Huffington Post
A.J. Walkley
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aj-walkley/lgbt-hate-crimes_b_1581904.htmlThis past weekend, a lesbian couple in Arlington, Tex., was the target of a hate crime when their car was vandalized with the words "->-bleeped-<-GOT" and "QUEERS." Reading about the experience led me to recall a similar situation that happened to me about 10 years ago in the Connecticut suburb I grew up in.
Walking out the door to go to school my senior year of high school, I was shocked when I approached my car, having parked it on the street the night before. My windows were covered with "->-bleeped-<-" and "->-bleeped-<-GOT," written in soap, and toothpaste was smeared over every door handle. I was speechless. I had no idea who had done it or why. I had kissed girls before, but I didn't think anyone knew about it. To this day I'm not sure if it was a random act of vandalism or if someone had found out my secret and targeted me with this message specifically -- regardless of the fact that the terms were a bit misused.
I remember feeling hurt and confused -- why would someone do such a thing?
