Tonight I attended a film about Israel at Chapman University, and when I came out after the show, I found my car had been vandalized by an apparent heterosexual hater.
A few months back I wrote about how my "Marriage equals one man plus one woman" bumper sticker was vandalized. In that incident the perp had used a pen to make the figures the same sex.
In tonight's incident, the heterosexual hater took off one bumper sticker that said "protect marriage" and found my previously vandalized sticker underneath it. So he or she placed a rainbow sticker over the figures of the man and woman.
And just as a side note, the rainbow is a symbol God gave to the world to promise He would never flood the earth again, but it has been stolen by the homosexual community to now mean tolerance and diversity and homosexuality as good.
And they also took my God Bless America magnet that was on my car and cut through the word God.
My first reaction was to check under my tires to make sure there weren't any nails or something, and then I told a friend of mine what happened.
After that I tried to find the university security, but they were no where to be found. So I drove home and then called my local police to report this as a hate crime.
The police were gracious and told me that I needed to report it to campus security and gave me their number. So I called campus security and informed them about my situation, and they told me it wasn't a hate crime. However, they did say it might be a hate incident, so they asked me to come down and talk to them in person.
So I drove back to Chapman University and stayed there about an hour while we waited for the Orange police to arrive to help these security guys determine if this was indeed a hate crime.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - SFC SKI
While I don't condone vandalism, if you want to elevate this incident to the level of a hate crime, you trivialize gay-bashing, cross burning, mosque vandalism, desecration of Jewish cemeteries, supremacist organizations that use Christian scripture to justify their positons, and Indian Sikhs being shot in retribution for 9/11.
If you catch someone vandalizing your car, I do support your right to have them proscuted, and I'd probably understand you hitting them repeatedly until they see the error of their ways.
2 - RJ
"Marriage equals one man plus one woman" bumper sticker
I have one of those too! No vandalism...yet...
3 - garrie keyman
I found that comment disturbing.
You say to this poster you would "probably understand {her} hitting {vandals} repeatedly until they see the error of their ways."
She is talking about hate crime, here, and you suggest violence?
To have been victimized by a hate crime of any caliber doesn't, as you suggest, trivialize hate crimes of greater caliber. We're simply talking matters of degree.
In any event, her closing comment was the point to ponder and justly so: what if the tables had been turned? If she had vandalized or removed a gay-rights bumper sticker and been caught doing it, the incident would have been shrugged off by neither the campus police nor the municipal dept.
And this is coming from a born-again agnostic, thankyouverymuch. Boiled down, all views can and should be discussed in peace. Any level of physical assault -- either on property or on persons -- should not be considered an acceptable means of expression.
Should it turn out there is a god, I'd think our greatest gift would have been our ability to articulate reason.
4 - Steve S
What happened was wrong, but I don't think it was a hate crime. You certainly can't prove that the individual hates heterosexuals, because not all heterosexuals carry your ideology. I think it's safe to assume the motivation for the crime was the display of your ideology. I do think that's wrong.
Or maybe I don't mean motivation but impetus?
Right now, the conservative Christians are waging a war against gay people. In the public school system they want to tell our own children that gay people are immoral and that gay families are lesser. We, as gay parents, have kids in the school system and shouldn't be subjected to such stigmatization, it violates our civil liberties. We cannot get federal and state benefits and rights that come with marriage in order to protect our children and help give them a stable foundation, and we are only given permission to serve our country if we do so under the pretense of deceit, gay youth are harassed and bullied on the school grounds, due to religious intolerance until the point where we have a youth suicide rate 5 times the national average. The list is endless.
Evangelical and fundamentalist Christians have had an all out assault on our civil liberties and our freedoms for several generations now, under the pretense of serving their Lord. So I assume that is the reason the vandal took out his/her frustration on your ideological symbols. It was wrong to do that.
5 - RJ
"Evangelical and fundamentalist Christians have had an all out assault on our civil liberties and our freedoms for several generations now"
That's odd, considering that "your community's" rights have been vastly expanded over the years and the decades, even while "evil" conservative Republicans have been in power...
6 - Steve S
The ones waging war, RJ, like Dobson and his corruption of Christianity or in the past, Ralph Reed, aren't necessarily the ones in political office, although many times like Helms, Santorum or about 50 others, they are. We have made progress towards our civil liberties IN SPITE of their efforts.
Why do you think they are so pissed?
7 - RJ
I just think you and your ilk (like Andrew Sullivan) are engaging in wild hyperbole.
Yeah, you don't have EVERYTHING you want, and you probably never will (because no matter what consessions are made, you'll want MORE).
But things have improved VASTLY for gays in this country over the years. In fact, things have NEVER been better for homosexuals.
Yet all I hear is how your "rights" are being stripped away, and how you are "under attack" and all the rest.
I'm not suggesting that you should stop fighting for whatever it is you think you are presently being denied. But the wild-eyed, over-heated rhetoric just nauseates...
8 - Dave Nalle
There are some who would like to classify your bumper sticker as a hate crime. They're probably the same people who vandalized your car. You see, it's not a hate crime just because of the hatefulness of the perpetrators, it's only a hate crime if you're part of an identified and approved 'persecuted minority'.
Dave
9 - gonzo marx
a fascinating Point, RJ
the same thing can be said about some extremists on BOTH sides of the Debate, eh?
and i promise i will get all up in arms about the trampling of any Fundamentalists civil Rights as soon as i read/see/hear of any incidents where they get beaten,shot, stabbed...or even dragged behind a car for a few miles, because of prejudice against their Beliefs
cuz that is what astounds me about some folks Rhetoric that THEY are the "victims" of "oppression"...hwereas i think all the other side wants is to be able to get married to their chosen Partner...
and we all Know of many incidents where "gays" have been beaten,stabbed,ostracized as well as dragged behind a car for a few miles
as for the Original Post...my Opinion is that both what happened to you and the reverse hypothetical you put forward are Vandalism done by silly kids making their own statement...property damage less than $100...yes...ignorant Mischief...absolutely
your mileage may vary
Excelsior!
10 - Dave Nalle
>>as for the Original Post...my Opinion is that both what happened to you and the reverse hypothetical you put forward are Vandalism done by silly kids making their own statement...property damage less than $100...yes...ignorant Mischief...absolutely<<
If only sensible people like you were running things, Gonzo, we wouldn't have hate crimes legislation. But sadly we do.
Dave
11 - bhw
If it's a hate crime, then it's a hate crime against the bumper sticker.
Either way, the vandals should be punished, but I doubt they'll ever be caught.
12 - RJ
"If it's a hate crime, then it's a hate crime against the bumper sticker."
So if a Klansman burns a cross on someone's lawn, it should be a "hate crime" against the grass?
13 - bhw
It was a joke, RJ. But it still doesn't qualify as a hate crime.
Now, shouldn't you be arguing "victim precipitation" here?
14 - RJ
In a sense, VP plays a role here, yes.
People who plaster controversial political messages all over their cars (like me, for example) run a greater risk of being the victim of a property crime against said vehicle.
Doesn't make it right, tho...
15 - bhw
Well, I have serious problems with VP. If you can't put a bumper sticker on your car without worrying about vandalism, something is very wrong, and it's not with the car's owner.
That said, I have bumper-sticker-free cars. I just prefer not to bring my politics with me on every drive.
16 - Bryan McKay
Perhaps vandalism wasn't the proper response in this case, but I'm surprised no one, aside from Steve S briefly, has really mentioned this:
"[...] my car had been vandalized by an apparent heterosexual hater" (emphasis mine).
To assume that this person hates heterosexuals is absurd. Yes, their reaction does constitute an act of criminal vandalism, I won't argue that point. Their motivations, if not their actions, however, were perfectly justified. If you saw a car with a blatant and offensive anti-Christian sentiment on their bumper sticker, you would probably be rather upset with this and justifiably so. Now, if said bumper sticker was not only spouting off anti-Christian slogans, but also supporting official governmental legistation banning you from being a practicing Christian, I'll willing to bet you'd get a little riled up too.
The question here is: Would the fact that you were angry automatically translate to the idea that you hate non-Christians?
I can't think of a single homosexual that I know that has anything resembling hatred for heterosexuals in the slightest, and nor have I ever heard of such a type of person existing within the bounds of mainstream society (and yes, whether you like it or not, homosexuality is a part of mainstream society now). Most homosexuals are simply looking for equal rights and a nation that's free from discrimination. Surely you can't argue with that? When black Americans sought equal rights, were the people who protested "white haters?" When women protested for the right to vote, were they "man haters?"
Maybe if you could just stop thinking of this issue in terms of simple binary oppositions (heterosexual (good) vs. homosexual (bad)) and started being accepting and loving and compassionate and understanding and what not (and last time I checked, that's what Christianity was all about...) you'd realize that a lot of these supposed "heterosexual haters" are good, God-fearing Christians such as yourself. I've come across people like you before, and for all the Gospel you tend to preach, you seem to have an awfully poor tendency to focus on the differences between individuals rather than trying to find some common ground.
As for the word God being cut out of your "God Bless America" sticker, maybe that wasn't even a "heterosexual hater" at all. Maybe that was one of your fellow Christians finally getting fed up at you for attaching the name of their God to your hateful and bigoted causes.
17 - Dave Nalle
>>As for the word God being cut out of your "God Bless America" sticker, maybe that wasn't even a "heterosexual hater" at all. Maybe that was one of your fellow Christians finally getting fed up at you for attaching the name of their God to your hateful and bigoted causes.<<
So, wishing blessings on America is a 'hateful and bigoted cause'? Wow, you're going to win a lot of friends with that attitude.
Dave
18 - SIlas Kain
Stacy said: "And just as a side note, the rainbow is a symbol God gave to the world to promise He would never flood the earth again, but it has been stolen by the homosexual community to now mean tolerance and diversity and homosexuality as good...
And just as a side note, the above statement is one that is thinly veiled in hate. That's what the left wingnuts would say. Bottom line is that all sides are allowed to have their own opinion. For a person to vandalize a car is an indirect imposition of philosphy and not free expression. To imply that homosexuals stole God's rainbow is as ridiculous as implying that God forced women to suffer in childbirth because of a talking snake and piece of fruit.
19 - Bryan McKay
I'm sorry if I was unclear about that, Dave. I simply meant that the vision of America that Stacy seems to support is in itself hatred and bigoted, judging by the other bumper stickers which sat in close proximity to the God Bless America sticker in question. Had that been the only bumper sticker mentioned in the above post, I would certainly wouldn't have taken such a stance. Wishing blessings on America certainly isn't a crime.
20 - Steve S
I just think you and your ilk (like Andrew Sullivan) are engaging in wild hyperbole.
Maybe because you don't value what I don't have.
Yeah, you don't have EVERYTHING you want, and you probably never will
I just want my equality. But that is a typical response that those who fight for equality often hear.
(because no matter what consessions are made, you'll want MORE).
I'm a closeted shareholder?
But things have improved VASTLY for gays in this country over the years. In fact, things have NEVER been better for homosexuals.
This is true. We are making gains in spite of the opposition. However, when a person has gone hungry for awhile, you don't just give them bread and say 'what great progress! Tomorrow maybe you get water'. Things have never been better but we are still having to fight for each step in the equality process.
Yet all I hear is how your "rights" are being stripped away, and how you are "under attack" and all the rest.
Most of the time I am referring to my community. Because I can't get married, I fall in that group too but I mostly mean the community's rights.
But the wild-eyed, over-heated rhetoric just nauseates...
I understand that a lot of people probably don't like it. I've blogged actual instances here though RJ, of reports about hate crimes of gay people, with violence against the person rather than car, being on the rise in the last few years. I've blogged about churches so intolerant they banish their own congregation. I've blogged about communion being denied and about pharmacists and emergency medical personnel who can now refuse to treat people if it conflicts with their religious beliefs, the list goes on.
This are verified instances, discussed in the news and by more than me. In this culture war, they are attacks, and I will call them as I see them and I can't help it if the truth nauseates you.
21 - Steve S
Last time I checked, God didn't have a trademark on the rainbow. We didn't 'steal' it from religious folks any more than the Rainbo bread people did.
The rainbow is a multitude of colors, hence diversity, get it?
22 - SFC SKI
In regards to violence against vandals, I'll take Chris Rock's position, I don't condone it, but I understand.
23 - Bennett
"the rainbow is a symbol God gave to the world to promise He would never flood the earth again,"
Awwwwww... How cute. What? Every time I turn on my sprinkler and the sunlight passing through the spray, refracting the water droplets and forming a small rainbow, that's a message from god?
Science and all. Right out the window in favor of a trivial little misrepresentation in order to push a fairy tale.
Hey, if you want to load your kids up with nonsense and then send 'em out into the world, it's your business. But don't forget the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.
24 - bhw
In regards to violence against vandals, I'll take Chris Rock's position, I don't condone it, but I understand.
That's how I -- and many others -- feel about violence against anti-gay bumper stickers.
25 - JR
Tonight I attended a film about Israel at Chapman University, and when I came out after the show, I found my car had been vandalized by an apparent heterosexual hater.
Yes, California hates you. Move to a red state.