Poland-born Marcin, who was attacked and beaten by a group of teenagers in a homophobic assault in the Phoenix Park, Dublin in July.
Holly writes:
I am contacting you regarding the recent homophobic attack (July 30) in Phoenix Park.
There have been several incidents of homophobic violence in the media since #YesEquality, but this one, perhaps the most horrific, has received little attention.
Marcin was viciously attacked by a a group of teenagers who made homophobic threats and insults, chased him, hit him with an iron bar and made him fear for his life by attempting to run him over in a car.
Instead of Gardai seeking a statement from Marcin following the attack, he had to insist on it being taken.
The criminal justice system continues to let down queer, trans and gender non-conforming people. Homophobia did not end with marriage equality, and won’t stop without us challenging it.
After reading the recent article in the Outmost about the attack in the Phoenix Park we decided to organise an event to show solidarity with all those who’ve been victim to homophobic violence.
It is difficult not to assume that the situation would be handled differently if Marcin was a different person, or to presume that his story could be headline news if he were someone else. Being able to walk safely through the park is something we all should be able to take for granted.
No one should be told to be vigilant, told not to walk too close together, not to walk alone, to refrain from holding hands or to forget about ever kissing in public.
We should not need to share a common identity to be safe.
That is what this event is about. We hope to see you at the Criminal Court on Parkgate Street this Thursday at 7pm…
Stand Up Against Homophobia Protest (Facebook)
Warning to Gay Community After Vicious Attack in Phoenix Park (Aidan Quigley, The Outmost)
the teens responsible should be put down like dogs.
however. i dont think they did what they did coz this poor bloke is gay. they wouldve been out to beat someone up, that was pre-determined. they wouldnt have been specifically looking for a gay person, but for something to stand out, a reason. thats the mentality, they try to justify in a small way what they are doing by coming up with a reason. in this case, they saw a gay guy, and went with that. if he wasnt gay they wouldve came up with another reason, like ask him for a light, or a cigerette, and go from there. do not get me wrong, i am in no way at all condoning what they did, they are absolute animals and id pull the trigger on each one of them myself, people like them are beyond reach. they’ll never change, or become anything of worth to society.
as for “The criminal justice system continues to let down queer, trans and gender non-conforming people” .. i think you’ll find they aren’t being prejudice, the criminal justice system lets us all down. every day in the paper we read about a rapist walking free, or a mugger getting a slap on the wrist .. theres very little justice in ireland. regardless of sexual preference.
With respect whut, there is no evidence that if it wasn’t being gay it would have been something else. It was a violent assault of a gay man while using homophobic language. That is all you or I know.
The rest of your post is conjecture.
teen gangs who go as far as that, arent going around specifically to look for gay people, they just want someone to beat up, and if that guy wasnt around, they wouldve bet someone else up for some other stupid reason.
as for the rest being conjecture, do you not think the criminal justice system operates poorly for everyone?
teen gangs who go as far as that, arent going around specifically to look for gay people, they just want someone to beat up, and if that guy wasnt around, they wouldve bet someone else up for some other stupid reason.
You know this how? There are numerous accounts of gay men being mugged in that park and a lot of them do not report it because of fear of identification. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that this particular crew went too far.
It is highly likely that it was a premeditated homophobic hate crime so why are you trying to gloss it?
*gloss over it?
im not glossing over it. im saying they get together and go out looking for someone, anyone that stands out a bit, so in a lot of cases its probably gay people, sometimes its because someones foreign, or if someones black, or whatever they can attach an excuse onto for beating up someone, theyre bullies. that is their mentality. if all of a sudden every gay person in ireland evaporated, these gangs wouldnt say “job done! off home” theyd still go out and do this kind of thing to whoever they come across for whatever reason they can find. so im sayin dont feel as if the world is against you for being gay, the only things these gangs dont discriminate against, is who they beat up.. they’ll beat up anyone.
It goes way deeper than that lad. A gay foreigner is a handy twofer in scroteland
Why the criminal court and not Garda HQ down the road?
In my experience it’s Gardai either too bone fupping lazy to prepare a proper file for the DPP, or they’ve basically become social workers for the absolute scum of the earth who do these things.
One prime specimen of gardahood once tried to relate to my injured mother the sad tale of the how the scrote who attacked her with his mates while she walked the dog had an awful life after his little brother died, and we heard nothing after.
ZERO faith in policing in Ireland.
Plus no hate crime legislation :(
I expect because of the location, the assumption was that he was cruising and therefore would not take any further action.
It now appears that any identifiable gay man within Phoenix Park is fair game for a homophobic assault and then, a shoulder shrug from the guards.
Ireland’s only gay free zone so.
i am very surprised at the Gardai response in this case. Like most I have been on the receiving end of homophobic violence and I always found them to be responsible and sympathetic.
*responsive
……..The criminal justice system continues to let down queer, trans and gender non-conforming people.”
The criminal justice system in this country continues to let EVERYBODY down (except the lawyers and skangers).
Here’s just one example of how we pay for the worst criminal justice system in Europe.
http://www.thejournal.ie/irish-crime-stats-2877004-Jul2016/
Find them and smash them to pieces, because there’s no justice in this country
You are literally as bad as them.
Little scumbags taking out their frustrations on people they see as better off and happier.
And lazy cops who simply couldn’t be bothered doing their job properly.
That has been Ireland since about the 1960s.
Project: Maser…?
Maser: Yo yo wasup?
Project: (BRIEF PAUSE) We’ve got a code Red.
Maser: On it!
maybe if these degenerates weren’t trawling the park for anonymous gay sex they wouldnt be getting beaten up, but the instances of men propositioning passers by and in some cases forcing themselves on young boys is an inconvenient angle, so we’ll just assume the “victim” is innocent.
Well you just practically accused him of being a rapist, so it all balances out!
BS de jure don’t you know?
Ladypart.
Reading the article on outmost, what was he doing in the park alone at half 9?
I’d be wary going in there myself during the day alone let alone at the time of the night. Something needs to be done with the scum that seems to be invading Dublin’s fine areas these days.
What does it matter why he was in the park?
Ahhhhh, I don’t care why he was in the park, I was just more concerned about the hour of the evening he was there.
As I said myself, I would feel uncomfortable being alone in the park at any time. It’s a big park and one can find themselves alone and exposed to any kind of dangerous individual at any time.
Blaming those who didn’t support SSM (I did btw) as responsible for this is preposterous.
How did they know he was a gay man?
Facial hair is pretty much a give away.