A gay man was attacked at a London pub by a homophobe.
While there are occasional stories of homophobes meeting justice and karma for their hateful actions, there are always a myriad of stories about gay men being attacked by homophobes who get away with it. This story is, unfortunately, among the latter half.
20-year-old University of Westminster student Sam Duffy was eating alone at a Wetherspoon pub near his home in the Cricklewood neighborhood of London when three loud patrons entered.
According to the Evening Standard, a bald, middle-aged man walked into the pub with two women and the group immediately started making “numerous racist and homophobic remarks” at a nearby table.
Duffy then complained to a member of the staff, which caused the group to focus on him. Duffy subsequently became the target of several insults. Once the man noticed that Duffy was wearing a rainbow wristband, the insults zeroed into homophobic ones. This includes the man making the statement that “all gays are nonces” [pedophiles].
Unfortunately, the situation became a physical altercation as the man sat at Duffy’s table, asked, “give me one good reason why I shouldn’t punch you,” and then hit him in the face.
“The whole incident has left me feeling incredibly vulnerable. I now fear to show any signs of my sexuality or take gay friends in or near the pub and surrounding area in fear of further homophobic attacks,” Duffy told the Evening Standard.
“I have to go past the pub to go to work, and to be honest I get scared when I go past it. I shouldn’t have to feel scared so close to my own home.”
As for the pub, they initially sent Duffy a £20 gift card after he sent a message through the customer support service, according to Pink News. Then, a Wetherspoon representative told Duffy that the pub had banned the attacker.
Unfortunately, that last statement seemed untrue as Duffy came across the man a second time.
On September 3, the student arrived for dinner with his roommate and her mother. “He was in there, having a drink and being served by the same people who were there when I was assaulted,” he told Pink News.
After being confused on what to do, the mother of Duffy's roommate suggested calling the police. Unfortunately, the man left before the police arrived.
Then on a third occasion, Duffy passed by the pub on September 26 and saw the man sitting inside the same establishment. Unfortunately, the police arrived too late and the man left again.
Since then, the authorizes have opened up a hate crime investigation.
“Detectives are investigating after a man was assaulted in a pub on Cricklewood Broadway,” said a police spokesperson. “The 20-year-old victim was dining at approximately 11pm on August 18 when he overheard three people — a man and two women — making homophobic and racist comments. He informed staff of their behaviour.”
“A short time later, the male suspect approached the victim and punched him in the face before all three left. The victim did not require medical treatment. Detectives are treating the assault as a hate crime. There have been no arrests.”
h/t: Evening Standard, Pink News
I’d be going in everyday till
I'd be going in everyday till you see him call the police and get him arrested. Shame on those women and shame on the owners for keep letting him comeback after saying he was banned.