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Discussion: Vigil for Hate Crime Victim in Brooklyn -- SUN, DEC 14, BROOKLYN, NYReported This is a featured thread

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adlynn24
Vigil for Hate Crime Victim in Brooklyn -- SUN, DEC 14, BROOKLYN, NY
Dec 11 2008, 5:28 PM EST | Post edited: Dec 11 2008, 5:28 PM EST
Last Sunday, Jose Sucuzhanay, and Ecuadorian immigrant and resident of Bushwick, Brooklyn, was brutally beaten while walking home from a bar with his brother, Romel. The two were walking with their arms linked and leaning close together. They were attacked by four men yelling anti-gay and anti-Hispanic epithets. The men proceeded to beat Jose with a bottle and a baseball bat. Mr. Sucuzhanay, who is on life support at Elmhurst hospital, is a respected business owner and father of two.

The New York City Anti-Violence Project has organized a vigil this Sunday, December 14th at 2:00 PM. The vigil will begin at the corner of Myrtle Ave and Grove Street in Brooklyn, followed by a march to the corner of Bushwick Ave. and Kossuth Place, where the assault occurred. Please join community organizers from organizations from across New York City, including Make the Road NY, New York City Anti-Violence Project, Audre Lorde Project, US Dept of Justice Community Relations, Generation Q, Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition, GLOBE, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, NAACP, The National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights, NYCLU, New York Immigration Coalition, Sunset Park Alliance of Neighbors, We are all Brooklyn, YKASEC, and elected officials, including City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

This horrible attack underscores the reality that HOMOPHOBIA HURTS EVERYONE, not just LGBT people. What does it say about our society when two brothers cannot show basic affection without being attacked as gay and brutally beaten? We in the LGBT community need to show solidarity with Latinos, African Americans, and everyone else who is vicitimized by the pathology of homophobia.

For more details, see: http://www.avp.org/documents/AVPtoParticipateinVigilonSundayforHateCrimeVictimJoseSucuzhanay_000.pdf
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Keyword tags: ProgressUSA.-
atmasilver
atmasilver
1. RE: Vigil for Hate Crime Victim in Brooklyn -- SUN, DEC 14, BROOKLYN, NY
Dec 11 2008, 7:15 PM EST | Post edited: Dec 11 2008, 7:15 PM EST
Hmm. They changed the time on that. It's a good thing so many community organizations will be a part of it. I was originally following it after a poster on the Join The Impact NYC wetpaint site posted about it linking to www.towleroad.com

This was a horrible crime. The man is brain dead. His parents have to come from Ecuador because the rest of the family is unwilling to make the decision about whether to donate his organs. The family is saying this happened because he was an immigrant, which is quite plausible from a Latin American worldview. I'm sure people know this but in most of Latin America being called gay is grounds for aggressive retaliation. I'm always bothered when someone takes something so insignificant as being gay and uses it to hurt people indiscriminately. Makes me want to jump in front of a bullet or something. Now I was going to go to the event when it was still a vigil and leave a sympathy card. The family deserves to know that people from all over the city are with them. I think it's very very important for as many of us as possible to show our support--especially now that they changed it into a multi-community rally (so we'll have some measure of cover... hmm!). I just hope that since City Council Speaker Quinn opened up her big mouth about the incident that she's also going to throw her big weight around to help the family. Maybe I should ask. 2  out of 2 found this valuable. Do you?    

Russ_and_Robert
2. RE: Vigil --
Dec 11 2008, 9:04 PM EST | Post edited: Dec 11 2008, 9:04 PM EST
"Hmm. They changed the time on that. It's a good thing so many community organizations will be a part of it. I was originally following it after a poster on the Join The Impact NYC wetpaint site posted about it linking to www.towleroad.com

This was a horrible crime. The man is dead. His parents have to come from Ecuador because the rest of the family is unwilling to make the decision about whether to donate his organs. The family is saying this happened because he was an immigrant, which is quite plausible from a Latin American worldview. I'm sure people know this but in most of Latin America being called gay is grounds for aggressive retaliation. I'm always bothered when someone takes something so insignificant as being gay and uses it to hurt people indiscriminately. Makes me want to jump in front of a bullet or something. Now I was going to go to the event when it was still a vigil and leave a sympathy card. The family deserves to know that people from all over the city are with them. I think it's very very important for as many of us as possible to show our support--especially now that they changed it into a multi-community rally (so we'll have some measure of cover... hmm!). I just hope that since City Council Speaker Quinn opened up her big mouth about the incident that she's also going to throw her big weight around to help the family. Maybe I should ask."
What an awful thing to do on any street in any city. To actually stop and beat the living crap out of people who did nothing more than try to enjoy a peaceful and happy life in a crazy world. Neither brother was a homosexual, but perhaps two brothers walking together in a display of public affection for each other bothers some people so much...that it does not even matter whether or not they are Gay or not. Killing a person is the worst manifestation of hatred, and it is a festering boil in the society in which we live. Because the lack of freedoms that should be enjoyed by the Gay community: and the recent smears by religious entities to deny those freedoms, the beatings and killing of innocent people who walk arm in arm in love...no matter who they are will continue.
Our hearts go out to the family, we can only pray that they receive some peace out of all of this.

R & R 2  out of 2 found this valuable. Do you?    
jaysays
jaysays
3. RE: Vigil --
Dec 11 2008, 9:18 PM EST | Post edited: Dec 11 2008, 9:18 PM EST
I took the liberty of changing the tags on this story from "Butt Pirates" and "Serves them Right" to applicable tags. I thought I would bring that up because it shows that people don't pay attention. Neither of these men were homosexual. They were attacked because it was assumed they were homosexual and because they were Latino. 2  out of 2 found this valuable. Do you?    

Russ_and_Robert
4. RE: Vigil --
Dec 12 2008, 7:16 AM EST | Post edited: Dec 12 2008, 7:16 AM EST
"I took the liberty of changing the tags on this story from "Butt Pirates" and "Serves them Right" to applicable tags. I thought I would bring that up because it shows that people don't pay attention. Neither of these men were homosexual. They were attacked because it was assumed they were homosexual and because they were Latino."
Thanks jaysays...a lot of our opponents find nothing wrong with posting topics that allow them to have a good laugh....not at us mind you ...they just laugh in the lonesomeness of their own lives as it passes before them across the computer screen. It is also very very sad,very sad...that most of our opponents MUST also believe that their creator does not have access to the internet. The words that they type aren't the same as if they spoke the words.....so they feel exonerated ...especially if the Screen name used is different than their own.....god can't track an IP address, can he? Nah old guys even have trouble programming the time on the VCR/DVR .....right ?
R& R 2  out of 2 found this valuable. Do you?    

jacjr
5. RE: Vigil --
Dec 12 2008, 7:36 AM EST | Post edited: Dec 12 2008, 7:36 AM EST
Speaking for myself, there are two issues about God and homosexuality that I have never been able to resolve to my satisfaction in any way except though a blind leap of faith. One is identified in this article: the line in Leviticus that identifies a man having sex with a man as an "abomination." I'm not very satisfied with the rebuttal the author gives. Most of Leviticus does clearly read as if it is intended to apply to a specific people at a specific time. But this line reads too much like a value judgment coming directly from God. The only rebuttal I've ever heard that I do consider to be credible has dealt with the historical interpretation of the Hebrew word that has been transcribed in English as "abomination."
 1  out of 2 found this valuable. Do you?    

jacjr
6. RE: Vigil --
Dec 12 2008, 7:38 AM EST | Post edited: Dec 12 2008, 7:38 AM EST
remember one thing. That the writings you see are meant for a time and a people and for other reasons such as establishing My God is more powerful that your God, to whip folks inline who may have been influenced by neighboring folks who practiced life as they did. Once you see that you understand that God is not petty or mean but painted that way in words from a human man to spin ideals for other humans. If this God was so mean why are there still folks being born homosexual today and not irradiated? That is because God is Love not hate. Man has spewed hate and used God to justify all sorts of cruelty and abomination using the bible as their justification to aggression, power etc. God should never be given the human characteristics of jealousy, hate etc because you cannot be love and have the other things in it. All Jesus ever said about gay people is some are born that way which NO right wing church who seems intent of saying our narrow values etc. who likes to pick stuff out seems to want to shout from the roof tops. And He said nothing else regarding it, He doesn't say protest against them, he doesn't say stone them, the doesn't say kill them, bash them, deny them rights and everythingelse people do to us, in the name of God. The above speaking for myself was posted in Newsweek response by atmasilver 1  out of 2 found this valuable. Do you?    
atmasilver
atmasilver
7. RE: Vigil --
Dec 12 2008, 7:47 AM EST | Post edited: Dec 12 2008, 7:47 AM EST
"remember one thing. That the writings you see are meant for a time and a people and for other reasons such as establishing My God is more powerful that your God, to whip folks inline who may have been influenced by neighboring folks who practiced life as they did. Once you see that you understand that God is not petty or mean but painted that way in words from a human man to spin ideals for other humans. If this God was so mean why are there still folks being born homosexual today and not irradiated? That is because God is Love not hate. Man has spewed hate and used God to justify all sorts of cruelty and abomination using the bible as their justification to aggression, power etc. God should never be given the human characteristics of jealousy, hate etc because you cannot be love and have the other things in it. All Jesus ever said about gay people is some are born that way which NO right wing church who seems intent of saying our narrow values etc. who likes to pick stuff out seems to want to shout from the roof tops. And He said nothing else regarding it, He doesn't say protest against them, he doesn't say stone them, the doesn't say kill them, bash them, deny them rights and everythingelse people do to us, in the name of God. The above speaking for myself was posted in Newsweek response by atmasilver"
I don't find all of that convincing. I believe that while the Bible was written for a specific time and place, it is also universal and timeless, with meaning in all times and places. I do think each and every passage in the Bible has something important to say.

And you touched on the second thing that bothers me: the way things are today and the direction they are moving in. I can see that gay people are born and I firmly believe we are loved by him. It's not the only thing I see. I see a very clear wall against us. 1  out of 1 found this valuable. Do you?    
atmasilver
atmasilver
8. RE: Vigil --
Dec 12 2008, 7:50 AM EST | Post edited: Dec 12 2008, 7:50 AM EST
Okay, you kinda confused me there, jacir. Why did you post that in this thread and not the one on the Newsweek article thread? 1  out of 1 found this valuable. Do you?    

jacjr
9. RE: Vigil --
Dec 12 2008, 8:05 AM EST | Post edited: Dec 12 2008, 8:05 AM EST
I posted in both. I posted first to the Newsweek thread. I found what you said in the Newsweek thread good for this post as the feelings of those who gay bash are linked to the Leviticus quote. This is what churches show as the reason for hating LGBT people actions etc. 1  out of 1 found this valuable. Do you?    
atmasilver
atmasilver
10. RE: Vigil --
Dec 12 2008, 6:12 PM EST | Post edited: Dec 12 2008, 6:12 PM EST
Okay.

I think the Newsweek article cites a better explanation than Leviticus. I do think when you get to the point of anti-gay violence, it's that vicserial hatred and disgust for gays, which is as much the source as the result of religious condemnation of homosexuality. I could be wrong. 1  out of 1 found this valuable. Do you?