A sad example of why The Day of Silence is still necessary

As a follow up to our story on the attempted intimidation of (former) SB School Superintendent, Dr. Zimmerman, by Patrick Mangan (No Special Rights/CCV IN), we would like to point out why the Day of Silence is still necessary. Mr. Mangan believes that the greatest threat of violence against gays comes from other gays. Interestingly, the teen girl who was a victim was beaten simply for advocating for gay rights.

Hat tip to Indiana Equality for reporting on this.



From the Grand Rapids Press:

The cases will be handled in Allegan County Juvenile Court, where a hearing date will be set, he said. Each girl will face one count of aggravated assault, which carries a maximum penalty of one year in a juvenile detention center and a $1,000 fine.

Because the two alleged attackers are younger than 18, the FBI did not investigate potential hate crime violations.

The freshmen girls, who can be seen repeatedly punching the 14-year-old victim in a clip recorded on another student's digital camera Tuesday, said they did not agree with her advocacy for gay rights, police said.

I'd like to think that this is an isolated incident but you really have no idea how many straight people have expressed fear of supporting SBE because they fear possible repercussions.

The irony here is that we are often asked by straight people to protect them if they come out to support us. The fear and intimidation that people like Patrick Mangan use is a powerful tool and they make full use of it as often as they can.