No Faggots in Jack City

"NO FAGGOTS IN JACK CITY!" the gleeful, blood-thirsty cameraman says over and over.

This video is in the process of going viral. A (presumably) gay man is badly beaten outside a grocery store in Atlanta. You'll see it all over the web in the next few days. It's hard to watch, but you need to watch it.

I suspect that no human who values the dignity of others can look at this without cringing. We've come a long way toward toleration and mutual acceptance in America, but we've clearly got a long way to go. There's much talk during the current election cycle about America being a "shining city on a hill." Those are pretty words ... but we're not there yet.

Thankfully, per reports, the Atlanta PD's Gang Unit is all over this incident, and an investigation is underway. But this is one case that got caught on camera (astonishingly, by the perpetrators themselves as a twisted boast or "proof of performance" for their friends or other gang members) ... there are an untold number of similar incidents every day in America that we don't see, that don't get reported or, if reported, are sneered at and dismissed by law enforcement.

There are those of us fighting every day, as individuals and through organizations, to keep awful scenes like the one above from EVERY happening again. I entreat you -- join us. Stand beside us. Do not be silent.  Obviously, if you see something occurring, DO NOT LOOK THE OTHER WAY. But more than that, raise your voice against any intolerance when it crops up around you.

Thank you.