Hyde Park: Hate crime in the city

The McGill Daily - Hyde Park: Hate crime in the city - Commentary

One student’s story about getting beaten up and getting over it

David Borkenhagen

“You guys look like faggots,” I heard someone say in the general direction of where I was standing with a friend. Not a standard greeting, to say the least.

This comment confused me. Surely it must be a joke – a bad joke. But I’m not in danger. After all, this is Montreal, a progressive city where I feel safe and confident that people aren’t attacked based on their sexual orientation.

I looked up to see who was trying to get my attention. Standing before us is a tall, sturdily-built man, wearing clothes the same way a pile of laundry would. Flanking him were three other men, a few years older than my friend and I, with smirks reminiscent of junior-high bullies.

It seemed it was not a joke, or at least not one my friend and I were allowed to laugh at. These four men were quite serious. They had identified us as gay, and they were not okay with that....