Gay Lincoln woman says attackers cut slurs into her skin

[OmahaBlueDog]

Source: Omaha.com (Omaha World Herald)

Three men broke into a Lincoln woman's home, bound her with zip ties, carved anti-gay slurs into her skin and set her house on fire, she told Lincoln police.

Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime, said Lincoln Police Officer Katie Flood. They have not made an arrest in connection with the attack.

The woman's friends believe the incident was a hate crime because of her sexual orientation, and they arranged a candlelight vigil at the State Capitol on Sunday night that drew more than 500 people.

The woman was treated at a local hospital and released.

Read more: http://www.omaha.com/article/20120722/NEWS/120729858/1685#gay-lincoln-woman-says-attackers-cut-slurs-into-her-skin

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An earlier version of this article is posted in the Nebraska group. The earlier version did not indicate that the police were investigating as a hate crime.

[lilithsrevenge12]

1. What the fuck is wrong with people.

[movonne]

2. What is wrong with them is hate, hate and more hate...they

just have to hate...

[DavidDvorkin]

3. Let's not react too quickly

There have been too many similar cases that turned out to have been done by the supposed victim.

[OmahaBlueDog]

4. I'm simply relaying the report

However, the point is taken

[4th law of robotics]

5. Fair enough

as reported this is an open-shut hate crimes case.

But as you say, sometimes there is more to it.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

8. In many ways false cases to more damage than if they were real

Every false claim devalues all legitimate ones and discourages new cases of any kind.

[DavidDvorkin]

10. Very true.

[shcrane71]

12. Seriously? Where the victim carved homophobic slurs into his or her own flesh??? nt

[FrodosPet]

14. Wasn't carved, and it was racial, but not homophobic

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawana_Brawley_rape_allegations

Tawana Brawley (born 1972) is an African-American woman from Wappingers Falls, New York. In 1987, at the age of 15, she received national media attention in the United States for falsely accusing six white men, some of whom were police officers, of having raped her. The accusations soon earned her notoriety, which was inflamed by Brawley's advisers (including the Reverend Al Sharpton and attorneys Alton H. Maddox and C. Vernon Mason), the statements of various public officials, and intense media attention. After hearing evidence, a grand jury concluded in October 1988 that Brawley had not been the victim of a forcible sexual assault and that she herself may have created the appearance of an attack.

~ snip ~

----------------------------------------

If it happened as she said, she is going to have an uphill battle because to the notoriety of the Tawana Brawley case.

True or false, I feel really bad for the young lady.

[Occulus]

23. So it has nothing at all to do with the topic of this thread.

Why in the blue fuck did you bring it up? The Tawana Brawley case is completely dissimilar.

[FrodosPet]

27. A young lady claims to be attacked

Assaulted and used as a canvas for bigoted epitaphs? Yes, it unfortunately is related, if not in direct facts, then at least in public perceptions.

[tawadi]

16. Really?

Setting their own homes on fire? Hadn't heard of anybody doing that.

[Iliyah]

6. The cowardly attackers are probably GAWD fearing

mindless soldiers doing the work of their GAWD.

[Ganja Ninja]

7. And people wonder why anyone would need a gun?

[PavePusher]

22. I wonder if there's a chapter of the Pink Pistols in the area?

If so, they should do some outreach.

[queerart]

9. Yikes!

God Bless Her If This Report/Story Is True....... As No One, For Any Reason Should Have To Put Up With Such Terrorist Acts.....


(OR)...... God Help The Gay Community If They Later Find Out She Was Lying........ As It Will Make It 100 Times Harder To Make The General Public Understand Afterwards That "REAL ATTACKS" Still Do Take Place Each, And Every Day.......

[SILVER__FOX52]

11. The root of this is.................

found with the right wing hate machine giving tacit approval of these vile acts. Yeah freepers, this is not debatable !

[shcrane71]

13. If every non-homophobic Nebraskan would simply come out of the closet and

not tolerate intolerant attitudes, the entire state would be a more welcoming place.

[47of74]

15. A very bright and very uncomfortable spotlight needs to be shined on the Catholic Church

I'm sure the church out in Lincoln under the leadership of Fabian Bruskewitz has been doing its part in working against equality, and it's time to expose them for their anti-gay stances.

[littlewolf]

17. Morton Downey, Jr.

tried to make it look as if he were
attacked ... in an airport bathroom
turns out he did it to himself ...

[DeSwiss]

18. And Mrs. O'Leary's cow didn't start the Chicago Fire either.

- Which is a statement that has as much relevancy to your statement, as yours has relevancy to this article.

[littlewolf]

19. people who falsely portray themselves

to be victims .. if this did happen to this woman
then find and prosecute the heck out of the
people who did this ... if she did it to herself
then get her help ...

[OmahaBlueDog]

20. Link?

Thanks

[littlewolf]

21. I admit it is ancient history ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morton_Downey,_Jr

this guy was replaced by Rush ... can't say it was much
of an improvement ....

snip
Downey was fired in 1983 for cracking "an ethnic joke about a member of the city council out there who was of Asian descent, and he refused to apologize [for it];"[5] he was replaced on KFBK by Rush Limbaugh, who has held the time slot ever since, later via his national syndication.

snip

In late April 1989, he was involved in an incident in a San Francisco International Airport restroom in which he claimed to have been attacked by neo-Nazis who painted a swastika on his face and attempted to shave his head.[10] Some inconsistencies in Downey's account (e.g., the swastika was painted in reverse, suggesting that Downey had drawn it himself in a mirror), and the failure of the police to find supportive evidence,[11] led many to suspect that the incident was a hoax and a plea for attention.[12][13]

[OmahaBlueDog]

24. What I'm asking is do you have any evidence the Lincoln woman self-mutilated

I've seen no such story

[MADem]

25. Here. The story is being questioned.

http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2012/07/26/nebraska-police-not-ruling-out-hoax-in-attack-on-lesbian/

Nebraska Police Not Ruling Out Hoax in Attack on Lesbian
Posted in Anti-LGBT, Hate Crime by Ryan Lenz on July 26, 2012

Print This Post
Police investigators in Lincoln, Neb., have not ruled out the possibility that a 33-year-old lesbian allegedly attacked last weekend because of her sexual orientation might have staged the hate crime. But they’re also not ready to call her story, which has ignited interest across the country, a complete fabrication.

Chief Jim Peschong told the Lincoln Journal Star that investigators, aided by the FBI, continue to search for suspects in the case but remain uncertain whether the attack even took place.

[Elle2Are]

26. I read the article. Here are my observations.

Suppose the woman did stage the attack? She's obviously distressed, and feels as if her sexual orientation is the cause of whatever hardships she's been encountering. In Nebraska, that's a reasonable feeling. Brandon Teena's rapist were not arrested after the rape was reported, and the rapist turned into executioners of their rape victim. Some in Nebraska are still saying those "boys" got a raw deal for their triple homicide.

Suppose the attack came from others in the gay community? In Nebraska, it's not unusual to meet self-loathing, closeted individuals. For whatever reason, many an out gay person has a story of a closeted gay person who is a diabolical bully.

Suppose the attack *is* a hate crime and the Lincoln community didn't react with outrage and support for the victim, as Lincoln is doing? *sigh* The whole community is in a no-win situation. If they react with support, then they're unsophisticated bumkins who can't recognize a hoax, and if they don't react with support, then they're callous bigots from the Heartland.

[MADem]

30. I think all we can do is wait and see. I think the community of Lincoln has conducted themselves

admirably in this situation. They've held a couple of vigils/church services and many people are speaking out against violence.

It's impossible to tell from a few clips from the local news, but I think the vibe coming from them is that those "bumpkins" would probably be recognized as compassionate people even if this does turn out to be a hoax. I got a good feeling from all the comments I heard in the interviews.

What I don't know about Nebraska would fill a library, but they came across as nice people in Lincoln.

[OmahaBlueDog]

28. Thanks

I'd seen an interview with the victim, but I had not seen that.

[MADem]

29. The interview with the victim, I think, was a response to the articles about

how the police aren't ruling out a self-inflicted scenario.

I have to admit, the more I see, the more I am torn about this matter. One does not want to think anyone would lie about anything so serious, and one also doesn't want to be dismissive of it, because if it did happen, it is an outrageous affront. But I saw a thing or two that troubled me in the reporting of this incident.

I am no handwriting expert, but there is one thing that I find curious--the spray painting in the basement looks very nicely written (if hate-filled slurs can be nicely written). At the risk of being accused of sexism, they look like a "feminine hand"--neat, nicely formed letters, much better handwriting than I've seen coming from the average lad. The other thing that seems odd to me is this: if you're in a gang of three, and you decide you're going to commit this HORRIFIC crime, and wound someone in such a despicable way, why spray paint the frigging BASEMENT? Why not spray paint the living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom? The nicely painted walls make a much better canvas, I should think. And how about trashing the hardwood floors with a little paint, too? Or the nice white ceilings? Make a REAL mess--don't spray paint a brick wall that would be easy to paint over, way down in an unfinished basement.

Then again, who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men (that's a generic "men"--not specifically men)?

My take at the end of the day--I'm not the police. I hope they get to the bottom of this. If there are crooks, get 'em. If she needs some help, I hope she gets it.