Reports early this morning mentioned that two inebriated Ecuadoran brothers walking arm-in-arm down Bushwick Avenue had been beaten, one almost to death, with baseball bats at around 3:30am. The attackers jumped out of their SUV and attacked while using “anti-gay” and “anti-Latino” slurs. It is being treated by police as a hate crime.
Who comes to Bushwick and then takes issue with the fact that someone’s Latino? Neither report mentioned the race of the attackers. The New York Times‘ City Room blog later indicated that they were black.
This leaves many questions. Are there serious resentments among some of Bushwick’s ethnic communities? Is this a native versus immigrant situation? Or are these guys just a few “bad apples” not representative of any broader issues? Most importantly — is there a posse of bat-wielding nutjobs prowling Bushwick’s streets looking for gay people to beat to a pulp?
UPDATES: The brothers have lived here for seven years and own a real estate agency in Bushwick. It seems odd that Christine Quinn and others seem to be focusing more on the slurs the attackers used than the fact that they bashed someone’s skull in.
The Times has published a more in-depth version of the story here.
12/9 UPDATE: Jose Sucuzhanay died today.
Bushwick Dill December 9th, 2008 at 1:12 am
That is fucked up.
KurtSmith December 9th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Homophobia and Intolerance in the black community needs to be addressed.
ricmac01 December 9th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Bashing – just one more way for these thugs to manifest their ignorance, as if it wasn’t already obvious.
And regarding CQ – she’s just doing what politicians do best: being politically correct.
Jimmy Legs December 9th, 2008 at 11:32 am
I saw this on the news, they seemed evasive about the reasons and really pushed the anti-latino angle, which seems specious to me. but then again we’re in the wake of bizarre anti-latino attacks all over the place lately.
i have to admit i keep hoping some new angle comes out in this case that makes this not just what it appears to be.
ricmac01 December 9th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
The hospitalized brother is now dead.
JStan December 9th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
This is just awful. I hope they catch those bastards.
Jeremy Sapienza December 9th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
There was less reason for this than most of the crime that happens here. I didn’t even know this guy and I want revenge on the useless dirtbags that did this.
mopar December 9th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
What a horrible tragedy. I hope they find the killers. Evil.
Dresden December 9th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
This is so horrible. Wow is that horrible.
Dresden December 9th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I actually cried.
nuri bell December 9th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Intolerance of homosexuality is horrible. Homophobia and intolerance in our world need to be dealt with. I just finished campaigning to flip the senate in Patchouge Long Island (Brian Foley dem.). There has been a wave of bias attacks resulting in serious injury and death there as well. Unfortunately, this issue is not relegated to just blacks in the hood, or any race or any hood in particular. Cant you see (comments#2&3) that those comments are just as egregious and just as biased as saying all gays spread AIDS and are sexual deviants.
Dresden December 9th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
People suck. Gays, straights, blacks, whites, Jews, Christians, Muslims.
To quote a very gay man named William S. Burroughs, “Man is a bad animal.”
long time in da hood December 9th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
you can bet at least 20 people know the thugs who did it, how many will know until one decides to do the right thing and have the tax payers give them $22,000 to do the right thing, and report it? We live among lots of sick bastards.
Dresden December 9th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
When they catch these guys, and they will, they’re so going to prison for 25 to life.
ricmac01 December 9th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Comment #11 what’s with reading your own agenda into others comments? State your point and feel free to take exception with any comment you like but where’s the justification in classifying comment #3 as egregious and biased? I really don’t understand.
Jeremy Sapienza December 9th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
150,000 other Bushwickers didn’t bash anyone’s skull in yesterday or today. Most people mind their own business and help others and are kind. Most people don’t suck — that’s why people who do offend us so much.
nuri bell December 10th, 2008 at 1:20 am
ric mac you got that..
pixie December 10th, 2008 at 2:06 am
I live right around the corner from where the attack happened. Sunday morning I walked right by the site and there was blood on the street but had no idea what had happened. Even when I heard about it on the news they never said the streets so I didn’t make the connection. It’s so horrible.
There’s going to be a candlelight vigil this Sunday. Everyone will meet in front of Archive at 7pm and walk to the scene at Bushwick Ave and Kossuth Place for a moment of silence at 8.
Ingo Hart December 10th, 2008 at 10:06 am
So did they get these guys yet?
varetron December 10th, 2008 at 10:08 am
it’s horrible, i agree, i was shocked when i heard it. moreso because of the “double” hatred of anti-latino and anti-gay. not to belittle the crime, i believe that each of these communities will gain some understanding/empathy about the plight/situation of the other as a result. i.e. gays may gain more appreciation of anti-latino prejudice and latinos more of that of gays. and hopefully it’s a wake-up call to all that we must be ever-vigilant to this kind of hateful behavior/mindset. (and if that makes me politically correct, i’ll be proud of that too.)
Joseph December 10th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
This sort of thing just makes me so sad and a little scared. I read a little more about the victim in the Times and he was just here trying to get his little piece of the American dream.
I would like to go to the vigil. Since I live on the other side of the neighborhood, can you (vareton) where is the Archive?
Thanks
jingo December 10th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
My heart goes out to the family. I “pray” that these disgusting excuses for human beings are turned in and sentenced to life in the Gay and Transgendered wing of the prison. They should be forced to suffer.
Homophobia in the Black community, the latin community, the white community etc. etc. needs to be addressed but honestly with all the high profile celebrities, rappers, singers that a lot of these thugs look up to remain silent (or in the closet), we are perpetuating hate.
DISGUSTING PIECES OF SHIT IS WHAT THESE GUYS ARE.
varetron December 10th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
archive is on bogart, between siegel and moore:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-archive-cafe-brooklyn
varetron December 13th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
well the rappers and other artists not only remain silent, but they propagate the hate, with their misogynist, homophobic and hateful “lyrics.” but that’s this generation’s burden, they see my generation as annoyingly politically correct, and somehow the opposite of that, including the hate of those minorities that political correctness was largely meant to protect, has become not only accepted, but promoted. they’ve confused the medium with the message.
KurtSmith December 15th, 2008 at 10:31 am
I stand by my comment.
As an African American myself, who has experienced more homophobia and intolerance from my own community, I feel it needs to be addressed.
There’s no ignorance in stating that the African American Community needs to address it’s homophobia.
George W. Bush was re-elected in 2004 by the a slim African American demographic in Ohio who succumbed to his Anti-gay rhetoric.
Prop 8, in California, was voted for by a margin of African American voters.
I stand by my statement. It’s not only the African American community. I do understand that. Nonetheless, I think it’s a problem that must be addressed in the African American Community.
ricmac01 December 15th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Exit polls suggest that 70% of California’s African American voters supported Prop 8 which indicates, I guess, that this group didn’t see this as the civil rights issue many of us believe it to be. Score this one for the bible thumpers, or in this case, for those who thump the bible selectively.
I do believe that in the not too distant future same-sex marriage will be a non-issue. But we will still need to find a way to address the ignorance that manifests itself in such destructive ways.
Paul December 15th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
These criminals need to be caught so we can feel safe again.