Hours after anti-violence protest, more gay men attacked in NYC
advocate.comTW: hate crimes, anti-gay violence
Last night, on the same day New Yorkers took to the streets to protest a recent slew of violence against LGBT people, three more gay men were reportedly attacked.
One was Dan Contarino, a former nightclub promoter who was brutally beaten in the East Village and had to undergo surgery as a result. Then a gay couple, ages 41 and 42, were attacked in SoHo around 5am. All the victims said they were berated with anti-gay slurs before and during the attacks.
Seven gay bashings in New York City in 30 days, including one murder. Try and tell me hate crimes aren’t real.
Through sickness and in health
I know I haven’t posted in a while and there’s a really good reason for it. About two weeks ago I received a phone call from Australia informing me that my mother is in the hospital. After running her blood work and tests, doctors found that she has meningitis and Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. I can’t begin to describe the feelings and emotions I felt when the worlds were said to me during that call.
Speaking to my family back home whilst in tears and feeling helpless on the other side of the world is the worst feeling. It was a impulse decision to get tickets home to see them, and put my New York dream aside. New York will always be here.
I have bought tickets home to Australia to go see my family. Whilst there I am going to be tested for bone marrow transplant compatibility. I really hope everyone is coping okay and that my mother is doing well with her chemotherapy. I leave in a couple of weeks, and in the meantime my good friend Todd is taking me on a little getaway across the country to get my mind off of everything.
Through all of this I have come to realise how many amazing people I have around me. All my friends and family have been beyond supportive and are really helping myself and my family through this tough time. Without them, I don’t think I would be coping as well as I am.
My mother is a strong and stubborn woman. She will fight this with her family and we will beat this all together.
