Gays who go out at night had best be prepared

[mitchtv]

Go out in couples or more, be aware of your surroundings,take protection.As sure as I am sitting here the RW venom and hate will trickle down to the Teens(usual perps)and the gay bashing will ..resume with a newer deadlier momentum. Those in unfriendly neighborhoods ARM Yourselves. The nerve to speak out will cause much hate to be directed at us.

[GreenFiles]

1. Paranoid much?

I doubt it will get to that point. One should always be aware of their surroundings. Things are not that dire.

[readmoreoften]

6. It will get worse. I agree with him.

[ikojo]

7. I agree...the McCain Palin campaign unleased a lot

of hate. That hate and anger at the election results is just itching for direction. All it will take is wall to wall coverage of people exercising their right to protest and the right wingnuts will go off.

[Ellen Forradalom]

26. Gays got precious little help from our side as well

I did not see strong leadership on the question from BO.

[keepCAblue]

37. self-delete...posted in wrong spot...n/t

[msongs]

12. german jews thought hitler would never do what he said he would do. nt

[Zuiderelle]

15. In some places it absolutely WILL get to that point.

I have no doubt about it.

[Jamastiene]

30. They will attack us.

It is as simple as that. They attack us pretty regularly, actually.

[Divine Discontent]

58. in certain areas 'appearing' gay or with your GLBT friends or mates can be a death sentence

people shouldn't have to live like that - but the OP is right - prepare and be aware of your surroundings in most of the country. the amount of hate coming out of the GOP & Evangelical (false faith who don't follow Jesus' loving words) leaders is amazingly perverse.

[jobycom]

2. Hate is the only power those thugs have now.

[mitchtv]

4. and there's plenty of it

as witnessed at the mormon temple the other night' Catholic youths, in particular are prone to Gay badhing

[Deja Q]

3. You mean people don't already carry condoms?

:wow:

[mitchtv]

5. If I were still "in Circulation"

I would be tempted to carry a gun

[La Lioness Priyanka]

8. honestly, is there nothing you wouldnt belittle when it comes to lgbt causes?

[mitchtv]

11. That's alright Lioness

I knew I couldn't use "protct" without getting a quip or two; I did afterall post in GLBT

[Zuiderelle]

16. He thinks that since he claims to be bisexual, it gives him the right to make light of our concerns.

That's the only explanation I can come up with.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

17. hey.. dont blame him on bi's. he started out as gay first..

:P

[Zuiderelle]

18. Oh, I'm not blaming him on bi's. Just trying to understand why he thinks it's ok to come in here and

insult us by making light of our issues.

:D

[La Lioness Priyanka]

19. i know. i was just teasing. as i said, our resident donnie mcclurkin

[Zuiderelle]

21. LOL

[ronnykmarshall]

45. No shit ...

just a big fucking joke to him I guess.

[Ellen Forradalom]

9. I'm inclined to agree

We are looking at a civil rights battle, with all the ugliness that implies.

[hulklogan]

10. Sadly, with the violence-loving h8ers we may be forced to lock and load too.

This is an all out holy war for some people, and they have no morals.

[Warpy]

13. This is the way women always have to live, gay or straight

and there is no way for us to alter our behavior to be less visible.

Think about it.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

14. i got out as a woman and i go out visibly gay (ie w,my butch gf)

and i dont know who will get mad and angry at us and at which point. i mean crowded subways are no more safe. it doesnt have to be late at night in a deserted area for us to feel unsafe.

i understand women are unsafe but gay women are that much more unsafe.

as a women i have felt threated maybe 10 times in my life. with lisa, i feel threatened constantly.

[Ellen Forradalom]

27. lioness

I feel so goddamned helpless to protect you two. What a world.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

32. we will be ok. i hope. however all it takes is one crazy enough person

and we are both acutely aware of this

[readmoreoften]

54. I agree. Constantly. It ups the ante about 1000 percent.

As a woman alone it feels like something could happen.
As a femme with my butch gf, if feels like something could happen any second. Like I constantly have to defuse a potential riot.

[Beregond2]

20. I would tend to agree more had McCain won.

I see nothing in a Democratic victory to warrant such fear. The RW hate-machine is going to be pretty subdued without the Republican superstructure to support it. The fact that Prop 8 was a victory for the right should lessen right-wing anger even more.

[Zuiderelle]

22. No, actually their victory on h-8 will give them the balls to go after more of our rights.

[mitchtv]

25. Dream on

you realize gays are pushing back, don't you? they hate being called on it.Now they are being "persecuted"

[Ellen Forradalom]

29. No, it would've been the same either way.

Prop 8 passed despite a Democratic win. There's a wealth of unhappy political information to be mined there. Time to map out the political landscape as it really is, not along false lines of party loyalty.

[Jamastiene]

31. We have learned that this is not necessarily always a Republican

thing to hate us. Of course, the majority here on DU have shown and are showing support, but in the Democratic Party, in general, it is is a big tent.

There are those inside our own party who are against us just as there are Republicans who are not, although as long as I live, I will NEVER understand the Log Cabin Republicans or any Republican who is a social liberal who remains in that party.

This doesn't just boil down to political parties. It boils down to survival. It never hurts to be prepared for the violence. I don't think it really matters if they are registered to one party or another, if that person plans to hurt us. I don't think anything matters at that point, except survival.

[bluedawg12]

34. Especially sine the Log cabins can't use

the old arguments about small government, no foreign intervention and nation building, keep spending down and keep the government out of our homes...maybe we should email them too to come and join us? LOL!

[Jamastiene]

35. If we could manage that,

it could very well be a tipping point to turn things in our favor more. You know they are bound to have more contacts inside the Republican Party who would be willing to help. Believe it or not, there are people in the Republican Party who are pro gay rights. It's rare, but there are some there.

[bluedawg12]

36. OMG- I just went to their web site - lovely dove grey, but

They're flogging this:

"Exit polls: McCain received 27% of the gay vote (up from 20% four years ago);
Most any Republican candidate for President has received from gay voters"

:rofl:

And extolling how Mclame was for "inclusivity" that's still their issue, to be inlcuded in the party that excludes them and then begging for the party to return to their core principles--good luck with that for gays.

I actually feel bad for them - because I am such a caring human bean. :rofl:

[Ellen Forradalom]

39. I'm not laughing quite as loudly

since our party just dropped the ball in so many ways for LGBT people too.

[tudor586]

23. The Anti-Violence Project of Mass: Be Alert

We know from many years of gathering hate crimes statistics that there is an uptick in hate crimes in response to highly-publicized current events in which gays are being visible or demanding rights. Marriage is the most explosive issue of all. The heigthened risk is a different manifestation of the same phenomenon the Mass. Governor's Task Force on Hate Crimes warned Muslims and Arabs about after 9/11. These events and especially the rhetoric set off young hotheads with undercontrolled aggressive tendencies and a limited ability to think for themselves.

I'd think twice before purchasing a gun unless you're experienced with using one and can handle yourself in a fight. What often happens is bashers (who usually outnumber victims)take them away and become a bigger threat.

[mitchtv]

24. when you are surrounded

shoot, worry later

[IndianaGreen]

28. Overcome your fears of guns

Become proficient with their use, and use them to defend yourselves.

[bluedawg12]

33. This is very good advice to be safe

it's a f*cking tragedy that we have to live this way but hey...that's the price of free speech more hateful shit has been said about us without so much as a ripple in society that the concern over hate crimes is always with us.

[keepCAblue]

38. It's already started...

Went to the Billy de Frank center tonight (the glbt community center in San Jose, CA) for a community meeting which spontaneously grew into a march on downtown San Jose (stops along the route: San Jose Cathedral; Cesar Chavez Plaza and the Martin Luther King Public Library...

There were plenty of birds flipped at us, almost exclusively by young white males driving by in their cars; some even flaunted their bigotry by sticking their heads out their car doors and shouting profanities and slurs...

But the most disturbing news of the meeting was that the center's director has, since the election, been receiving death threats in her email inbox - numerous death threats -- which the police are actively investigating.

So the threat of increased bashing is real. The bigots' victory with prop 8 has emboldened them and they now feel society is sanctioning their hate for us.

Just be careful, everyone.

[readmoreoften]

55. I'm not surprised.

[KitchenWitch]

40. I must second this.

At the march in RSM tonight, we were being followed by a few different small groups of people who were very obviously not 'with us'. It was really kind of scary when the crowd broke up.

[Meldread]

41. Arm yourself. Shoot first ask questions later.

Visit their website: http://www.pinkpistols.org

Everyone has a right to defend themselves. Find or help start a local chapter. Get comfortable with using a gun, and when the haters come you'll be ready. There doesn't need to be another Matthew Shepard.

"Thirty-one states allow all qualified citizens to carry concealed weapons. In those states, homosexuals should embark on organized efforts to become comfortable with guns, learn to use them safely and carry them. They should set up Pink Pistols task forces, sponsor shooting courses and help homosexuals get licensed to carry. And they should do it in a way that gets as much publicity as possible."

--Jonathan Rauch, Salon Magazine, March 13, 2000

[Ellen Forradalom]

43. What is the evidence

that "armed gays don't get bashed"? I don't see any stories at their site backing up this assertion. I'd like facts about the most effective forms of self-defense.

[readmoreoften]

56. They used to have some stories up there.

[cboy4]

42. It is difficult to put into words how much I refuse to be intimidated

by homophobes.

Am I cautious of my surroundings? Of course .. I always am.

But the day I came out was the day I pledged I will no longer hide in the shadows.

Fuck that.

This is war.

[FreeState]

44. I agree - My partner and I were called "Fucking Faggots" this weekend at a stop light in Palm Spring

We were sitting in the car - weighting for the light to change when a man on a bike circled us and said "you two look like fucking faggots" and then he continued to yell "yep fucking faggots" as we drove away.

Be careful out there - there are people that have been em-bolded to attack us because of Prop 8 (and the other props too).

[Name removed]

46. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[mitchtv]

47. it's you...

:banghead: see post 1 and subsequent replies

[Zuiderelle]

51. He has been strangely scarce this past week.

I wonder why.

[NMMNG]

48. Paranoid?

A woman was jumped by 20 loving, caring Mormons in LA. It's not paranoia. It's taking intelligent precautions when we know what we're up against. But I'm not surprised to get such a reaction out of you.

[KitchenWitch]

49. Honey, I am in a heterosexual marriage and I felt very threatened last night

after our candlelight march in Rancho Santa Margarita. And my life partner is a big (think football defensive lineman) strong man.

These bigots will stop at nothing to hurt the objects of their bigotry.

[Zuiderelle]

50. Oh you again.

:eyes:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

52. I could set my watch by her/him

[readmoreoften]

57. WHY AREN'T YOU BANNED BY NOW? All you do is exist to bait LGBT people.

My tolerance for you is below thin.

[Karl_Bonner_1982]

53. It's usually when the right wing is LOSING that it resorts to terror

The hard right is really angry about the outcome of the recent elections, which is why there could be an increase in hateful attacks not only on gay couples in public, but on public displays of liberal politics in general.

My advice: Just be aware of your surroundings, don't pick fights with the belligerent, and be ready to defend yourself with force if necessary.