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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1990)
Just out T D*c«mb«r 1000 T 13 * Pink Panthers New York City sets an example for a lesbian and gay community policing group V •> 'l * 1 -> » by Rich Flowers I ncreasingly, it isn’t safe for gays and les bians to walk the streets. A tidal wave of crime is sweeping the country bringing with it an increase in anti-gay violence. “I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never seen so much bashing,” said Joe Ruscito, 33, a lawyer, “Even on the trains to Fire Island, the conductors have been harassing gay people. It’s a real prob lem.” Bias-related assaults, gay bashings, are up 82 percent in the first seven months of 1990 (316 cases) according to the New York Anti-Violence Project. Gay bashing is an aspect of the overall increase in violence at its most terrifying-being attacked by a stranger. The randomness also strikes a note of horror and epitomizes assault’s senseless cruelty. Que pasal What’s going on here? Sociolo gists say many things contribute to the increase in anti-gay violence including, recession, lack of job opportunities and an alarming increase in drug use, crack in particular. Specifically, the. Village is home turf for gays and lesbians. Add to that, dozens of bars on every block, interaction at all hours (the city that never sleeps) and a mecca for tourists and you’ve got the setting for most of the reported cases of anti-gay violence. More importantly, gays and lesbians are increas ingly more willing to be open. “As gays and les bians gain more political power and visibility, gay bashing will increase as more people feel threatened. It’s definitely a backlash,” com mented Brigitte Weil, 25, Panther member and pastry chef. In response to the increase in gay bashing and fueled with outrage at the city’s indifferent re sponse, a citizen foot patrol was organized by men and women,” said Weil. Some join the Pink gay and lesbian activists to roam the streets in an Panthers because they have been beaten up. effort to take back the streets. Their first patrol Some join because it’s cool. Some join because was Aug. 4, 1990. The Pink Panthers patrol the they feel its politically correct. All are genuinely streets in coed groups of 8 or 12, Friday and Sat concerned. Panther member Carol Anastasio, 28 urday nights from midnight to 3 am. Patrollers a public relations director remarked, “I’ve per wear black T-shirts with a paw print in a pink sonally escorted lesbians, not because I wanted triangle on the front and “PATROL” in English, their phone number but because I was concerned Spanish and Chinese on the back. The T-shirts for their safety.” are eye-catching. “We’ve always been perceived Anyone can join the Pink Panthers. The only as well dressed,” commented one member. Each requirement is a firm time commitment to patrol member of the patrol has a specific duty. One ling. “It isn’t like a comfy planning meeting in a carries a walkie-talkie and maintains contact with friend’s apartment or a one time “zap” or a let the home base. One is responsible for dialing ter-writing campaign on letterhead stationery. It’s 911. One photographs and records incidents. getting out on the streets and putting your own They all carry whistles while walking the beat. safety on the line,” said Phil Montana, 27, a The Pink Panthers patrol unarmed. Though gourmet cook and Panther member. Unlike their all members receive martial-arts training, they counterparts, the Guardian Angels (a non-gay don’t perceive their duties to include dealing foot patrol that stakes out the same area), the with weapons. If weapons are involved, the po Pink Panthers make themselves walking political lice are notified immediately. Their primary goal statements by openly identifying themselves as, is to defend the person being attacked and not gay and lesbian. They see the patrol as an oppor necessarily to go after the attacker. If someone tunity to affirm their gay or lesbian identity and calls them “faggots” while they are on patrol, community and to raise consciousness. “As far as they are likely to respond in the affirmative and wearing our sexuality on our shirts, I think that’s engage in some form of dialogue. Another patrol important,” said Montana. “We’ve traditionally group may encircle the provoker and ask differ been targets and [people think] we won’t fight ent questions rapidly from different “sides” of back. That’s wrong. We will fight back.” Asked the circle (“When was Joan Crawford bom!?!”) about wearing her sexuality openly. Panther in the hopes of disorienting the person and leav member, Gerri Wells, 32, construction contrac tor thought and replied, “ Well, I feel I do that all ing him/her dazed and dumbfounded. Lesbians and gay men have come together on the time anyway.” Zealous newcomers are encouraged to check this patrol to help stop anti-gay violence. “Right now, the Panthers are equally divided between out the patrol first instead of attending the n) 'mi 'mi $ V» •iS •is .**, >!i* .li» .ii. .IS weekly Tuesday night meetings. The Panthers feel its important for people to realize they’re a patrol not a discussion group. But the Tuesday night meeting is a discussion group run more like a support group where everyone gets to air an opinion. “We need to be more gay-and-militaris- tic, not gay-and-artistic,” a member recently commented. By allowing all opinions, the group hopes to avoid sexist, homophobic and paternal istic structuring. But all opinions don’t carry equal weight Priority is given to members who actively patrol. “I don’t want people who are not actively involved having input into it,” said Montana. “We want people who make decisions for us to be people who are out there patrolling.” The Panthers also don’t .seek help from the police though the police department is supportive of the group. “They’re an excellent group. Any body who is willing to go out on the streets and fight crime is okay in my book,” said a police officer from the sixth precinct, which covers the Village. The police have offered to make the Panthers a part of the auxiliary police but they were turned down. “We voted against it,” said Wells, “ a lot of us have been strip searched. In a way we don’t trust them.” As it is, the Panthers feel the police department needs sensitivity train ing but the gay community doesn’t have the time to wait for them to get sensitized. The Panthers also feel the police don’t re spond urgently enough to reports of anti-gay violence. "They aren’t quick about it,” said Weil, "they wait sometimes before jumping into an assault in progress because they think the at- tacker is right and on some level they are living out one of their fantasies. This attitude is preva lent.” The police sometimes have a hard time separating their professional duties from their persona] issues. Most police officers know how to handle bias-related assaults but don’t, or don’t classify the assault as bias-related unless a prominent gay activist is involved. According to the New York City police de partment, in order for an assault to be classified as bias related, a verbal epithet must be said prior to the start of an assault but not during or after. This definition cuts down on the number of as saults classified as anti-gay and bias related and so most gay bashings go unrecorded as such. “We need those numbers,” said Neil Peck, 23, a writer, “at present there is no bias-related crime bill in New York (eight states, including Oregon, and several cities do have them) and in order for a bias related crime bill to pass, we need to show there is a strong need for one. The fact that we don’t have one sends out the message that it is okay to bash gays and lesbians.” So far, patrolling the streets hasn’t exposed the Pink Panthers to much trouble. A lot of pa trons of the Village are familiar with the group, and everyone relates to the name they’ve chosen. Pink Panthers, in a favorable way and this is an unexpected plus. It’s different to start a fight with a group that’s named after a likable and popular cartoon character. Although members insist that the group’s name alludes more to militant groups like the Black Panthers of the 60’s and the Gray Panthers of the 70’s, the association with the cartoon character should be a welcome one. Inspector Clousscau is always foiled in his attempts to bash or sabotage the Pink Panther and the voiceless panther is never deterred from his duties. The Pink Panther theme is catchy, too. Once a group of rowdy drunks came across the Panthers on patrol. When they could make out their name, a smile came across their faces and they proceeded to “sing” the theme while walk ing away in an imitation of how they thought a panther would. A potentially dangerous situation had been averted. Another way of defusing potential conflict is by using coed patrols. This lessens the likelihood of attack because of the unwritten code of honor among men that you don’t ever hit a woman (a majority of bashers are male between 15-26 years of age). It doesn’t keep people from com menting though. One patrol came across a dis turbed man yelling anti-gay clichés. A straight bodybuilder and his Farrah-Fawcettcd girlfriend passed by and he looked back grinning and smirked, “I could take them all on and wouldn't break a sweat.” But for the most part there is a lot of spontaneous praise and admiration. Every once in a while a group will cheer from across the street or an admirer will shout encouragement from a passing taxi. A married telephone worker repairing cable lines under the street peered up as the Pink Panthers passed by and said to his co- worker, “Will you look at that. That’s the Pink Panthers, they’re all gay and they’re out protect ing the streets for everybody. Isn’t that some thing?” They both looked at each other and then went back to work.