Don't mess with a man in heels

I doubt I'm the only one who finds footage like this viscerally satisfying. Starts at about a minute in.

Sometimes the best solution to a hate crime is a quick strike to the face.

The rest of the story is here. The short version: two drunk, homophobic scumbags decide to beat up two men because they're wearing heels and dresses. I'm sure you've encountered such assholes before, perhaps personally. They seem to be depressingly universal. 

One of them, the more shit-faced of the two, takes a swing at one of the drag queens. This, again, is a far too common story.

Except the two targets were professional fighters, and proceeded to beat the little shits soundly before going on with their night. The first time I saw this video, I couldn't help but smiling and thinking "that'll learn ya."

But one of the reasons this made me happy is that this relatively happy outcome isn't that common a result, as this long list of anti-LGBT violence makes clear. Chilling as that is, it only covers incidents from the U.S., in the past nine years. 

This is a nasty, complex problem, the root causes of which will probably take decades to begin to truly fix. Yet I'd venture to say that if most attempts at violent hate crimes ended with the perpetrators bloodied or crippled, they'd be far more rare.

Perhaps that's too simple. No doubt there are countless reasons why two young men ended up walking down a busy street, ready to do harm to a total stranger because they thought they were a "fag" and, importantly, because they thought their victim was defenseless. No doubt there's plenty of pain and a very twisted background required to produce the kind of cowards who go looking to beat up transvestites or punch their girlfriend on a regular basis.

No doubt they've got their own story. I don't care. I cease to give a shit about their issues the first time their fist comes down. 

The final point here: at the end of the day, the first line of defense is personal.

Conflict, be it emotional, mental or physical, is part of life. That last is the most rare but, in the live or die sense, the most dangerous. Yet it is the one we are often least prepared for. When I hear communities or subcultures plan in the wake of a violent incident, "how do we find ways to physically stop attackers?" is usually (and sadly) far, far down the list.

If you're worried about getting robbed, beaten up or killed because of who you are, do something about it. Find a realistic martial art and learn it. Carry a weapon, firearm or otherwise, and know how to use it. I'd love a world where people were decent enough that this sort of crap didn't happen in the first place. In the meantime, I'll settle for one where more shitbags end up with a drag queen's fist in their face.

Comments

[KC]

Hear, hear. When push comes to shove, we have to rely on our own wits and abilities to get us out of tough situations. If you're a big target for random violence, you're not doing yourself any favors by not knowing some form of defense.

This reminds me a bit of vigilantiism. I see more and more of a need for it - the police are more interested in writing tickets to support the government than actually doing anything to prevent crime. I think anyone defending themselves should have every right to use excessive force with impunity. I see things like homeowners getting sued when they shoot a burglar. That's just not cricket. Don't want to get shot? Don't break into peoples homes! Same goes for the guy in the video - he got what he had comin' and probably deserved more of a beating than they gave him.