Who's rights are more important?

[DVS]

Please note:
Before I get started, I won't mention any names or locations. If anyone knows where I live or knows of these situations, please refrain from mentioning the location. I don't want to give this man any more problems to deal with. Enough damage has been done. As far as I will go with the location is it's the midwest. I am sure there are gay haters who have access to this forum.

OK...
A few weeks ago, one of the well established TV news shows here in my town started scooping the other news broadcasts. They started mentioning the names of the hospitals where victims of violent crimes had been taken.

In the past, this has been an unwritten agreement among news broadcasts not to further victimize the victim or possibly the hospital personnel.

The hospitals in town have come together and spoken against this TV station, but the station has said they will continue with this practice. They said they have broken no laws, and the public has a right to know the facts.

Just a week ago, in a nearby town, a gay male was beaten severely when several unknowns were lying in wait for him to come out of an establishment. His jaw was broken, broke an eye socket, and he lost some teeth. His jaw is now wired shut.

This is the third time something of this nature has happened to him. Obviously, there is a group organizing against him and other gays.

But, this is only part of the story. Yesterday, the local paper decided to publish his picture. Why this was done is unknown, but it surely was an oversight of the publisher.

Think of the problems this could now cause for the victim. The town in question is not that large, and there are other dangerous facts I can't go into, or I would give away too much.

But, he is already a targeted gay male of at least one hate group, and now he has his picture in the paper for others to see and to possibly victimize even more.

My question is this...

Who's rights are more important? Is it that important to scoop the other news broadcasts with something that could jeopardize the very life of someone? Is it just for the ratings?

And, why would any news paper feel the necessity to publish the picture of a victim of any hate crime? I had hoped the world was becoming more tolerant. I guess I'm wrong.

 

[DVS]

...why would any news paper feel the necessity to publish the picture of a victim of any hate crime? I had hoped the world was becoming more tolerant. I guess I'm wrong.

New info on this topic!
The picture was published with the consent of the victim. He felt it best to show the results of such a crime that is fueled by nothing but hate and stupidity.

I still will not give the location because I don't want to be the cause of more trouble. But, if I get the OK to do so, I might give links to this story in the future.

 

[TxBelle]

Well I hope they catch the perps. I let out a sigh of relief when I read your second post. I don't give a GD if there had been an oversite in the editors office I woulda been pissed if it were one of my boys who had their photo printed. still the other info about the hospitals other victims have been placed in is pretty scummy.

 

[DVS]

A continuation

I believe we all have a place in this world, no matter who we are. I hope I'm in the majority. It's sad that there are still such acts of violence against other people. I guess I have lived a somewhat sheltered life.

Just a little more info on the story...
The victim suffered a broken nose, fractured upper and lower jaws, a fractured eye socket, a concussion and a gash on his chin that took six stitches to close. He also suffered a seizure, and two of his teeth were knocked out. Because his mouth is wired shut, he won't expect to eat solid food for over a month.

The victim, who does not have health insurance, told police he couldn't identify his attacker - or attackers - and couldn't remember the assault. "The only thing I remember is that I was standing outside waiting on my friends to get their coats."

The victim said he was convinced he was beaten for being gay and that the incident should be prosecuted as a hate crime. A civil rights complaint was filed Monday with the FBI.

Several people saw a white SUV-type vehicle parked nearby with four or five men in it and they were thought to be the suspects. Several people gathered around the vehicle to keep it from leaving until police arrived. The men later denied taking part in the beating to police and were not arrested.

A spokesman for the Police Department said detectives were continuing to check leads received on the tip line. The spokesman said detectives were not sure what role the vicim's homosexuality played in the incident. "At this point, we're not classifying it as a hate crime because we don't know if that's what it is."

 

[silkee_A]

some are just heartless

Newspapers in general are in business to do one thing and that is to sell newspapers. My family has been a victim of having a horrendous picture of my 6 year old sons bike under a car tire on the front page of our daily press. He had been run over by a the car not once.. but twice.. and was critically injured. To see that in the paper was very disturbing and something that I will never forget or forgive.

silkee_A

 

[JadeDragon]

I have found that most people in today's world close themselves off from emotions and life. Thats why people slow down to peek at an accident site. It never really hits home till it happens to you.


Jade

 

[under where]

That's just ridiculous! Is the world that ignorant? Things like this make me so angry. The news has no right to anything. Where he was hospitalized was none of the public's concern. Sure thecrime needs to be recognized and brought to the public's attention but some things, such as his location, are completely irrelevant. I hate the world. It makes me sad.

 

[WriterDom]

I'm curious as why you posted this here. I don't see the bdsm connection.

 

[DVS]

I'm curious as why you posted this here. I don't see the bdsm connection.

There is a strong BDSM connection, but I can't explain some without the possibility of further complications for him. Maybe I can explain more later. I can say he is a form of professional BDSMer.

I mean no offense WD, but should this not be posted here, if he wasn't beaten because he was into BDSM? Rights are rights, and the invasion of the basic rights and privacy of a gay man is not that far removed from what any of us might see if we were 'outed' to the vanilla world. Depending on who you are and where you are, it isn't that much of a stretch.

Is there a gay forum here at Lit that I should post this to?

 

[WriterDom]

There is a strong BDSM connection, but I can't explain some without the possibility of further complications for him. Maybe I can explain more later. I can say he is a form of professional BDSMer.

I mean no offense WD, but should this not be posted here, if he wasn't beaten because he was into BDSM? Rights are rights, and the invasion of the basic rights and privacy of a gay man is not that far removed from what any of us might see if we were 'outed' to the vanilla world. Depending on who you are and where you are, it isn't that much of a stretch.

Is there a gay forum here at Lit that I should post this to?

we don't have any post police here anymore. I just wondered was all.

 

[lark sparrow]

There is a strong BDSM connection, but I can't explain some without the possibility of further complications for him. Maybe I can explain more later. I can say he is a form of professional BDSMer.

I mean no offense WD, but should this not be posted here, if he wasn't beaten because he was into BDSM? Rights are rights, and the invasion of the basic rights and privacy of a gay man is not that far removed from what any of us might see if we were 'outed' to the vanilla world. Depending on who you are and where you are, it isn't that much of a stretch.

Is there a gay forum here at Lit that I should post this to?

I appreciated your post and explanation, DVS. It also loosely ties into this thread.

http://www.literotica.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=131774&highlight=UN+inspector

On a mainly heterosexual forum the connection may not be so obvious, although many of the "old guard" came from the gay and lesbian community.

Which also plays into this thread loosely.

http://www.literotica.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=134646

Although this is a BDSM board it cannot be assumed that everyone is white and straight, so I appreciate the few threads of diversity popping up, even if the connections seem hard to fathom on first glance.

Building Kink Community

 

[DVS]

I appreciated your post and explanation, DVS.

Thank you, lark sparrow. I do appreciate your comments. I guess I misunderstand the mindset of some. I can't see how they don't understand the significance of an incident like this, and how it can cause a trickle down affect.

Beside the fact that this guy was severely beaten and left to lay in a pool of his own blood for no reason other than he was gay...beside the fact he was minding his own business and his sexual preferences were not endangering anyone...beside the fact he has personal rights and these rights were not respected...he is a person and he lives among the rest of us.

He is a person first, and gay second. He is just another guy who gets up in the morning and lives his life as best he can, just like the rest of us.
He has family and friends who care for him and job where his coworkers see him as someone who comes to work and does his job, just like they do.

But, he is gay, and some people feel this is an OK reason to bring on the beatings. It's his fault for coming out of the closet, I guess. It's his fault for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and getting his head bashed.

Gays are still on the front lines, when it comes to being different. They are only different in a small way, though. The person is the same in all respects other than the sexual preference.

Black people have been there, too. In many cases, they still are there. They are no different either, other than the color of their skin. But, you hear it all the time about hate crimes and cross burnings and lynchings.

BDSM is a lifestyle that is not seen as 'normal' in this world. There are people who have to live double lives because of this. Some actually live in fear of being found out and outcast by their friends and family. Some fear losing a job, or public ridicule for something they believe in, because the 'normal' people don't understand.

There are courts trying to make it a crime to live our sexual life as two consenting adults in this fashion. I see this beating story as just another eye opener for the rest of us. After the blacks, and after the gays will come the Doms and Dommes who beat their subs and they are seen as the beaten and battered.

In fact, it has already started. Court battles are happening all over the U.S., being waged by narrow minded prosecutors who think they can make a name for themselves by getting rid of the wife beaters and sadomasochistic freaks of the area. Because we are misunderstood, we are labeled as what they see.

It won't be beatings, or lynchings, or cross burnings for us. The more brutal confrontations are always the initial course of action. Perhaps the loss of a job, or the custody of your children could be what you experience. In divorce proceedings, anyone? I would hesitate to bring out your sexual preferences.

Because you are different sexually, you will not be seen as one of the normal vanilla society. It may not happen to you today, or tomorrow, or ever. But, because it is happening to some today, is just to show how our society still reacts to someone who is different.

Some of you are out of the closet and live 24/7 lives and that is wonderful. But, we all aren't so lucky. Even if we are heterosexuals, we are seen as living very strange lives in our bedroom.

I personally know one girl who told her sister of her submissive lifestyle. The next day, the sister told the family, and it started a scene where she had to leave to get away from the family's attempts to have her taken to an intervention hospital by force. They couldn't understand she would like such a thing, and had to be mentally ill or possessed.

Blacks, gays and other minorities have lived the ridicule and are still living it. They are different and so they are subjected to sub-human status. Just ask one of them how it feels to live this way.

Sorry for writing so much. LOL, suffice it to say I am late taking my meds or maybe the dosage needs to be higher. Merry Christmas, all.