Spain is currently facing nationwide protests as the result of the murder of Samuel Luiz. Three men brutally beat him to death outside of an LGBT club in the north of Spain. Currently, the police are investigating this as a homophobic hate crime, which doesn’t usually occur in Spain. The Spanish are very sexually open, and LGBT marriage has been legal here for decades.
The investigation is being conducted as a homophobic attack as people in the area have said they heard a group of around 13 men yelling homophobic slurs like faggot and heard the screams of Samuel around 3 am on July 3rd, 2021. When paramedics arrived on the scene, they spent hours trying to revive him, but their attempts were unsuccessful, and he later died at the Coruña University hospital complex.
Three men have since been arrested and charged with murder, but the investigation remains open as the police search for other assailants.
Demonstrations around Spain are taking place, but the most prominent are Madrid, Valencia, and Coruña in support of the victim and protest of the attacks, which took place only a week after the Pride parade took place in Spain. Protestors came armed to marches with signs saying, “Your homophobia is killing us!”
Although this incident took place in Spain, we can see that worldwide, hate crimes are rising against our community. The FBI has issued a statement that hate crimes have been on a slight rise over the last three years in the USA. We see a similar trend in the UK, where hate crimes have steadily been rising for the past five years.
With hate crimes targeting the LGBTQ+ community, it can be overwhelming and scary. The results of these attacks on our community make us uncertain of our safety. So, it is time to reflect on these acts of violence and remind ourselves that we need to stay safe first. We never know how people will react to us, and the best thing to do is put your safety first.
Putting safety first is all too reminiscent of how gay generations from the 60s and 70s had to live their lives. Although our abilities to connect have changed with the invention of the internet and mobile devices, we still need to keep our wits about us.
Before any night out, we should plan. Planning should include where we will go, who we will see, and what to do if we see the gay bar full of breeders. This phenomenon is alarming!
When on the night out, we should always be aware of our surroundings. We can make sure that we are in an area that is safe for our community before acting out on our instincts of PDA. It is upsetting that we must take this precaution, but it is the best for our safety.
The next thing we need to do is make sure that we meet people we know accept us. It’s best practice to head home in a group so that if homophobes attack us, we can call 911 and immediately seek help. There is power in numbers, and the more of us there are, the harder it will be to hurt us. Together the queer community thrives!
The last and most important thing we can do to stay safe is to be aware of the choices we make. There are always places where it is acceptable to let our true colors show. In other instances, it might be better to turn down you flame for your own personal safety and benefit.
It might seem like these suggestions are taking us back into the ’60s, but it is better to be alive and continue to fight for our rights than to give the homophobic people that are alive the satisfaction of removing us from this world. Remember, we can work together to change the world, but we cannot do it if we are dead!
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