Articles tagged with: hate crimes
Mary Kristene Chapa & Mollie Judith Olgin shot in Texas — Vigil in Anchorage on Sunday, July 1
Please join us for a brief vigil in Anchorage this Sunday, July 1 at the new Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial on the Park Strip at 5:00 PM for Mary Kristene Chapa (18) and Mollie Judith Olgin (19), who were shot and left for dead last Friday in Portland, Texas. Olgin died; Chapa underwent surgery and is in the hospital. The two women had been in a relationship for five months.
Bent News, 2012-05-30: Another judge rules against DOMA; SPLC on NOM’s antigay lies
Another federal judge rules against DOMA; Southern Poverty Law Center reports on NOM’s antigay lies; suicide risks for black gay youth; transgender rights in Manitoba; British TV series features transgender main character; an antigay attack in Minnesota ; and other news of the week from @bentalaska.
Bent News, 2012-04-15: Hate crime convictions in eastern Kentucky
First convictions under the the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act; updated policy for gender markers on immigration documents; and other Bent Alaska news of the day.
Words do matter….
by Caleb Pritt
I wrote an article yesterday about a Hate Crime committed against Chrissy Lee Polis. In writing the article, because I didn’t know the names of the attackers, I classified and described them as “two African-American women.” That is a fact. I also said it was sad that they had not learned the lessons Dr. King taught us.
Some people read this with racial overtones. That’s not what was meant or what was intended. I apologize to anyone who read race into my comments because there is not any racial bias. Had they been Hispanic, Polynesian, Anglo-Saxon, Jewish, etc., I would have written that as a descriptive comment of who they were.
We are very quick in society to seize upon something. One of the comments made in my grassroots group I started to protest how Chrissy was treated reminded me, we have become an instant society. We expect change to happen immediately. We also are very conscious and aware and often times do not wish to offend. We can sometimes make the leap that if they are described by race and the comments are by people of a particular race, than race is the overriding theme. That is not what was meant in this case.
Look the long and short of it was I was attempting to inspire and write that this attack was wrong. In the long run, I ended up flubbing it and sticking my foot in my mouth unintentionally. I did not mean to do that and for that, I apologize.
I hope you the readers can accept my apology and realize what I wrote was not written in a vein of racism but rather a plea to aspire to a higher ideal in how we treat one another.
Can you stomach this?
Caleb Pritt writes opinion pieces for Bent Alaska. His opinions are his own.
This post concerns an attack on a transgender woman in a Baltimore McDonalds, the attack video that went viral over the weekend, Caleb’s response to the incident, and suggestions for taking action.
Update: Please see Caleb’s post “Words do matter….” for a follow-up on issues about race brought up in comments to this post.
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I want you to watch this video before continuing with the article. [warning for violence]
Chrissy Lee Polis is just like you and I. She has a brain, a heart, and she is an American who expects the benefits of a nation that promises LIFE, LIBERTY, & THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. But in the words of one of this nation’s modern fathers, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., from his famous “I Have a Dream” address at the Lincoln Memorial, we now echo for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, TRANSGENDER, Ally community, the following:
“When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens are concerned….a bad check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.”
Chrissy Lee Polis was spit upon, attacked, beaten, and dehumanized by sadly two African-American women who forgot Dr. King. Forgot about the sacrifices and the lives that allowed these two women to walk into a McDonalds and order their food. Even more insulting, McDonalds, which is a symbol of America as much as Sunday football or the American flag, had employees that looked on and watched this display of hatred and did nothing to intervene.
The question has to be asked, when do we say enough is enough? I say today is the day we say enough is enough. When the day has come, which is now, that ANYONE cannot enter a McDonalds and be served, but rather savagely treated like a dehumanized choice to be viciously assaulted with no regard, enough is enough.
Shall we as a society continue to fund a corporation that allows this hatred and violence to happen? If it doesn’t stop now….WHEN WILL IT?!
McDonalds needs to institute policies for ALL of its employees teaching them sadly how to be humans. This means no violence, no sacrificing of liberties, and no allowing the idea of some or any violence or disrespect is allowed.
As Dr. King also said, “An injustice somewhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
What happened in Baltimore can tomorrow be in Anchorage, in Honolulu, in Salt Lake City, in Boston, in Fayetteville, N.C., or yes even in Washington, D.C.
We need to remember the words of Dr. King and re-echo them today. We need to stand up and tell McDonalds, THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.
Here are 3 ways to do it:
Starting Monday at 4:00 p.m. for twenty-four hours, I ask you to make your Facebook profile pic a picture of a simple candlelight. The candle is for Chrissy Lee Polis and to let her know, while we are not at the vigil in Baltimore, a candle of hope burns bright all across this nation and she is loved.
Secondly, the phone number for McDonald’s Corporate is 1-800-244-6227, open 7 days a week from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. CST. Let them know you are horrified and that you demand nationwide training in transgender issues for ALL McDonald’s franchise owners and employees.
Thirdly, and finally, if you want to sound off, join Aunty Anita and I in two places. Join on Facebook, the group named BOYCOTT McCRUELTY. And also join us on the radio at Aunty Anita on Tuesday, April 26 at 7p.m. Alaska Time/ 8pm Pacific. The studio hotline is toll free (619) 393-6513. Please call in or listen on demand.
In the words of Reverend Jesse Jackson, who I hope will join us in this fight for civil rights, “Red, Yellow, Black, and White….WE ALL are precious in His light.”
“If you want it to get better, make it so.”
A gay-bashing victim takes his story to YouTube. How many more times are people just going to stand by and watch another LGBT person get attacked?
Alaska Hate Crimes Act: My letter in support of SB11
Hate crimes: They can happey anytime, anywhere.Today the Alaska Senate Judiciary Committee is hearing testimony on Senate Bill 11, the the Alaska Hate Crimes Act. In spite of the fact that the bill addresses hate crimes based on a number of personal characteristics, the factually incorrect “action alert” sent by Jim Minnery of Alaska Family Council to his supporters yesterday focused exclusively on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Candlelight vigil for hate crime victims
– a guest post from the organizers of this Sunday’s Candlelight Vigil in memory of Jason Mattison Jr. and Jorge Steven Mercado, 3-4 p.m. on the Anchorage Park Strip.
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Many in our community struggle to survive. We struggle to be ourselves, out of the closet, and love life for all its goodness. In many places, even after the Hate Crimes Act recently passed, people are hurt, threatened, harassed and even killed for who they are.
We believe it is not our human nature to spread hate but instead to create a world of love. This is what the LGBT community of Alaska teaches: love, respect and the willingness to be free. Others may not have this choice and yet are still part of our community at large.
Please let us take a moment to remember two so very young gentlemen whose lives were taken from them by recent hate crimes:
JASON MATTIS JR, only fifteen years old, was forced into inappropriate sexual relations with a convicted murderer. He was very popular amongst his peers in high school.
JORGE STEVEN LÓPEZ MERCADO, only nineteen, and was beaten, dismembered and decapitated. The police investigator (who has been reprimanded) said he deserved it because he was gay.
The cruelty exists and we should remember these two who died. Let us ALL in every community show our love and respect for one another in a vigil to honor all hate crime victims. This will be an hour of peace to remember the people who have died just being themselves and for our rights.
Join us for a Candlelight Vigil for Hate Crime Victims. November 22, 2009 3-4pm @ the Park Strip, 9th and L Street in front of the American Flag. Please bring a candle and some love.
