Gay Man Speaks Out About Homophobic Cane Attack by 71-Year-Old Woman: VIDEO
Lloyd Guerrero is speaking out about the attack on him by his 71-year-old neighbor Wanda Derby, who beat and tried to choke him with her cane, KHOU reports:
Police say she was angry Wednesday night and yelled derogatory terms for a gay man. Authorities say the victim, who is her son's roommate, had bruises on his throat and body.
"She was hitting and screaming and hitting and screaming and hitting and screaming," Guerrero said.
The two live next door to each other in the Ash Park Apartments in the 3200 block of Ash Park in Richland Hills. Guerrero said Derby had been posting off-color comments about him and his family for the last month or so on her Facebook page. He said she posted that he was homosexual, which he is, but he said he had not been open about it.
"This is completely private," he said. "It's not anything I would ever in a million years post randomly. I'm the same as everyone else." Derby's own son is about to move in with Guerrero, and police say that is what provoked the Wednesday night attack.
Watch the report and interview with Guerrero, AFTER THE JUMP...
Bum lady!
Hit me once, and I shall slap you twice!
Posted by: Brains | Mar 30, 2012 12:48:14 PM
I would have bitched slapped that white trash down...
Posted by: Kirk | Mar 30, 2012 1:07:17 PM
I can't believe some of these comments! This smart kid did EXACTLY the right thing. Which makes him STRONG, you idiots, not WEAK.
Posted by: Michael in Toronto | Mar 30, 2012 1:16:59 PM
Not KID, but YOUNG MAN -- my mistake.
Posted by: Michael in Toronto | Mar 30, 2012 1:18:06 PM
I think he might feel better if he'd handled the situation appropriately like a man instead of letting himself get hit and choked by a little old lady.
The fact that he isn't more embarassed by that--and that had his mommy calling 911 while it's all going on--says it all.
As gay men we need to start asserting ourselves and stop allowing ourselves to be victims--making other responsible for our personal safety--and operating from a place of fear.
Channeling Anne Frank and saying you believe all people aren't all good at heart while you're being gay bashed just makes you statistic.
Man the f-k up
Posted by: Mark | Mar 30, 2012 1:18:51 PM
Agree with others who say if he'd hit her back, the headline would be "Gay man attacks innocent granny!!" I probably would have still snatched the cane away from her, but I wasn't there; the entire attack might have been over in 2 seconds for all we know.
As it is, the headline is "crazy old lady goes batshit on innocent gay man and goes to jail for assault," which is by far the preferable headline to see.
Posted by: spatula | Mar 30, 2012 1:19:01 PM
What a pathetic little cowardly wuss he is to file charges. Absolutely pathetic. The only legitimate grievance I heard was that the old bag hit his mother, but it does not sound like that is the basis for the hate crime charge.
Another image for the public of gay men being bitchy little queens and wussy little cowards.....and his perfectly coiffed hair did not help matters, either.
Some other gay man needs to take him to the woodshed and kick his scrawny, whiny little butt.....(and then and ONLY then, f*ck the same little butt)
Posted by: Rick | Mar 30, 2012 1:21:00 PM
Don't feed the trolls, people.
Posted by: sugarrhill | Mar 30, 2012 1:24:16 PM
Grandma needs an orange nightgown for many a year. Hope she gets a black bulldagger as her cellmate.
Posted by: Mykelb | Mar 30, 2012 1:24:28 PM
You can defend yourself without losing control. A lot of you guys insisting he was right in just taking it like some gay martyr make it seem like I suggested pulling a rocket launcher on her the minute she raised her cane.
You handle aggression appropriately until it stops.
Take the cane away
if she comes at you
Push her away
if she continues
Body slam her
if she still wants more
Foot in the chest
I'd rather step up and handle the situation like that and deal with the situation come what may than operate from a place of fear and stay in victim mode.
Posted by: Mark | Mar 30, 2012 1:25:45 PM
Really? A homosexual that fights back against a 71 year old lady and see where that gets you IN TEXAS! Use your head.
Posted by: Curt | Mar 30, 2012 1:30:27 PM
While he should have been more forceful in restraining her, I don't agree with those of you saying he should've attacked back. It's one thing if you're getting assaulted by a thug with a knife, it's another thing entirely when it's an old lady wielding a stick. Restrain her, that's it. A 71 year old woman with only a cain is not a lethal threat to most adults.
Of course, if this was one of those japanese karate grandmas, that would be a different story.
Posted by: Winston | Mar 30, 2012 1:39:06 PM
You violence-crazed commenters are just being ridiculous. Did you see the injuries on the guy? They are barely visible. You're acting like his life was in danger; if it were he presumably would have drawn blood and made you proud. It's clear the lady has been a pain in the neck for a month, and when she hit him, I'm sure the guy thought this might be a ticket to getting this horrible woman away from him and his family. The result of this altercation is a tiny scratch on him, and a horrible family situation resolved with this woman's arrest. As other commenters noted, if he really whacked her as you blood crazed commenters wanted, he'd be going to jail.
Posted by: Brian | Mar 30, 2012 1:41:52 PM
Stop being a victim and living in fear. It is possible. It may not always be the easiest path, but living in fear and slinking around hoping you don't get gay bashed, hoping the cops will protect you, or hoping the media/society/law enforcement doesn't judge you negatively is living from a place of fear.
Maybe if we started stepping up bigots wouldn't see us as such easy targets for violence. Bullies only pick on people who are weaker and who won't fight back.
Learn self defense. Learn how to use a gun.
Be prepared to defend yourself. Take responsibility for your physical safety.
Posted by: Mark | Mar 30, 2012 1:45:53 PM
"As it is, the headline is "crazy old lady goes batshit on innocent gay man and goes to jail for assault," which is by far the preferable headline to see."
She goes to jail and gets a slap on the wrist sentence. She thinks "that wasn't so bad",she comes home, shoots the neighbor and his mother and says he was trying to attack her for the earlier assault she committed... new headline reads: 71 year old lady defends herself against crazed gay man...after all this is Texas.
Posted by: gb | Mar 30, 2012 1:47:33 PM
If she's 71 her son is at least in his late 30s-40. Obviously there are mother/son issues here, and she's probably angered by him leaving her and/or that he's moving in with a young guy. Obviously, mom and son have a dysfunctional relationship.
She's an elderly woman; Mr. Guerrero could have easily defended himself from being assaulted by a 71 year old woman with a cane. Everything is is just words. People say mean things when fighting.
Mr. Guerrero is a very good looking guy. Question: Is he a 'Hispanic'? A 'white Hispanic'? White, European [Spanish] descent? American? Mexican-American? Mexican? Maybe some progressive can enlighten me. These racial/ethnic categorizations can be confusing.
*sarcasm off*
Posted by: ratbastard | Mar 30, 2012 1:55:09 PM
Wow, some of your people are actually serious about attacking a 71 old lady. I mean don't get my wrong, I know that I am personally wrong for thinking it funny IF he did, it is not the right thing to do nor does it make him anything less of a man for not doing so. It makes him MORE of a man by using his head and good common sense. I mean really people, your violent sentiments are pathetic and disturbing.
Posted by: Opinionated | Mar 30, 2012 1:55:13 PM
@Mark:
Your paranoia does not protect you. You should be listening to the comments of the majority of SANE commenters on this site, who correctly point out that a 71-year-old cane-wielding woman is NEITHER fair game for a retaliation beat-down NOR a totally idle threat. The guy acted appropriately. He defended himself and then he contacted the police.
As for Rick and RatBastard, I reiterate what others have written: don't feed the trolls.
Posted by: Dan | Mar 30, 2012 2:06:41 PM
I can't imagine for one minute this guy getting any form of justice in Texas if he had hit the old bag.........nor could I see a jury acquit him if he were then charged, nor can i see a Judge avoid giving him a harsh sentence.
He did the right thing.
Let's save our retaliation for the vicious straights who attack us.We are the decent upright citizens......and we will have equality and respect from Society.Then the homophobes of NOM , the Tea Baggers, the Republicans, the Religious Nuts, Catholic, Baptist, Evangelicals, will look back (as every society does) and be shocked at their ignorance......there are too many examples to mention.
Posted by: JackFknTwist | Mar 30, 2012 2:19:30 PM
He did everything right except he should have grabbed the cane to stop her from hitting him.
Posted by: Seattle Mike | Mar 30, 2012 2:24:16 PM
I saw an old man killed by a single punch from a young man. This man did the right thing by not struggling with her. If you think fighting an older lady makes you a man you really don't get it.
Posted by: Joey | Mar 30, 2012 2:31:22 PM
Her FB page is enough to make you puke.
Vile cow.
Posted by: Tralfaz | Mar 30, 2012 2:52:44 PM
As I get older and am around young people less and less I forget how incredibly sexy they can be. Wow is this young man a good reminder.
Posted by: bicurious | Mar 30, 2012 3:00:51 PM
Yeah, BICURIOUS, but all you can do is look unless you are willing to pay them handsomely, so don't start thinking about it or you will end up either frustrated or broke or both. LOL
Posted by: Rick | Mar 30, 2012 3:07:13 PM
this whole scenario is a right-wing wet dream that makes a mockery out of hate crime legislation. ugh.
Posted by: unokhan | Mar 30, 2012 3:11:57 PM