This is literally the reason why my husband and I never show affection in public.
Shake Shack is in the news recently, and not because of its delicious fast food. A possible hate crime is being investigated by authorities in Washington, DC following a vicious assault outside the cafe on Saturday.
The victim is 28-year-old Christian Dingus, who claims that the altercation started simply because he asked how much longer the food would take to be delivered – especially since it had already been 45 minutes, which is astronomical for a walk-in order.
Dingus claims that the staff at Shake Shack were already acting aggressively and seemed miffed by his question. Dingus’ boyfriend, who has largely remained nameless in reports, is said to have attempted to defuse the situation by pulling Dingus to the side for a private talk. The chat was sealed with a kiss – and that’s when all Hell broke loose in the cafe.
Reports state that a staff member approached the couple and told them they weren’t allowed to kiss in their store, and promptly escorted Dingus’ boyfriend out of the restaurant. This is where events start to become hazy depending on which source you read. I used The NY Post and NBC Washington.
According to Dingus, he too ended up outside Shake Shack after witnessing his boyfriend having a shouting match with one of the employees. When he went outside, he was attacked by at least three or four staff members. A piece of the altercation was captured on cell phone video, but Dingus states that it did not capture the entire event.
Dingus suffered minor injuries – including a black eye, bruises and scratches – before the fight was broken up. To add insult to injury, Dingus states to NBC Washington that cops watched the beating take place and only begrudgingly intervened after being probed by bystanders.
As of this writing, the attack is being investigated as a hate crime due to Dingus and his boyfriend being a gay couple. No arrests have been made yet despite camera footage, but the employees are currently suspended pending the results of the investigation.
Shake Shack released a statement to The NY Post saying:
At Shake Shack, the safety and well-being of our guests and team members are our top priorities, and we have a zero-tolerance policy for any form of violence. We are fully cooperating with local authorities in their investigation and have suspended the team members involved pending further review. We are committed to taking the appropriate actions based on the findings.
I have questions, though. Dingus tells NBC Washington that he was at Shake Shack with his boyfriend and several friends. Where were the boyfriend and the friends while he was on the receiving end of the beatdown? Maybe it’s because I’m from New Jersey, but you won’t catch me watching my husband or friends get beat up. I’m always 100% on go.
Also, for the record, I don’t exactly enjoy watching strangers make-out while I’m in public – gay, straight, trans, whatever. Not that I’d go start a confrontation over it because I’m an adult.
Who do you think is in the wrong here? Do you think this was a gay attack or an attack that happened to be on gay people? Comment and let me know!
Sources: The NY Post, NBC Washington
This is going to sound stupid. But they do need to find out why their order was taking so long. Because it seems to me that that is where this all started. Sounds like they didn’t want to serve them in the first place. And the kiss was just the final straw. And haven’t all the homophobes learned that everyone has a cell phone these days. And this can’t just be done anymore. Because all that footage will be used against them.
There in the gayest part of the city in the gayest city in the country. If these workers can’t handle seeing two guys kissing in Dupont Circle they need to go back to the backwater town they came from. I hope they get prosecuted for assault.
Agree, and it sounds like a simple kiss, not like it was hands all over and pulling off shirts or whatever. People of any gender make out all the time in public. Personally, I don’t go all in for that, but if you don’t like it then don’t look.
Did they “make our” or did they just kiss? Like a little peck on the lips as an “Ok, honey?” is absolutely not something to get violent over unless you’re a homophobe. It’s completely normal and acceptable for cis-het people to give each other a quick kiss on the lips in public and everyone has seen it at some point. Now if they had their tongues down each other’s throats that’s not really socially acceptable or appropriate BUT it still doesn’t call for violence against them.
Also, I’m from NJ too and if I had a boyfriend that were getting the shit beat out of him I’d try and help but if I was with friends they would have to be a really good friend for me to risk getting arrested for. I’ve spent time in jail (over a really stupid bullshit event that the cops and prosecution twisted all around and turned me into a monstrous villain) and I’m well aware of how our “Justice” system works and cops are often massive dicks towards LGBTQ+ People (as history has shown).
This is really appalling, especially considering it took place in the country’s capital, Washington D.C. If this doesn’t show how anti-gay a section of the U.S. is becoming, nothing does.