“An openly gay man is clinging to life in a medically-induced coma after two men brutally attacked him for being gay in Queens, the New York Daily News reported.
“Jack Price was attacked coming out of a corner deli by two men Friday around 3AM in the middle-class neighborhood of College Point in Queens, New York. Police allege the two men taunted Price and yelled anti-gay slurs.
“Price, 49, told family members that the two men followed him to the store and called him a “faggot,†before losing consciousness. He is currently in the intensive care unit at Booth Memorial Hospital.”
http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=4685&MediaType=1&Category=26
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I can’t help resenting the brutalities that are induced by our religions. Here is but one more example of the hatreds encouraged by our three Western religions — in writings composed many centuries ago that are repeatedly thrust at us in place of the peace-making elements of each.
Some people apparently like to hate more than anything else and so such hate texts are promoted — just as our TV is employing sex and violence to sell products which in many instances are themselves dangerous.
I support free speech as protected by the First Amendment — it holds in check authoritarians and such. But there are limits. The archetypal example is that one cannot cry fire in a theater when there is none and which can cause deaths and injuries as people rush to exits. But I am glad that our hate crimes legislation is being updated and I hope it will be used to educate people, not just to punish them with many years in jail. The fault here lies with those religionists who are preaching the hatred that oozes out into the public consciousness. These characters are as much at fault for inducing brutalities as those who committed the one in Queens this morning.
There are other religion induced crimes that I will not detail here. It is weird that people take so seriously stuff that was devised centuries ago by now mainly anonymous individuals who were claiming that they were speaking for a divinity.
It is time to move into the current century where we should condemn such dangerous insanity. Killing people is wrong! And can only be justified in extreme situations where many lives are at stake. Our current wars are probably in this category — Livy had it right in his citation in my signature below. And he was a Roman historian not implicated in any of our Western religious traditions.
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“A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope.” (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
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Ed Kent 212-665-8535 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
4 users commented in " Gay Man Hospitalized After Brutal Attack "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI hope the people that done this to mr price have to pay for their crime i also hope he recovers well. it is a simple fact of life that we dont agree with others life style but we should not retalate against them we are in no high authority nor are we any better i hope they do enforce stronger laws on have crimes no matter what no one deserves this
It is so painful to hear such a thing.These are some evil people to carry such hatred for others, just because they chose to live there lives in a way that makes them happy. Mr. Price may you have a full recovery. I pray justice be swiftly done.
Let me ask one question? How did the two men know that Mr. Price was gay? Was he wearing it on his sleeve? If so, I think that he was being the provocative one and thus exposed himself to protential problems.
I am not condoning this violence, but I am just saying that he might not have been prudent in letting his sexual orientation be known at that time and that place.
Perhaps there is more going on with this story than we are led to believe?
And regarding blaming religion for this…. nice try…. but Christianity at least does not condon random beatings on the streets of New York. Your attempt to lay the blame at the Church’s feet exposes your bigotry. I would have to see a Christian meet you in a back lane, with such ignorance coupled with a little rage I wonder what you are capable of?
The TV reports suggested that Price was openly gay and known to be so in his neigbhorhood and that the attackers probably knew this and took advantage of an opportunity to attack him. Only one had been caught at last report that I have seen. Possibly alcohol or drugs were involved at this late time – 3 a.m. Our national established churches are backing away from attacking the gay life style and some are accepting gay people as clergy. It is the fundamentalists in all three Western religions who tend towards violence which really betrays their own religions primary suppport for peace and care for others. Such perversions of religions are not a new phenomenon. There was a Nazi Christian church along with many brave Germans who resisted Nazism.
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