When the individual is gay and suffers such trauma, why is the assumption that it was a hate crime? Everyone that I've spoken to or article that I've read is automatically going to the 'killed for being queer' conclusion. What is it within our community that suggests that horrendous things only happen to us, when we're queer?
What if these individuals killed him for being white, prettier than them, cuz he started something first, or simply because they were fucking thugs looking to kill anything that couldn't defend themselves?
From the media that we consume to the videos and to the plays that we view, it's not uncommon to face adversary for being queer. Coming out leads to a beat down by our father, isolation from the cool kids, and sometimes suicide. Queer relationships are torn apart, lovers are beaten before our eyes, and sorrow is all too common.
Bash'd is now playing at Theatre Passe Muraille. It's a great show with catchy songs and 2 performances that rely on impeccable timing by its cast. Sadly, the title foreshadows its ending. From what I recall 2 years ago at the Fringe, someone is 'bash'd' to death. This is a hit show. Imagine, if they didn't die at the end. Is this a hit show, cuz homosexuals can comprehend such an ending and the heteros leave with a feeling of 'well at least the faggot dies in the end...?'
I'm not saying that the investigation into the horrible death of Christopher Skinner will not lead to a conclusion that it was in fact a hate crime. But for now, I'd rather consider the many possibilities of the motive behind his murder. Instead of just assuming that a murdered homosexual must equal hate crime.
4 comments:
this makes me sad (a fellow young queer dying is almost always sad) :( but you're right. when i was reading this story this afternoon, it did occur in the back of my mind that it could've been hate crime but we can't always conclude to that because there might be other motivations for his killers to kill him. I read CityTV's take on it and they're reporting that he did get into an altercation with the SUV occupants. However, it is still very sad that one of our fellows have to die like that at a very young age...he had plans of going to law school :(
glad you wrote this....bash'd strikes me as a hollow and empty and phony show.
I couldn't agree with you more. It is sad that our first assumption is that this happened because he was gay. Either way of looking at it though, it is a hate crime. To kill someone on the basis of not liking something about them, is hate. You state that in your blog and it is sad, whatever the reason, that someone had to die because others did not like something about that person. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of this tragic loss.
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