Gay Panic Defense

I normally don't do two blog posts a day, and I'm sorry to anyone who came to the blog today expecting my tech blog to be first on the list, but after reading this I really have to say something, or at minimum raise some good questions.

I found this article through some friends on Facebook who I totally respect. However, while the brutality toward gays, and especially Chad Gibson, the 26-year-old Fort Worth resident who was put into a coma during a police raid of a gay bar last week , should be brought to light, this particular article (and a few others I have read on the subject) deflect from one of complications of the story. I understand this is a compelling story for many reasons. One is the brutality by police. Second is the group it was directed to and their historical struggle. Three is the issue of sexual assault. I would like to bring up a few points for discussion about the latter.

The following are excerpts from the article. I suggest reading it, but beware, it is not a news article, it is an opinion piece. For a more objective piece check out "Raid at Club in TX Leaves Man in Coma." The author did however collect relevant quotes from TX newspapers that are important pieces of evidence to their argument. Their emotional reaction is very understandable and I love those gut-reactions because I think they have the most individual truth in them of how the person will treat the situation unconsciously. Consciously, I think we step back and correct our behavior for affectiveness.

clipped from slog.thestranger.com Fort Worth Police Chief: That Faggot Had It Coming The officers who raided the Rainbow Lounge claim that the men in the bar made "advances" on them[.] This is a classic example of the Gay Panic Defense. In the very recent past all a straight man who brutally murdered a gay man had to say was, "He made a pass at me!", and the jury would ignore the evidence and let the murderer off. The Gay Panic Defense doesn't fly in many courts of law these days but it still has currency in the court of public opinion. And the chief of police in Forth Worth, a major U.S. city, is attempting to use the Gay Panic Defense to convince the citizens of Fort Worth to ignore the evidence—to ignore photographic evidence and credible eyewitness accounts—and let his officers off. Gay men don't grope police officers when they enter gay bars

This article brings up a very importance idea, this of the "Gay Panic Defense".
Gay Panic Defense a real problem. This idea that people deserve a "pass" for behavior because it is fair is, well, unfair. An officer was assaulted, so force was excused. But if we extend this analogy does it remain true? Look at the example of the prosecution of Nazi prison guards. Most guards were individuals caught up in bad politics and had a terrible job. Was their murder of Jewish "criminals" (as defined by Germany at that time) a justified reaction? Sometimes reactions are not fair. Being angered at the police isn't about punishing the individuals, it is anger about unjust society. We are trying to create a just society and creating a society that has laws that clearly define unacceptable behavior. In this case we have the excuse that because there was a preceding event, the police's reaction is justified. If the police are allowed to use the "Gay Panic Defense", then why not also accept the "Jewish Panic Defense"...the Jews in Germany did have jobs that Anglo-Saxon Germans would have had, and fear of losing a jobs in a poor economy uas used as a reason for a Nazi prison guard to just do their job. Both are justified because of a preceding events. In the case of the TX officers, they say the bar patrons were groping them.

The NYTimes article reports a more moderate version of the story. The TX Police captain is defending the officers, the people who were there have a different interpretation. I seriously doubt that every officer was groped, and that every bar patron involved in the violence were the ones doing the groping. But I doubt it has never happened before either. However, the author is using their own experience of gay bars to describe the behavior of a very large and diverse group. Basing a the argument on their personal experience is great if they are expressing an opinion, or using it to introduce information with respect to their point of view (as I am about to do), but it doesn't fit into the argument that this author is making; that the behavior of the police is equivalent to a hate crime.

This author's argument that he personally knows that "gay men don't grope police officers when they enter gay bars" brings up a good topic of conversation because I have had a different experience. I don't think my experience is universal at all, but it is my experience.

I have had many times with different men in Idaho had a similar conversation; I know at least a dozen straight men who are LGBT allies and gay men, however they are uncomfortable in Pocatello's gay bar, Charley's. They have been made to feel uncomfortable because of behavior by people that if I saw in any other context would be sexual assault. Their experience was caused by the behavior mostly of men, and a few women, not all of one sexual orientation. I can't claim it is a "gay thing", but these questions are raised because of their location not the sexuality of the participants. These assaults are not always physical, but has been enough that I would say that physical sexual assault is not rare.

Men, and some women, have commented that when they go to Charley's they are touched inappropriately. They may also have comments made to them of a sexual nature, but not just one comment, often it is a lot of them in a row. I wouldn't say every time this happens it would be categorized as sexual assault, but when the victim asks for it to end, and it continues, that moves beyond playful. I have also seen it used as a weapon to discourage people from returning to the bar, both intentionally and unintentionally. And really, any unwanted physical sexual touching is assault, especially when used to make the victim feel less powerful.

So, the question I have are the following:

Does sexual assault get minimized by being in a place where sexuality is expected to be on display, such as a bar, especially a gay bar?

What is an appropriate response to physical sexual assault?

Men in society are traditionally, although unfairly, the creator of the norms of behavior. Is their violent reaction (in this case) the correct one for women to imitate? Is a violent reaction the correct reaction to begin with?

What are women taught and expected to do in the same situation at other bars?
What are women taught and expected to do in non-bar situations?

Why is the sexuality of the perpetrator and victim given more weight then the offensive act in most of the discussions of what happened in Texas?

Why location is given weight to the activity?

Eve Elsner's "My Short Skirt" applies here. If you haven't heard "My Short Skirt" watch this video.

I agree with it's premise that the police uses excessive force and there are some major problems to be addressed about treatment of minorities by police, brought up by this article. I am conscious I have spun this from the first article's intention, but I'd like to have this discussion. Please let me know your thoughts.