My friend Lora sent me the following email regarding a brutal attack that took place against her, her husband, and their male friend here in San Diego:

"On a more serious note, about three weeks ago Mark and I were at dinner in Old Town with two friends. On our way out and to Cold Stone we were ollowed and eventually jumped by a Navy Seal and his brother...all forthe fact that we were wearing black.

There were some verbal accosts before and...words like "f****t" were thrown at us as well as anti-goth
vehemence. Long story short, I suffered a bruised arm, Mark a black eye, and our male friend a fractured eye orbit and rim, broken nose, several stitches, dislocated jaw and several contusions to the head....they were going to kill him.

I chased the instigator (Navy Seal guy) down and helped the cops get him. Unfortunately the brother got away, but we'll get him too. This is going to be charged as a felony hate crime. The Gay and Lesbian community have already been notified and are pushing the DA to not let it slip into a standard assault and to not let him plea bargain.

It's a hate crime against goths and the GLBI community. Though the law doesn't protect the alternative community against hate crime, our goal is to not only show that this really is a hate crime but in the least set this up so that others in the future can reference this case and possibly lead into amending the law to include alternative communities. Our community has been terrorized...it's very sad. And of all places...Old Town.

Oh Tom! If you could have been there to see how shocked everyone was...as I'm sure
you are now.

Any body want to comment on this?

TRL

File this under W for "What the F**k!?" This really is something pretty shocking and happening in SD, of all places. I'm in shock, as was my B/f when he read this. Wow! I hope law enforcement punishes them to the fullest degree. More than that, I pray there is some way for them to fully grasp the terrible depth of the error of their ways.

I wish a speedy recovery for Lora, Mark and their friend! Stories like this one makes me so infuriated!

Sorry TRL. That's was horrible. Unfortunately once this war is over and the soldiers who have been there for a very long time are gonna need imaginary threats and real violence to help them sleep at night. This type of thing will probably be happening nightly in some parts of the country.

I think it was strictly an anti-gay hate crime and nothing to do with anyone being a "goth" but what do I know.Either way TRL,I hope your friends can get pass this brutal incident and that justice will be served.

Reaction?

1 - I wonder about the authenticity.

I have known a couple of SEALS.

They are probably some of the last people on earth who would start any kind of fight.

But if they did, then they would have finished it much more... professionally and completely.

And SEALS are not stupid, like most elite units, the stupid don't get very far.

Lot of people out there claiming to be Vets these days who have never seen boot camp - and 90% of them are "SF", "SEALS", "Marine Recon" or "Rangers" etc.

Pisses me the hell off.

More than likely they were just some ordinary squids or semper f**king ass****s.

2 - If it is true, then I hope they throw the book at them.

Rob

I was thinking the same thing Rob. Elite military personnel are way above shit like that. They are bigger than that. They were common grunts posing as SEALS most likely.

Why do people have to act this way? I mean really...think about it. Innocent people attacked for doing nothing more then nothing. I would hope that these guys were not part of our military elite.

The longer I think about it the more believable it becomes that they could be SEALS. Look at the military training, Iraq, Guantanamo, Abu Garib and all these scandals that involve military personnel. These folks are trained in violence and "the hunt" and are definitely capable of hurting people. Especially if alcohol/drugs played a part.

Hate crimes are so f*****g senseless.

Do we know if alcohol and/or drugs played a part?

I hope these folks that got hurt are ok and their healing time is minimal. Their experience sounds very painful.

Also if this other guy is found, how do we rehabilitate he and his brother? Maybe they will promote him to further the republican ban on gay marraige.

This is appalling and I'm glad TRL's friends are pursuing this vigorously. I hope these two attackers are not only prosecuted, but required to go through psychiatric counseling.

For Rob and Maddog:

Hi Lora,

Say, about the 'attack', I shared your incident with a couple of online friends at OutSports.com.

Two stated they had a hard time believing that a Navy Seal, would be involved in an act of this kind, since Navy Seals are elite, and should be above this type of criminality. Further, both of these friends concurred that a Navy Seal attack is usually 'lethal'.

Do you have any comment?

You can view my discussion at www.outsports.com under the REAL LIFE thread.

Thanks,

Tom

For the Record, I never used the word "lethal".

I primarily questioned the authenticity of the identity of "SEALS" behaving in such a manner.

I have know a couple Seals, and they have a rep for getting in to some wild ass shit. Some of which you would not BELIEVE!!!

But I also know that there are a huge number of people out there who claim to be 'SEALS', 'SF', 'Rangers', etc who have never even served.

"...hard time believing that a Navy Seal, would be involved in an act of this kind, since Navy Seals are elite, and should be above this type of criminality."

I do agree with the rest of the statement, not because they would be "...above this type of criminality"; but because they should be professional enough, and far more importantly have enough self control, and are very used to supressing their needs for gratification.

About 18 years ago I and a friend were jumped while walking from an LA club to our car after closing. The friend was then a currently serving 'SEAL' who was then on leave. A carload of kids (5) decided to bust the two fags who had just come out of the club. Unfortunately for them, they picked the wrong two. In the time it took me to put one down, my friend had taken care of the other four, including pulling one off of my back.

Although I am quite sure my friend could have made life quite painfull for his attackers, IMO he used the very minimum amount of force nescessary, then stopped.

Although the police were there almost immediately, we both showed our ID, and they just told us to get lost.

I am willing to make a bet - say a bottle of Gentleman Jack - that the individuals involved in your attack were either just squids, or not even in the Service at all, and were 'wannabes'.

Whoever they were, I hope they have the book thrown at them.

R

I live in a resort town, as many of you already know. For a number of years I worked as a bouncer at a local nightclub. Two of the most memorable bar fights I have encountered actually involved and were instigated by Navy SEALS. So the credence of "they know better" is not something I believe. Three of my most violent and explosive fraternity brothers all applied for and were accepted into the SEAL program. In every instance of a fight or agressive act I have seen invloving military personnel, there was drugs and or alcohol fueling the fire.

While living in Savannah Georgia, I was at a nightclub called Congress Street Station. One of the Rangers I had met a few months before and a group of his buddies, in a cocaine and alcohol rage, (and I suspect possible steroid use in ALL of these encounters, due to the overly muscular development of everyone involved) picked a fight in the men's room, and proceeded to rip every urinal and sink from the walls, flooding the bar.

The military, like every other aspect of society has its hidden crazy persons in its ranks. I think its a sin what happened to your friends, but I am not shocked. My dad was Special Forces Guerrillla Warfare and a sharpshooter. He has always said that while 90% of the people that go into highly specialised areas in the military are there becasue they are brilliant at what they do, there are always those few that are part of the "Kill em all and let God sort them out" mentality. Its part of what kept him from re-enlisting. Those are the guys that scare me.

I'm not denying anyone's stories, but like some others, I like to express caution until proof is given. My question is, when someone causes a fight or makes an attack, how do you know that they are a Seal or a Ranger? Do they wear their uniforms or make some sort of announcement during the attack? (like, "hi, this ass whuppin is sponsored by the US army")

And as far as the original story is concerned, do you have a link to a police report or a newspaper article? It seems like a hate crime attack from a Navy Seal would have made the news. And her comment that the event happened 3 weeks ago and they still had not gotten the second attacker, despite the fact they knew it was the Seal's brother, sounds either very fishy. Normally a known suspect would be picked up the next day.

I live in San Diego and have not heard a word of this attack. Coincidentally, and sadly, there have been a few widely publicized hate crimes in the area this summer.

If this attack happened, I'm sorry to hear it and hope justice is served.

I would agree with the other posters questioning the plausibility of the attackers truly being SEAL's. It is quite easy to present yourself as something you are not. In terms of my own experiences, I actually knew the idiots that went nutso in Savannah (Army base, an art school, and a huge homo population makes for strange drinking partners down there) Whenever there was an assault or fight that resulted in property damage or injury to an employee, the bar filed formal charges against the person. They presented military ID cards, and all stated they were SEAL's, and the subsequent newspaper articles attempted to play it down a bit. All three were discharged from the military in the one event to which I was a witness, one dishonorably, due to the fact he attacked a police officer after he was ejected from the bar.

It would seem that you would be able to find the other person, but how many people in the military actually are from the area where they are stationed.... for all anyone knows the brother is living in the back woods of Maine.

three people were attacked and people are debating whether or not the guys were really Navy SEALS or not?

who cares!

my prayers go out to those who were attacked and I hope that those who did will get punished to the fullest extent of the law

...because sometimes its important to validate such claims. If part of a story seems fabricated, you can then start to question the whole thing. For example: the story says the woman, her husband, and her friend were attacked "just because we were wearing black". That seems a bit odd to me. Then she says that the gay community was notifed and were pursuing the matter. Why would wearing black get the gay and lesbian activists invovled? Since when is there some marriage between the "Goth" and gay community? She also says the attack is going to be charged as a felony hate crime. In the next paragraph she says the law doesn't protect the alternative community against hate crime. Uhhh, well then how could it be charged as one ??? She also says how her husband and friend were beaten severly and they were going to kill him......so what does she do? She chased the Navy seal down !! Wow, what a woman, after her 2 male companions where beaten silly, she goes after the attackers and chases them down.

This is from my friend Lora, TODAY!

Hi there!

No, the attack wasn't reported by the press. Remember, there are "goths"
involved and the police laughed at us when we said it was a hate crime
against us and homosexuals (since the words were used). "Don't make this
into something it's not", they said. I was floored!!

We, my Navy friends and our detective confirmed that he was a Navy Seal
stationed here in San Diego AND get this!!! The supposed brother was
telling Mark before the fight that we didn't want any part of his brother
because, "He's a Navy Seal and will rip your friends throat out". THAT IS
IN THE POLICE REPORT. So, there goes that theory of not advertising who
you are...LOLOL We thought it was bs...but found out it
wasn't...obviously.

And yes, this will hit the press...other more important things have
occured of late that I'm sure the community would rather pay more
attention to. Unfortunately, no one cares about who kicked some Goth's
ass. Society misunderstands us and for many...it's good riddance. Think of
the early times when no one cared if a gay man was beaten behind a bar
especially if it was by a military person. We are misunderstood...we are
thought to be Satanists and sexual deviants...freaks. Sound familiar?

They didn't get the other guy because he escaped. They (the brother and
his sister who was there) aren't or apparently haven't given out the name
of this person. The hotel room was in the Seal's name so that lead is
gone...sometimes people DO get away with a crime for a little longer than
you hope for. We will flush him out...guaranteed. Our detective is working
on it as we speak.

I'll keep you posted of any changes. You can assure your friend that we
were told ahead of time this guy was a Seal (though we thought that was
posturing) and that this will hit the press and the brother will be
caught.

~Lora

Sooo... I did some asking around. I actually work with a "Goth" and he knew about this very attack. He actually recounted several of the same details so I'm sad to say this story is sounding very real. The injuries to the victim's eye were apparenlty very serious. He concurred that the attack was being pursued as a hate crime because of the anti-gay language used in the assault and that one of the victims in the group was gay.

Last night at basketball, I found out a former flag football/softball teammate had also been recently attacked. The injuries sounded earily similar so I asked for more details. He was alone and jumped by what I'm told was a group of five guys and that it happened in the Hillcrest area. It doesn't sound related, but it's concerning that there seem to be a rash of attacks in the last 6 months.

I remember Boystown in Chicago going through a phase like this when I lived there. A group of volunteers started a watch group and put out voluntary patrols in the area at night. I don't think this would help attacks in Old Town, but just mobilizing awareness could.

My ex was Navy and he was assigned at times to Army bases

and there's a sub base south of Savannah

there is or was a big Navy base in Jacksonville, which is about an hour south of Savannah or so

there have also been attacks in the Casto recently-one man was sexually assaulted by two others

any gay area, no matter how well "protected", is seen as easy pray by these people

Here's a link to a report about increased assaults in our area. Although this report seems to hint more at gang activity rather than gay hate crimes. It seems there has been a crack down on the more common gang neighborhoods, so the thought is some of the gang members may be seeking out neighborhoods with less police attention.

From Lora, again, TODAY

Tom, feel free to repost this there.

It's funny how this story has gotten so twisted (in all forums I've seen
it posted in). Reason being that people latch on to one aspect that upsets
them and then they dwell on it.

Like, "Were the attackers Seals or not"? LOL What's the point in asking
that? It just makes it all the more asinine that it WAS a seal. Why wasn't
it public knowledge? Sheesh people! There is a website you can go to here
in San Diego to view all the murders and dead bodies found over a weekend.
I KNOW they all don't hit the news. So much goes without ever getting
media coverage and just because something bad happens to someone doesn't
mean they deserve to get their 15 minute fame on CNN.

By the way, this incident has brought attention/sympathy from as far as
New Zealand...that is, in the Goth community.

SteelResolve chapped my hide a bit but his apprehensiveness is
understandable. I question everything/one too. For the record though...

There were about 4 wonderful individuals (one a freshly graduated Marine
in full attire) and one being my husband who helped pull these thugs off
of our friend. When they were pulled off and the blood was gushing from
our friend I noticed that the instigator/Seal (the one making the
anti-goth/gay comments) trying to slip away. I don't know where the
brother went. Our friend was taken care of well and I was going to take
this guy down on my own if I had to...YES...wouldn't you? I didn't know
who he was or that he was military...who cares! In the process of
following him, he turned around, and charged me (I was on the phone
waiting for 911 to pick up) and slugged me. My husband, previously
unharmed, was coming up from behind me at that time and he got slugged
too. This is all in a matter of seconds...crazy, crazy seconds. I
continued to persue him and by doing that, we were able to assist the
police in aprehending him.

Also, in San Diego the gay and Goth community are closely united. As a
matter of fact, the largest, classiest Goth club is run by someone from
the GLBI community and the venues that hold our events are owned by people
in the GLBI community. The attack is being PERSUED as a felony hate crime
but unfortunately the law doesn't protect the alternative community so it
will remain a mystery as to how the law will view this until it actually
goes to court.

The point is this:

We were four mature Goths all in our mid to late 30's walking down a
common, crowded street and we were not drinking. The attacker(s) were
drinking (police report confirms this of the Seal). We said NOTHING to
them...the Seal instigated the threats. Why is this or anything like this
happening in this day and age especially in a diverse city? Why do attacks
of this sort happen at all? Who the HELL is raising these people? Who are
these people raising? We need to show a united stand against this and all
crimes that are "hate related" even if the law doesn't see it that way. We
are emotionally scarred from this and our community has been terrorized.
We (Goths) are walking around with the fear of being assualted as if we
were in Jr High again. This is WRONG.

Tom, thank you for bringing this topic forward to your forum and for
keeping me informed. It's been enlightening to read what people from all
walks of life have had to say about what happend to us. There are still
forums out there where comments are made like, "Kill Goths, they need to
die", and "Good, they should all go out and slit their wrists", etc. Truly
sad...breaks my heart.

Take care my friend and we'll visit you soon!

~Lora

I don't want to take this thread too far off of it's path but I really never understood the allure of the "Goth" culture especially for someone who is in their 30s.It definitely does NOT justify being attacked,I'm just curious.
I know some people have a real need to be different.I guess I don't appreciate the extremes they are willing to go to.I had the same problem with the "punk rock" stuff as well.

QUOTE(eddiec. @ Oct 20 2006, 12:34 AM)

I don't want to take this thread too far off of it's path but I really never understood the allure of the "Goth" culture especially for someone who is in their 30s.It definitely does NOT justify being attacked,I'm just curious.
I know some people have a real need to be different.I guess I don't appreciate the extremes they are willing to go to.I had the same problem with the "punk rock" stuff as well.

Why are some gays into Leather? Bondage? S&M? Or a dozen other fetishes?

It must appeal to something deep within them on some level...

Lora,

You stated:

"Like, "Were the attackers Seals or not"? LOL What's the point in asking
that? It just makes it all the more asinine that it WAS a seal. Why wasn't
it public knowledge? Sheesh people! There is a website you can go to here
in San Diego to view all the murders and dead bodies found over a weekend.
I KNOW they all don't hit the news. So much goes without ever getting
media coverage and just because something bad happens to someone doesn't
mean they deserve to get their 15 minute fame on CNN."

The point in asking is that in this day and age it is very easy to tarnish someones reputation or create a totally bogus hoax - as we saw recently with the " Attack on NFL stadiums" story.

Today electronic media make it all too possible to create a story that never existed, blame someone who is blameless, and start a rumor that could seriously damage lives.

Things that do exist however usually do leave a trail of reality behind them, especially in this digital age.

So - having been burned many times, some of us are very wary - and prefer to ask questions before jumping to conclusions.

I have been introduced to dozens of people who have claimed they were Marines, SEALS, SF, Rangers, etc - some were, many were not. It is somthing very esy to claim, and something most people will take at face value - being reluctant to challenge someone who may have made a great sacrafice for their country. Many people admire those in the service, yet know relatively little about them, and would find it difficult to call someone a liar without real proof.

The other point in asking is that SEALS and other SF soldiers have been placed in a position of great trust and resposibility. At least when I was in the Army, there was a great deal of trouble to try to weed out the wildmen. Not simply because they would make the rest of us look bad, or bring us into disrepute - but primarily because they were unpredictable and therefore untrustworthy. Would you trust someone to guard your back that you knew could not control themself?

If they are not deserving of that trust and responsibility, they should be removed quickly for thee good of the unit, and the communitty.

Yes, there will always be a small number of soldiers in every Service who should have been weeded out. I wish to think that they are a small minority.

Not that it is any of your concern. Rightly you are simply concerned that the animals who attacked you are brought to justice. When they are, I hope you get the justice you hope for, and that the offenders get what they deserve.

As for 15 minutes of fame - I am amazed that it never made the local papers. The San Diego Union Tribune used to publish most of the police blotter that related to violent felonies once a week; as do most local papers. I am just suprised tht the nesws didn't make any of your local papers.

As for it being a hate crime just because they shouted some obscene and offensive language targeted at a specific group = I am not sure that in and of itself should qualify as a hate crime.

Doesn't the hate crime statute lose its teeth if everyone claims that every crime was perpetrated due to hate? Don't we need to be very carefull as to how such laws are indescriminately used?

Personally I sometimes think we need to enforce the laws we have more vigorously, not create 'special classes' of victims and criminals.

R

I'm pretty sure those things are not exclusive to gay people.Also I don't think that the "Goth" culture is driven by sexual preferences,correct me if I'm wrong.

QUOTE(eddiec. @ Oct 20 2006, 10:21 AM)

I'm pretty sure those things are not exclusive to gay people.Also I don't think that the "Goth" culture is driven by sexual preferences,correct me if I'm wrong.

True - but note that any of those fetishes listed are just as common among straights, if not more popular. I should probably have said 'people' rather than 'gays' to be more clear.

Isn't 'Goth culture' driven by sexuality? I disagree with you here - I think most human fetishistic behaviour is driven by sexual desires at some level: if nothing else then either a desire to differentiate from the mainstream, or if already an outsider, to find a group of people whom you can identify with.

With very rare exceptions, we are all driven by the need for communitty, and social support structure.

R

I would say first of all that being "goth" may be as much political as "fetish". Some of their motivation to reject much of modern society's materialism may be no more difficult to understand than the desire of some GLBTs to be Republican. There are other issues than their sexuality that are more important to them. I may not agree their approach to solving the problem, but I would not want to misrepresent their motives.

On the issue of navy SEALs being capable of dysfunctional behavior and cowardly actions, I suspect that despite the most intensive training they are only human. They went into the force with certain positive and negative aspects to their personality, and pressure may only intensify that aspect.

My youngest brother was an army paratrooper. He claims he was part of an elite force dropped into central america during the Reagan era. He grew up with self-doubt issues largely due (I'm guessing) to being the youngest of four brothers. Being born a thumb sucker didn't help. He married a colleague who was an army nurse in Gemany where they had several children. The marriage was also interracial.

From somewhere in his life came the need to escape through drug use. Things eventually reached the point where she banned him from the house. After nearly twenty years (the same period over which I had been with my partner - something she marvelled at) she finally got a divorce. To this day my brother has not been able to hold a steady job and my parents suspect (and this gave rise to an ugly emotion in me which I do not like) he has stolen things from them to finance his habit.

Drugs can make people do things that are entirely contrary to what they have been taught is right. But they only bring out something that is already there. This is true whether they are prescribed or illegal.

I have NO doubt that the same could happen with a SEAL or any other human being. To assume it cannot is a dangerous fantasy. I know.

Interesting thread and I apologise for taking it in a slightly different direction with this post. Comments have been posted which paint serving men (and women) in a very positive, perhaps "can-do-no-wrong", light. To be more specific, some of the comments about Navy Seals posted by ITJock such as:


and

and

This is not a criticism of IT Jock because I have the utmost respect for him and enjoying reading your posts (I say this only because sometimes people on this board tend to take it rather personally if someone disagrees with their view). This is raised for discussion.

While questioning the identity of the attackers may be one thing, I cannot accept the inference (and this is what I am reading out of the posts - admittedly I may be mistaken) that because this is an elite force, that they would be less likely to commit such crimes. I would suggest the recent abuse of Iraqi prisoners highlights just how human these men are. I suppose that is really my point. As mentioned in this thread, these men are human, and being human, they are all subject to the same human emotions and failings that we all have. Simply because these men are highly trained in their field does not make them any less human.

I of course cannot talk about your personal experience with the men that you have known. However, I personally would be hesitant about judging an event based on subjective experience.

So how is the neighbor doing?

Hi Allen.

Thanks for your concern.

I shall inquire.

Hey, what are you doing for Thanksgiving? I would like to again extend and invitation to you that you come out to SD to go camping at Joshua Sky View, my ranch on the rim of the Southern Mojave Desert.

Let me know if this interests you.

Tom

Well a Navy Seal didn't do this, but I was attacked last night by two kids on my bike on the Greenway around 745p. I grabbed one kid and I held him down & hit him hard (boxing is working well for me! ) while the other one was kicking me in the head (I had my helmet on, so I didn't feel a thing.) and trying to swipe my bike and my bag. They both got away w/ nothing. I did file a police report and the police said that it was awesome I fought back.

I'm okay physically. I don't need to see a doctor. I lightly scraped my left knee and lightly pulled my Achilles.

I'm really pissed off at the kids basically. I mean, I wish they weren't African American. They really aren't doing much for society to behave the way they did last night.

You should see my bike helmet though. There is a big crack in it where the kid was trying to bust open the helmet and kick my head in.

Huh? Yeah-- it would have been a so much better crime had they been Inuit or Hmong.

or Martians.

I just said I wish they weren't. The African American female police officer asked me if they were and I said, "Yes."

I'm sorry I'm being chatised for that. I'm still shook by it and wondering why I was the target last night.

I'm sorry that happened Allen, at least you kicked some booty in the process. Maybe you taught those kids a valuable lesson last night about crime not paying.

All I knew is that I had to protect myself. I started boxing really as a way to defend me in case this does happen to me.

I didn't wanna have my name splashed all over the gay web blogs that another gay victim in a beating.

Like "carry a gun"?

Is this in the Minneapolis area?! Who da thunk it?!

Maybe, *sigh*. You know Joe, you make it a lot harder to wear rainbow colored glasses when you make posts like that.

Wow Allen, gives a whole new meaning to "Gay Bashing".

I had to leave work early yesterday since I just wasn't here. I mean ... it finally sunk it what happened to me and I knew I had to get outta the office.

So, I went to my gym and I told my straight buds about it. Mind you that my straight friends are bouncers and bodybuilders and boxers. I tell them about it and they were like, "DUDE!!! THAT IS SO F*CKING AWESOME!"

"I really don't feel like I did anything."

"Well, did you get hurt? Did they take anything from you?"

"No."

"Well, then you kicked some major @$$! You beat them up!"

I told them that I thought maybe it's because I may look small on my bike, they attacked me."

My friend, Corey told me. "First off, you're a big guy. You're not small. Second, they most likely thought a white boy on a bike is an easy target. That's why."

I honestly do feel a lot better about the situation and I'm glad I didn't get hurt. I started taking boxing as a way to defend myself and also it's fun. I really didn't want to end up in some gay magazine like the Advocate as a victim. (Kinda like what I said yesterday.) That's not me and I'll keep fighting to the very end. I've always been a scrapper since I was little, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I fought back

Um ... eddie, cute pic of you, but I don't think it does on this posting.

That's not me! That's the "awesome defender of all skinny white guys who might have their bike stolen by black guys"

Wow Allen. Great standing your ground. You've had a terrible string of bad luck. I remember you were shot with a BB gun while biking not too long and you apt was broken into. And didn't you find a corpse or something as well? Man if I were you I'd move somewhere safer like Beirut.

Holy Conundrum Batman could this our heroe's next adversary?!

Either Minneapolis has become the crime wave center of the universe, or.......

For once, I feel safer living in good ole Gary, Indiana! Sorry to hear about your troubles, Allen. Eddie, you had me in stitches over the Godzilla pic.

A police sergeant called me yesterday and I did a follow up interview. Since they did not get the suspects on certain security cameras & there were no witnesses, there are no suspects at all. And one of the cameras where my incident took place iwas fixed the day after my incident.

Great.

I'm angry, but not at myself and not at others. I'm just angry why I was the target. I hope those two boys learn not to mess around with someone they think will just lie down and be passive.

I'll be okay; I think a vacation is in order though. I've just been having a really hard time sleeping recently. I mean, I wake up around 5a and I think about it and I replay it in my mind.

UPDATE:

My friend Lora wrote me this morning:
We received our summons to court for July 12th yesterday. The dust is once
again getting stirred...just as it was settling. My chest is tight, my
heart races for no reason, I'm on edge and not looking forward to the
coming trial. I'm looking for some positive meaning in the fact that on
the same day we received our subpoena, the San Diego Reader also published
a small bit of what happened to us in Blurt. Scroll past the bikinis. Here
is the link:

http://www.sdreader.com/published/current/blurt.html

Jim's face has healed nicely, if you want to know. Our emotional wounds
however, are ripped open once again. :/

~Lora

From the reader:

Ugly American Gothic "Two sober gothic couples were followed,
harassed, and assaulted in Old Town on a Friday night by a drunken Navy
SEAL," according to James Howard, president of the San Diego chapter of
Goth Help Us. He says the incident that allegedly occurred last
September -- the subject of an upcoming trial -- prompted him to form
the local chapter of GHU, described on its website as a civic volunteer
organization "seek[ing] to change the stereotypes associated to the
term Goth and show that there is great diversity and individuality
within our subculture." Howard alleges he was assaulted and called a "gothic faggot" and that two companions were "bruised up for calling 911." Howard claims he was hospitalized and has had "over $25,000 in reconstructive surgery from being assaulted by the trained Navy SEAL and his accomplice.... was lucky to have lived. Mark and Lora Williams were also physically assaulted. And while the assailant...is the only person being charged with a crime, the Goths involved that night have been repeatedly hassled by a private investigator and were made out as criminals during the pretrial."

A trial date is set for July 12. "It's going to be ugly," says Howard. [i] -- Jay Allen Sanford




TRL