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Hop over to Joe.My.God for coverage of a rally in College Point, Queens, NY, where 300 people marched in support of Jack Price, who was brutally beaten in the area; he suffered a broken jaw, bruised ribs, a collapsed lung and multiple other injuries. These are photos he said to spread around. Background via Edge NY’s Michael K. Lavers:
Daniel Aleman, 26, and Daniel Rodriguez,Jr., 21, allegedly beat Jack Price, 49, outside an all-night deli on the corner of College Point Avenue and 18th Avenue around 3 a.m. on Oct. 9. Price’s sister-in-law, Joanne Guarneri, marched arm-and-arm with City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Congressman Anthony Weiner, City Comptroller William Thompson, Jr., Queens Borough President Helen Marshall and other politicians, activists and local residents down College Point Avenue. She also spoke at a rally at a local park.
“They [Aleman and Rodriguez] nearly beat my brother-in-law to death for $10 and a pack of cigarettes,” Guarneri said. “We have to stop violence in College Point. We have to take back our streets.”
Amanda Guarneri echoed her mother’s anger before she and other members of her family marched. They [Aleman and Rodriguez] are a disgrace,” the 15-year-old told EDGE. “They should be locked up forever. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.”
What’s disgusting is that supporters for Aleman and Rodriguez showed up at this rally. Given that this attack against Price is only one of a series of gay bashings that have been reported in Queens, people should remember that Blue states where laws on bias crimes may be strong doesn’t mean the hate goes away. Joe:
After a 15-minute march down College Point Boulevard to the sullen or unknowing stares of locals, we were shocked to find a group of 20 or so counter-protesters, PRO gay bashers, already in a pen perilously close to the park where the rally was to take place. Leading the pro-bashers was Mr. Leviticus Tattoo Douchbag himself. He and his co-thugs wore stickers in support of the jailed cowards as they shouted “Free Daniel Rodriquez!” and “No hate crime!” Among their signs was “Daniel doesn’t hate gays!” Riiiight. Fortunately, there was a huge NYPD presence on hand and the two groups were not permitted to get closer than shouting distance.
Surf over to Joe’s for more, including reactions from locals.
15 Comments
Mr. Leviticus Tattoo Douchbag himselfI see he has a tattoo of Leviticus 18:22. If only he bothered to actually READ his Bible:
Not an organized groupThe gay bashing supporters look like relatives and childhood friends of the punks. Heavy on the definition of “hood”.
Actually, his tattoo may have nothing to do with religionAccording to comments over at Joe My God, by someone who apparently is knowledgeable about such things, his tattoo is a “brag tattoo”. In prison, it indicates the person is known and respected for something to do with the tattoo. For example, a skinhead may have a Star of David tattoo… not a statement of religious devotion, but to indicate that he has attacked or killed a Jewish person.
So, “Mr. Leviticus Tattoo” may well have killed at least one gay person simply because that person was gay. And he is bragging about it.
Blue State HomophobiaWhen Jim and I moved to NY from Los Angeles so he could go back to school and get a second degree and enter healthcare, we expected to see a similar place culturally to what we were familiar with back home in California.
So, it came as quite a surprise to realize how endemic violent homophobia is in New York. On Time-Warner’s News1, I would say at least once a month, there’s a news story about some vicious attack, usually targeting gay men or a gay man by a group of thugs. Sometimes the attack is in the city, and other times, the attack is somewhere in Upstate, like Buffalo or Rochester.
A few summers ago, a group or gay men and lesbian women in Rochester were assaulted twice: once by a group of thugs, and then by members of the Rochester police. Imagine that? Double victimization. The story made national news and of course, the cops got off, Scott free. Nice.
I know people say “nowhere is perfect,” and while I concur with this sentiment, the fact of the matter is, I felt much safer in Southern California than I do in New York. Now that Jim had graduated and will soon have a year’s worth of experience under his belt, we will be returning to Southern California for a myriad, but chief among is personal safety.
Gays and lesbians aren’t always welcome here in New York.
Stupid QueenAt least the fat queen was stupid enough to show his Starbucks-sipping face in public. The next time he decides to wander into a gay club, I’d hope the patrons bash him into a coma.
closeted?It’s amazing how many of these homo-haters appear to be barely concealing their closeted feelings. Leviticus Tattoo Guy is making quite the effeminate gesture with his hand.
name tagsThe thugs behind the police barrier were wearing name tags. There is no way they thought ahead of time to buy (or steal) name tags, fill them out, put them on their jacket. It looked like they were paid to be there.
my response http://michiganmessenger.com/w…
Glad I live in WAI can’t remember ever hearing about gay hate over here. I don’t know if I’ll ever travel, because the rest of the world is just flat-out scary.
let’s see…so you hate fat people and you want to bash this guy into a coma. How are you better than the fag-bashers again?
Regarding NYC being violent and homophobicHonestly, it does happen alot here, but the levels of homophobia are different depending on the borough. I would say Manhattan neighborhoods are pretty safe, but outer boroughs can be very homophobic.
Illiterate1: never said I hated fat people. But I do, however, hate people who put words in my mouth.
2: I never said I was BETTER than ANYONE.
3: I’d rather see you bashed into a coma before this fat queen.
“Hate”And please, don’t shove the word “hate” in my mouth, when I’m cautious of using that word against people myself. For me to personally “hate” somebody is to have an ongoing seething hatred of that person – luckily, only a couple people is worth my time in that way, and it’s nobody involved in politics. And it’s nobody you know, either.
wowI don’t like you.
Please.Let’s stop the personal, defamatory, somewhat threatening attacks.
Item 3. was especially unacceptable.