05/05/2005
Window Media Edit. Director Chris Crain severely beaten in Netherlands gay bashing. Crain: "I was covered in blood, mostly from my nose, but I got lucky: no broken bones, no damage to my vision, just some very nasty bruises and a lot to think about. I hope our gay friends in Holland realize that it's a bit too soon to declare victory and go home, now that they've won their legal battles. Winning the hearts and minds of the people will be a much more challenging task."
Posted 1:16 PM EST by Andy in Elsewhere | Permalink
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This is terrible. I frequent Amsterdam like it's my second home and have found the atmosphere toways gays to be completly safe, espesially in the City Centre. The only problem I ever had was some drunken taunts from a group of asshole Brit tourists. This kind of thing is almost unheard of in Holland.
Posted by: Ian | May 5, 2005 2:54:36 PM
Note that Crain guessed his main attacker was Morrocan. If so, he is probably a Muslim, and they have become scourges on the live and let live philosophy of Amsterdam. Tolerating their religion is one thing; tolerating their acting out against others is another, and liberals refusal to speak out--save for bumper sticker antiterrorist rhetoric--is leading us into Armageddon. Their extreme members brutalize their own wives and daughters--what chance does a gay couple have?
Posted by: Lolly | May 5, 2005 3:13:51 PM
That's horrible. I'm afraid hatred is alive and well everywhere. We have to keep fighting the fight, and maybe one day things will truly be better.
Posted by: Jess | May 5, 2005 3:31:50 PM
Hmm. If it's true that those who attacked him are Moroccan, then there's no surprise here. It's been wildly known that they're the ones who are used to making troubles all across the Netherlands. And it's probably not just because they're muslims, the Turks and the Indonesians (like myself) are also mostly muslims, and they're all alrite, or at least, much better.
Posted by: JEZ | May 5, 2005 4:24:23 PM
Yes, Andy forgot the most important part of this sad story, that the attackers were most likely Muslim. Holland has long been the most tolerant of all countries to homosexuals, but Muslims have been growing in huge numbers throughout Europe (and especially the Netherlands) and their extreme hatred of homosexuality is destroying the gay culture and our open means of life. Lolly is completely right... liberals have remained far too quiet about this for fear of not sounding "open-minded" and inclusive. Muslims are even a stronger threat to homosexuality than fundamental Christians.
Posted by: steve | May 5, 2005 5:15:37 PM
I too think it's funny he left out the fact that the attacker was Muslim. It gives the impression the conditions in Dutch society are changing when they aren't.
Posted by: Kasper | May 6, 2005 6:14:41 AM
This is bad news but not at all surprising.
These kinds of attacks have become commonplace in Amdam, Rotterdam and Brussels (Belgium) all cities with alienated North African Muslim communities some of whose young men take the 'filthy pigs Jews and gays' messages from their imaams onto the streets. There is now a flight of the middle classes and gays out of these cities. The politicians and the authorities do not have the will or the resources to confront the social issues involved - let alone such street attacks - and as a result reasonable people are being drawn towards political parties ('Vlaams Belang' in Belgium) which are traditionally the home of ('foreigners Out!) racists. Privately, many people (even those who supported multiculturalism) are now fuming about the attack on Western values represented by the hardline Muslims in these cities. But there is no way of officially confronting it without risking personal danger (nb: Pim Fortuyn, Theo van Gogh, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Geert Wilders, Irshad Manji, Salman Rushdie).
Posted by: DavidBruno | May 9, 2005 9:23:21 AM