DJ Bell petition to be delivered at 10 a.m.

by Brandon Burt

Posted // 2010-01-28 -

In the year and a half since D.J. Bell was brutally attacked by neighbors, charges have yet to be filed against Bell's assailants.

It's unconscionable and un-American that the innocent victim of an assault could be incarcerated and dragged through the legal system while attackers manage to evade prosecution. The most obvious explanation is that, in this case, the victim is a gay man -- and, evidently, different legal rules apply to homosexuals. It's hard to tell, since the prosecutors have been largely silent on the matter.

Today at 10 a.m., activists will deliver a petition demanding that charges be brought against those who participated in the attack. At the very least, it represents an opportunity for the County D.A.'s office to break the silence.

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REPLY TO THIS COMMENT

Hayduke

Posted // January 28,2010 at 10:23

Seems as if they're (DA) praying people will forget and move on.

I suspect that they (DA) know how badly the investigation was messed up by police from the beginning and realize that, because of shoddy police work, they have no case to go on. It's likely wrought with loopholes.

Everybody knows that violent Polynesians (no surprise there) beat the living shit out of two men, and it looks more and more as if they'll get away with it. I don't think that it's because the victims are gay; I think it's because the police fucked up big time and failed, dramatically, in their duties to protect and serve.

Brandon Burt

Posted // January 29,2010 at 21:35 -

I'm always wary of ascribing traits to entire ethnic/social groups -- one of the reasons this investigation may have been so badly bungled was because "everybody knows" gays have no sense of morality and are apt to abuse children.

(And, of course, both the Polynesian and gay communities have their own problems to deal with -- stirring up hostilities between the two would only play into the hands of those who wish to protect white heterosexual privilege.)

Still, not only did the SSL cops arrest the wrong man, they may even have let the attackers leave the scene without taking names -- and that trail must be dead cold by now. If this is why there's been no followup in the case, somebody needs to own up.