Was anyone here ever physicially attacked and assaulted for the simple fact that you were a lesbian or ...?

Question

a gay person, or that you were percieved a lesbian or a gay person? How did you recover from a tragic event like that? Are there people here who beat up someone because they thought that the person was a lesbian or gay person? Transgendered people, are you often victims of violence as well? I can't imagine someone wanting to assault a lesbian. Cases of violence against lesbians should be nonexistent. Gay people are the most loathed, singled-out group in the world, so I can see how it can happen to them. Also, do cops and/or other professionals of authority (like ambulance, fire fighters, etc.) escalate and perpetuate violence and persecution toward gay people?

Answer 1

my sympathies 2 u

Answer 2

In my experience the vast majority of police and firefighters are good and decent people, it's just that one bigoted cop running his mouth becomes the one everyone hears about and promotes an attitude of fear and distrust. I was assaulted once, just on perception, but fortunately had the training to defend myself. I've known many who were not so lucky, male and female. Many gay bashers specifically target lesbians because as women they are usually smaller and thus easier targets. A basher is, after all, basically a coward. If it happens to a friend, be there for them, be supportive, let them know it wasn't their fault. If it happens to you, look to your friends for the same. In many cities the G&L community has established resources to help victims in their emotional recovery. Just don't think you're alone, you're not.

Answer 3

I confronted a confessed gay basher once. He fell silent, and we parted ways.

About an hour later, I realized that I was a 115 pound queen, pretty much half his size. Really, I don't know why he didn't lay a hand on me.


Edited to add:
I don't find much persecution of gays in my local police force, government, or what-have-you.

My family is full of Marines, First-aid workers, and Firefighters. My mother works for the municipal court, so I've always been exposed to judges, mayors, and the police department.

Putting our military stance on gays aside, I've only seen one person from any of those groups express bigotry. He was a firefighter working for the same department as my father and older brother. He was promptly ostracized, and later he transferred to a different company.

Answer 4

I was a california corrections officer who was attacked and finally terminated by officers because I was believed to be homosexual. I sued the state and won but my point is it happens. I went through serious depression and cannot stand law enforcement. I would also like to add that Homosexuals are not the most loathed, singled out group in my oppinion. I think it is blacks. I speak from personal experience.

Answer 5

Lol dude u make me snicker lots so yet i think of the terrific thank you to recover from the assult of a left surpassed individual is to seek suited palms in google pictures for a on an analogous time as then if no longer calm and feeling extra advantageous flow discover the guy who used there left and hand on u and slice it off with a samurie sword this wil get their attentiona dn then next time they flow to wave at u with their left im rather constructive they shall think of two times and then probable flow to the 2nd hand shop.. .... ok lame jokes aside heavily flow see a therapist he can probable get u by ur difficult time..

Answer 6

I am straight, but I have been the victim of abuse because people have thought I was a lesbian, so I know it happens. I have also been told about it by friends.

When I was in high school, I had several gay friends, and my best friend and I were always very affectionate with one another (we still are), so people assumed we were lesbians. I had a lot of lunches thrown at me, and sodas dumped on my head, but the one very scary thing that happened was that someone dropped a metal trash can full of trash, and very heavy, off of a landing and tried to hit a friend and me. We were very lucky, as that trash can could have really hurt one of us if it had hit us. I was with a friend who was very unapologetic about his sexuality, and I remember just as the can fell behind us we heard various voices screaming "******!" as they ran away from the scene. Plenty of people were in the upper hall when it happened, and they talked to the administrators about it, and identified the responsible parties, but no one was ever punished for it. It was ruled an accident that a large, full trash can made it over a 4 ft railing above a stairway and fell, covering us with trash. I was furious, and went to the principal's office, and demanded to talk to him. His take on it was that they were playing a harmless trick. When I pushed, he said that homosexuality is unnatural, and that you cannot expect teenage boys to ignore it when they see it.

I do also have a friend whose brother was killed because someone thought he was gay. He was an electrician, and he was sent out to do some work at a gay club, and he accidentally left his cell phone there. That evening, he received a call from the owner of the club, and since he needed his phone for work, he decided to run downtown and pick it up. He was in the parking area outside, and a vehicle pulled up, and he was beaten and stabbed while the men who assaulted him shouted abuse. There were plenty of genuine gay men in the area, and they all either called for help from their cell phones, or ran back into the club to seek help, and they also ran to help him and administered first aid until the ambulance arrived, but he bled to death because he was stabbed several times, and his liver was damaged severely. He left a widow and two little kids.

Our community is very conservative, and for some reason, violence against people who are gay or transgendered does happen, but is never, ever spoken about in the media. I hear about it from friends who are gay and lesbian, and also from a friend who is a police officer and one who is a fire fighter/EMT. Hell, I have even witnessed actual physical assaults on people based on sexual orientation or identity, and I am just not sure that it is taken seriously. I once saw a woman smack a young lesbian in the face for hugging her girlfriend at an arts festival. The policeman who came had a brilliant idea that someone should leave the festival to keep further problems from happening, and he told the young lesbian couple that they should be the ones to leave. It really offended me.

As I mentioned before, I hear about it quite regularly from friends, and all of them say that while the people in authority try to act like they are being impartial, they rarely are. Usually, charges are not pressed, even if the victim requests it, and the victim is made to feel that they are somehow responsible for the assault he or she has suffered.

A good friend of mine moved to California several years ago to live with his lover. He told me that there is great freedom there, and that he no longer looks over his shoulder all the time when they are out in public together. He said every once in a blue moon, someone will shout something unkind at them, but that rarely happens, and he much prefers that to the threat of physical assault, which he faced more than once when he lived here.

And you mentioned that cases of violence against lesbians should be nonexistent. I sort of disagree with you. I think that cases of violence based on sexual orientation should be nonexistent, whether the victim is female or male. I know from reading an article with statistics from I think 2001, that hate crimes against gay men happen about six times more frequently than they do to women. But it still shouldn't happen at all.

Answer 7

A friend and I were approached by 4 guys in an alleyway.They said they were going to kick our asses for being "fags".Well,we kicked their asses and one left in an ambulance,the other 3 were arrested,lesson learned!This happened years ago,today I would tell them how sick they are and walk away.But you can not always do that.

Answer 8

well I wasn't traumatized because I fought back and won. Cops here, at least, in my gaybourhood are pretty good to us,