Homophobia Sucks
Breaking news: LGBTQ Community Forum to be held TOMORROW (June 2nd) in wake of recent Memorial Weekend violence @ The Q Center, 7pm.
The press release reads:
“Because of the attacks over Memorial Day weekend that targeted LGBTQ members, our friends and loved ones, we have come together to host a forum that focuses on gay bashing in our community and how we can prevent and respond to it.
PLEASE do not take this issue lightly – we encourage you to come out, participate and get involved. Tell your friends, loved ones, family members – get the word out and we will see you tomorrow!”
Below is the official press release from Cassell Communications.
+++For Immediate Release+++
Gay-Bashing Discussion Forum at Q Center
Over this past holiday weekend, friends and members of our LGBTQ community were assaulted and gay-bashed. Victims of the assault filed a police report, and, even now, further investigations continue into other alleged similar incidents that occurred over this past weekend.
In order to facilitate a frank, open discussion about how to handle escalating violence against members of our community, we aim to present an open discussion/dialogue about the following: what to do if you find yourself in such a situation; suggestions regarding how to handle yourself; how to effectively work with Portland Police. Additionally, we will examine what exactly is a hate crime (defined by current law), how to report a hate crime, and what we as a community can do to help prevent hate crimes.
This is an open, public gathering that includes members of our community, along with LGBTQ leaders and leaders from the city and local government, including representatives from the Oregon Department of Justice and The Multnomah County District Attorney’s office. This is a tremendous opportunity to empower our community with knowledge and by taking tangible action. Executive Director Kendall Clawson of Q Center, Oregon’s only building based LGBTQ community center said “It is important for the LGBTQ community and its allies to know that there is a safe place for gatherings such as this to take place. In times when we are attacked on our own streets, there is tremendous value in coming together to highlight, inform, and find solutions to violence in our communities.”
We encourage any concerned citizens interested in listening and contributing to attend; come prepared to contribute, to listen, to simply be present. All are welcome. The discussion forum, which begins at 7pm, is hosted by Stephen Cassell of Cassell Communications and JustOut’s Daniel Borgen.
Questions? contact: Stephen@Cassellcommunications.com
More info on another specific incident following Red Cap’s Saturday party Leotard at the Mercury’s Blogtown: http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2010/06/01/alleged-gay-bashing-on-burnside-sparks-fear-anger
HERE IS A SPEECH I READ TO MY COMMUNITY ABOUT WHEN I WAS GAY BASHED ON APRIL 11TH THIS YEAR….
To my community, good evening
I want to start by explaining the meaning of community. Webster’s dictionary defines community as this: a unified body of individuals, a people with common interests living in a particular area, the area itself.
A community can be interacting populations of various kinds of individuals in a common location, a group of people with a common characteristic or interest, a group linked by a common policy, a body of persons or nations having a common history.
The word community has many meanings—but this I know for sure: We are a community. Whether how strong or how frail, we were all placed here to grow together.
Sure. The world is a big place and you’ll probably never meet everyone in it but should that stop us from loving the people around us?
We are all different, but isn’t that what makes life interesting? We can go through life closed up and afraid to let anyone in— or we could let love shine from our hearts and be at peace with the world.
We must in the year 2010 and for the next 2010 years to come make a stand together. Let us not hide behind our fear. Let us not hide behind the walls of our own frailness. Let us not hide behind our own social up bringing.
We must stand together . . . We must begin to love again . . . We must begin to see our community for what it is: Diversity. We are a community of diverse peoples, customs, beliefs, and upbringings with so much to offer one another… so many talents … so many things to learn… how much stronger could we as a community be if we began to work together, instead of against each other?
Hate . . . it may seem like an easy to word to say, and it’s true you hear it all the time:
“I hate this sweater, because it makes me look fat” or
“I hate pickles” and so on and so forth.
We use this term most times without really paying attention to the context we use it in. Gandhi I believe says “Be the change you want to see in the world”
Hate is not a family value . . . let’s not forget the victims of our communities past . . . and knows there may be more to come . . . God forbid . . . but as we stand together today . . . look around . . .
We are here because we believe that hate is not the answer. “Stomp out hate, stand up for love . . . Love is one of the world’s powerful words. Growing up, I was never allowed to use the term hate because my mother believed it to be an ugly word that shouldn’t be used to describe any state of being, let alone your feelings towards someone.
We as a nation need to remember what love is—love knows no boundaries… love is unconditional… if we began to love ourselves… how much more could we love others… Its starts with you …. Then in our homes and in our families . . . then in our jobs and in our social lives . . . We can’t just go through life we need to GROW through life. Have you ever seen a plant grow out of harsh and hateful conditions?
Hate is easy. Love takes work. Love takes courage and strength. Love is definte simply as the unselfish, loyal, and benevolent concern for the good of another. As you remember this day, May 7, I beg you to take this message of love with you . . .
I choose on this day to stand as a survivor of hate . . . I will not back down and cower behind my own abuse . . . There are many here and others you knows who are survivors . . . But what of those who did not survive? Matthew Sheppard he did not survive and it is by the grace and love of his beloved mother that he still lives on.
Community we cannot forget, the words of faggot… Queer … and many others…. We must be the light in our own surroundings… we must stand strong and pull through… how many more must be hurt how many more must die… before us as a community stands together…
This I ask of you… will you fight with me…? Will you take a stand in our surroundings will you pledge to love…? Will learn to forgive…. Will you learn to stand against the injustices in our community … will you learn to not let this be another night in Tacoma and across the nation where we pass the night away forgetting that the cause is still there … that cause is bigger then myself or others… that if we just believe in ourselves and each other how much closer can we become… how much further could we develop… how much more could we accomplish….
Let us not be a community that moves on hate . . . Let’s be a community that moves on love . . . Let us not be afraid . . . in this effort to accomplish the very thing I believe we were put on this earth to accomplish . . . and that is to love . . .
We are a community and when one of us is hurt by the actions of another, we all get hurt. It can happen anytime, any place, but if we stand here now and say NO MORE and This ends now! We can be that change we’re all looking for. So with my last words… I say to you … Stomp out hate. Stand up for love… Be the change u want to be in the world.
Thank you,
Joshua Trotter aka Taylor Couture
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