Let's get one thing straight: the “bias incident” last week was an anti-gay hate crime. "Bias-motivated assault” is a euphemism that masks the severity of the bashing that occurred on grounds on April 4. The survivor was holding hands with his friend when walking back home and was viciously assaulted by five young white males. They did not rob him, so clearly the only motivation for this unprovoked crime was hate.
Hate crimes rarely occur in a vacuum. They require an environment in which unacceptable behavior such as violence against queer people becomes naturalized and acceptable in the general consciousness. A peer and ideological network must exist to support this normalization. Random acts of violence are equally unacceptable, and too often have tragic consequences. A hate crime differs from a random act, however, in that the perpetrators of hate crimes tend to believe that something about their victim like race, religion, or sexual orientation justifies their violent behavior. Hate crimes, unlike random acts of violence, indicate a systematic problem: something beneath the surface, something we must address.
We don’t know whether the perpetrators were students, and in a way, it doesn’t matter. This horrific event has afforded us the opportunity for some serious self-reflection. It is our duty to make sure that our University lives up to its ideals of honor in every way. Non-violence was the original impetus behind the creation of the “community of trust” we proclaim to foster. But if some members of this community cannot trust that they will be accorded the same basic rights to personal safety that others enjoy, then the entire system is degraded. This means that we must eradicate from our midst the kinds of prejudices and hateful thought patterns that excuse violent behavior.
We think the inadequacy and delay of the administration’s response to this most recent hate crime is symptomatic of a systematic problem — an apathy towards the struggles of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer individuals at the University. A mentality that fails to view the queer community as a legitimate and marginalized minority is consistent with the kind of environment queer people face today: a confused and often unhelpful administration, prevalent use of hateful and hurtful rhetoric, and now, the all-too-real threat of violence.
Typically, e-mail notifications on crimes go out the day after a crime is reported, but the administration didn’t think that the severity of this crime warranted notification and so the e-mail was sent out a week later after prompting from concerned students. The fact that the administration did not feel this hate crime was a grave enough threat to notify students is alarming and disturbing. However, Police Chief Mike Gibson said that if something like this were to happen again, he would send out a timely notice and in retrospect, regretted withholding the information from the student body. This is a step in the right direction and we hope that the administration follows through with its promises. While the administration clearly made some mistakes, we do believe that anger toward the administration is ineffective, and misdirected. We hope that you can focus your frustrations on the attackers themselves and the atmosphere that allowed it to occur.
What can we do? Language is one factor in this dangerous equation that every one of us has the power to change. Hateful and hurtful language proliferates a lack of concern for the dignity of those against whom the language is biased. The use of phrases like ‘faggot,’ ‘no homo’ and ‘that’s so gay’ in everyday speech, enforces the dominant cultural mindset: a general sense of fear, disgust, and separateness from the queer community. It reflects a deep-seated cultural intolerance for people who display “nonconventional” sexualities and gender identities. ‘Gay’ is not a synonym for stupid. This type of language is precisely what creates the breeding ground for hatred which leads to violence. So pay attention to what you say and what you hear as you go about your week. If you hear someone being offensive or insulting, call them out. It can be as simple as “Whoa, not cool” or “Really, that test was so gay?” People only use hurtful language when it goes unchallenged. It is your responsibility as a member of this community to stand against hatred.
We have had a slow start in responding to this incident, but let us move forward. Show your strength and your integrity. Send a message to the world: no matter your color, your religion, your gender identity, no matter where you are from or whom you love, you are a welcome and valued member of this University. Show the survivors of this crime that we care about what happened to them, and that we are determined not to let it happen again.
Seth Kaye is the President of Queer and Allied Activism and Lauren Groetch is a LGBTQ activist.
Read More
EDITORIAL: Carla Williams deserves her seat at the table
By Editorial Board | 2 days agoLooking beyond basketball and football reveals that Virginia Athletics is, in many ways, thriving.
UPADHYAYA: The Great and not-so-Good sides of U.Va.’s 2030 housing plan
By Apal Upadhyaya | 5 days agoInstead of improving the dire state of existing infrastructure, however, the University has shifted attention away from it and chosen to expand.
EDITORIAL: Support low-barrier shelters in Charlottesville
By Editorial Board | 6 days agoInvesting in low-barrier shelters now will pay off in increased stability for the homeless, which will undoubtedly improve the safety of shelters and the community writ large.
