Straight White Man Says He’s The Victim Of A Hate Crime, Angry That Police Disagree
“When it landed with a crack, a woman near me in the park screamed,” he writes in a new op-ed published in Toronto’s Metro News. “A girl, no older than three, playing about 10 feet from where the rock came to rest, just stared, confused.”
Related: Gay Man Left Paralyzed After Being Brutally Stabbed In Possible Hate Crime
Querengesser turned around to see who had thrown the rock. That’s when he saw the man he had been talking to not five minutes earlier.
“I had never met this guy,” Querengesser claims. “I was sitting on a park bench when he approached.”
“You know, you fags can’t take over this park,” the man allegedly said.
“He walked away, muttering things about ‘fags,'” Querengesser recalls. “Believing he was gone, I resumed meditating. Then, the rock.”
Related: Seattle Hate Crime Leaves Man Unconcious With Broken Bones, Fractured Eye Socket
Querengesser wasted no time calling police. But by the time they arrived, the man was gone. Officers proceeded to ask Querengesser a series of questions about the incident:
“I hate to ask you this, but, are you gay?”
Most of me wanted to rage at the question.
“No,” I said.
“Well, if you were, I’d be investigating the guy for a hate crime.”
I nearly lost it, but said nothing.
Querengesser is upset because, as he puts it, “a man had targeted me, believing I was gay. Had the big, heavy rock connected, my brain would have been damaged.”
Related: NY Gay Man Killed In Fifth Hate Crime This Month
“Because I’m not gay, however, to the cop this man wasn’t a potential hate criminal but just an annoying hooligan.”
Querengesser, furious that “cop’s suggestion that I needed to be gay for there to be a crime made,” went home and did some research on what constitutes a hate crime in Canada. From a report by the Department of Justice, he learned that the definition of a hate crime varies from place to place, and that most victims of hate crimes are ethnic minorities.
“The justice report notes most victims of hate crimes are ‘not comfortable approaching the police,'” Querengesser notes. “I felt no discomfort with approaching the police.”
Related: Two Men Set On Fire At British Gay Bar. Police Don’t Think It Was Hate Crime
Querengesser acknowledges that this could be a result of the privilege he enjoys as a heterosexual, white male, but he’s still upset about it all.
“Another hate crime went unpunished,” he concludes. “One can only imagine how victimizing that police indifference or ignorance would have been for someone who was targeted for who they really are.”
What do you think? Was Querengesser the victim of a hate crime? Sound off in the comments section below.
It doesn’t matter if the victim is gay or straight. If the attempted attack happened because he was perceived to be gay, then it is a hate crime.
Because the assailant believed him to be gay it IS a hate crime! It does not matter that he is not – the assailant believed it and acted accordingly!
The attacker ‘guessed’ that Mr. Querengesser was ‘queer’. Remarkable coincidence or hoax? You be the judge.
This sounds more like a New York or SF story, not Toronto. Koo-koos running amok in both places.
And now, Mr. Querengesser, you’ve gotten a better idea of how we feel and how things don’t always work out for us with the police involved, either. Live With It!
Graham Gremore has got to be one of the more warped writers on this site. Here he is mocking a victim of crime whose complaint about police misconduct is 100% spot on. A hate crime is one directed against a victim because of a particular characteristic, whether actual or perceived. Thus, if the attacker perceives the victim to be gay, Black, Jewish, etc. and commits a crime on the basis of that belief, it is irrelevant whether he victim actually is gay, Black, Jewish, etc. If you attack a man because you believe him to be Jewish, it is no defense to a hate crimes charge that the victim later was revealed to be Christian. So Querengesser is 100% correct and the police officer is absolutely incorrect. And all Graham Gremore can do is mock the victim. Sick and pathetic.
@Jacob23: Agree with your assessment 1000 percent. Hopefully this isn’t a crank report.
A crime motivated by perceived sexual orientation is still a hate crime, even if it turned out the victim was straight. The cops screwed up and this article is a disgrace.
Of course it is a hate crime. 100%, no question about it.
Cop had to ask the question. Calm down!
If this was to happen with a streight peron would never be in the news
If this was to happen with a streight peron would never be in the news
The guy hit him with a rock and shouted slurs at him. It was a hate crime. Stupid cops it doesn’t matter what orientation or race if someone is attacking you because of something specific they believe about you its a hate crime. Not sure where race had to do with this post though. He shouted gay slurs not racial slurs at him.
.
The perpetrator perceived the complainant to be gay and he appears to have acted on that assumption. So, if Tim Querengesser had witnesses to back up his claim, the police should have acted. It doesn’t matter whether the Querengesser was gay or not; he was the intended victim.
But, gay hate crime aside, they should have confronted him about the act itself. Surely throwing rocks in a public park is a misdemeanor?
Was the attack motivated by hate?
Yes.
It hardly matters if he’s gay or not.
I do not know what the law is in the province where this man lives however the law in California is quite clear. If a person is assaulted based upon a PERCEIVED belief as to the person’s race, gender, sexual orientation, religion etc then it is a hate crime. This the crime here was clear, the man was the victim of an assault based upon the perpetrator’s belief that he was a gay man.
Now the major issue here is simple. Again I do not know the law in the province where this occurred. However in the USA a hate crime is a misnomer as there is no such crime. What the “hate crime” legislation does is allow for an enhanced penalty for an existing crime. So were this to have happened in California where I live, the crime would be assault or assault with a deadly weapon and with a hate crime enhancement the person who did this if convicted, could receive a 5 year enhancement of the sentence based up0on the hate crime.
Yes that was a hate crime. He wasn’t gay, but he was perceived to be. The title “Straight white man” makes it sound like the writer wanted people to make fun of him and call him a crybaby.
Also, unlike what SJW’s think, if he were also assaulted for being a “straight white man”, that would be a hate crime too.
Ironically Miss Thing failed to realize that just because the law claims you can file a hate crime doesn’t mean that hate crimes are solved let alone punished.
Turn on the news, lil girl, black people are being killed by POLICE OFFICERS. You have the privilege of bitching at them about not doing their job, others have been killed for even disagreeing with them. Sandra Bland is dead because she stood up for her right to keep her cigarette lit and remain in her vehicle since she had not broken any laws.
Stop crying about something you are not actually facing. The chances of someone hurling a rock at your head in public because they think you’re gay is extremely small. The chance of a “minority” person being harassed by police is very high. Get over yourself.
I’ve lived in expensive white neighborhoods most of my life and yeah there’s some picking over sexuality but it’s not the hell poor minorities face in America. Get real.
“The rock could have”, well it didn’t. Count your blessings and move on.
A Missouri man is currently on trial for 3 killings at 2 Jewish institutions in Kansas City. He was motivated by hatred of Jews, but none of the 3 victims was Jewish.
http://www.startribune.com/trial-of-suspect-in-jewish-site-shootings-set-to-begin/322672431/
Agree with the comments that it’s a hate crime but would rather the focus be on actually catching the guy. Why focus so much on what you would charge him with if he’s not even in custody. After he’s already been charged with the crime you can discuss what additional charges there should be.
Clearly it would qualify as a hate crime. The attacker believed he was gay and that’s why he assaulted him. It shouldn’t matter if he actually wasn’t. I wonder if the cop was ignorant or just neglectful.
Clearly it would qualify as a hate crime. The attacker believed he was gay and that’s why he assaulted him. It shouldn’t matter if he actually wasn’t. I wonder if the cop was ignorant or just neglectful.
SHUT UP QUEERTY! What does his race have to do with anything?!
Bias articles like this make me want to leave this site for good.
Yes he isn’t right – but to turn this into a war against a straight white man is STUPID.
Another example of why there should be no hate crimes laws.
I feel that humanity, and we as a society, need to view each and every person with equal rights. What I feel we need to do, is to sharply increase the penalties we are already have for non-bias motivated crimes, elevating those penalties we would assign to hate crimes.
Resorting to the stupidity of how the criminal FELT at the time he committed the crime is not treating people equally. Get rid of crimes defined by emotions. Try people on their actions. Period.
The act was done out of hate and it was a crime considering it could have potentially killed this man .
Not to mention the fact that the assailant assumed the man was gay and that in and of itself was an act of prejudice and hate.
It doesn’t matter whether you are gay or straight if its an act of hate its still a crime especially if its a physical assault.
So somebody attacks Rachel Dolezal as she’s leaving an NAACP meeting but it’s not a hate crime because she isn’t black. Right.
@Captain Obvious: Just curious but how do you feel about the protesters who march in MASS about police shootings but are impotent when little children are killed in the cross fire between rival saggers, swaggers or whatever the hell they call themselves? The number of blacks killed, crippled or simply shot by crossfire outnumber those killed by police.
Its sad the black clergy who lead the protesters never mention this fact, or lets say it never makes it on television or print. But out of fairness, I am SURE there are those (the clergy) who have stood up and taken notice only to be told to go sit their “uncle Tom asses” down by those who don’t/won’t see the big picture.
all crimes are hate crimes. with that said this man did nothing to say he was gay or straight. but the man who threw the rock. threw it because he believed this man was gay. so yes it is a hate crime.
This was absolutely a hate crime! The attacker perceived this man to be gay and therefore acted on his perception. The man who threw the rock intended to cause injury motivated by hate and intolerance. The police not only failed the victim in the case but the entire community!
If the guy who threw the rock threw it because he *thought* the guy was gay, then yes it’s a hate crime. It’s motive, not results, that count.
@billeetee: “Live with it!”? The guy is speaking out, standing up for us and you that’s your reaction? In the past a hetero would not have spoken out as Mr. Querengesser has. It’s not customary to make a comment like yours regarding an ally.
@VampDC: Mr. querengesser himself made the statement he is a heterosexual white male.
@Alistair Wiseman: @Allan David Smith
Hate crime: A crime motivated by racial, sexual, or other prejudice, typically one involving violence.
You two tie for most ignorant comments on this board.
I’ve made $62,000 so far this year w0rking 0nline and I’m a full time student. I’m using an 0nline business opportunity I heard about and I’ve made such great m0ney. It’s really user friendly and I’m just so happy that I found out about it. Here’s what I’ve been doing… +++++++++++++++++++++
Add your Comment
-
PARTY AND PAY
-
SCREENING ROOM
-
WRAP IT UP
-
FUNNY PAGES
-
MORNING GOODS
-
HOLIDAY CHEER
-
CAN'T BUY CLASS
-
TUNED IN
If this guy really threw the rock at him BECAUSE he thought Mr. Quer…. was gay, then yes. If the intention was to assault him based on assuming he was gay, then it shouldn’t matter that he’s actually straight. A rock hurts a straight head just like it would hurt a gay head.