Gay Bashers Beware
By Keith Boykin, in sexuality
Monday, November 21 2005, 12:25AM
Lucas Dawson, a black gay man in Philadelphia, was cleared of criminal charges after defending himself in a scuffle with gay bashers last month. But the case remains open, and Dawson faces the possibility of re-arrest if new evidence is discovered. In an interview with Steve Kmetko on QTN World News on PlanetOut, Dawson (shown here on the right) explained what happened the night of his attack. (See the video.)
The night of October 29, Dawson, 21, was walking through the East Mount Airy section of Philadelphia to meet friends at a nightclub when he ran across 7 guys across the street who began yelling anti-gay epithets at him. "Look at that faggot. Look at those tight-ass jeans," they screamed. Dawson kept on walking but the attackers confronted him and physically assaulted him, he said. After he had been punched, kicked and stomped on the ground, he "felt a wave of strength," jumped up, pulled out a pocket knife and "started swinging." One of his attackers, 17-year-old Gerald Knight, died from Dawson's strike.
Dawson learned of the boy's death the following day, and said he "felt terrible" when he heard the news. He turned himself into police and was charged with manslaughter. Those charges were dropped when the judge in the case determined it was self-defense.
Dawson’s mother, Lisa Dawson, said she doesn’t want her son, an aspiring singer and actor, made into a hero. "I just view Lucas as a normal person who stood up for himself," she told the Philadelphia Gay News. "We have nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to be embarrassed about. But I don’t want Lucas put up on a pedestal or made into a gay hero. I feel very sad that a loss of life has happened. It’s not the type of thing you want to glorify."
It may be too late. Dawson's case has already sparked a public discussion about hate crimes, self-defense and vigilantism, and it's even re-ignited the age-old debate between masculine and effeminate men in the LGBT community. For example, a reader on PlanetOut posted the following comment after watching the interview with Dawson: "You know what? Without femmy guys -- I'm talkin' the real big queens, we'd be nowhere. Queens came out of the closet first (a lot of them had no choice!) Queens fought for our rights."
Whatever the outcome, Dawson's case is a powerful reminder that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people won't always allow themselves to be victims of hate violence. For better or worse, some of us are standing up and fighting back.
See the interview with Lucas Dawson
Comments conceal
phd2b11
November 21 2005, 1:01AM
Very interesting story. I hate the young man had to die. However, it appears to be self-defense. What do you do?
j-one-shot
November 21 2005, 1:39AM
From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Shabaka
November 21 2005, 2:37AM
Glad to hear that he got out!! My heart goes out to the dead boy's family!
jazzi
November 21 2005, 8:27AM
His mom is right in that this isn't something to glorify. He stood up for himself. What happened was an act of self defense. I stand behind him 100% for that but let's not turn this kid into a hero or a celebrity. I'm sure he doesn't want that. It's a shame that something so innocent as walking down the street to meet friends for a night on the town had to end in death. No cause for celebration there. I just hope Lucas can move beyond this unfortunate experience & live his life.
Ben Frost
November 21 2005, 9:02AM
Great reporting Keith! Definitely, an inspiring story.
yusef
November 21 2005, 11:37AM
Mr. Dawsons mother is right it shouldnt be glorified, personally dont feel anything sadness towards none of the dudes who attacked Lucas especially the one that died.....fuck them all and the mothers who brought them here
Regan DuCasse
November 21 2005, 1:23PM
Young black children die in some kind of urban violence EVERY damn day of the week!
Whether it's in school, at play, going to and from normal activities.
Even in their own homes. Home invasion is too common to number. Domestic violence is just as pernicious as street attacks.
This situation was going to end badly because it was intitiated by the motive to COMMIT a crime.
I know Dawson has regret and remorse, but his attackers took it for granted that he'd have no way to fight back.
This is common for GAY men, or even if Dawson had been straight...this sort of thing happens regardless.
It was going to be him, or somebody.
HE happened to be the one who survived...and because he was the would be victim...the outcome was at least FAIR.
This case shouldn't have to be reviewed at ALL.
Why doesn't the court just LEAVE it be?!
Perhaps this is also a case of wishing to punish a gay person for something a straight person wouldn't have to think twice about.
Further evidence of the inequity of the law for gay people.
gk
November 21 2005, 2:13PM
I agree with his mom. Let us not glorify this unforunate incident. I pray that Lucas is able to get on with his life and understand that he was defending himself.
Cool
November 21 2005, 4:07PM
Bullshyt!
Give honor where honor is due. Dude is a HERO!
A freedom fighter, a warrior, valiant and deserving of honor. He did what brave men have done since the begining of time and the world builds statutes for them, name streets after them and war ships.
Honor this brotha. Don't discount what he did just because he's gay. Don't buy into that.
If the attack was racial and he was Jesse Jackson they'd hoist him up on shoulders and parade him through town. If for no other reason but a lesson to anyone else who'd think they are bad enough.
This kat is my hero. Good riddance to the dead SOB.
Put this dude in a red convertible Cadillac at the front of every Gay-Pride parade. Throw confetti, balloons and money at his ass. Give him a medal of honor and a purple heart. Kill the fatted calf. I would be there to applaud him.
another case
November 21 2005, 4:21PM
"A vigil tonight was held to protest a recent hate crime."
by News Channel 8's Jamie Muro
On October 30th, two woman were verbally and physically assaulted on the city's south end.
Last month two gay women were beaten in the Southend of Hartford. One had a crushed sternum, and the other had a broken cheekbone.
Police say it was a hate crime.
Tonight the vigil was about protesting violence and a plea for peace.
More than 50 people gathered to honor the victims. Speakers asked that the criminals be brought to justice.
There were also comments about how is was a slow response from the Hartford Police Department when the crime occurred. There was also criticism to how the victims were treated by officers.
City leaders and representatives from the Hartford Police Department say this case is being taken very seriously.
Organizers of the vigil say hearing those words is somewhat reassuring.
"So many people are murdered within the transgendered community and the murders are going unseen. It is important that we get visibility and police take it seriously," says Jerimarie Liesegang, Dir. CT TransAdvocacy Coalition.
Following the vigil there was a march.
Forever Barri
November 21 2005, 5:30PM
A young life destroyed over tending to someone else's business. We now have to face retaliation! So let's be ready for it! I am always ready for bashers. They come in all shapes and sizes. Prepare.
iwbaia
November 21 2005, 7:01PM
This just goes to show that ignorce is sill very much present in our soicety today! When will we as a people come together and stop the bull shit! I hate that someone had to die in this case, but I am glad that Lucas protected his self and did not become another "gay bashing"! Who we are as people shouldn't have to be put in the lime light everyday, we should be able to live our lives as we please, but this is not the case. I deal with these same issues everyday as we all do... and yes sometimes we do get feed up with it and have to re act... and that is what happen in this case... He had to make a spilt second decission....... was he going to lay there and die... or stand up and fight and have a chance at life......... I know he made the right choice!
alicia banks
November 21 2005, 8:43PM
i prefer legal guns
i quote:
"he is who is whipped easiest is whipped most often"
fred douglas
i say:
u go boy!!!!
peace
ab
eloquent fury
www.geocities.com/ambwww/index.html
Erick
November 21 2005, 8:47PM
Thank for the link to the video. It is unfortunate one of the attackers died but for Lucas Dawson, what was the alternative? These cowards definitely were not thinking about the value of his life when they ran across the street to attack him. If Lucas had died, would any of these men have come forward to confess?
Nyah Molneaux
November 21 2005, 9:46PM
I agree with Cool, that bitch got what he deserves when he messed with Lucas. This should be a message to other potential gay bashers that if you mess with one of us, you might get messed up real badly.
I am not saying that he is an hero, but some people need to realize that just because a man is gay, he is still a man never the less and will defend himself when necessary.
Mel Smith
November 21 2005, 10:20PM
Lucas, I'm proud that you fought your attackers back. I hate that the young man had to die but those dudes had no business trying to bully Lucas.
Mel Smith
November 21 2005, 10:26PM
Also, I truly appreciate all the feminine homosexual men because they are not cowards. The wanna be straight muthaf@ckers are!
Octavio
November 22 2005, 2:18AM
'Cool'...I couldn't agreee more.
E-RED
November 22 2005, 11:16AM
Erik, you asked, "If Lucas had died, would any of these men have come forward to confess?" Yours is a compelling question. However, I'm sure no one would have.
After watching the video, I've another question for the board: Does anyone else believe that Dawson's clear-cut effeminacy made him a more credible witness, helping him to be cleared of the voluntary manslaughter charge? Call me shallow on this point, but my sense is had he tried to act hard in front of the judge, there might have been a different outcome.
I strongly disagree w/Mel that the "The wanna be straight muthaf@ckers are cowards." They're not cowards, they've just got it backwards. Respect comes from what you think about yourself, not from what (you think) others think about you. I'm glad Dawson remained true to himself.
Noah would have been proud!
one
E-RED
jazzi
November 22 2005, 12:04PM
Why's he wearing a jheri curl, though?
Mel Smith
November 22 2005, 1:02PM
E-Red, I call them cowards because many of them stereotype other homosexuals and it's not right. In addition, the ones I know never battle social issues which affect us.
Mel Smith
November 22 2005, 1:04PM
E-Red, I call them cowards because many of them stereotype other homosexuals and it's not right. In addition, the ones I know never battle social issues which affect us. I don't mean to offend anyone but it's a shame how we self hate each other.
Mel Smith
November 22 2005, 1:34PM
I apologize to anyone who was offended by my earlier statement. I just dislike people and a society that oppresses anyone. Therefore I tend to express myself by using language I never use.
Laura
November 22 2005, 3:25PM
I apologize to anyone who was offended by my earlier statement."
don't apologize, mel, they don't deserve an apology. they are whores for the status quo, paralyzed into apathy by what others think.
they are supposedly such "masculine men". let them start acting like it and do their own political work, instead of hiding behind the very "queens" and "faggots" they try to distance themselves from in public.
Robert
November 22 2005, 4:47PM
What comes to my mind on reading about this is this: if the situation was exactly the same, but he hadn't had that knife, how would it have turned out?
A newspaper report of a brutal beating, young man in the hospital, 'no known suspects'. Or his obituary. With the best will in the world, I can't help being glad things turned out differently.
Mark Norris
November 22 2005, 10:51PM
I have another hero.
Mark
Will
November 23 2005, 11:10AM
YUSEF: "Mr. Dawsons mother is right it shouldnt be glorified"
Unfortunately, I think that genie is already out of the bottle. For better or for worse, many within the gay community will view the actions of Lucas on that fateful night as heroic (and I tend to agree) - perhaps even revolutionary so, considering the outcome of such violent gay-bashing encounters rarely favor the gay individual.
There is little Mr. Dawson's mother can do to stem the tide of the inevitable in this case.
Will
November 23 2005, 11:52AM
COOL: "Good riddance to the dead SOB."
While I'm a 100% in support of Lucas and what he did that night to defend himself, I cannot, in good conscious, celebrate the death of a 17 year-old child.
Think about that for a minute...
Think about the potential lifetime of dreams, laughter, experiences, love, learning, growth, and wisdom -- all of it lost, denied the chance to blossom; I find that truly tragic.
Who knows how this young man may have evolved over the course of his life? Are any of us the same brash, unwisened, often confused people we were at 17? There actually exist the possibility that this young man could have experienced a Kanye West-esque evolution at some later point in his life - or not. I just feel the sad part of it all is, no one will ever know. And as is the case with all tragic incidents like this, there are loved ones left to deal with the pain, sorrow, and loss... Yeah, ain't no cause for celebration, here.
Now, without a doubt, due to the circumstances of what went down, I would find it more tragic had Lucas' life been lost that night, and certainly Gerald Knight shoulders the blame for his actions, but celebrating the lost of this budding young African life is an exercise I am incapable of indulging.
Derrick_the other one
November 23 2005, 3:21PM
Cool: Your post struck me viscerally. One part of me wholeheartedly feels the exact same way you do and I really appreciate your comments. Then the other part of me questions killing....I will probably always wrestle with this one.
Will's comments are the other part of me.
Mr. Dawson, most importantly, is an extremely brave man & I do find him heroic. When we are walking, day or night, think about how it usually happens.
*They call you a faggot or a dyke.
*You keep walking because you don't want to antagonize them (ironic because they are the ones calling you names).
*What happens next?
Imagine his terror.
Peace
jazzi
November 23 2005, 4:13PM
Will, you are more eloquent than I. Lucas had a right to defend himself, as does everyone else but it saddens me at the same time that another young brother is lost to the streets because of his own poor choices. Had he the time, he may have grown into a more tolerant individual. He could very well have an "what am I doing & why" moment further on in his personal evolution. No chance for that now. Lucas isn't to be blamed for this. Again, I say he did the right thing. In his shoes, I would have done the same. The whole thing is just sad.
Being a vict....no, a survivor of gay bashings, I can understand the feelings expressed by many of the posters here. Intially, I felt the same way. "We got one of them!" "For once, we're reading about them instead of us. Tables turned, justice served!" But after all of that, the bare fact is another young brother won't live to see 18 because of his own foolishness. Pity.
jazzi
November 23 2005, 5:10PM
And before anyone says anything, a life is a life. One is no more precious than the other. Had Lucas been killed in this incident, it would have been no less tragic & just as sad.
Vortex
November 27 2005, 9:37PM
Well thug boyz thought they could take him down. And I too second that if it wasn't for the fem queen, there wouldn't be a third of the rights gays have so-far addressed, yet not acknowledge. And of all the various manners of gays I've known; it is always the fem who will stand up and fight like a real man when it comes to protecting himself and community. I notice the stra8 acting, always cowing down and avoiding any confrontation.
dashawn_06
November 29 2005, 1:10PM
Well I do give Lucas congrates on standing up for himself, but to go as far KILLING I STRONGLY DISagree!!!
dashawn_06
November 29 2005, 1:17PM
I live in a small town in Tennessee and I don't see or hear things like this often and if Lucas goes to jail I would have no sympathy. He didn't have to kill him. The knife alone should have been enough to defend himself.....another thing why do gay men always have blades or knives. Get a gun it's faster and does more.
Derrick from Philly
November 29 2005, 3:41PM
DeShawn: Like a lot of Southern folks, you still have sense for the value of every human life and a dislike for extreme violence. But years ago down South (and up here in the North, actually) we had some people who did not believe in value of human life if that life belonged to a black man or woman. These folks formed LYNCH MOBS that committed horrible violence against black folks.
Well, today, black Gay people are often the victims of lynch mobs. Only these aren't usually white lynch mobs, but black lynch mobs. That is what Lucas Dawson faced here in backwards Philadelphia--a lynch mob of black (supposedly) straight savages, I mean, boys who wanted to torture, mutilate and possibly destroy him.
I wish Id've had Lucas' courage every time I was gay bashed. I'd be the Serial Killer Queen of Philthydelphia! And proud of it.
Nevertheless, bless you for your humanity, DeShawn, and all the many black Gay folks like you. I just wish "straight" black folks could appreciate our incredible humanity and abhorrence for violence. But they too busy being Nigguhs.
Twice in my life, I had clear aim at the heads of gay bashing attackers (I had a lead pipe I carried in my bag) Both times I still couldn't bring myself to hit the mothuh' f_ckuhs as hard as I could've.
Ah, well, shoulda' woulda' coulda' don't do you no good.
Derrick from Philly
November 29 2005, 3:51PM
dashawn:
I'm sorry, I meant, DASHAWN. I was so impressed by my own stuff, I messed up your name. See, if I'd have brashed some of them gay bashers brains out, I wouldn't make such mistakes...I be a clear thinking queen today.