HIGH

GEAR

RECEIVED DEC 4 1981

Volume 8, Issue 3

November 6, 1981

Queer-Bashing: Our Collective Nightmare

By Erich Andrews LAKEWOOD, OH. It is 10:30 in the evening. A man sets his alarm clock for 6:30a.m. and goes to sleep. Around 1:30 in the morning the sound of his back door being broken down wakes him up. Rising from his bed, he turns on the upstairs lights and goes downstairs. He sees the splinters of the door lying on the kitchen floor and out of the corner of his eye, he sees a man running off the back steps. Turning his back to the door he sees another man running at him from the dining room. The assailant pins the man by holding his arms behind his back and with the other free hand proceeds to treat the face of his victim as if it were a punching bag. Struggling free from his attacker's grasp, the victim turns on him. The attacker runs out the open door and with his friend rides away in a van. The man calls the police and is informed that his neighbors have already been alerted by their dog and the police are on the

way.

PARMA, OH. It is now about 2:45 a.m. The man, a respected member of the community, has been in bed since about 11:00. Now, sleeping soundly, he is awakened by a loud noise elsewhere in the house. Getting up, he leaves the bedroom and goes into the hall. The two men are waiting. One pins the man, again holding his arms behind his back while his accomplice beats the individual ignoring his pleas for mercy. Once beaten into submission, the two attackers tie the hands of the man with an available electric cord and proceed to help themselves to the valuables they know are in the house. Loading up the van with their stolen goods, the two flee into the night.

CLEVELAND, OH. It is 5:30 in the morning. The two lovers have spent a fitful night of sleep because of a planned camping trip the two have planned for the next day. Unknown to the two, two uninvited guests are at this very same time helping themselves to breakfast in the kitchen downstairs from where the two are sleeping. Without any warning the two men break into the bedroom and attack the two sleeping men. Totally surprised the two fight back, but to little use. They are tied up with the telephone cord and forced to lie on the bed while their attackers threaten their lives. Leaving the two helpless, the attackers ransack the house taking anything

of value. Returning to their victims, the two again threaten to kill them. The two load the stolen goods into their van and depart. It is now about 6:30 a.m. The whole thing has taken no more than an hour.

The three stories above are not fiction. They have all happened within the past month to individuals in Cleveland's Gay Community. Because of pending prosecutions and the desire of these individuals to remain anonymous, HIGH GEAR has used neither the names of the victims, nor their attackers. At present, the persons who perpetuated these assaults are in the custody of the Cleveland Police. There was a Grand Jury hearing on November 2, and we expect clean bills of indictment to be rendered in each case. But this is only part of the story.

In recent months there have been more and more incidents like these in several cities.

more commonly used. It is an ugly situation anyway you say it.

Anti-Gay violence is violence directed against us because of who

we are.

Crimes against gay individuals, particularly men, is on the increase here in Cleveland and across the country.

Portland's major newspaper, The Sunday Oregonian, recently devoted a full spread to the problem of gaybashing which has risen tremendously during the past year there. Portland gays have had specific problems with young groups of teenagers who are “out looking for some action." For a while last summer kids were assaulting gay men in Laurelhurst Park. According to witnesses, "They'd just walk up to a guy, ask him if he was gay and bop him over the head with a board."

Street violence has become rampant in Portland's bar and bath disWhat is going on? trict. Attacks have been averaging Gaybashing is the more polite one a week where injuries sustained term for it. Fagbashing is require hospital treatment. One man

Photo: John A. Barrick

was stomped to death last year just because he accidentally walked into a straight bar in the area.

There have been sporadic problems in Cleveland's gay strip on West Ninth Street. But the problem is not confined to this area. Recently a man was attacked and robbed while on St. Clair Avenue going out of one club on the way to another.

Recently another individual who had served time for the robbery and stabbing of a Cleveland man was arrested in connection with other similar instances for which charges had been filed in both Cleveland and Lakewood.

Avoid the following: -looking frightened; avoiding eye contact; ignoring danger signals (not looking backward even when you think you are being followed); being easily intimidated by verbal taunts and threats; acting friendly and trusting even in suspicious circumstances; looking stoned or drunk, or selfconscious about where you are and who is around you.

Use behavior patterns that make you appear more assertive: -look confident about who you are and where you are; make eye contact; keep your wits about you. If you suspect danger, get away from it! Refuse to become intimidated or immobilized by verbal taunts and threats; not being afraid to respond in a loud, rude manner. Not being afraid to make a scene or appear paranoid. Be aware of where you are and what your surroundings are. If there is an incident, don't be afraid to notify the police.

When you find yourself in any dangerous situation, use common sense to find the best possible strategy. Learn to identify, avoid, and combat anti-gay violence. What you don't know can hurt you.

Statistics from similar crimes against gays in other cities show tha a majority of attacks are planned i: advance. When an attacker spots. potential victim, there is often a tes: ing process for him to select those people that seem the most vulnera ble. This is especially true of one-or one attacks.

Don't become a victim. If you walk down the street with the att tude that you're too weak/too smal /too old/too out of shape to defend yourself, you are more likely to be selected as a victim. Self defense techniques are not based or strength; they can be used by anyone with attitude. because they all