September 24, 2007
Hate Crime Being Investigated Near Be Bar
WTOP is reporting that D.C. police are investigating a weekend attack near Shaw nightclub Be Bar as a hate crime. The victim, an intern who works for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Human Rights Campaign, was first shouted at by his assailant with a derogatory term for homosexual, and then beaten up. The victim was taken to an area hospital and has since been released.
The incident took place at 10th and O Streets NW in the early morning on Sunday, about a block from Be Bar, a swanky nightclub that serves a mostly gay clientele. DCist walked by the club that night and noticed an unusually large number of people on 9th St. NW at around 2 a.m., when customers from both Be Bar and the new private club The Space were mingling peacefully at the corner.
"We are concerned about safety in the area," said Derek Vann, a manager at Be Bar who was not at the club at the time of the attack. The manager on-duty at the time was not immediately available for comment.
Mayor Fenty told WTOP he plans to reach out to Speaker Pelosi's office regarding the investigation.
UPDATE: WTOP has updated their coverage to say that the young man was interning at Human Rights Campaign, and not for the Speaker, as was originally reported by investigators.
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Any word as to why Fenty is reaching out to Pelosi's office on this matter as opposed to the victim himself or his family. Gee whiz, one may mistakenly get the impression that this is a political maneuver on his part. After all, the victim himself is not the issue here: it is the political entity with which he is associated.
some of the vagrants and local drunks who congregate & marinate on Shiloh's vacant property have reportedly been getting very agitated lately with efforts to clean up 9th. they have been throwing rocks and bottles at neighbors and even reporters very recently.
i am not surprised, especially with the hatred toward gays, preached from the pulpit, by churches in the vicinity of BeBar, especially during the time before it opened--when they all opposed it.
talk to mr. ray, he said that there was going to be a promised retaliation from the vagrant denizens of 9th street. this could be the apocalypse we've all been waiting for...
#2 "congregate and marninate". That's a good line.
The crime is unfortunate, although not surprising. BeBar is ok, but "swanky" is a stretch.
Gays and ghetto blacks - what a combination.
I wouldn't walk in that neighborhood at any time of day or night. A goodly portion, if not a majority, of residents are savages.
We need more police in the area...especially on the weekends...the neighborhood is continuing to change and there is bound to be "tensions" as the gentrification continues...and it will continue nonetheless...
Guest 6 - I wonder if the fact that you characterize residents as "savages" is helping the situation?
Guest #6 - I've been a resident for over 4 years and walk around Shaw on a daily basis...I assure you I am not a savage, nor are a "majority" of my neighbors...get a grip.
#6, How do you know? In what ways are you interacting with residents in the community? Are you in folks' homes? In the schools? In the churches?
Or do you think that the people who are on the streets in the middle of the night reflect "the majority of residents?" in the neighborhood?
Also, what hillrat said.
Gays and ghetto blacks - what a combination.
That's funny, the WTOP report doesn't mention the attacker's race.
Poor little intern. I hope he's ok... this ain't SF and certainly not Kansas for our unsuspecting Dorothies and Totos. I learned early on when someone tries to approach you, be it a simple panhandler to an escalating violent aggressor, it's best to just yell, 'NOT INTERESTED!' and dart for SAFER shores, i.e. well lit street, more foot traffic, and even into the middle of street traffic!
The idea that this is due in some part to Shaw's vagrant/drunks is laughable...a gay guy could just as easily get beat up at 2am by a bunch of hate-filled kids (just taking a wild guess here re: the culprits) walking out of JR's or Cobalt in Dupont or Halo in Logan...just take a look at the crime stats in those 'hoods...
"Any word as to why Fenty is reaching out to Pelosi's office on this matter as opposed to the victim himself or his family. Gee whiz, one may mistakenly get the impression that this is a political maneuver on his part."
Probably less a political maneuver and more a result of his political inexperience, lack of leadership skills, and shortsightedness.
#12: Do you really bolt into oncoming traffic whenever someone says "can you spare any change?"
"Any word as to why Fenty is reaching out to Pelosi's office on this matter as opposed to the victim himself or his family. Gee whiz, one may mistakenly get the impression that this is a political maneuver on his part. After all, the victim himself is not the issue here: it is the political entity with which he is associated."
Maybe it's because DC, being at the mercy of Congress, doesn't need any more Congressionally-induced headaches. Having the Majority Leader looking over your shoulder and potentially sticking her finger into DC's government is not something Fenty wants at all.
"i am not surprised, especially with the hatred toward gays, preached from the pulpit, by churches in the vicinity of BeBar, especially during the time before it opened--when they all opposed it."
I doubt Shiloh is inciting people to assault homosexuals. I think problems stem more from the a homophobia prevalent in the African-American community that is more strident then others groups.
I agree with #13. I know a white gay guy that was beaten by 2 black youths on the corner of 17th and U, 1 block from the third district.
#11 - it is sad that the media often doesn't report the race of the all parties involved as it leads to speculation. I think race is relevant to the story.
Maybe the gentleman here was attacked because of both race and sexual orientation.
Actually, Speaker Pelosi is speaker of the house. Rep. Hoyer is the Majority Leader.
Titles aside, I agree with all of #12's comments. We don't want Ms. Pelosi's office sticking its nose in DC business, so it's better for the Mayor to kowtow to Congress now than have to waste time testifying later.
Guys, I would advise against guessing about the race of either people involved. There were a lot of people from outside the neighborhood around that night for various events. We have no idea who did this yet, so try to keep that in mind.
Any word as to why Fenty is reaching out to Pelosi's office on this matter as opposed to the victim himself or his family.
Maybe the victim and his family don't want to stay in/come to DC, so Pelosi's office is coordinating communications between them and the city? Just a guess.
Actually, according to the WTOP report in the link, the kid works at the Human Rights Campaign. They initially thought he worked for Pelosi, but that isn't the case.
Guest 6: So I guess since I'm black I should avoid walking around that area so I'm not assumed to be one of those "savages"?
Let's just all agree Guest 6 doesn't know what he's talking about and be thankful he's not going to ever visit Shaw in the daytime or nighttime...we're all better off without Guest 6 on our streets at any time of day...
I blame it on rent control.
#21, see, WTOP just initially assumed he was from Pelosi's office because he is gay and stuff. CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTISM!
#19,
Some of us readers are of the feminine variety, and some of us write painfully meaningless and/or ignorant postings in our own right. So don't just assume that all the misinformed assumptions posted on here are posted by men.
This may or may not be a coincidence, but Sunday afternoon I saw a large group of young black men in the basketball court on P street between 17 and 16th yelling and calling the gay guys the F word. Police should def. look into this - they might find the guy that beat up the intern there.
Didn't a well-off, white Duke athlete from Bethesda get convicted for gay-bashing in downtown?
DCfist:
It was Georgetown.
would any of the painfully pc care to take odds on the assailants not being black thugs?
guest 30 -
Sure. But as the gays know, if you're white and you are hanging our these areas at that time of night, you're probably gay too.
guest 30 -
Sure. But as the gays know, if you're white and you are hanging our these areas at that time of night, you're probably gay too.
SMYAL’s Executive Director Tasha Hill issued a statement today in response to the recent alleged hate crimes committed against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in Washington, D.C., one of which was an assault on a 16-year-old transgender young woman, who reportedly left the hospital before making a statement to police about the attack.
“On behalf of SMYAL, I would like to extend our deepest condolences to the survivors of these horrific attacks, and offer them our hopes for a speedy recovery. I also would also like to urge the young woman who was attacked on September 14 to come forward to the Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit of the Metropolitan Police Department, or, if she is uncomfortable speaking to the police, for her to contact us here at SMYAL, where we can connect her to any medical attention or support she may need."
Click here to read the full release.