December 29, 2007

Spin, spin, spin.

You may have heard about Felipe Rivera.

Felipe Rivera, 43, is charged with a hate crime as well as aggravated criminal sexual assault and other offenses, said a spokesman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. If convicted, he could face more than 30 years in prison, a source said.

…..

“Mr. Rivera got upset apparently because he believed the victim, No. 1, didn’t respond to a female and then, No. 2, somehow winked at him — made what he perceived as a sexual advance,” said Cicero police spokesman Dan Proft.

Rivera then punched the victim in the face, Proft said, and was asked to leave the party. He allegedly waited outside for the victim. According to Rivera, the victim, 37, then propositioned Rivera for a sex act — a claim the victim denies, Proft said.

Rivera followed the victim to the outer staircase of a basement apartment, where he removed the victim’s pants and raped him, authorities said. Afterward, Rivera punched the victim in the head, leaving him semi-conscious, then inserted a metal broom handle in the victim’s rectum, sources said.

But of course hate-monger Peter Labarbera , who feels Rivera has been wrongly charged, has to put his unique spin on the event.

Regardless, what we still have with this case is a maniac who sexually assaulted another man, while later claiming to hate “faggots.” Strange. Most men would never think of sodomizing another man, and last I heard anal sodomy was seen as the defining act of male homosexuality.

Of course the sexual assault of men by other men is nothing new and it has nothing to do with homosexuality. Men have been sexually assaulting one another in wartime for centuries. Male prisoners assault one another for similar reasons; to show their dominance over others. It has nothing to do with sexuality, it has to do with power. But Peter is never one to let facts get in the way of his bigotry.

It is even more ridiculous to treat the victims of same-sex rape with greater deference than, say, straight women raped by men — or, conversely, to punish “straight” male rapists of women any less harshly than, say, a “homo-hating” pseudo-straight guy who sodomizes another man in an act of rage – simply because the latter says he “hates faggots.”

We need harsher laws against people like Felipe Rivera thanks to people like you, Peter. Because you spew so much bile and hatred against us that people like Felipe Rivera think it’s OK to rape, beat and even kill us because we are gay. You demonize us, turn us into monsters and make it so people who buy your lies recoil in horror at the mere thought of being touched by us, or even being in the same room with us. That means we don’t have to do anything to provoke being abused except exist, and any LGBT person is at risk when a homophobe is around.

I’ll make a deal with you, Peter. When you get the government to eradicate the hate-crime laws that protect you as a Christian, I’ll stop striving for hate-crimes laws for LGBT people. I expect hell to freeze over before that happens though.

Posted by: Buffy

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