I was just wondering if any of you guys had heard about the hate crime that recently took place in my town, Santa Fe? They had a story about it on NPR the other night. . . . well, if you haven't heard: "Three men have been charged in the beating of a Santa Fe gay man that was so vicious he was left unconscious.Ê James Maestas, 21, and his partnerÊ Joshua Stockham 24, of Albuquerque had just finished lunch with several female friends at a Santa Fe restaurant and had gone outside for a smoke when five men drove into the parking lot.Ê The men attempted to talk up the girls and at some point got into an argument with Maestas and Stockham. A police statement says that the argument escalated with one of the men calling Maestas and Stockham "faggots" and trying to provoke a fight. Stockham, Maestas and the females got into a car and began driving away. The men then began throwing rocks at the car according to the statement said.Ê A man identified as the person who had waited on them in the restaurant, David Trinidad, 17, was just finishing work and came outside.Ê The statement said that Trinidad knew the five men and joined in the rock throwing. Trinidad, the police statement said, learned the men were staying at nearby hotel while he was serving them.ÊÊ He told investigators that he and the five men followed the group to the hotel and along the way they "pumped" themselves up by talking about "fucking those faggots up". The statement also quotes Trinidad as telling investigators that they referred to Stockham and Maestas as "fucking white boys." They arrived at the hotel just behind Stockham and Maestas and began beating the pair while yelling anti-gay epithets. Maestas fell to the ground unconscious.Ê Three of the men were arrested based on witnesses accounts. Maestas remains in hospital in serious condition.Ê His family is so concerned for his safety police will not identify the hospital. Stockham was treated and released. Trinidad, Gabriel Maturin, 20, and Isaia Medina, 19, each face charges of aggravated battery. Prosecutors have charged the 17 year old Trinidad as an adult. All three will face hate-crimes enhancements the prosecutor said Tuesday." i just wanted to get some thoughts and opinions on the matter. . . santa fe is a very liberal town. . more liberal than most, and it is thought to be the second most gay freindly town in america (next to san fran.), but also, there are many strick traditional catholic families who are very narrow minded. . .and santa fe is considered the capitol of one of the poorest and dumbest states. i guess im just wondering how many of you guys had already heard about this, or how often events similar to this occur in your area. . .
I didn't see the story as I don't live (and would never want to live) in the U.S. It sounds terrible and I hope the victims make a full recovery. By the same token I'm sure the guilty parties will end up where they belong. Watching the dozens of TV shows about school life that eminate from the U.S have made me glad I never grew up there. Is it really like the shows portray? Are students picked on and ostracised just because they don't fit in? Watching crap like Jerry Springer gives the impression that half the country (the audience) are lusting after a blood letting while the other half (the guests) are in bred, poorly educated hicks. The American belief that everyone wants to live in their country makes me chuckle. I am glad to live in a country that has a clean, green and relatively safe image. Where people don't carry hand guns routinely and where people are not beaten half to death because of their sexual orientation.
in response to your reply, (twentyoneforever), I must say that TV shows do portray school-life in America pretty accurately. I am lucky, however, that I moved into a gay-friendly town just recently, and its a small town, and a tiny school, and everyone is really quite nice. But on the whole, yeah, Americans are extremely judgemental. God I wish I lived in Europe. Or somewhere that isnt the US. I plan on moving to Europe when I am out of college, and raising my kids (if I have them, which I hope to do) in Europe. And twentyoneforever, yeah, I dont believe it for a second whren people say that everyone wants to live in America. It is such bullshit. Most of the people who say that havent been outside of the US. And if they DO hear someone say that they dont want to live in the US, then they accuse that person of being a stuck-up snob who is blind to the great country of America. Oh well.... AMERICANS ARE SO FUCKING HOMOPHOBIC!!!!!
I live in Canada, and sadily, even though we are seen as being the "peace keepers," and very accepting, it's pretty much the same situatuion as in the US. It's lke we're trying more and more to copy something that's completely messed up in the first place and it makes me sick. Those TV shows are totally, for the most part, accurate. Not everyone looks like them, though, of course. Honestly, I think that sometimes, when I went to school, it was worse. There were 2 groups in my high school who weren't even allowed to talk to eachother; the "preps" and the "skids." It was retarded. Then in the other high school I went to, the natives and the "white people" weren't allowed to talk to eachother. If you did anything to "cross these lines," you had to be prepared to get the living crap kicked out of you. I got "picked on" more times then I can count back when I was in school. Wether it was just name-calling, back-stabbing, or out-right physical hatred....it was pathetic. I had a lot of gay friends in school, and there is one story that it piticularly sad: There was this guy that I went to school with named Travis. Since the first day of high school, people made fun of him. He was short, kinda pudgy, and obviously gay. He just didn't admit it for a while. However, as time went on, a lot of people finally grew to realize that he was a really nice guy...but there were a lot who were still bent on making his life a living hell, literally. Needless to say, that made him encredebly depressed. finally about a year later, he admitted he was gay, and he seemed so much happier. He made even more friends..things seemed to be looking up for the most part. But I still remember walking down the hallways having to duck from garbage being thrown at him. We even found a little place that all of us could sit that was "out of the way" at lunch, and people still found a way to chuck garbage and shit at him and call him names. It was really sad. Then, the worst thing that could happen, did....he committed suicide. What's worse? You think that those idiots who were "torturing" him would actually have an ounce sympathy......no, they laughed and screamed, "IT'S ABOUT TIME HE GOT THE HINT." I still feel like gaging just thinking about it. You know, with crap like this going on, it's no wonder that the drop-out rates are so high here. And those government idiots sit there and want to keep kids in school until they're 18....It's like focing them to go to hell everyday.
This was not only an anti-gay hate crime, it was a racist hate crime as well, based on the police report quoting one of the attackers, who was Latino, referring to the victims as "fucking white boys." -- Skeeter
