I don't know what happened at this dark intersection in Toronto's so-called entertainment district early Sunday morning.
What I do know is that all my friends believe that Chris Skinner was assaulted and then brutally murdered because he was gay.
Even if the police don't.
Gallant said the notion the assault was related to Skinner's sexuality is "pure speculation."
"We don't have anything pointing to that at this time," he said. "There is no evidence of it."
Which at least one of Chris Skinner's friends finds troubling.
"Either they know more than they are saying and they are just trying to dampen down speculation, or they are just being wilfully blind to the fact that gays and lesbians suffer violence on our downtown streets on a regular basis."
Fights happen, but "the fact is they actually left him on the street and then drove over him," he said. "To actually get into an SUV and deliberately run somebody open, to extinguish their life, that has no justification."
As I said before I don't know what to think.The entertainment district is full of disgusting belligerent drunks. I've been involved in about five or six fights there, since I arrived in this city a few years ago. So I suppose ANYTHING could have happened.
But you have to wonder how a group of people could hate a stranger so much that they would beat him unconscious and then run him over with a SUV. Because it sounds so familiar.
What I do know is that anti-gay violence is growing in this country. Not enough is being done to fight homophobia.
Justice is a joke.
And we're not just fighting for our human rights.
We're fighting for our LIVES...
I agree this crime was a "gay bashing" hate crime. I also think the 4 people involved in this murder black ("light skinned, means a black person who has light skin) youth, part of a gang, probably high on drugs. I also think they felt they were entitled to do this - because they haven't been taught to respect or have any fear/remorse for the consequences for their actions...
ReplyDeleteI also feel this probably wasn't the first time the people who murdered Christopher Skinner have had problems with violence or behaving in very inappropriate, hateful manner...however, their past actions were probably sweep under the rug or someone has turned the blind eye for reasons I want to go into more detail, but fear that I would be seen as a biased person myself...
This horrendous crime, I hope will start to get people thinking about the importance of the lack of RESPECT youth have when it comes to others, authorities, and the law...also I hope it opens the door into a dialogue about gay bashing that is a cross cultural/race dialogue...
My friend is Jamaican, and he has openly told me many times that in Jamaica if you are caught being a gay male, they will kill you...literally kill you like a "pig" (his quote)....
Toronto being a multi-cultural society, needs to start really understanding the cross sections of how race and culture affect peoples beliefs about homosexuality...
hi anonymous...I don't know if it was a gay bashing, but whatever it was it was cowardly and brutal.
ReplyDeleteAs I said in my post the entertainment district is full of aggressive drunks. I don't drink myself but I've been involved in scuffles a number of times just trying to cut through the place to get home.
And you're right a multi-cultural society we absolutely need to live in respect and peace...