What Gay Community?

Ian Baynham, who was brutally attacked in September and died as a result of his injuries, will be buried today, almost 2 months after his death.

When I heard of the attack against Ian I was, like most, shocked/upset/ angry, a mixture of emotions. How could something like this still be happening and not only in London (one of the most diverse cities in the world) but in Central London? Ian Baynham wasn’t attacked close to some suburban shopping centre but a stones throw from one of England’s most famous landmarks –Nelsons Column.

Before I could fully absorb what had happened news came of another horrific assault, this time against trainee PC James Parks in Liverpool. The 22-year-old was set upon by around 13 teenagers and I understand he is still in hospital.

Thankfully the police were very quick to act on both attacks and had quickly arrested a number of suspects. I’ve heard many stories in the past of how unhelpful the police are towards homophobic crime but this seemed to be something they wanted to rectify and they had won my admiration. The gay community on the offer hand didn’t.

I had the privilege of helping to organise the anti-hate vigil that took place in Trafalgar Square on Friday 20th October where an estimated 10,000 people attended. This is a fantastic number especially in the short time it was organised but my question is; why was it only 10,000?

I was truly saddened when I spoke to so many gay people who simply couldn’t be bothered to attend. One guy at my gym said he couldn’t make as he had a party later that night. A PARTY!!!! What the fuck? I was also surprised by how many people not only didn’t know about the vigil but had no knowledge about the attacks either. Does no gay man read something other than the club pages of QX? It appears not, an article on Homovision.TV showed that around 70% of those they questioned had no about the attack on Ian Baynham.

We talk often about the gay ‘community’ but it seems that away from club land this doesn’t exist. I would have thought, I would have hoped, that after the attack in Nelson Column, where many gay men pass through on their way home that a number much larger than 10,000 would have stood side by side. Whilst I love the party world and the gay hub that is Soho, there is a world outside it and we should all remember this.

Related articles by Zemant

Vigil at scene of anti-gay attack (news.bbc.co.uk)