Slient Candle Lit Vigil Or Hate Crime Vigil, Which Is It? - Special Review

SILENT CANDLE LIT VIGIL – OR
HATE CRIME VIGIL
WHICH IS IT??
SPECIAL PREVIEW


On the eve of what could prove to be a massive gathering of likeminded people, but could also draw in a fair amount of extremists from many camps in this very cosmopolitan city of ours, we reflect on what was supposedly originally intended to be a celebration of a life taken oh too soon, but looks like exploding into so much more. So, we ask the question, is this a celebration & reflection of a life lost? Or is it becoming a mass gathering & protest against an abhorrent act that we cannot allow to be brushed under the carpet? Then, is it an opportunity for extremists to platform their radical views? And will it lead to a polarisation of opinions across the whole community? Or will it focus people’s minds on the despicable things that happen to gay people in London?

To answer these questions & to also allow you to make up our own minds about the event tomorrow night (Friday 30th Oct) in Trafalgar Square, we firstly reflect on our emergence within the gay scene in London and then try to balance the views across the spectrum in an attempt to come to a conclusion as to what this event is going to achieve and how we would like the message to come across to the masses. We then consider, with the bandwagon style coverage over the last few days, how should the night be viewed in our eyes. We must say that these views are personal to us, they may provoke reaction, but we genuinely feel the night is going to do just that, so we feel it is only fair for all the views to be pulled together. The ultimate aim is to allow you to make up your own minds about attending or not, but in the end it will be your choice & yours alone.

Well, as they always say, “let’s start at the beginning, because it’s a very good place to start” Is it relevant? we think so & also think you will too, as finding out you are gay & other finding out can be a harrowing experience & can cause all sorts of reactions. So, in all the years that we have known to be gay and all that comes with that, from the early days of our realisation back in our teens, when that first encounter, which seemed quite innocent at the time, but in reflection many years later turned out to be a much older man taking advantage of an adolescent boy with all his innocence, it would be fair to say that in living the dream of a gay man in one of the world’s most prolific gay cities, comes with a surmountable (but not an insurmountable) level of risk, which we have come to accept as the norm, such risks that have often found us in tricky situations, but you take your chances don’t you?! Ws that the case with Ian?

Back in (can we call them) the dark ages, being gay was construed & treated as a disease, but times have definitely changed and our acceptance into general society, if we were an adolescent now, is much better than it was in our day (we sound so old). Looking back for a moment, we reflect in terror, the thought of our heterosexual working colleagues finding out about our disposition, but as times moved on, such acceptance became more open & free and we can say, that in the vast majority of cases our orientation was widely accepted, so allowing us to live our lives as we wished, whether it be in the privacy of our own home, or lauding it out in the raptures of a vibrant scene in and around the West End & beyond.

So, what relevance to the planned vigil does this have? Well, quite a lot actually. Firstly, we would say that for an act of gross abhorrence that results in a death, as did with Ian Banyham (the man that sparked all of this) cannot possibly be simply a case of someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time, moreover a single minded & nasty exploitation of a minority in our community. But, here comes the controversy, there is never smoke without fire, so why, in such a public place, did such a dreadful incident occur? Then, without the facts to hand, to rally the cry of & provoke the reaction of many that would otherwise say nothing is interesting to say the least, especially that the vigil was created through the infamous networking site which has been surely responsible for creating hype beyond reasonableness (controversy over!)

Of course it is a tragedy to lose a life, but who in the caucus of this gathering actually knows all the facts? We don’t (maybe we should, but who does?) Surely, when reading this, you have pushed the boundaries in search of fun, sexual or not, and maybe that action has gone too far. Some of us live life on the edge, looking for that extra thrill and when doing so, all it needs is an extremist psychopath to take advantage. Maybe that was the case with Ian, but we don’t know. If we do, it hasn’t been made clear. What we can say though, is that whoever committed this heinous crime, taking Ian’s life, is sick & nasty to the extreme.

Now, hate crime & discrimination has no room in our existence, it is unacceptable to anyone that has rational thoughts & treats people as real human beings. But whatever the crime and whoever has committed it, is the answer to protest?, to create excessive attention to the issue? or will, in doing what we do tomorrow night merely focus on a tiny segment of our society who actually couldn’t care less? Those people wishing to pay respects to a life lost should be respected for doing so, but we fear, they may be consumed by the rest who want to shout about how maltreated they feel they are and want to use the night as political & social self gain. But, think for a minute, we are no different to any other cross section of people in this great capital of ours, so why should our plight be treated any differently?

Losing a life is a very sad thing indeed, but it seems a little strange that so many prominent people across the scene, who probably didn’t know Ian, are prepared to be vocal & some put their money where the mouth is are only doing it now, with over three weeks passed since Ian’s death, although such support has to be commended, even if the word “bandwagon” comes to mind.. However, what was originally intended to be a silent & reflective vigil for a life lost, has, in our view, become a crusade by the gay community, speaking out way beyond where they need to make their voices heard. In doing so, surely the ultimate parody of the situation will be that opinions will be polarised and that the so called “hate crime” will continue unabated, with the minority that cause such anguish & upset remaining unmoved by any attempt to convince otherwise.

There is no doubt that in an increasingly dramatic society within which we live, people will fall victim to viscous attacks, but lets not fool ourselves that this is restricted to gay society. In the tough economic times we live in, people are becoming increasingly desperate and through no fault of innocent people, those such innocents are singled out as potential targets for the small band of people that feel they need to go to such unlawful steps as to kill to find a way to support themselves, this exploiting those that look better off than others. We cannot say this was true of Ian, but there is no doubt that gay people are just such victims (we have been there ourselves!)

However, as a gay community we need to stand strong, but what we don’t want to do is provoke bad feeling, rather to have love & respect for everyone around us. It does sound so simple, but hatred breeds hatred and when you talk about “hate” crime, just the use of the word can enrage, upset or insight people into doing things they would otherwise never consider. Surely living tolerantly with those around us is the answer, rather than fighting or arguing over everything. We except that sometimes differences of opinions exist and this is part of the world in which we live, but surely if we agreed to live in harmony, life would be so much better.

So what are we saying? Well, with tomorrow night’s event, we really hope that people will be in Trafalgar Square to pay respect to Ian Banyham’s life, pay respect to his family, who must be going through hell, but moreover pay respect to the 10’s, the 100’s & maybe the 1000’s of gay people that have been victims of brutal & nasty encounters, simply because they are gay. However it is our hope that tomorrow will not become a crusade, will not become a political rally, will not push the boundaries too far & most importantly will not polarise opinion across the diverse society that we live within. Tomorrow should be about stamping out prejudice, but through peaceful means. Ian’s death was probably violent enough, let’s not reprolcate that.

So, should it be a silent candle-lit vigil rather than a hate crime vigil? Yes it should, that is for sure, not least for Ian’s family more than anything else. Should you be in Trafalgar Square tomorrow night? most definitely so, by showing solidarity against a minority of exploiters of life & to highlight disgust in what is becoming a more violent place we live in. However, in saying that, you should be there only if your intentions for love & respect for all good law abiding citizens are genuine.

A special report can be found at http://homovision.tv & for full details of the event tomorrow night in Trafalgar Square, go to either http://bit.ly/HateCrimeVigil or http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=152586453159&ref=ts

Will we be there,? of course we will, for all the reasons we have said & much more, so make sure you are there too. (DISCO MATT)