Hundreds Gather for Vigil After Gay Attack

[Placebo]

About 300 people attended a candlelit vigil Saturday night to show support for a young gay man who was beaten unconscious a week ago outside a Santa Fe hotel.

James Maestas, 21, remained hospitalized but spoke from his bed Saturday for the first time since the beating. Police said a group of at least three men confronted him outside a restaurant where he had eaten with a group of friends.

The attackers later followed Maestas to a hotel, knocked him to the ground and repeatedly struck him in the face and head, according to investigators.

Witnesses told police the assailants repeatedly called Maestas and a companion "faggots" during the beating.

More...

[kris10ep]

1. "We as a society have got to find ways to end hatred."

And isn't it ironic that the people most provoking this type of hatred are Christians.

Ridiculous. My heart goes out to him and his family.

[northernsoul]

2. in fairness, the story made no mention of a religious motivation

I agree that certain elements of American Christendom have blood on their hands in terms of the hatred and violence they've inculcated against all kinds of people. However, from the Yahoo story I read, there's no reason to believe that this attack was somehow religiously motivated. In terms of intellectual honesty, let's not try to find a way to blame Christians every time something like this happens. Sometimes, violent assholes are just violent assholes there's no particular religion or ideology to blame.

[msmcghee]

4. You might ask why thugs don't routinely . .

. . beat up evangelical Christians.

It is because there is no large socially sanctioned group going around saying that Christians are bad people who deserve to be treated so by society - as Christians do to gays.

Some violent assholes just enable others to do the beatings.

[QC]

18. Much homophobia is religious in motivation, but misogyny is also a factor.

Some of the guys I've caught the most hell from weren't religious in the least--they were drunk, sexist skirtchasers who thought that gay men were "acting like women" and thus letting down the team. After all, if being a woman is a bad thing, then for a man to "be a woman" is even worse. And a surprising number of woman have internalized this attitude--there's no shortage of female homophobes.

So yeah, religion is often a factor in this sort of thing, but so are old-fashioned womanhating and machismo.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

14. Fairness my ass. Whether the perps were religious or not, religion has

created a new era of gay hysteria allowing an increase in violence.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

16. "Let's not blame Christians"

most of these anti-gay hate groups are affiliated with the evangelical Christian movement. They have created a climate that fuels anti-gay violence. Just like the Crusdaes, Inquisition, and right-to-life movement, these folks have blood on their hands.

[realisticphish]

3. just sickening

as much as i don't understand homophobia, i REALLY don't understand these psychos that think beating an innocent person does something positive

[Chipper Chat]

9. I can help you understand:

ANTI-GAY BIGOTS:
George Bush, President of the United States
Pope John Paul II - leader of Catholics worldwide
Anita Bryant - former Miss USA & head of "Save Our Children"
Jerry Falwell - Preacher and nead of the "New Moral Majority"
Pat Robertson - Gay-hating televangelist
Dick Cheney - US Vice-president and father of a "mistake"
John Ashcroft - former gay-baiting Attorney General
Sam Nunn (democrat) - co-architect of "Dont Ask Dont Tell"
Michael Savage - Popular gay-hating radio talk poisonality
Jesse Helms - former US Senator
Sean Hannity - Gay-bashing Fox TV whore
Dr. James Dobson - head of "Fuck-us on the family"
American Skinheads
Robert Knight - California's antigay proposition king
Tiger Woods - "I mean, that's not natural Man."
Antonin Scalia - anti-American Supreme Court justice
Pat Buchanan - "Gays are wrong, wrong, wrong" TV talkshow commentator
Alan Keyes - "Republican holy man" with a disowned gay daughter
Bill Frist - Senate Majority Leader - the protect marriage point-man
Marilyn Musgrave - designer of the anti-gay Protect Marriage amendment
Tom DeLay - Texas leader - %#)*&)+ (unprintable@*$&#^&$&*&#
Fred Phelps - Topeka Kansas' shameful excuse for a human being
Several leading bishops of the US Catholic Church
Mitt Romney - antigay governor of Massachusetts
Many rappers who espouse anti-gay rhetoric (and looked up to by America's street youth)
The state of Virginia (passed the stiffest anti-gay law in the USA)
Bosses who fire gay employees (still legal in places)
The Meese Commission under Ronald Reagan
"The safety of the closet"
Homophobic Alabama lawmakers
Homophobic "church-going Christians"
John Rocker - uber-homophobic baseball player
...and the list goes on and on.....

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

15. thanks

[Nothing Without Hope]

12. They weren't TRYING to do something positive, they were having "fun"

The approval and promotion of anti-gay bigotry in this country gave them permission to work off a little steam and have some fun before going and having some beer.

They don't bleeding give a damn about being "positive" or for the future of the country. They were just working off some aggression on a random victim and they felt justified by what all the pious religious leaders and the patriotic administration figures say. Why, they're helping the holy fight against Satan! But mostly they were just having some group "fun." I'm sure it made them feel very manly indeed.

Logic and appeals to their "better side" won't work with knuckle-dragging creeps like these, which is part of the problem we face in turning this country away from the fear and hatred which are poisoning its heart. I strongly believe there needs to be a carefully thought-through and organized REFRAMING CAMPAIGN to get through the fog of homophobic fear, but even that wouldn't work on these cretins.

Many of us at DU live too far away to have joined in the vigil, but I'm very glad enough people heard about it in time to be there. If there is a PO box to send cards to, I'd like know know about it. Even with all the support, this victim is bound to feel more vulnerable and needs all the support he can get.

[donco6]

5. He must have come on to them.

Isn't that the usual defense? "He put the move on me, so I had to beat him unconscious."

Just watch.

[Placebo]

7. I can hear it now...

"We were just sitting there reading the Bible and convincing women not to have abortions, and this fagg—I mean, gay guy comes up to us and is all "Wanna come back to my hotel for hot man sex?" and the only way we could get him to leave us alone is if we beat him unconscious."

[donco6]

8. Oh yeah.

That'll do it. Case closed.

[bluestateguy]

6. What they shuold be doing

is organizing a lynch mob to find these attackers.

A public lynching of gay bashers would not be such a bad thing.

[BigBearJohn]

10. and why does it always have to be a GROUP who beats up on people

aren't they brave enough to do it one-on-one?
Or do they need other guys around to show how tough they are?
Real men, these guys. They need a group of "manly men"
to beat up on a gay guy. Real brave. Pathetic.
Cowards, every damn one of them. I hope somebody
finds THEM in a dark alley someday.

[Placebo]

17. That's what I don't get...

why is it always a group of "straight" guys on one lonely gay guy? :shrug:

[Deja Q]

20. Like an alone woman. More vulnerable.

Are you being facetious?

[KennedyGuy]

11. Welcome to the Republican America

truely pathetic.

[understandinglife]

13. Zel and Rush will probably award them a medal or something. (nt)

Peace.

[Deja Q]

19. I don't care what he is. Those animals need to be hung out to dry.

Literally for all I care. Such inhuman, antihuman savages need to be taught a lesson and made an example of for all I care. The kid did nothing wrong. Those 3 animals... sock it to them.

Flame me all you like.

[RetroLounge]

21. This just sickens me.

I am not violent by nature, but these guys who did this need to be removed from society, by any means possible...

RL