jcp@osiris.UUCP (Jody Patilla) (12/03/85)
I read "Auntie Dion's" message about hustlers with interest because it partially addressed an issue that puzzles and saddens me (and that I had intended to write about sooner or later anyway). "She" talks about how easy it is to be taken advantage of, but doesn't address the worst that can happen. I've noticed in the last year or two an increase in a particular pattern of crime. The victim is a single man aged 35-55, and he is found murdered in his apartment, usually nude, usually tied up, and probably either knifed or brutally beaten to death. The murderer, when found, is a teenaged trick brought home for the night who overwhelms the older man and kills and robs him. This is a terrible tragedy and should never happen to anyone, but it does. I'm female and more or less straight, so I am lacking a perspective on this, yet nonetheless, this type of behavior (bringing home total strangers, etc) doesn't seem in any way sensible to me. It's a situation to which I would urge people to give some thought, since it is one in which the nice people, the trusting and open ones, end up the saddest victims. I hope some regular readers will contribute discussion on this. -- jcpatilla Earth is paid a diplomatic visit by giant extragalactic icky things that understand us all too well and are truly cosmic and can be killed by a crowd of peasants with torches.
sdyer@bbncc5.UUCP (Steve Dyer) (12/04/85)
> I've noticed in the last year or two an increase in a particular > pattern of crime. The victim is a single man aged 35-55, and he is found > murdered in his apartment, usually nude, usually tied up, and probably > either knifed or brutally beaten to death. The murderer, when found, is > a teenaged trick brought home for the night who overwhelms the older > man and kills and robs him. This is a terrible tragedy and should never > happen to anyone, but it does. > I'm female and more or less straight, so I am lacking a perspective > on this, yet nonetheless, this type of behavior (bringing home total > strangers, etc) doesn't seem in any way sensible to me. It's a situation > to which I would urge people to give some thought, since it is one in > which the nice people, the trusting and open ones, end up the saddest > victims. I hope some regular readers will contribute discussion on this. Of course it doesn't make any sense at all! I would add that it's probably a bit unfair to the truly nice, trusting and open people (whoever they are) to assume that all these corpses were one of their crowd. There's a certain subclass of gay man, usually in the age group you mention, who really gets off on tough teenagers, the tougher, and more straight appearing, the better. These people have traded their common sense for their infatuation a long time ago, and no amount of warning, electronic or otherwise, will stray them from their appointed rounds. The lucky ones are still around playing with the odds. The actual psychology of such people is beyond any layperson's understanding, including my own. I should add the standard disclaimer that probably not all victims fit this pattern, but as little as I've been around, I've met this type many, many times. This may sound a rather cynical response, and it is. But I can't get too worked up about people who deliberately put themselves into potentially dangerous situations (and often this sense of danger or risk is part of the thrill.) Anybody with common sense doesn't bring home complete strangers, ESPECIALLY if they're in a position to be exploited by the other (through greater physical strength, gross economic inequality, etc.) And my opinion, I believe, isn't a case of "blaming the victim." We can argue all day about how societally entrenched homophobia engenders both the behavior of the gay man and the teenage hustler, but when it comes down to it, that realization doesn't make much difference when you suddenly find that you're on the receiving end of a knife, fist or gun shot. The only sure protection is NOT to place yourself in this kind of situation: in other words, DON'T DO STUPID THINGS. For some of us, this is obvious. For others, it takes a cold, hard experience to shake them out of their complacency, and for others, they learned too late. -- /Steve Dyer {harvard,seismo}!bbnccv!bbncc5!sdyer sdyer@bbncc5.ARPA