Who Are We Anyway?

The BBC reported that two women, aged 28 and 29, were attacked on May 30 on a London bus by four homophobic, male teenagers. The two women, their faces bloodied, were assaulted because they refused to kiss one another. The “kids” were between the ages of 15 and 18 and have since been arrested; the Det Supt Andy Cox described the crime as “disgusting.” Reported homophobic hate crimes across London have increased from 1,488 in 2014 to 2,308 in 2018, according to London’s Met Police’s crime dashboard.

What about the United States? In 2016, the New York Times reported that the LGBT community was twice as likely to be targets for hate crimes than any other minority group. Any. Other. Minority. Group. In 2017, anti-LGBTQ hate crimes rose 3 percent, according to the FBI. In plain English, our America must turn its own attention to the problem.

With any increase–particularly with personal assault–there are correlating factors. Why are there increases in homophobic hate crimes? Who is encouraging these individuals? I believe–and history agrees–when groups are minimized, an allowance is made for actions against them. When their rights are taken away, they are no longer “seen” as equal by those looking for excuses to be prejudiced, angry, self-righteous, and/or criminal.

According to the ACLU, in regards to LGBTQ, “a majority of states don’t have explicit laws prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations. There are restrictions on identification documents, health care, adoption and foster care, marriage, schools and student organizations,” to name a few. If we allow our communities, states, and country to diminish the privileges of any group, we are committing crimes against humanity, “persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, or gender…,” as defined by the UN. While the UN excludes random, accidental, or isolated acts of violence, our willingness to treat the LGBTQ community differently, makes all of us liable. As citizens, we are permitting these attacks through our laws.

I was heartbroken seeing the photograph of the two women in London, women who were living their lives with no concept of what was soon to befall them. Women who deserve to ride a bus peacefully, enjoying the same freedoms and common decencies of everyone else on that bus. Did anyone come to their aid? Did anyone see them as their sisters, daughters, mothers, friends, fellow human beings…and choose to defend them?

When I see these women, I see my beautiful, intelligent 26 year old daughter–who happens to be gay. She’s one of the kindest, most sympathetic, and loving people I know. She’s the one who stops to move dead animals out of the road, who takes in the stray, who picks up the stranger who needs a ride, who stays late on her last day on the job to set the business up for the following week. She’s the one who would defend you on that bus. She’s the one these “boys” would have beaten, and that’s not good enough.

It’s our job. We are the ones who decide how our country treats anyone who enters here–citizen, visitor, immigrant. We are defined by it. Decide. Rather than talking about what we believe, why don’t we show it through how we treat each other? Do you want us to still be considered the home of the free and the brave?