By Gary Konecky
"Not everything that is thought should be said. And not everything that is said should be repeated. And not everything that is repeated should be remembered." - Rabbi Israel Salanter
We recently had extensive coverage of Tiger Woods and his extramarital affairs. What good was done by all this talk? Do we really need to know his intimate affairs? Does whom he slept with or details of his marriage affect our lives? Would we have been better off if something useful was discussed instead?
Several months ago Bernie Madoff was in the news and we again had extensive media coverage of details involving him and his family. Yet the larger issue of how the government has repeatedly failed to protect the American public from financial fraud after financial fraud (Enron, TYCO, MCI WorldCom, Adelphia Communications, HealthSouth, Washington Mutual, AIG, Countrywide, et. al.) was not reported nor discussed. Wouldn’t reporting about the government turning a blind eye to financial fraud been more useful?
Recently, in comments on one of my blogs, I was attacked by so called religious people. I was called a sinner. I had bible verses thrown at me. Did this do anyone any good? What is fueling their hate and anger and what gives them the right to lash out at others? How does any of this benefit society? Whatever happened to: "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn." - Hillel (Talmud, Shabbat 31a)?
Nor is the problem of inappropriate speech a new problem. In chapter 22 of Samuel I, we learn the Doeg the Edomite told Saul about Ahimelech the son of Ahitub. Ahimelech was the priest who was unaware of Saul’s hatred of David and who innocently aided David. Doeg’s tale baring resulted not only in the death of Ahimelech, but it also resulted in Nob, the city of the priests, being smote with the sharp edge of the sword, both man and woman, infant and suckling, and ox and ass, and lamb. The lesson for us is that people sometimes die when we say things we should not say. Least anyone think I am exaggerating, let us remember not so many years ago when those so-called religious people opposed any funding of AIDS research saying; “AIDS was G-d’s wrath.”
We also have some interesting teachings from the Talmud. In Sukkah 49b we are taught that performing charity and justice is more acceptable to the L-rd than offering sacrifices. In Shekalim 15a, we learn: "Everyone was gossiping about Zecharyah, the son-in-law of R’ Levi, saying that he does not need to take charity, but he nevertheless takes. When he died, they investigated, and found that he was distributing it all to others, who were needy, but were too embarrassed to take themselves."
How much harm does our needless talk cause? How many times do we open our mouths because we are absolutely convinced we know something, only to find out that we knew nothing, as in the case of those who gossiped about Zecharyah?
In Pirkei Avot 1:17, we are taught: “Shimon his son said: All my days have I grown up among the wise and I have not found anything better for a man than silence.” http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Rabbinics/Talmud/Mishnah/Seder_Nezikin_Damages_/Pirkei_Avot/Chapter_One.shtml
How much of our talk serves no useful purpose? How many times would our silence be wiser than our speech? Perhaps we should think before we open our mouths. Perhaps we should weigh our words with care. Perhaps we should speak only when we have something, something truly useful, to say.
Showing posts with label bigotry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bigotry. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Shame On These Rabbis
By Gary Konecky
I am appalled that Jews who would team up with world class Jew haters to discriminate against gays and lesbians. It is stunts like this (baseless hatred) that is the reason we still do not have the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
Additionally, there is something fundamentally immoral about victims of
discrimination demanding that the government practice discrimination.
Rabbi Osher Lieberman and his fellow travelers (including Orthodox Union and the Jewish ghetto in Monsey, NY), need to explain to me, a fellow Jew, how economic insecurity resulting from not having adequate health insurance, not having the right to inherit property (G-d forbid my lover predeceases me), and so on strengthens the Jewish community.
Rabbi Osher Lieberman and all his fellow travelers need to explain to me
how economically hurting people, how discriminating against the stranger, how demanding the government enforce social policies akin to those of Sodom is in accordance with Jewish teaching.
Rabbi Osher Lieberman and his fellow travelers have decided to live in
a ghetto of their own making in Lakewood, and now these bigots need to go back to their ghetto in Lakewood and get out of my house and my intimate relationships.
However, as they have raised the issue of public policy, I feel it is now appropriate to ask how many Jews reproduce like rabbits and have so many children that they cannot afford to support them resulting in these families being on welfare? How many of these Jews have families so large that they do not pay income taxes on six figure incomes? If you are on the public dole, or if you do not pay income taxes, you have a huge amount of chutzpah telling us, the gays and lesbians who pay the taxes that support your irresponsible sex lives and resulting children, that we should be denied their civil rights.
Furthermore, “'This really hurts us,' said Rabbi Osher Lieberman." How does it hurt you? How does my having a mature, monogamous, loving relationship with a consenting adult hurt you? How?
Speaking on the subject of hurt, how many gays and lesbians will be the victims of hate crimes because of your bigotry. How much blood will you and all your fellow travelers be responsible for spilling when the Hebrew Bible tells you that you should not stand by while your fellow's blood is being shed. The Misnah teaches us “Whoever saves one life, it is as if he saved the entire world.” We also know the converse of this is true. So I ask you as bigoted Jews, how many worlds are you destroying to enshrine your bigotry into law?
Lastly, Rabbi Osher Lieberman, you and your fellow travelers owe every single gay and lesbian an apology for holding their personal lives up to public ridicule and name-calling.
Rabbis, heterosexuals join NJ gay marriage debate
By GEOFF MULVIHILL (AP) – December 1, 2009
LAKEWOOD, N.J. — The leaders in the local large Orthodox Jewish community go to great lengths to keep out the outside world, discouraging nonbusiness use of the Internet and encouraging strict filters to keep the ungodly out when members must use the Web.
But last month, several rabbis and other elders did something astounding for them: They took a public stand on a political issue, declaring their opposition to same-sex marriage in the state.
"This really hurts us," said Rabbi Osher Lieberman, a key figure in the community in the suburbs about 30 miles east of Trenton. "To say (it's) immoral is not enough."
He said community members are being encouraged to do whatever they can to make sure lawmakers don't vote to recognize gay marriage.
In a state that leans a bit left, the conservative rabbis are one of a handful of groups taking a passionate — and maybe surprising — role in a debate that's likely to be decided by January. The newly political rabbis have joined a coalition including Roman Catholic bishops, evangelicals and some black and Latino leaders.
The other side of the debate, anchored by a well-organized, well-connected gay rights group, is getting a boost from heterosexual liberals.
When Republican Chris Christie unseated Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine in the gubernatorial election last month, it gave gay-rights activists more urgency to try to achieve their long-held goal of getting a same-sex marriage bill through the Legislature before Christie takes office Jan. 19.
The reason is simple: Corzine supports the bill. Christie says he would veto it.
If it's not passed by the end of the legislative session, that means the window will close for now on New Jersey joining Massachusetts, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut as the only states to recognize gay marriage.
Democratic lawmakers have been wrangling over whether the matter will get a debate in the Legislature. Most party leaders say they won't bring it up unless it looks as though it will pass.
Gay-rights supporters and social conservatives alike have been lobbying lawmakers, though it's a debate that doesn't seem to be enrapturing the state as a whole. Two polls last month found the public is divided over the issue. One found narrow support, the other narrow opposition.
But the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll, which found support, also showed that most residents think the issue is not a big deal.
It is a big deal to Betty Wyka, a museum employee from Parsippany who has long supported same-sex marriage. In February, she started volunteering for Garden State Equality, the state's main gay-rights group. Steven Goldstein, the chairman of the group, says that as a straight woman Wyka is typical of a new volunteer.
Wyka said she joined partly to counter a claim that gay-marriage opponents often make: that allowing gay couples to wed will make society value traditional marriages less.
"I got sick of hearing that same-sex marriage is going to impact my marriage. That's a bunch of hooey," she said. "It's a civil rights issue."
Lakewood's Orthodox community is mostly isolated from the rest of society. The men wear long beards, white shirts, black suits and black hats, and women are not nearly as visible as men. The community was founded in 1942 by a rabbinic leader who fled Poland and the Holocaust. It's now home to some 10,000 Orthodox families and the rabbinical school, which has more than 5,000 students.
Before last month's election, rabbis allowed distribution of a voting guide from the socially conservative New Jersey Family Policy Council. While religious institutions would not be required to marry gay couples, some say their religious freedom could be squeezed by permitting something they say runs against their beliefs.
Orthodox Jews, like many Christians, look to the Old Testament Book of Leviticus, which many interpret as saying that homosexuality is immoral.
A group of Lakewood community leaders granted an interview with an Associated Press reporter — a rarity and part of the effort to become involved in the push against gay marriage. The leaders said they're taking their position public because in the Internet age more information about the broader world is flowing into their community.
The large Orthodox community is not the first to speak out against the prospect of gay marriage. Last year, the New York-based Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America made a public statement in favor of California's Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment that outlawed gay marriage there months after a court allowed it.
And leaders in Lakewood say they received political guidance from some in the Orthodox Jewish community in Monsey, N.Y. In New York, the state Assembly already has passed a law to allow gay marriage, and the Senate is considering whether to follow.
Orthodox Jews traditionally have been regular voters who oppose candidates who support abortion rights and gay rights, said Yaakov S. Ariel, a professor of religion at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"The visible part is what's new," Ariel said. "The opinions and the support of candidates is not new."
What's especially troubling to some in Lakewood is not just that New Jersey might recognize same-sex marriages but that Orthodox Jews would be more likely now than in the past to know about it — and think that it's OK to be gay.
"These type of laws bring an exposure to our community," Rabbi Aaron Sarscher said.
And that's why there's a new voice in the debate.
"I really don't believe in getting involved in government," said another community leader, David Sofer. "But when an issue is so dangerous, you have to stop it."
I am appalled that Jews who would team up with world class Jew haters to discriminate against gays and lesbians. It is stunts like this (baseless hatred) that is the reason we still do not have the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
Additionally, there is something fundamentally immoral about victims of
discrimination demanding that the government practice discrimination.
Rabbi Osher Lieberman and his fellow travelers (including Orthodox Union and the Jewish ghetto in Monsey, NY), need to explain to me, a fellow Jew, how economic insecurity resulting from not having adequate health insurance, not having the right to inherit property (G-d forbid my lover predeceases me), and so on strengthens the Jewish community.
Rabbi Osher Lieberman and all his fellow travelers need to explain to me
how economically hurting people, how discriminating against the stranger, how demanding the government enforce social policies akin to those of Sodom is in accordance with Jewish teaching.
Rabbi Osher Lieberman and his fellow travelers have decided to live in
a ghetto of their own making in Lakewood, and now these bigots need to go back to their ghetto in Lakewood and get out of my house and my intimate relationships.
However, as they have raised the issue of public policy, I feel it is now appropriate to ask how many Jews reproduce like rabbits and have so many children that they cannot afford to support them resulting in these families being on welfare? How many of these Jews have families so large that they do not pay income taxes on six figure incomes? If you are on the public dole, or if you do not pay income taxes, you have a huge amount of chutzpah telling us, the gays and lesbians who pay the taxes that support your irresponsible sex lives and resulting children, that we should be denied their civil rights.
Furthermore, “'This really hurts us,' said Rabbi Osher Lieberman." How does it hurt you? How does my having a mature, monogamous, loving relationship with a consenting adult hurt you? How?
Speaking on the subject of hurt, how many gays and lesbians will be the victims of hate crimes because of your bigotry. How much blood will you and all your fellow travelers be responsible for spilling when the Hebrew Bible tells you that you should not stand by while your fellow's blood is being shed. The Misnah teaches us “Whoever saves one life, it is as if he saved the entire world.” We also know the converse of this is true. So I ask you as bigoted Jews, how many worlds are you destroying to enshrine your bigotry into law?
Lastly, Rabbi Osher Lieberman, you and your fellow travelers owe every single gay and lesbian an apology for holding their personal lives up to public ridicule and name-calling.
Rabbis, heterosexuals join NJ gay marriage debate
By GEOFF MULVIHILL (AP) – December 1, 2009
LAKEWOOD, N.J. — The leaders in the local large Orthodox Jewish community go to great lengths to keep out the outside world, discouraging nonbusiness use of the Internet and encouraging strict filters to keep the ungodly out when members must use the Web.
But last month, several rabbis and other elders did something astounding for them: They took a public stand on a political issue, declaring their opposition to same-sex marriage in the state.
"This really hurts us," said Rabbi Osher Lieberman, a key figure in the community in the suburbs about 30 miles east of Trenton. "To say (it's) immoral is not enough."
He said community members are being encouraged to do whatever they can to make sure lawmakers don't vote to recognize gay marriage.
In a state that leans a bit left, the conservative rabbis are one of a handful of groups taking a passionate — and maybe surprising — role in a debate that's likely to be decided by January. The newly political rabbis have joined a coalition including Roman Catholic bishops, evangelicals and some black and Latino leaders.
The other side of the debate, anchored by a well-organized, well-connected gay rights group, is getting a boost from heterosexual liberals.
When Republican Chris Christie unseated Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine in the gubernatorial election last month, it gave gay-rights activists more urgency to try to achieve their long-held goal of getting a same-sex marriage bill through the Legislature before Christie takes office Jan. 19.
The reason is simple: Corzine supports the bill. Christie says he would veto it.
If it's not passed by the end of the legislative session, that means the window will close for now on New Jersey joining Massachusetts, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut as the only states to recognize gay marriage.
Democratic lawmakers have been wrangling over whether the matter will get a debate in the Legislature. Most party leaders say they won't bring it up unless it looks as though it will pass.
Gay-rights supporters and social conservatives alike have been lobbying lawmakers, though it's a debate that doesn't seem to be enrapturing the state as a whole. Two polls last month found the public is divided over the issue. One found narrow support, the other narrow opposition.
But the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll, which found support, also showed that most residents think the issue is not a big deal.
It is a big deal to Betty Wyka, a museum employee from Parsippany who has long supported same-sex marriage. In February, she started volunteering for Garden State Equality, the state's main gay-rights group. Steven Goldstein, the chairman of the group, says that as a straight woman Wyka is typical of a new volunteer.
Wyka said she joined partly to counter a claim that gay-marriage opponents often make: that allowing gay couples to wed will make society value traditional marriages less.
"I got sick of hearing that same-sex marriage is going to impact my marriage. That's a bunch of hooey," she said. "It's a civil rights issue."
Lakewood's Orthodox community is mostly isolated from the rest of society. The men wear long beards, white shirts, black suits and black hats, and women are not nearly as visible as men. The community was founded in 1942 by a rabbinic leader who fled Poland and the Holocaust. It's now home to some 10,000 Orthodox families and the rabbinical school, which has more than 5,000 students.
Before last month's election, rabbis allowed distribution of a voting guide from the socially conservative New Jersey Family Policy Council. While religious institutions would not be required to marry gay couples, some say their religious freedom could be squeezed by permitting something they say runs against their beliefs.
Orthodox Jews, like many Christians, look to the Old Testament Book of Leviticus, which many interpret as saying that homosexuality is immoral.
A group of Lakewood community leaders granted an interview with an Associated Press reporter — a rarity and part of the effort to become involved in the push against gay marriage. The leaders said they're taking their position public because in the Internet age more information about the broader world is flowing into their community.
The large Orthodox community is not the first to speak out against the prospect of gay marriage. Last year, the New York-based Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America made a public statement in favor of California's Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment that outlawed gay marriage there months after a court allowed it.
And leaders in Lakewood say they received political guidance from some in the Orthodox Jewish community in Monsey, N.Y. In New York, the state Assembly already has passed a law to allow gay marriage, and the Senate is considering whether to follow.
Orthodox Jews traditionally have been regular voters who oppose candidates who support abortion rights and gay rights, said Yaakov S. Ariel, a professor of religion at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"The visible part is what's new," Ariel said. "The opinions and the support of candidates is not new."
What's especially troubling to some in Lakewood is not just that New Jersey might recognize same-sex marriages but that Orthodox Jews would be more likely now than in the past to know about it — and think that it's OK to be gay.
"These type of laws bring an exposure to our community," Rabbi Aaron Sarscher said.
And that's why there's a new voice in the debate.
"I really don't believe in getting involved in government," said another community leader, David Sofer. "But when an issue is so dangerous, you have to stop it."
Monday, November 16, 2009
I Do Not Understand and I Pray I Never Will
I do not understand this and I pray I never will. I do not understand what type of person or people could do such a thing. I do not understand how a police officer could condone such an outrage. From this news report, from personally seeing the New York Police Department in action and from seeing the Fair Lawn, NJ Police Department in action, I do understand that the police are unwilling to enforce hate crime laws when the victim is a gay male.
Gay Puerto Rican Teen Decapitated, Dismembered, and Burned
http://www.towleroad.com/2009/11/gay-puerto-rican-teen-decapitated-dismembered-and-burned.html
Over the weekend the brutalized body of gay teen George Steven Lopez Mercado was found by the side of a road in Puerto Rico. The police investigator suggested that he deserved what he got because of the "type of lifestyle" he was leading.
Mercado According to an iReport by Chrisopher Pagan: "On November 14 the body of a gay 19 year old was found a few miles away from the town in which he was residing in called Caguas. He was a very well known person in the gay community of Puerto Rico, and very loved. He was found on the site of an isolated road in the city of Cayey, he was partially burned, decapitated, and dismembered, both arms, both legs, and the torso. This has caused a huge reaction from the gay community here, but its a difficult situation. Never in the history of Puerto Rico has a murder been classified as a hate crime. Even though we have to follow federal mandates and laws, many of the laws in which are passed in the USA such as Obama’s new bill, do not always directly get practiced in Puerto Rico. The police agent that is handling this case said on a public televised statement that 'people who lead this type of lifestyle need to be aware that this will happen'. As If the boy murdered Jorge Steven Lopez was asking to get killed..."
Jorge Here's a report on the murder (in Spanish) from PrimeraHora.com. Said activist Pedro Julio Serrano: "It is inconceivable that the investigating officer suggests that the victim deserved his fate, like a woman deserves rape for wearing a short skirt. We demand condemnation of this investigator and demand that Superintendente Figueroa Sancha replace him with someone capable of investigating this case without prejudice." (my translation, please suggest a better one if you can).
Gay Puerto Rican Teen Decapitated, Dismembered, and Burned
http://www.towleroad.com/2009/11/gay-puerto-rican-teen-decapitated-dismembered-and-burned.html
Over the weekend the brutalized body of gay teen George Steven Lopez Mercado was found by the side of a road in Puerto Rico. The police investigator suggested that he deserved what he got because of the "type of lifestyle" he was leading.
Mercado According to an iReport by Chrisopher Pagan: "On November 14 the body of a gay 19 year old was found a few miles away from the town in which he was residing in called Caguas. He was a very well known person in the gay community of Puerto Rico, and very loved. He was found on the site of an isolated road in the city of Cayey, he was partially burned, decapitated, and dismembered, both arms, both legs, and the torso. This has caused a huge reaction from the gay community here, but its a difficult situation. Never in the history of Puerto Rico has a murder been classified as a hate crime. Even though we have to follow federal mandates and laws, many of the laws in which are passed in the USA such as Obama’s new bill, do not always directly get practiced in Puerto Rico. The police agent that is handling this case said on a public televised statement that 'people who lead this type of lifestyle need to be aware that this will happen'. As If the boy murdered Jorge Steven Lopez was asking to get killed..."
Jorge Here's a report on the murder (in Spanish) from PrimeraHora.com. Said activist Pedro Julio Serrano: "It is inconceivable that the investigating officer suggests that the victim deserved his fate, like a woman deserves rape for wearing a short skirt. We demand condemnation of this investigator and demand that Superintendente Figueroa Sancha replace him with someone capable of investigating this case without prejudice." (my translation, please suggest a better one if you can).
Thursday, October 15, 2009
We Must Make Sure This Does Not Happen Again
We must speak out against despicable acts such as this. We must condemn our elected officials, our clergy, and our politicians who preach the hate that leads to this. We must demand passage of a federal hate crimes law that will prevent acts such as this and provide a means to prosecute such horrendous acts.
News > Top Stories
Gay bashing caught on video
BY VICTOR G. MIMONI
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 5:01 PM EDT
One man is in jail on Rikers Island and another in Virginia, for the hate crime beating of an openly-gay College Point man, who is on a respirator after days in a medically induced coma in New York Hospital Queens.
A surveillance video recorded at about 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 8, shows Jack Price, 49, being chased by two assailants and beaten to the ground, then kicked and punched repeatedly.
Daniel Rodriguez, 21, of 56-02 215th Street in College Point, was apprehended by U.S. Marshals on Tuesday, October 13, at the home of a relative in Norfolk, VA. He is being held in connection with the assault, pending extradition to New York.
Daniel Aleman, 26, of 18-04 College Point Boulevard, was arrested on Sunday, October 11. He is charged with second degree assault as a hate crime – increasing the possible prison sentence from seven to 15 years. Judge Robert Raciti set bail at $40,000.
According to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, Price went to the 24-hour deli-grocery store on 18th Avenue and College Point Boulevard to buy a pack of cigarettes.
As Price – who is 5’6” tall and weighs about 130 pounds – entered the store, the two allegedly yelled an anti-gay slur and repeated it twice when he left. The men then punched Price repeatedly – and stomped and punched him after he fell to the ground, DA Brown alleged.
The camera, one of several recently installed by the College Point Board of Trade, captures two men leaving Price collapsed, and then returning to rifle his pockets and further assault him.
Price managed to stagger and crawl some 11 blocks to his home, where he called 9-1-1. He was rushed to the hospital with injuries including two collapsed lungs, all of his ribs broken, a lacerated spleen and shattered jaw.
He reportedly told family members about his ordeal from his hospital bed before lapsing into unconsciousness. “Look what they did to him because he is gay,” his sister-in-law reportedly said.
Surgeons had to operate on Price’s spleen and put a metal plate in his jaw, according to reports.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly called the crime “despicable” and said “He was attacked simply for his orientation and we aren’t going to tolerate it.”
There can never be true justice for Jack Price,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who praised Kelly, detectives from the NYPD Hate Crimes Unit, federal Marshals and Norfolk Police for “the excellent work of the men and women” involved.
“I have the highest respect for Queens District Attorney Brown, and I know he will prosecute these offenses swiftly, sending the message that our city's commitment to tolerance will not be tarnished,” Bloomberg said.
In an official statement, the board said that the cameras were installed “in a number of businesses to deter graffiti through a grant obtained by Senator Frank Padavan. In this case one of those surveillance systems captured this crime.”
The complete news article is available at: http://www.queenscourier.com/articles/2009/10/14/news/top_stories/doc4ad61270981c8020097678.txt
News > Top Stories
Gay bashing caught on video
BY VICTOR G. MIMONI
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 5:01 PM EDT
One man is in jail on Rikers Island and another in Virginia, for the hate crime beating of an openly-gay College Point man, who is on a respirator after days in a medically induced coma in New York Hospital Queens.
A surveillance video recorded at about 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 8, shows Jack Price, 49, being chased by two assailants and beaten to the ground, then kicked and punched repeatedly.
Daniel Rodriguez, 21, of 56-02 215th Street in College Point, was apprehended by U.S. Marshals on Tuesday, October 13, at the home of a relative in Norfolk, VA. He is being held in connection with the assault, pending extradition to New York.
Daniel Aleman, 26, of 18-04 College Point Boulevard, was arrested on Sunday, October 11. He is charged with second degree assault as a hate crime – increasing the possible prison sentence from seven to 15 years. Judge Robert Raciti set bail at $40,000.
According to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, Price went to the 24-hour deli-grocery store on 18th Avenue and College Point Boulevard to buy a pack of cigarettes.
As Price – who is 5’6” tall and weighs about 130 pounds – entered the store, the two allegedly yelled an anti-gay slur and repeated it twice when he left. The men then punched Price repeatedly – and stomped and punched him after he fell to the ground, DA Brown alleged.
The camera, one of several recently installed by the College Point Board of Trade, captures two men leaving Price collapsed, and then returning to rifle his pockets and further assault him.
Price managed to stagger and crawl some 11 blocks to his home, where he called 9-1-1. He was rushed to the hospital with injuries including two collapsed lungs, all of his ribs broken, a lacerated spleen and shattered jaw.
He reportedly told family members about his ordeal from his hospital bed before lapsing into unconsciousness. “Look what they did to him because he is gay,” his sister-in-law reportedly said.
Surgeons had to operate on Price’s spleen and put a metal plate in his jaw, according to reports.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly called the crime “despicable” and said “He was attacked simply for his orientation and we aren’t going to tolerate it.”
There can never be true justice for Jack Price,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who praised Kelly, detectives from the NYPD Hate Crimes Unit, federal Marshals and Norfolk Police for “the excellent work of the men and women” involved.
“I have the highest respect for Queens District Attorney Brown, and I know he will prosecute these offenses swiftly, sending the message that our city's commitment to tolerance will not be tarnished,” Bloomberg said.
In an official statement, the board said that the cameras were installed “in a number of businesses to deter graffiti through a grant obtained by Senator Frank Padavan. In this case one of those surveillance systems captured this crime.”
The complete news article is available at: http://www.queenscourier.com/articles/2009/10/14/news/top_stories/doc4ad61270981c8020097678.txt
Friday, June 26, 2009
A Heavy Heart
I write this with a heavy heart. I write this in pain, the pain one gets from freshly inflicted wounds, wounds inflected by those who preach hate.
As most of you know, I am doubly blessed, gay and Jewish. Everyday, I get to hear or read about my brothers and sisters who are persecuted or violently attacked because they are gay or lesbian or transgender or Jewish.
I live in the NYC Metropolitan area, which has a significant Jewish population. Therefore, while I experience hatred on a regular basis, it is not the same intense filth that one gets in areas without a sizable Jewish population.
For the last two days in a moderated, all faiths, religion forum, I and my Jewish brothers and sisters were attacked by a Pastor who preaches replacement theology. For those who do not know what replacement theology is, it is a discredited Christian teaching. Replacement theology is the religious justification for persecuting and murdering Jews during the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition and the Holocaust.
When the bigot was called on his hatred, he was defiant. He was proud of his disrupting an all faiths forum. He was proud of the hate and pain he brought to people. He was proud of his perverse use of religion to inflict pain. He was proud because he believes that only he and his followers know the true word of G-d. While he was preaching hate, one of his supporters was actively ridiculing Judaism and making fun of the prophet Elijah and also one of the Jewish sages.
Today, in a Jewish Yahoo group, a Messianic Jew tried to convert me. For those who do not know what a Messianic Jew is, it is someone who converted to Christianity, yet has the nerve to claim to still be Jewish. Typically they try to then convert Jews to Christianity.
I have seen hate and violence close up. I have seen the NYPD do nothing while glass bottles were thrown at gays and lesbians during an anti-violence march in NYC.
I have seen some of the finest human beings I will be privileged to know die from AIDS while the government did nothing because; they were expandable, because they were a persecuted minority, because it was politically convenient to let them die. Yet none of that hate has prepared me for the last two days.
My life was threatened by a homophobe soon after Mathew Shepard’s murder and the Fair Lawn, NJ Police Department refused to make an arrest citing “insufficient evidence.” Insufficient evidence according to the Fair Lawn police would be footprints in the snow leading from the perpetrator’s property to the crime scene and back. The failure of the Fair Lawn Police Department ultimately lead to the situation deteriorating and becoming violent. By the way, years ago, a similar incident was handled very professionally by the Nassau County, NY Police Department and instead of violence, further incidents were avoided.
None of this has prepared me for the onslaught of hate in the last two days. None of the horrors I have seen have prepared me for the filth I have experienced in the last two days.
My heart is heavy because we are all children of G-d and there are those of us who preach hate and practice cruelty instead of love, peace, kindness and goodness. My heart is heavy because there are those of us who get off on causing misery to others. My heart is heavy because there are those who do not understand the concept of respect. My heart is heavy because there are those who insist on going into places they do not belong because they are so convinced they are right that they think they are exempt from matters of common courtesy and decency. My heart is heavy because one would hope after endless bloodshed and war that maybe, just maybe, a moderated all faiths forum would be a safe place to learn about each others' faiths, traditions and beliefs.
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