Two New Yorkers Attacked In St Maarten

[Queersetti]

(New York-WABC, April 11, 2006) - The search is on for anyone with information on the brutal beatings of two gay New Yorkers vacationing in the Caribbean.
They were attacked by a group of men on Saint Maarten.

Eyewitness News reporter Kemberly Richardson has the story.

It is troubling on several points. The severity of the crime is important because one of the men is in intensive care; what the attackers allegedly screamed at the victims and how family members say authorities on St. Maarten are dragging their feet when it comes to catching whoever did this.

They were six friends on vacation in the Caribbean, escaping the last of winter on the island of St. Maarten. But the vacation turned tragic when two of the men were brutally attacked -- victims of an apparent hate crime.

Dick Jefferson, victim: "It was a four pronged tire wrench and I think I got one point here and another back [of the head]"

Jefferson is an employee at CBS News in New York. A colleague, Ryan Smith, was also attacked. His mother got the call.

Patricia Smith, victim's mother: "He told me that he was badly hurt, he had a head injury and they were attacked and Ryan took the worst of it."

Ryan was airlifted to a Miami hospital with a crushed skull and brain injuries.

Eyewitness Justin Swensen says he and Smith were holding each other at a local bar, and that attracted attention.

Swensen: "Some of the local guys in the bar were sitting across from us, started making fun of us. We did nothing to provoke them ever."

The locals, thrown out of the bar, waited in the parking lot and allegedly attacked Jefferson and Smith.

Friends and family say this part of St. Maarten is under the Dutch legal system -- one that Americans have called unresponsive to tourists.

Jefferson: "The police response has been no police response ... total indifference."

Ryan's family, just now finding out after the attack that there son is gay, say they want justice.

"That doesn't matter. What's important is that these hate crimes are unjustifiable for any reason," Ryan's mother said.

St. Maarten police insist they are now on the case, saying they do not take the ill-treatment of any person, resident or visitor lightly.

Although there were several witnesses, there have been no arrests.

(Copyright 2006 WABC-TV)

 

[chun_gong]

Tired of looking over my shoulder

That is horrible! Hopefully, the "justice system" won't completely turn a deaf ear. (or blind eye...whatever) It is a shame that anger and hate exist so deeply in people that they can act out without provocation.

My partner and I travel a TON!!! (Probably 5 months out of the year or so.) We had spent time throughout the Caribbean in the past. Following several other such "incidents" we had been warned to look out for our safety. Luckily we were never harmed.

As of late, our travel interests have settled in South East Asia (and will possibly be moving there). We are aware of the laws against homosexuality in the various countries and use appropriate cautions.

 

[Wolfman1982]

As of late, our travel interests have settled in South East Asia (and will possibly be moving there). We are aware of the laws against homosexuality in the various countries and use appropriate cautions.

I am a bit speechless, why move to a part of the world, if the laws agains´t homosexuality are crazy ?

Like SillySpore (Singapore) or other crazy bits, hmmm may I recomend you one of those countries, where it is allowed to be homosexual in that area ?

Perhaps Thailand ? or some other countriy where you can call it a "democracy" ?

Sorry I am just shocked , heck I wouldn´t do that , even though I loved that part of the world, then I wouldn´t even visit a country where they had a law, that said homosexuality is illegal. Sorry that just shocks me .

 

[chun_gong]

.... Like SillySpore (Singapore) or other crazy bits, hmmm may I recomend you one of those countries, where it is allowed to be homosexual in that area ?

Perhaps Thailand ? or some other countriy where you can call it a "democracy" ?

Sorry I am just shocked , heck I wouldn´t do that , even though I loved that part of the world, then I wouldn´t even visit a country where they had a law, that said homosexuality is illegal. Sorry that just shocks me .

(Sorry that we are getting this thread off track for a moment)

Well, business calls for us to move to Cebu, Philippines (where anti-discrimination laws are being considered) - so no choice. But, I do love the people there. In addition, our position will afford us some liberties.

As for Thailand, Phuket is a beautiful place...but the country as a whole is geared towards men - gay or str8.

Finally, my comment was that our travels took us there. I will NOT limit myself or allow the world to take away my human rights simply because their lawmakers are ignorant. There are too many beautiful people and places in the world.
------------
Again, Queersetti, my apologies. Has there been any further information on the incident? Please, update us as you see fit.

 

[Wolfman1982]

There are too many beautiful people and places in the world.

Of course there are too many beautiful people, and places around the world. I was just shocked . (and yes to many of the things you said too)

Peace.

 

[Queersetti]

(Sorry that we are getting this thread off track for a moment)

Well, business calls for us to move to Cebu, Philippines (where anti-discrimination laws are being considered) - so no choice. But, I do love the people there. In addition, our position will afford us some liberties.

As for Thailand, Phuket is a beautiful place...but the country as a whole is geared towards men - gay or str8.

Finally, my comment was that our travels took us there. I will NOT limit myself or allow the world to take away my human rights simply because their lawmakers are ignorant. There are too many beautiful people and places in the world.
------------
Again, Queersetti, my apologies. Has there been any further information on the incident? Please, update us as you see fit.

No need to apologize. I believe in letting the discussion go where it will.

I haven't seen any follow up on this story yet. If I do, I will post an update.

 

[John Doe]

Four-pronged tire iron? What kind of weird-ass foreign shit is that?

 

[chun_gong]

Four-pronged tire iron? What kind of weird-ass foreign shit is that?

If I were to make a guess - it is what is called a "four-way"(no prongs). It looks like a "+", used to change tires. Actually, it's a lug wrench with four different sized ends. They are great for getting leverage on extra tight tire bolts.

For the curious minded here is a pic

Please tell me that this chickie here isn't the only one who has one of these.

 

[Etoile]

Sigh...I have only been to St. Martin briefly (docked in Philipsburg and visited the butterfly farm on the Dutch side and a quick stop in Marigot) but I was not particularly impressed. It was a nice enough island, but I wasn't keen on going back. Now I'm even less excited to. So many islands down there are really homophobic - Jamaica is pretty bad, and I've heard Grand Cayman is too.

(My St. Martin photos start here if anybody is interested.

 

[John Doe]

If I were to make a guess - it is what is called a "four-way"(no prongs). It looks like a "+", used to change tires. Actually, it's a lug wrench with four different sized ends. They are great for getting leverage on extra tight tire bolts.

For the curious minded here is a pic

Please tell me that this chickie here isn't the only one who has one of these.

Oh yeah, I have one of those. The way they said it had "prongs" I pictured something more like the crow bar from Half-Life or The Punisher, the business end of which is ideally suited for cleaving its way into an enemy's weak skull.

 

[Queersetti]

Wait until you read this...

NEW YORK, THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2006 — The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) today urged U.S. media covering the brutal anti-gay attack on two CBS News employees in St. Maarten to turn a spotlight on a local newspaper editorial that glorified gay bashing, trivialized the assaults, and called gay people "faggots" and "homos."

"This editorial is so grotesquely defamatory that it almost defies description," said GLAAD President Neil Giuliano. "This is the kind of malignant bigotry — pure, unfiltered hate — that leads to and causes violence."

The April 11 editorial in "Today" (a St. Maarten newspaper published by Today Publishing, N.V.) ran five days after senior CBS News producer Dick Jefferson, 51, and "48 Hours" researcher Ryan Smith, 25, were assaulted by several men and beaten with a tire iron outside a St. Maarten bar in the early hours of April 6. The same men had hurled anti-gay slurs at Smith and others in his group earlier that evening. Jefferson was treated for injuries, including a skull fracture, and released from a Miami hospital on April 9. Smith remains hospitalized in Miami and is being treated for brain damage.

The "Today" editorial began by protesting — as anti-gay activists have done for years -- use of the term "homophobia." The paper then ridiculed the term "gay bashing," claiming such occurrences "might have been a case of a stronger (and non-gay) person taking advantage of a male whose strength may be suspect to the more macho individual."

The newspaper then proceeded to blame and attack the victims of the assault:

Now we don't know what the news producer and his male pal, who also works for a syndicated news organization in New York, might have been drinking or ingesting before the unfortunate incident. They were in a bar setting, from accounts of eye witnesses they were "all over each other" and four upset young men didn't like it.

They didn't like it so much that after they were asked to leave Bamboo Bernie's, they glared at the gay men, who have also been known as faggots, homos, homosexuals and other names that won't go into this family newspaper. They glared at them hard and they exited the place.

And waited in the parking lot.

Gay bashing has taken many forms over the decades. During and after World War II, it was considered common sport for military guys to let themselves be picked up by a faggot in a bar in Los Angeles or San Francisco. The one who was picked up would pretend to go along for the ride, only to turn around and beat up or rob the homo who picked him up, leaving him without wallet and sometimes teeth.

All that has changed, of course, largely due to American laws that are being spread around the world. Gay bashing is now a no-no. Slurs against homos, a no-no. And beating a person over the head for flagrant public behavior that once was considered criminal misconduct is a no-no.

This is a sorry case and we hope the police find the attackers. But it is made much worse when silly homosexuals use their power in the New York media to trash a friendly island for a one of a kind incident. The homosexual community should be ashamed.

When its editorial generated angry responses, the newspaper backtracked somewhat, claiming in an April 15 editorial that it did not condone violence, but that readers' outrage over the previous editorial "stems from either an inability to accept a point of view different from their own or from a misunderstanding of what we were attempting to get across."

The April 11 and April 15 "Today" editorials are available for download here.

"Let's be clear," GLAAD's Giuliano said, "When a newspaper waxes nostalgic about a time when it was more acceptable to assault gay people, that's not just condoning violence — it's endorsing it. I don't care who you are; you don't get to editorialize support for gay bashing and then turn around and claim that you're the victim."

"This kind of defamation also gives cover to other, less flagrant acts of bigotry," Giuliano said. "From hate-filled editorials to well-funded organizations that promote discrimination, this is all part of the same agenda: to create and sustain a culture of anti-gay bigotry. And the media have a vital role to play in unmasking that."

For additional information on this story, visit: CBSNews.com.

 

[Etoile]

Thanks, Q - I'll be copying that over to a CruiseCritic.com thread about this incident in the "Gay and Lesbian Cruisers" section. It occurs to me that if the St. Martin board doesn't have a thread on this, I should mention it there to.

 

[chun_gong]

Thanks for the update!

Beyond that, I will sound stupid - I'm just shocked. Why does the media never cease to amaze me. *sigh*

 

[John Doe]

So i just got back from protesting foreign tire irons, and I think we did some good.