On Heterosexism, Gay Baiting, and Homophobia in the New City Patch

Dear Patch readers: 

I am no stranger to personal attacks. I’ve dealt with them since I was middle school. Like many young LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) people I received a daily dose of hate speech, sexual harassment and death threats ( fortunately death threats weren't a daily occurrence more yearly). Tragically many of us do not make it through high school; either we drop out, end up homeless, or more horrifically take our lives. It is for this reason that I feel its my responsibility as a gay professional to speak out against injustice. 

This morning, I received some calls about homophobia, heterosexism and gay baiting directed at me in the comments section of a New City Patch article. My reactions: 

1. Laughter: seriously who hides behind a fake name? Do your words not align with your public persona? 
2. Confusion: Are we in 2013 or 1913? 
3. Resolve: These kind of insidious personal attacks embolden me to continue working against homophobia/heterosexism. Thank you. :) 

I’ve made a conscious decision to discontinue blogging on the New City patch for the time being, because of the folks who hide behind fake names. Its not a productive use of my time. (Patch- I think you should consider requiring people to post with their names) I would rather roll up my sleeves and get work done for my community than engage with people who have nothing better to than make fake names, create divisiveness and post day and night in online community forums. 

So to the ignorant adults hiding behind fake names, engaging in gay baiting, homophobia and heterosexism. I’m here. My name is Joseph Coe and I stand by my words publicly. It’s sad that you can’t do the same.  

And in response to me publicly supporting David. I do. I've been on News12, blogged here after the Democratic Primary, posted on various facebook groups and tweeted. For your review, attached is a screenshoot of the public twitter conversation I had as the President of the Rockland County Young Democrats with Legislator Ed Day’s son and campaign manager, Chris Day,  where I ask about Legislator Day’s stance on social issues.

To end on a postive note--- I do want to thank you for something. For months now I’ve been talking with Rockland residents about restarting the Stonewall Democrats or some sort of LGBT political group here. After reading the hate-filled posts on here, I was reminded of how important it is to create more LGBT inclusiveness in our political system. By this time next year, we will have a new group off the ground with hundreds of members throughout Rockland County. 

With love, Joe 

PS If you are interested in what the Rockland County Young Democrats are doing for David Fried please visit: https://www.facebook.com/rcyoungdems.

PPS I will not respond to people with fake names and/or those spewing bigotry. Keep it moving.