Attacked for being "queer"

[lawlifelgbt]

I go to graduate school in Minnesota, and my neighborhood is between the I-35 bridge and a pretty rough area of the city. It was still light out, so I decided to go into that neighborhood to get a sandwich for dinner (couple good, cheap, cafes at the edge of that area). I didn't think about the shirt I was wearing, which my fiancee gave me. It says "Freedom to Marry" on the front, and has a rainbow heart and the words "where there is love, let there be marriage" on the back.

I'm walking over, with still a block or two to go; nothing's ever happened to me there while it's light, and I never intended to start anything with the shirt; it was laundry day, and that was my last clean one.

I hear “you must be a fucking queer wearing that!†I barely even turned to look and said “yeah, I am queer, what else have you got?†Bad idea. Turns out there were two guys behind me (I'm very fit and my growth plates fused at age 12, so the average guy has a foot and 75-100 pounds on me).

Next thing I know, I’m on the ground, and my hands are bleeding from catching myself on the way down. One guy had pushed me down and the other said, “Dykes don’t deserve to get married, it’s disgusting! You’re a freak!â€

I got up as quickly as I could and ran off.

WTF. I just wanted a sandwich.

I didn't go to anyone about this. I don't even know if it's something I can report, or what to do. I wasn't really hurt, just really scared. After that guy was killed in NYC for being gay, I know these things can escalate quickly. Seems not everyone's happy that we have marriage equality here now. I don't know my point with this thread, I just wanted to say something.

[linnea27]

That is so horrible. I am sorry that happened to you. I am glad you weren't more seriously hurt.

I definitely think you should report it, but I understand the instinct not to.

Be well.

[tuckerphez]

My heart goes out to you. I can't imagine how terrifying that must have been.

I also think you should report it, but that's ultimately your decision.

[lawlifelgbt]

I think it could possibly be categorized as a hate crime? Not sure. MN does protect on the basis of S.O., but it's hard to prove intent.

[Cheetah]

I'm glad you are okay physically, and it sounds really terrifying. I'm sorry that you had to go through that.

[RachelB]

I'm so sorry they did that to you. What a couple of assholes.

[crazyforkate]

Holy shit, I'm so sorry.

Make a note of this in case it ever happens again (God forbid), even if you're not going to report this time. Good to have a record just in case.

[thoughtful]

Bigots are assholes.

So sorry that you went through this. I do think it's worth reporting, if you feel up to it.

[debrand]

I understand not wanting to go to the police but even if they can't do anything at least there is a record about such occurrences. If this happens to someone else maybe the police will be realize that it is a hate crime.

[Patsy]

It might be worth asking some locals what the police are like, and their LGBTIQ community liaison officers, if they have them. You may find that the police in your area are very kind and keen re: taking statements on this sort of thing. I know that would influence my decision.

[CynicMom]

Don't think that because you didn't report it in the first 10 seconds you can no longer report it. You have the right to get to a nice safe place and calm down. What happened to you wasn't right. Do whatever you need to do for your mental and physical health.

[slh12280]

Wow. I am sorry. What is wrong with some people???

[itaintmebabe]

I'm glad you weren't hurt more than just catching your fall. What a scary thing to have happen. People like that are scum. And they're on the losing end of history.

[Rosa]

You can report, and MPD should be receptive. If they get a pattern of reports they'll be more able to do something about it.

I'm so sorry that happened. I think the equality law might have riled people up. (by between the I35 bridge & a rough neighborhood, do you mean SE? The Marcy Holmes & Dinkytown precincts are both supposed to be very responsive) As the weather warms up and young people's employment stays low, there's more assholes just roaming around making trouble because they've got nothing better to do.

[lawlifelgbt]

I mean Cedar-Riverside, actually; wasn't aware there were Minneapolis people on here. Because of the sheer size of the undergrad campus, I, like many grad students, live on the West Bank. I go to church in Marcy-Holmes, so you're at least right about those areas.

[Rosa]

That is rough :( We used to serve food with Food Not Bombs right near Palmer's, across from Riverside Plaza. I never had any trouble there but when I used to shave my head, I'd get heckled/threatened riding down Portland Ave. late at night. I live in Powderhorn.

Are you doing okay now? I meant it about this time of year - it's a good time to walk/ride with a friend if you can. Once it's really summer lots more people are out and about, but right now it's lighter and warmer but not too populated.

[lawlifelgbt]

Thanks- actually, most of my classmates and I are trying to get on law journals for next year, so I haven't seen or talked to anyone in literally a week because we're all at home, writing! I was taking my daily "go somewhere so you don't go insane from being in the apartment for days" trip when this happened. I don't have a car, but I'll be able to go places with my classmates once summer classes start.

I've been crying a lot. My family's not that accepting, but literally every other person I've run into is, so I just don't understand how people would want to physically hurt me. The worst I've ever dealt with before is stares or people not serving/talking to my fiancee and I when we're out somewhere. Which you can just ignore. I've never been afraid like that before.

[Arete]

It sounds like you intersected with the worst kind of asshole, the drunken, bigoted asshole. Please report it. It helps the police establish patterns that will help get these guys on the wrong side of the bars eventually.

[thenmakenosound]

I'm so sorry this happened to you.

Please report it. There have been seven or eight attacks in NYC over the past month, including one this past Friday. The best way to stop this from happening to other people is to make sure everyone knows about it.

[lawlifelgbt]

I was on the board this past year for my school's LGBTQ org. So I'll tip off my not-straight classmates for sure. Don't even know how to go about reporting something, though. I mean, do you call, or....? Sorry for the inexperience, I went straight from college to grad school, so I'm still pretty young, and have never had to do something like this before.

[thenmakenosound]

Call your local police, or go down there. If your city has an LGBT liaison in the police department, ask for them.

[Rosa]

I'm sorry you're not getting more support :( It is a shitty feeling to have that kind of confrontation, even without the bigoted language.

You're in precinct 1 if you want to file. You might even be able to do it by email - here's their contact info. http://apps.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/deptdi ... actID=5056

You might want to get on this listserve, just in general - it's the Cedar Riverside e-democracy list. The e-democracy lists usually share this kind of information, watch for patterns, etc. http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/mpls-cr