Kelsey+and+Valerie

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/09/nyregion/09bias.html

Abstract: This article is about an incident that recently occurred in the Bronx. Several men, ages 16-23 years old, lured then tortured a 30 year old man for being gay. These nine men also tortured two other teenagers, both 17 years old, for having sex with the 30 year old. The article continues to describe the incident and the following investigation.

Questions: 1. What does the age of the assaulters reveal about society today? 2. Why do you think the suspects made the victim beat the 30 year-old man? 3. What do you think caused them to resort to such violence against people they don't even know? 4. What do you think about the recent attacks against gays? 5. How do you think the community will react? 6. What is the appropriate punishment, if any, for the 9 attackers?

Responses: Val: From the moment I looked at the title, "9 Accused of Torturing 3 in Bronx for Being Gay", a horrible feeling welled up inside me. How could people do this to other people? How could they live with themselves after humiliating and torturing another human being? It's sad that being gay is a legitimate reason for some people to harass and hurt others. Maybe the 9 assailants didn't approve of the 30 year old's sexual orientation, which is fine. What's not fine is judging the 30 year old and taking it into their own hands to "correct" or "punish" him. People are different, no matter how hard you try to make some one identical to another, there is always discrepancies. It's disheartening to know that there are people in this world who try to fight this fact rather than accept it.

Kelsey: When I first read this article, I was shocked at how cruel this "gang" was to these three men just because they were gay. The article says that this incident is one of many attacks on the gay community. One incident has led to a suicide. It's fine for them to disagree with their beliefs, but I don't think these people have a right to torture gays because they believe them to be unethical. They took their actions way too far when they threatened the victim's families and even assaulted and robbed one's brother. The suspects range from 16 to 23 years of age. Having a 16 year-old judge someone based on their sexual orientation, and openly and violently condemning them is a scary thought for someone his age. Also, the older ones in the group, in their early twenties, are setting a terrible example for the younger ones. As the leaders of the gang, they were the ultimate bad influence on their followers.