“I’ll Kick Your A$$ All the Way Back to Iraq”
Source: Twitter @madmanwithapen @attitudemag
It’s nice to think we live in a world where persecuted minority communities can support each other and get along, but that’s simply not how it is.
Following Friday November 13th’s coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris, the crisis in the Middle East and the plight of its many refugees has been on the headline of every newspaper and the forefront of all political discourse.
It’s also a situation that’s brought to light the true colors of many people who claim to live with accepting and inclusive American ideals but then fail to look beyond their own fears in a time of need for many.
Such confusing global politics are bound to affect the folks back home one way or another, bringing out the cowardice and racism even of our friends and neighbors. One racially motivated verbal attack this week happened at the hands of another community that you’d like to think would empathize with the plight of the refugees or victimized groups in general: the gay community.
Start the slideshow below to learn about the horrific comments one young man endured on Grindr due to his Middle Eastern heritage, then SHARE if you think his story needs to be heard.
We are Paris
Source: Twitter @AttitudeMag
While we’d like to think minorities could stick together in the face of social adversity, it’s also paramount to remember that no one person or even small group of people can be truly representative of their entire community. Keep that in mind as you learn about the latest lack of solidarity between persecuted groups, in this case, the gay community and Muslims or people of Middle Eastern descent.
A newsworthy piece on gay media this week comes from Arizona, where 22-year-old Anthony Magallanaz found himself the victim of virtual harassment and racism that all started because of some Arabic lyrics he had in his profile.
Magallanaz, whose profile on the popular gay/ bi/ bicurious hookup and “dating” app Grindr was titled “We are Paris” at the time, contained lyrics from the Lebanese song “Al Thaniah,” which translated as “I loved you in the winter.” But just seeing the Arabic was enough to set a fellow Grindr user off his racist rocker.
“Get that terrorist writing off your f***ing profile”
Being #Muslim on #Grindr ! Let the games begin ? pic.twitter.com/DKqNCZpbPy
— Anthony Magallanez (@madmanwithapen) November 15, 2015
The brutally offensive messages started coming in, and Magallanaz claimed that he first thought it was just a bad joke. Grindr users are no strangers to bizarre and offensive messages, but this was something totally different. The other gay man—whose identity has remained anonymous—let his bigoted thoughts fly, proving his ignorance several times over the span of the conversation. Referring to the Arabic lyrics as “terrorist writing,” the racist Grindr user went on to accuse Anthony of belonging to ISIS, offended that he would dare show his heritage following the attacks in Paris. Politely, Magallanez informed the other man that the Arabic writing was from a pop song and that the guy should “educate himself.” That’s when the racist man really showed off his ignorance.