Nellie Konopka ’16: An anonymous same-sex couple was beaten by a group of two men and six women this past September in Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia. The couple was on their way to pick up a pizza when they were confronted by a group of drunk strangers who shot gay slurs in the direction of the men. When the couple replied to these taunts, the group began to physically assault them. Both men were sent to the hospital and one of them had to undergo surgery. In the group of eight attackers, one woman and two men were arrested.
Photo Courtesy of VisitPhilly.com
Despite accounts from witnesses who state that the attack was instigated by the men’s sexual orientation, the police were unable to arrest the assailants on the grounds of a hate crime because homophobic driven actions, according to the District Attorney of Philadelphia, are not considered hate crimes in Pennsylvania. Crimes based on race are the result of racism just as crimes based on sexuality are the result of homophobia. Why should one be called a hate crime but not the other? At the end of the day, the men were beaten solely because of who they were attracted to. The LGBTQ+ community is not asking to be compared to racial minorities but rather to be recognized as members of the city who require protection from discrimination. Ultimately, in response to this case, the city decided to update its definition of a hate crime to “an act motivated by prejudice or bias,” according to the District Attorney website. This new definition will also include people of physical and mental disabilities.
All three of the charged offenders were graduates of Archbishop Wood High School. Their identities were found by an anonymous user on Twitter who sourced authorities to pictures posted near Rittenhouse on the night of the assault and are now facing jail time. As a result of this incident, one of the victims released a statement at the “Love Over Hate” movement stating, “Everyone keeps saying that they are sorry this happened to us. But the truth is, we’re sorry. We feel sorry for our attackers — people who believed it was OK, cool, maybe even funny, to use two innocent individuals as their punching bags and not even have the decency to apologize. Words are powerful. A simple, I’m sorry, would’ve went a long way with us…”
This seems to be the overall feeling for members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community after the attack. We’re all just so shocked that people can be so hateful towards innocent strangers. We’d like to think that we live in a world of equality. In a sense we’ve come a long way from where we once were. Just last spring, Pennsylvania legalized same-sex marriage and our city of brotherly love has a section consisting of small businesses that support the LGBTQ+ community, referred to as “the gayborhood.” A lot of us think that these steps of progression make the city a welcoming place, and overall I think Philadelphia is a very accepting community. But when incidents like this hate crime-I will call it what it is-happen, it shakes the sense of security that as a community we’ve spent so much time trying to stabilize.