Comments on: Iowa Teen Beaten To Death By Anti-Gay Attackers

By: Regan DuCasse

Regan DuCasse — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:39:05 +0000

Anyone who doesn’t think this isn’t right up there with the mob mentality of Jim Crow, and casual anti black violence is stuck on stupid. Some of our detractors are old enough to remember that time. Hell, I am and I’m not THAT old!
One CAN compare the fact that devaluing human life with propaganda so constant and present, with direct connections to street violence like this.
We CAN compare the systemic injustice and discrimination of that towards other groups in the past.

I keep saying I’m not comparing attributes, but the injustices that are the same.
That keep a vulnerable minority FROM being self reliant, contributing and responsible and all the protections that go with being so.
It’s one thing to be a minority that inherently couldn’t do it, as opposed to one that would but for discrimination.
And the moral implications of that are clear, but not to the very people who claim moral clarity.

Gay males especially cannot make casual contact with anyone, without risking violence on themselves just like this. Even straight males are at risk as well.
That bright Jim Crow line is STILL there for gay people and I’m outraged by those who want to keep it there at all.

By: Erin

Erin — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 02:06:28 +0000

As a teen, I was often angry at others to the point I wanted to fight, probably because I was taunted for my sexuality myself. But if I ever knocked someone to the ground, I would never never never kick anyone in the face while they were down. I would know, even as a young teen that such a violent blow could cause severe trauma. This is a reckless disregard for human life, just as we saw in the video of the transgender woman who was beaten in the McDonalds. Not only is it a cowardly cheap shot, any idiot must know the damage it can cause. This has gone beyond anti-gay animus and into the world of psychopathy.

By: Chuck Farley

Chuck Farley — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 21:21:08 +0000

I’m sure the people who were responsible for this senseless beating believed they were doing Gods work.

By: John in MN

John in MN — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 18:40:39 +0000

And people like Maggie Gallagher say gay people are not persecuted??? Maybe she needs to learn how to read.

By: David

David — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 12:07:32 +0000

Are people so threatened by the fact that love is love no matter who you are in love with or attracted to that they resort to hatred and killing?

By: Tanukisan

Tanukisan — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 08:48:23 +0000

JesterKatz; I’m afraid the Tony Perkins’ and Maggie Gallaghers of this world would just mouth some platitudes about how “tragic” it was that this young man died and then spout off about how his “lifestyle choices” had probably contributed to it. They are so divorced from human compassion that I doubt they would feel it for anyone; not even themselves. They’re so sick they don’t even recognise it as sickness.

By: marc adams

marc adams — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 07:06:19 +0000

This is why HeartStrong’s Youth Empowerment Project exists!

By: Val Kalende

Val Kalende — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 04:09:31 +0000

Isn’t this world big enough to accommodate us all?

By: Demo

Demo — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 03:08:54 +0000

So tragic…

By: JesterKatz

JesterKatz — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 02:57:38 +0000

Times like this I think we should show this story to people like Tony Perkins, or Maggie Gallagher, why beating the shit out of a kid like this, to death no less, all because he had attraction to guys, is considered to be human, American, and “thinking of the children.”

And while we’re at it, I think we should also ask these people whether this is the future they have in mind for said children.