Thugs Versus the Gays

The New York Times has a follow up story on the horrible gay torture story from yesterday. What is striking is that the story makes it pretty obvious that the attackers involved are a bunch of worthless losers who need someone to denigrate in order to make themselves feel good about themselves. It's a phenomenon that seems to be the norm with bullies and gay bashers. Meanwhile, the 30 year old victim by all accounts is a far more productive and decent member of society. It is sad that only by abusing and/or denigrating others can some stroke their own sick and maladjusted egos, be the abusers/bashers thugs like the ones involved in this story out of the Bronx or professional Christians who seem to only feel self-congratulatory when demeaning others. Oh, and note the way that the parents of these dead beats try to claim that their brutish sons are "good boys." Obviously, these parents failed miserably in raising such monsters - such violence and bigotry had to have been learned somewhere. Here are some highlights from the follow up story:
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The most severely brutalized victim was a gay 30-year-old Hispanic immigrant known in his Bronx neighborhood as “la Reina,” Spanish for “the Queen.” He was playful, flirty and always ready for a party, neighbors said. At the bodega below the apartment he shared with his brother, he often bought sodas for teenagers.
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The ringleader of the street crew was known on his block as a stocky 23-year-old thug with tattoos all over his arms and a pit bull at his side, a marijuana dealer who would hang out on a fire escape and would put teenagers to work selling drugs. He had previous arrests for gun possession and robbery and, as a neighbor put it, “looked like trouble.”
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Relatives of some of the suspects expressed shock at the charges on Saturday, describing them as young men who went to school and steered clear of trouble. . . . “Bryan is not a bad kid,” she said. “If he was there, he didn’t do anything.”
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Steven Caraballo’s parents said that he had enrolled in a G.E.D. program, lifted weights and played basketball with his three brothers. “He told me nothing is going on in the streets,” said his father, Jose. “He’s in school. He never got involved in this kind of thing.”