I share many of Tony's feelings. I came to the neighborhood because of the diversity here, and I stay (just bought my second house in the area) because of the friends and neighbors here. Tomorrow is Council To Go, with Patrick Dowd at Tazza D'Oro from 6:30- 8. I'd encourage everyone to go and ask him what the Council will do to look into these types of incidents and the poor response by police. Like Tony, the slow response by police is one of the things that alarms me the most. Yet, as the meager details of this incident have trickled out, we (the general community) know so very little about what happened. Who called the police? Was it a call to 911? Did the person give their name? What time was the call placed? Did anyone speak to the officers when police arrived? Was a police report about the incident ever filed? We can not push to hold the police accountable if we know so little about the incident. -- Thomas C. Waters 412-400-8777 thomaswaters@mac.com http://thomascwaters.com http://QLATB.com twitter: tcwaters
From: "Silvestre, Anthony J" <tonys@pitt.edu> Date: July 21, 2010 7:57:28 AM EDT To: "neighborhood@highlandparkpa.com" <neighborhood@highlandparkpa.com> Subject: RE: [Highland Park] Gay bashing incident on Friday night
Neighbors,
I have lived in Highland Park/East Liberty since 1987. I bought here because I deeply appreciated the diversity in this area. It seemed to me that people of different races, ethnic groups, professions, and ages lived together in relative harmony. And so I am deeply disturbed that young men in the neighborhood feel free enough to attack someone because of their perceptions of his gender conformity and sexual orientation. How did these teens get this message? What kind of messages do/did they get at Peabody our neighborhood schools and churches about respecting all people? If our neighborhood leaders are not speaking out, what message are we giving our young people?
The report of lack of police presence after the incident is also disturbing. Does it reflect disinterest in hate crimes? What kind of training do our local police have in diversity? How culturally competent are they?
I often see candidates for Mayor, City Council, and County officials at neighborhood events, at gay bars, and at local churches. Next time I do, I intend to ask them what they are doing to increase competency among our police and other public safety personnel.
Sincerely, Tony Silvestre
Professor Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Graduate School of Public Health University of Pittsburgh Suite 400 3520 Fifth Avenue PIttsburgh, PA 15213 From: neighborhood-bounces@highlandparkpa.com [mailto:neighborhood-bounces@highlandparkpa.com] On Behalf Of Ali Haimson Sent: Monday, July 19, 2010 9:57 AM To: neighborhood@highlandparkpa.com Subject: [Highland Park] Gay bashing incident on Friday night
Hi all,
Here's some more info about the gay bashing incident on Friday night (this was written by the man who was attacked):
"While waiting at the Mellon and Stanton bus stop around 10:30 on Friday night three young men passed him without incident. When the bus didn't arrive he decided to try another stop at Penn and Negley. To get to the stop he walked on the opposite side of the street to where he saw the three men learning against a fence opposite the Union Project. When he turned the corner to walk down Negley, with his back facing the men, he was attacked from behind by one of the men with punches to the face and back. He managed to fight back enough to release himself and run into traffic with hands up screaming "help." The attacker laughed and the many people around, plus traffic he ran into, did not respond. "
My friend who was attacked is very visible as a gay person. Based on his appearance and his walk, he is often harrassed and threatened in our neighborhood (and of course in other neighborhoods as well). On Friday night, there were many people at the corner of Negley and Stanton, yet these men chose the one visibly gay person to attack. Additionally, they did not take or attempt to take money or anything else from him. My friend feels very strongly that the attack was motivated by ignorance and hate toward gay people.
I'd like to attach here Betty Hill's message in response to another recent gay bashing. We are extremely grateful to Betty for writing this eloquent piece. It's very relevant to Friday's incident. I'd also like to mention that the police were called on Friday night, but were unresponsive and did not show up until about two hours later.
Ali Haimson
*It’s Simple and Complicated to End Hate - A Message from Betty Hill*
This week I learned of another hate crime in the neighborhood- a group of drag performers were walking between one club and the next, and were taunted and verbally abused and then physically hit, pushed and kicked by a group of men coming out of another club. This is the second incident of physical abuse I’ve heard about in Bloomfield in the past six months. I wonder if there are more. At Persad, we hear from our consumers from all over Western Pennsylvania on a regular basis that they have been the victims of discrimination, intimidation and violence.
Interestingly, there were only six GLBT-related hate crimes reported in Pennsylvania last year. This lack of reporting makes it look like we don’t have a hate crime or discrimination problems in our state, but those of us that know the community know that isn’t true.
So, why do these incidents go unnoticed and unreported?
1. *We blame the victim*. This dynamic is common to all victim related crimes. We are so afraid of the vulnerability of random acts of violence and they make us feel so unsafe that we believe the incident could have controlled or prevented. “Maybe if the drag performers were not out late on the street? Did they have to be so obvious with their costumes and cross dressing – weren’t they asking for it? Were they drinking?” We have to stop this! There is no reason that GLBT people shouldn’t be able to go out at night, have fun, and walk the streets in whatever attire they choose without getting beat up. As long as we blame the victim and fantasize that we can control the violence that happens, we fail to put the blame where it belongs - on the person who is violent.
2. *We are not safe to be “out”.* In order to report a hate crime, you have to acknowledge that you are being targeted as a GLBT person (or perceived to be)….so you have to say that you belong to the group. If you don’t feel safe to be out and you don’t want others to know that you are GLBT, you will want to avoid talking about the incident at all. Until we make members of our community safe and protected to be who they are, we can’t expect people to report who they are at the time they are feeling the most vulnerable.
3. *We don’t trust the police and the justice system*. I’ve heard so many victims say that they have had bad experiences with the police and response systems that they don’t call them when they need them. Sometimes because of ignorance, sometimes because of attitudes, the system blames the victim or fails to understand the situation and further victimizes the victim by arresting them, further abusing them, or just failing to respond. Our community has some terrific police and some police with bad attitudes. But we can’t ignore the system that is supposed to protect us. We must report situations and demand response. And every time we get an inadequate or discriminating or abusive response, we have to call the system on it and work to change it so that it works for us! Every time!
4. *The police often do not ask and do not encourage hate crime reporting*. I’m not sure what the problem is here. It does not seem to be on their radar screen. In the social context of homophobia and transphobia, I think that some officers don’t think about it. Some may not be trained. Some may have bad attitudes. We need to demand that the local government response personnel – police, fire, rescue, etc. -- have training on GLBT diversity and are sensitive to hate crimes and prepared to protect victims.
It’s simple and complicated to change the culture and the system. Persad’s Community Safe Zone project is working to eliminate hate crimes in our communities. If you are a victim of a hate crime, there are resources to help you. We want everyone to be safe to walk the streets of any neighborhood. If you work in one of the response systems – police, rescue, fire, justice system, etc, and your group needs training, Persad is happy to provide it. If you want to get involved in changing your neighborhood, we would like to hear from you.
Betty Hill
bhill@persadcenter.org
412-441-9786 x212