrified to have their names released [HERE].

Hey Quinn Matley? Think about Matthew Shepard [HERE] beaten and murdered for being gay.

Hey Quinn Matley? Think about José Sucuzhañay, who, in fact wasn't gay, just assumed to be gay [HERE].

Hey Quinn Matley? Think about Kieran Daly [HERE] who was beaten by two marines on the streets of Savannah.

I could go on and on but it hurts too much. Go on up to the top of the page and type in 'hate crime' and click search. You'll see.

I hope Quinn Matley gets punished to the fullest extent of the law. i hope he gets some jail time, or, failing that, expelled from school. And and I hope he spends a great deal of time thinking about the men and women who have been attacked for being gay, and wondering just what they think of him now,.

Because I'm sure that those men and women, like me, don't think very much of Quinn Matley at all.