02/23/2007
Gay Senior Victim of Detroit Hate Attack Given Last Rites
Andrew Anthos, the 72-year-old victim of the horrific gay bashing in Detroit I've been reporting on, was administered last rites on Thursday evening. He is not expected to make it.
His niece reports: "His breathing is very shallow and doctors don't expect him to make it through the next 24 hours."
It had been reported that the victim was asked if he was gay before the beating, but a few of these details are new: "According to family members, witnesses said the attack came after a fellow passenger on a city bus took offense to Anthos' singing, then followed him off the bus. The man then reportedly called Anthos a 'faggot' and beat him with a pipe."
No arrests have been made and "Detroit Police spokesman Leon Rahmaan declined Friday to assign a motive." Uh, doesn't screaming "faggot" and beating someone into a coma with a pipe pretty much describe the motive? Come on!
If folks think we've moved beyond the Matthew Shepard days, think again!
Sphere: Related ContentPosted 1:57 PM EST by Andy in Crime, Detroit, News | Permalink
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So according to this post, he got beat to death because of his singing and not because he was gay?
Posted by: matt | Feb 23, 2007 2:28:33 PM
I hope they catch who did this and beat him to death with a pipe. He doesn't deserve any better.
Posted by: Marco | Feb 23, 2007 2:34:35 PM
Sorry, but Fuck you, Matt!
My partner and I live in Lansing, where Mr. Anthos used to live. I haven't checked T-road for a few days, so I missed the earlier post about this fine person.
He was a fixture, for years, in Lansing. He is a gentle, loving man who had a mission in life: to light our Capitol dome with colored lights. He would stand in front of the Capitol and wave his flag trying to get support for his disire to celebrate a quirky little patriotism.
He left the scene a few years ago because he was increasingly less able to care for himself. My partner and I were talking about him just yesterday afternoon wondering how he was, since we hadn't seen him in a long while. Then I read this!
Again, Fuck you, Matt. Mr. Anthos is a sweet man whom people like you should be ashamed of mocking!
Posted by: JT | Feb 23, 2007 2:39:21 PM
As horrible and disgusting as this hate crime instance is, I'm not too surprised by it. I'm definitely not surprised by the police's response. We should expect police to resist calling anything a hate crime. Eternal vigilance IS the price of liberty.
What DOES surprise me, is that Andrew was actually administered his last rights at all. Did the priest who administered his last rights also apologise on behalf of the institution that would generate and allow such a crime against humanity in the first place? I don't think so.
I wonder whether they'll let Andrew be buried in holy ground, or will they push anti-gay cruelty to the absolute zenith and deny him a place to rest.
Posted by: David M | Feb 23, 2007 2:39:40 PM
Yes, Matt. For singing. He pounded away at him and called him 'faggot' but it was really just the singing. Good Christ.
Posted by: Marco | Feb 23, 2007 2:51:42 PM
This is sad ending to a sad story...
Oh, and Matt, fucking grow up!
Posted by: Robert In WeHo | Feb 23, 2007 2:59:30 PM
I wasn't saying it wasn't sad. Jeesh you people are way to sensitive.
Posted by: Matt | Feb 23, 2007 3:08:41 PM
and it wasn't a hate crime. He wasn't doing anything "gay" to make it a hate crime. The criminal in this instance had no clue he was gay, he was just annoyed with him. You know how many straight people get victimized that get called faggot but they aren't and it's not considered a hate crime. This guy should go to jail for life for murder, but I don't believe it was a hate crime.
Posted by: Matt | Feb 23, 2007 3:17:07 PM
I still wonder why there's no description of the attacker anywhere. Do they want him caught or what..?
Posted by: Joe T. | Feb 23, 2007 3:29:50 PM
My heart goes out to Mr. Anthos. May justice be swift and appropriate.
Does anyone know Michael Medved's email? I can't find it, and I'd like to email this posting to him.
Thank you.
Posted by: John | Feb 23, 2007 3:33:52 PM
When I read about this, I was sickened to my stomach. This is like Shepard all over again.
Posted by: Karim | Feb 23, 2007 3:41:38 PM
So, according to Matt's logic (or lack thereof) if a person is beaten with a pipe while the perpetrator screams "Nigger" this in no way means it was a hate crime since many people who are not black may have been called "Nigger". Matt, you are out of your fucking mind!
Posted by: Crixi Van Cheek | Feb 23, 2007 3:43:39 PM
I wish people would stop picking on Matt. He is obviously, uh, "mentally-challenged," and can't help himself. If we saw his picture, or met him in person, and saw the dead eyes, the constant drool, the banjo-player-from-"Deliverance" haircut, the stains in his clothes covering his nether regions—I'm sure we would just feel pity, grit our teeth, and ignore his babbling. There are Idiot Savants like Tim Hardaway who mixes exceptional basketball skills with exceptional and willful homophobic stupidity and then there at the Matts of the world, simply Idiot Idiots.
Posted by: Leland | Feb 23, 2007 4:06:08 PM
That's so Republican, Matt
Posted by: Cory | Feb 23, 2007 4:06:32 PM
Of course, prayers for Mr. Anthos and his family come first, but it took me too many years to realize what cowards gay bashers really are. One should never be afraid of cowards. Whether they're black, white, Latino, whatever; gay bashers are on the same level as child molesters because they tend to prey on those gay people who appear vulnerable. Only a rotten coward would do this to a gentle senior citizen-- one who obviously wasn't afraid, but just trying to make the most of the last part of his brave GAY life.
Posted by: Derrick from Philly | Feb 23, 2007 4:24:30 PM
Sickening. Chilling that a person can be so unfeeling as to commit such an atrocity.
I'm referring of course to Matt's posts.
My prayers go out to Anthos' friends and family.
Posted by: mark m | Feb 23, 2007 4:29:36 PM
Matt you're an idiot. If a person is percieved to be gay (but isn't) and attacked it is still a hate crime because the attackers believed that person is gay.
I am really hoping for the best in this situation. I hope the attacker is found and prosecuted and sentenced to the fullest extent of the law.
Posted by: Jack! | Feb 23, 2007 5:00:24 PM
Matt,
Sorry if I am a little sensitive about someone getting called a faggot while being pummeled with a pipe to the point of paralysis and soon - death. Yeah, I admit to being a little touchy about that shit.
I am sure you will shed light on the "countless" straight victims of singing-induced beatings were "faggot" was yelled.
Posted by: Marco | Feb 23, 2007 5:52:26 PM
Wow I've received more hate messages than when I said the sun caused global warming. Go me!!! And who cares if he got beat with a pipe? He was old which is practically dead in the gay community anyway. Go Republicans! Mitt in '08. I take that back. I don't like Mormons. Jeb in '08.
Posted by: Matt | Feb 23, 2007 6:15:15 PM
^^^^I assume Matt is trying to be funny. The kind of funny Michael Richards would appreciate. Yes Matt, go, go far, very far.
Posted by: Cory | Feb 23, 2007 6:30:58 PM
I just find it funny that you guys cry about how you are victims. I never here anyone on this blog say that they do anything about it. It's always the Republicans did this too me. At least I'm honest that I don't care about gay rights as long as it doesn't directly affect me.
Posted by: Matt | Feb 23, 2007 6:34:01 PM
I'm with Matt. Sorry guys, I think what happened to him is horrid but I doesn't sound like a hate crime to me. If he had just kept a lower profile this wouldn't have happened to him. Matt you probably do need to tone it down though, you come across as arrogant and snobby.
Posted by: Josh | Feb 23, 2007 6:38:55 PM
Fuck off, the two of you.
Matt, the only people who are crying are the victims who get their heads bashed in with pipes - and comments like yours help make it an easy for that kind of shit to happen. Oh, their families cry, too. I am sure you're sympathetic to them, or are they just family and loved ones of big whiners?
And believe me, I love to give homophobes something to cry about. I like turning gay bashing on its ear.
As for Josh, he should have kept a low profile? How dare he be gay and all out about it? He should just keep to himself and not see the light of day. That's a life worth living.
Again, fuck the two of you.
Posted by: Marco | Feb 23, 2007 7:14:31 PM
oh, no. another one of leland's bag of farts.
Posted by: amanda | Feb 23, 2007 7:23:05 PM
JOSH: Am I hearing this correctly??? "Keep a low profile"? What the fuck are you talking about? Do you really think people should change their personality, themselves, to avoid being beaten to death? Seriously??? Ok, the next time you're out in public, be mindful of your actions, because any slip of the tongue, anything that you might say or do that someone who doesn't agree with your sexuality might find it reason to beat you senseless. If and when that happens, remember, you brought it on yourself, right?
Posted by: Cory | Feb 23, 2007 7:27:12 PM
Leland??? What does Leland have to do with this?
Matt, stop posting in other peoples names. That's lame.
Posted by: Cory | Feb 23, 2007 7:28:18 PM
Ah, to be a know-it-all 22 year old again. I'm guessing that is a pretty close description of some of towleroad's more insensitive posters here.
Enjoy the freedom now boys.. Life sure has a way of sucker punching the arrogance and ignorance out of youth.
Or maybe karma will intervene and it'll be a pipe instead of a punch.
Posted by: mark m | Feb 23, 2007 8:19:50 PM
"I just find it funny that you guys cry about how you are victims. I never here anyone on this blog say that they do anything about it."
So Matt, what would YOU do about it? Aside from making light of other people's outrage, of course.
I'm guessing the answer is "do nothing." which I'm sure you're pretty good at...but don't let me put words in your mouth.
Your solution to people being beaten to death with pipes because they sing in public?
Posted by: mark m | Feb 23, 2007 8:23:39 PM
the only activism i see here is a bunch of bitter old queens who spend an inordinate amount of time here skewering anyone with a counter view to the tyrannical majority. their idea of activism is writing a scathing review of reichen's autobiography on some arcane website. boo-hoo. let your mom wipe your tears.
Posted by: amanda | Feb 23, 2007 10:20:49 PM
Actually, Matt is funny but Josh and Amanda are just really sad.
And it really sucks that an elderly black man was beaten to death with a pipe. Regardless of being gay or not. People are so fucked up.
Two questions:
1. is anyone doing anything for his family (and I mean family in the widest sense of the word)?
2. do you really think this is going to be taken up like matthew shepard's case? i'd be pleasantly surprised if it was but i have a bad feeling it won't be. i think we all know the reasons why.
Posted by: gwyneth cornrow | Feb 23, 2007 10:30:39 PM
I ask again: A bus full of people, a victim who could still speak (barely) after the incident....so why are the reports leaving out a description of the attacker? Detroit has a lot of black, white, Indian, Hispanic, and Arab. Wouldn't it be useful to narrow things down for the hunt?
Posted by: Joe T. | Feb 23, 2007 10:44:52 PM
gwyneth dear, try to see the bigger pic here although it is a subtle one. i fully concur with popular opinion re. this story about this man and what was done to him. certainly no one could condone or find glee in what happened to him or how it happened. at least no one in his/her right mind. but bounce around this site a bit and check out comments re. other stories and you will see a pattern emerge vis-a-vis the towleroad tyrranical tag team. these are certain individuals who eloquently get their point across with all the subtlety of exhibit A's leaden pipe. it's one thing to express your opinion, it's another to shove it down someone's throat.
Posted by: amanda | Feb 23, 2007 10:45:38 PM
Please don't listen to me. I'm just a big loser who trolls on blogs to piss others off because I have no life whatsoever. I'm a bitter bitch who is lonely and miserable. I really should kill myself. The world would be better off without me. SOMEONE OUT THERE, BEAT ME TO DEATH! PLEASE!!!!
Posted by: Amanda | Feb 23, 2007 11:13:36 PM
oh mandy at 11:13:36, your words truly slay me. apparently you've gazed into the very looking glass that you accuse me of possessing. i'm sure if we met one another on the street, we would see who truly would be the recipient of the proverbial smack-down. you're guilty of inhabiting the very things you use to describe me. the mirror is crack'd and your reflection is ugly. i'm only guilty of attacking the methods of the perps on here and not the perps themselves. try to get it straight... and sorry for using the word "straight" as i'm sure you find that word as gross as you do your countenance. kisses!
Posted by: amanda | Feb 23, 2007 11:24:50 PM
oh boy this is great!
Posted by: flounder | Feb 23, 2007 11:44:45 PM
To Matt and the idiots who agree with him. Don't you see them people are using his singing as an EXCUSE to cover what is really a hate crime?
Posted by: WTF | Feb 24, 2007 12:11:35 AM
Because a hate crime is very bad publicity while bad singing is just bad singing
Posted by: WTF | Feb 24, 2007 12:15:39 AM
WTF: Of course Matt (and his ilk) can't see that fact, as that requires logic and understanding...
AMANDA: If it's below you, than don't respond. Hate breeds hate...
Posted by: Cory | Feb 24, 2007 12:59:23 AM
I missed something. Who is suggesting the singing as the reason for the attack rather than the reason being Anthos' sexuality? The local Detroit reports?
Posted by: Joe T. | Feb 24, 2007 1:06:07 AM
Joe T.: Aside from Matt (in the comments Matt apparently suggests that he brought it on himself and that he should curb his publc actions in order to avoid being beaten [almost] to death), a few witnesses claim his singing to himself on the bus is what drew initial attenton.
Posted by: Cory | Feb 24, 2007 1:09:39 AM
Thanks. I don't see those two reasons as being mutually exclusive though. One might have aggravated the other, in the mind of the attacker, but that doesn't rule out homophobia as the motive. (Overall, the information on this crime that we presently have seems frustratingly slight).
Posted by: Joe T. | Feb 24, 2007 1:15:10 AM
cory, thnx for the advice but you can keep it. the only thing i hate on here are members of the tyrannical tag team like you, leland, rudy and robert in weho who not only feel the need to share with the rest of us your rather narrow opinions about everything from aguilera to xenophobia but also feel compelled to beat down anyone else who may at even the slightest deviate from said opinions. people on here can form their own opinions about what other's say here without any vituperation from the likes of you all. resorting to name-calling simply because someone has a differing view merely makes it look like a toddlers playing ping-pong. there will never be solidarity in the gay community when most of the bashing occurs from within. peace out.
Posted by: amanda | Feb 24, 2007 1:41:28 AM
Well Amanda, sweetness, if you don't like it, take a hike. You obviously have a chip on your shoulder, and while it's certainly entertaining to watch you carry on and make a fool of yourself, I have better things to do, like, wash my hair. Lastly, it is extremely interesting that the very things you accuse everyone on here of doing (and by everyone, I guess you mean Robert in Weho, Leland, Rudy, hell, even Andy, right sweetness?), you are guilty of as well. What's that saying, "people in glass houses"? With your ego, a titanium house couldn't hold your huge ass. Move along sugar tits, sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here. Buh-bye.
Posted by: Cory | Feb 24, 2007 1:51:33 AM
And I said to myself...."What a wonderful world..."
Posted by: FanGirlHater | Feb 24, 2007 3:07:40 AM
dear cory, i will try to restrain myself (as difficult as it is for me to do so -insert beat of sarcasm here-) from hitting the ping-pong ball back to you but you pretty much just proved my point about you and your ilk with your last comment to me. and as much as i want to say you are a platinum member of the lowest common denominator club, i'll refrain.
i'm hesitant to take a hike because it is so very easy to get a rise out of you esp. when the tables are turned. how's that heaping spoonful of a "taste of your own medicine" taste? bitter? well, the bitter is not due to the "medicine." it's due to the bile that is slowly inching up your esophagus.
as far as a chip on my shoulder, it's more like the size of a dinner plate. i gotta major hard-on (figuratively speaking, of course) for fall-guys like you. you take that bait... hook, line and sinker. so i guess it's not so much a chip as it is a target. bullseye!
court jesters were always the most trusted of the king's confidence men. brush-up on your shakespeare.
guilty as charged - of culpability in the very same actions as my perceived belligerents. but that's simply because the only way you can fell a bully is by hitting him right between the eyes. (refer back to the aforementioned spoonful.)
if you must close your comment with bon-mots from the likes of mel gibson and jack nicholson, could you at least next time do so with dudes that are just a wee bit less homophobic... assuming, of course, two things 1.) you are gay and 2.) you actually get off your duff and work for gay rights rather than dashing off e-mails to mayors and cable networks whenever you personally feel you have been transgressed. in other words, let's hope you are more than just a keyboard dilettante.
that about covers it, point for point. i've seen your type time and time again. cliche, anyone? it's ironic you accuse me of having a big ego as well as big ass even though i'm on the elliptical every other day. (joke here in case you were confused.) you def. are a sexist by referring to me as sweetness, etc. assuming you think i'm a woman. so i guess you are not as PC as you purport to be. but that's okay. whatever makes you sleep soundly at night. although i don't think you are capable of the latter without the assistance of Monsieur Ambien. you'll be back even though you wrote me a Dear Sweetness comment. curiosity you catty thing. you will just be dying to know what my response says. gnawing at your insides like that bile gurgling at the back of your throat. you probably won't respond to lead me to believe that it did indeed end with your ode to jack but does it really matter?
remember. i'll always be watching you.
sincerly, the polite police.
p.s. sweet dreams honey bunch. btw, are you a Breck girl? shhhh, it's okay. i was being facetious. i know you're a boy. if you we're a girl, there'd be an "e."
nite-nite. btw, the lead singer of Snow Patrol is a sexual deviant. if you wanna know how i know this, just whisper in my ear and i'll tell ya.
Posted by: amanda | Feb 24, 2007 3:52:45 AM
oops, me bad. i lost the "e" in sincerely. oh, well. why don't you just borrow it from the one you don't use in your first name. ciao. or in your case, chow followed by a nice big swig of bile.
Posted by: amanda | Feb 24, 2007 3:57:26 AM
it's a shame that this comment feature at least in relation to this story has dwindled to nothing short of a pissing contest. remember, we should be commenting only on the above story of man who is near-death as a result of a heinous act. i don't see one comment here mentioning anyone praying for the recovery of this sweet, gentle man. i know that before i hit the sheets tonight i will be down on my knees asking my maker to spare this soul's life so that he may recover to bear witness against his aggressors and more importantly to sing loud and proud. i only wish i had been on that bus. he certainly would not have been the one in the ICU. peace and love my gay brothers and sisters. i love you all.
Posted by: sean | Feb 24, 2007 4:07:02 AM
God, I miss him!
When I worked downtown, across from the Capitol, I used to see him waving his flag holding his "light the dome" sign. He was such a brilliant sight during our our long, dreary Michigan winters. There were a few attempts--by both Republicans and Democrats--to get the dome lit with the red, white and blue twinkle lights he advocated. Now, if it does happen as a memorial, it will be too late for him to see it.
God, I miss him.
Posted by: JT | Feb 24, 2007 9:16:45 AM
Here's the announcement of his death from today's Lansing paper:
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070223/NEWS01/702240327/1001/opinion
Posted by: JT | Feb 24, 2007 9:22:29 AM
Not everyone can get around the country and protest. Email, letters and phone calls are an effective way of protesting as well. There have been many instances where emails, letters, and phone calls have worked like Janet Jackson’s nipple gate. Whatever LGBT people can do to help win equality I support. Help out, please.
Posted by: Jack! | Feb 24, 2007 9:49:36 AM
Oh shit, here come the Republikkkan deniers...just like the deniers of the Holocaust, they aim to terrorize gay people by trivializing every gay-bashing and killing and telling every gay person -- as the Nazis did -- that kkkonservatives can kill any object of hate and get away with it by arguing it away.
That's the definition of a hate crime, and the denial posts here are the examples of it.
Let's not forget: the Republikkkans pump MILLIONS of dollars into campaigns to spread exactly this kind of hate against gay people.
Posted by: bambambam | Feb 24, 2007 10:22:51 AM
He's dead? Oh, no. R.I.P. Why doesn't this stuff ever get reported on CNN, instead of Missing White Girl of the Week?
Posted by: FanGirlHater | Feb 24, 2007 10:59:01 AM
Oh Mandy, I can't get any thing past you. My comment was merely to demonstrate the level of your previous posts, as it was you who opened the door to the "politeness". It's obvious you're looking for a fight, you've insulted just about everyone who frequents this blog. Perhaps I did "take the bait", but more importantly why are you fishing?
This is the last time I am going to address you. On a serious note, I will take your advice and watch myself in the future. I do apologize if you sincerely believe I bully people on here with my "narrow minded opinions". Honestly, I never had the sense I was forcing my opinions down any ones throat, and I certainly believe Robert in Weho, Leland, Rudy and anyone else here believes they do either.
I hope this message finds you well, and my previous sarcasm was not meant to be personal, merely to make a point.
Posted by: Cory | Feb 24, 2007 11:03:55 AM
SEAN: Excellent point. My initial comments were in regards to his recovery and thoughts and prayers. I apologize for getting wrapped up in the negativity of other bloggers on here, it won't happen again.
I am very sad he passed away, and I know my sadness will turn to anger over how something like this could happen. Again, I ask myself why...
Posted by: Cory | Feb 24, 2007 11:06:43 AM
the man is dead people...stop arguing and sniping at one another is some sort of grade-school parody of one-upmanship and take a moment to realize that the man is dead. DEAD. beaten to a pulp with a pipe and dead. no one knew him here, i live in detroit, i didn't know him, but i ride the bus, work by where he was attacked, and love this city where this has happened. but he has died and that should make us sad and upset. stop arguing semantics about hate crimes and singing and your bullshit notions of who has the whinest voice. mr. anthos has died and you should all be ashamed of yourselves.
Posted by: nyhylyst | Feb 24, 2007 11:34:33 AM
I'll admit it again, I'm a total loser. A sad pathetic excuse of a living being. My crackwhore mother should have aborted me. I have nothing better to do with my time than piss others off on the internet since I have no guts to face anyone. I'm a creep. I use the name Amanda, but I'm really a self-loathing gay boi with nothing better to do. Sad I know. I'll say it again once more - KILL ME PLEASE!!!!
Posted by: Amanda | Feb 24, 2007 2:43:40 PM
i guess my prayers went unheard.
Posted by: sean | Feb 24, 2007 3:06:13 PM
"your rather narrow opinions about everything from aguilera to xenophobia but also feel compelled to beat down anyone else who may at even the slightest deviate from said opinions."
Did someone change the definition of the word "debate?" I wasn't aware the towleroad was a blog where opinions were supposed to be posted unchallenged. Though I will concede that it should be done without name calling.
And what a fantastic topic over which to make your point, Amanda... over the dead body of an elderly black man.
You go girl. you rock.
Posted by: mark m | Feb 24, 2007 3:58:30 PM
AMANDA the people at lost & found are on the phone. They found your brain, it was in a bag with your heart. They said they are sorry though, it looks like someone must have stepped on them, they are beyond repair.
Posted by: patrick nyc | Feb 24, 2007 4:26:54 PM
it's okay everyone. amanda's parents finally took her computer away and upped her ritalin.
Posted by: sassy | Feb 24, 2007 5:52:37 PM
Amanda, darling you have all the class and subtlety of a fart in a receiving line. Neither Cory, nor Leland nor I nor anyone else who posts on this blog is bullying anyone. Neither they nor I have anything to apologize for, to you or anyone else. Mark M. is quite correct, debate is not group therapy or a communal validation session; it's a full contact sport. He's also quite correct when he points out that you have chosen the most wholly inappropriate forum in which to wage your little crusade of personal character assassination. If there's anybody here who's trying to bully anyone it's you. There's a very old quotation which I believe sums up the perfect response to your comments:
"So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, but you give in to might as well, you will be imperiled in every single battle."
Sun Tzu
The Art of War
So, Amanda, my darling, in conclusion, I believe you can KISS MY ASS because you're never going to get a chance to kiss anything else...
Posted by: Robert In WeHo | Feb 25, 2007 12:01:52 AM
bobby, can i call you bobby? bobby, or maybe booby is more apropos, if you're gonna quote sun tzu, at least try to do it with a quote that you actually discovered after having read "the art of war" rather than the very first quote posted at wikipedia under the listing for said book. oh, emperor, oh, emperor, you have no clothes.
how i wish, oh, wish that i was indeed in that receiving line right now and you were directly behind (pun intended) me.
Posted by: amanda | Feb 26, 2007 12:05:23 PM
p.s. as i have long suspected... you're a fraud.
Posted by: amanda | Feb 26, 2007 12:07:25 PM
Could someone just block this waste of a life Amanda? Does anyone really care or want to be bothered by it? It's so, sad really.
Posted by: Anon | Feb 26, 2007 12:41:35 PM