Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Transgender Woman Severely Beaten at Baltimore McDonalds While Employees Watch
Filed by: Bil Browning
April 22, 2011 4:00 PM

http://www.bilerico.com/2011/04/transwoman_severely_beaten_at_baltimore_mcdonalds.php (http://www.bilerico.com/2011/04/transwoman_severely_beaten_at_baltimore_mcdonalds.php)

This is absolutely disgusting. After an unidentified transwoman tried to use the bathroom at a Baltimore McDonald's, two patrons started attacking her in full view of other customers and employees. What did the employees do? mcdonald.jpgThey filmed it on their phones.

While you can see the manager yelling stop at the two women attacking the customer, none of the other employees even try to intervene or keep the women from dragging the victim across the restaurant floor. Instead, it's the elderly female customer that seems to do the most to help. The manager and employees simply watch as the victim starts to have a seizure and offer no help whatsoever.

The video makes me sick. How could people stand by and not do everything in their power to stop what was going on?

As far as I'm concerned, when you kick and stomp someone's head, you're trying to kill them. The two attackers ought to be charged with attempted murder, and anyone in the place who didn't try to stop what was going on ought to be charged as an accessory to the crime.

I hope the victim recovers fully and sues the crap out of McDonalds. That might make them realize that they need to be tough with their franchisees and employees regarding the safety of ALL their customers as well as insist on tolerance by employees of people who are different than them.

Carol

I had to turn it off.  There's no excuse for what happened.  The employees ought to be fired.  Allowing such a thing to happen is just as bad as doing it yourself.

Possibly this thread should be combined with this one

https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,97274.0.html (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,97274.0.html)

......just made me cry.........

and cry

This is just unbelievably sad.  I ave no idea how to even respond.

Personal opinion.  Every member of that staff who did nothing should be immediately fired.  At least the manager tried to do something.  And both the offender should be charged with a hate crime.  McDonald's needs to make it publicly know this will not be allowed in its restaurants.

While it did upset me, it also PO'd me.  Those types of people need to be made a lesson of.

the manager tried to do something

Yeah, warned them that the police were on the way.  That's not exactly helping.

This made me sick, like I could probably say not even exaggerating I threw up in my mouth a little...

This scares the ->-bleeped-<- outta me, not necessarily just for myself...but for all of us transpeople.

doesn't mcdonalds not allow this? there was a manager fired before for being hateful to a transgender person. i almost cried from watching this. i can't believe how violent women are nowadays. what can i say? the one that got her weave ripped out deserved it.

What disgusting human beings.  Wish I was up there so I could picket this place.

Every employee should be fired immedeately. Even the manager should be fired. Although he told them to stop, the fight continued on and the only person who actually intervened and stepped in, was an elederly woman.

This is absolutely outrageous and literally burned me up !

I'm sure if you would check that McD has a corporate policy that specifically forbids employees from getting involved in such incidents.  Bet on it.

I get the anger at the bystanders and staff, I really do, but.....

I just don't know enough about the bystanders situation to be really really mad at them yet. I don't know what the laws in Maryland are like for civilian action - would someone jumping in be automatically arrested or face lawsuits from the thugs if they waded in and took action? I would like to think I would have regardless, if I wasn't frozen in fear or shock, but I don't know for sure. Nobody does, even if we all like to think we'd do the right thing in a heartbeat. Not until it actually happens to you and you find out how you react. So them, I'm not going to judge.

I think the manager ->-bleeped-<-ed up. He should have locked them out after they left the building but didn't. Other than that I'd like to say he should have been more forceful breaking up the fight but again I don't know what exactly he's allowed to do if something like this happens before breaking his contract. What if he was juggling what he wanted to do against the probability of getting fired? How much do you risk for a stranger if it's risking your ability to provide for your family? I don't know if thats the case, but I don't know it isn't either.

Most big service companies have policies you have to sign dictating that if you're robbed or customers are fighting you do nothing, just to limit their own liability from getting sued by a hurt employee or a customer hurt by an employee. I wouldn't be surprised if McD policy is only the manager is allowed to get involved to a point before backing off and everyone else has to keep the hell out of the way if anything goes down or be summarily fired and ontheir own for any medical and legal costs or problems resulting. It sucks, it's inhumane.... it's big buisness.

It doesn't excuse what the staff did - warning them the police were coming ( I thought that was the guy filming, not the manager, but that might just be me), laughing about it or what they were saying watching it - I dont think that they would have helped anyways. Just don't be surprised if in a few days they all come out saying they couldn't have gotten involved without being fired and waving the clause in their terms and conditions about that proves it. And then watch as most people who aren't LGBTQI, allies or friendly shrug their shoulders and think ' well it's not how I would have handled it but if it was going to cost them their job, well, maybe its kinda understandable'.

Don't get me wrong: That was horrible, and they were wrong not doing anything, and I think they all will be fired one way or another, for PR purposes now if nothing else. There is no excuse to me for doing nothing other than having frozen up. The guys filming it and watching it like fans at a cage fight deserve everything they get, I just don't think for one second it will be for not having done the right thing.

I really hope heavy charges come down and are made stick against those two creatures, and the victim comes out of this eventually ok physically and mentally. Thats all I'm going to care about until I know more about how this is going to play out. I'll get angry at who deserves it then.

Assault 2 on one of them, assault 3 on the other, so, like nothing.

That was sickening.  I wish I had been there.  I would take an assault charge for busting her attackers asses. 

And what's worse is that the guy recording was telling the attackers to leave now cause the cops were coming.  It's like he was trying to help them. :(

Quote from: Andy8715 on April 23, 2011, 01:03:57 AM
And what's worse is that the guy recording was telling the attackers to leave now cause the cops were coming.  It's like he was trying to help them. :(

I thought about that but then was wondering if he said that to try and get them to leave so they'd stop attacking... Either way it is awful but just throwing that out there.

Quote from: Andy8715 on April 23, 2011, 01:03:57 AM
That was sickening.  I wish I had been there.  I would take an assault charge for busting her attackers asses. 

And what's worse is that the guy recording was telling the attackers to leave now cause the cops were coming.  It's like he was trying to help them. :(

i don't think it was that he was trying to help them, but it was more just entertainment for him. which is no better, but he probably would've responded the same way if the victim was a cisgendered female. it was all just fun and games for him.

Yeah, it's hard to say how different this story would have been if she was a cisgendered woman. There have been many videos and stories online of women beating the ->-bleeped-<- out of other women while others stand around.

Either way I couldn't even watch half of it. That manager was probably doing the best he could. What more could he do? It would have looked worse on his part socially as a male pushing or punching women no matter what they were doing.

omg this is heart wrenching i swear this is the reason you need concealed weopons people are f ing stupid anymore im sorry i would have shot the both of them then they could put that on you tube.

Quote from: JayUnit on April 23, 2011, 02:15:46 AM
Yeah, it's hard to say how different this story would have been if she was a cisgendered woman. There have been many videos and stories online of women beating the ->-bleeped-<- out of other women while others stand around.

Either way I couldn't even watch half of it. That manager was probably doing the best he could. What more could he do? It would have looked worse on his part socially as a male pushing or punching women no matter what they were doing.

there's a video in circulation of a white (cis)girl being beaten by black girls on a Baltimore Bus last year while the whole crowd watched and laughed.

As much as i'm pissed about the bathroom aspect, the sad fact is that a lot - maybe most - of those around us today WON'T attempt to stop an assault.


Oh, and for a counterpoint - there's another news story today about a fight in a McDonalds (don't remember where) : a man waiting in line broke up a fight between two thugs in the same line, he was told by one of the thugs he wouldn't live to see the morning.

He didn't.

Quote from: Tammy Hope on April 23, 2011, 04:08:24 AM
there's a video in circulation of a white (cis)girl being beaten by black girls on a Baltimore Bus last year while the whole crowd watched and laughed.

As much as i'm pissed about the bathroom aspect, the sad fact is that a lot - maybe most - of those around us today WON'T attempt to stop an assault.


Oh, and for a counterpoint - there's another news story today about a fight in a McDonalds (don't remember where) : a man waiting in line broke up a fight between two thugs in the same line, he was told by one of the thugs he wouldn't live to see the morning.

He didn't.

Yeeaaaah. Exactly. As TERRIBLE as it is, who here ACTUALLY would have done something? It's easy want to play hero but when you're in that situation it's a totally different, horrifying story.

I think you'd be surprised how many and who would be willing to stand up and step in to stop such violence... If it was your friend being beaten would you just stand there and watch?

It's not about being a hero... How many have done heroic deeds and said that they are not a hero? Rather, they just took action and are glad it went well... Playing the role of a hero was the furthest thing from their minds

It's not about role playing... It's about being who you are 

A friend is different than a complete stranger...

I've witnessed a fight at my job before and it's easy to say that you would step in but I just froze up and then left to get a manager while tons of co-workers stood around and laughed.

I've witnessed a fight at my job before and it's easy to say that you would step in but I just froze up and then left to get a manager

Even though you didn't step in to stop the violence, you did take action... Taking action doesn't always mean getting in the middle of the melee

Quote from: V M on April 23, 2011, 05:37:59 AM
Even though you didn't step in to stop the violence, you did take action... Taking action doesn't always mean getting in the middle of the melee

Yeah that's true. I even yelled at co-workers to get back to work and stop standing around like ->-bleeped-<-s. I would just never physically get in the middle because I know I am not anywhere near strong enough.

please sign petition and make a difference for this girl!!

http://www.change.org/petitions/demand-that-the-employees-on-duty-at-mcdonalds-be-held-responsible-in-the-beating-of-a-trans-woman#signatures (http://www.change.org/petitions/demand-that-the-employees-on-duty-at-mcdonalds-be-held-responsible-in-the-beating-of-a-trans-woman#signatures)

Quote from: Birgitta on April 23, 2011, 05:57:35 AM
please sign petition and make a difference for this girl!!

http://www.change.org/petitions/demand-that-the-employees-on-duty-at-mcdonalds-be-held-responsible-in-the-beating-of-a-trans-woman#signatures (http://www.change.org/petitions/demand-that-the-employees-on-duty-at-mcdonalds-be-held-responsible-in-the-beating-of-a-trans-woman#signatures)

Done

Quote from: Birgitta on April 23, 2011, 05:57:35 AM
please sign petition and make a difference for this girl!!

http://www.change.org/petitions/demand-that-the-employees-on-duty-at-mcdonalds-be-held-responsible-in-the-beating-of-a-trans-woman#signatures (http://www.change.org/petitions/demand-that-the-employees-on-duty-at-mcdonalds-be-held-responsible-in-the-beating-of-a-trans-woman#signatures)

Really not comfortable giving that site my address but thank you for posting it and I'll pass it around in case anyone I know will sign it. I'll be sending a letter to McDonalds however, something does have to be done and I'm glad so many of us on this site can do something about it. 

Well, I've signed on that site before, so just done it again - it's a good job I have a strong constitution, but even so it made me sick. Sheesh, I thought things were meant to improve as we advance through the ages, not get worse!

The petition is signed and the vid makes me vomitting.
So cowardly, two against one.

The Bathroom Predators Are Cis People


http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2011/04/bathroom-predators-are-cis-people.html (http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2011/04/bathroom-predators-are-cis-people.html)
4/22/11
Monica Roberts

One of the memes coming from 'white' wing opponents and the haters that are used to attack trans rights bills is that ciswomen would be in danger of violence or sexual assault if transwomen are allowed to use female restrooms like we have since 1953 without incident.

But as the following video shot at a Baltimore area McDonald's shows, they got it bassackwards.   In reality it's transwomen and our cissisters with ambiguous gender cues who have to fear for our lives and our human dignity when we visit public restrooms.   

  It is a cowardly act.  Those two assailants were probably goaded into what they did by others or from between themselves.  These two girls were probably not raised to respect others as the most of us were.  All I saw was a real-life Jerry Springer experience with real blows with a type of bouncer (WWE wrestling type ref) found on his shows.  I lived in similar neighborhoods and seen this happening growing up.  Almost all of those I know of from that past are either dead or in prison.  I circumnavigate away from one of my old neighborhoods, than to go through it to this day.  I don't wan't to be reminded that I ever lived there.  There are no excuses here, just plenty of blame!
  Joelene

I can't speak about the other employees. They may have been justifiably afraid to intervene for some reason. However, the manager and the employee who took the video really failed Humanity 101.

I saw screen caps of what the cameraman had been posting about the video and it's just absolutely disgusting, hateful, victim-blaming transphobia.

They were trying to drag her outside. They would have probably killed her eventually.

If I was there, I would grab the nearest object and bashed some skulls in.

As for the person who took the video. While I would have much rather seen him stop the fight, there is some consolation to be had. He recorded this barbaric attack and made it public. Now the whole world can really see the hate that we have to face daily, all because we're different.

I'm not a superstitious type of person, but karma will come back around and really screw those 2 girls up.

It's not just us,

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mcdonals%20beatings (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mcdonals%20beatings)

Quote from: kalshady on April 22, 2011, 11:58:35 PM
This made me sick, like I could probably say not even exaggerating I threw up in my mouth a little...

This scares the ->-bleeped-<- outta me, not necessarily just for myself...but for all of us transpeople.

It scares me too man, I live right down the street from that restaurant :/ Makes me never wanna go out again. And just thinking about this possibly one day happening to any of my trans friends... ugh...
Poor girl. I couldn't even finish the video, just sickening.

anyway, i'd be willing to bet the two attackers have conduct issues. i think they are school aged from what i read. i really doubt those two girls are just perfect angels, and then they spontaneously gang up on a transwoman, because it's their "responsibility." they are probably the type that mothers are telling their kids not to hang around.

Quote from: SpaceyGirl on April 23, 2011, 06:02:22 PM
anyway, i'd be willing to bet the two attackers have conduct issues. i think they are school aged from what i read. i really doubt those two girls are just perfect angels, and then they spontaneously gang up on a transwoman, because it's their "responsibility." they are probably the type that mothers are telling their kids not to hang around.

YES! HERE! HERE!  My mom was always checking who we were friends with.  She did allow some latitude, but was strict with our upbringing, especially in that darned housing project we lived in at one time.  My mom won the tug-of-war of several years, of my brother with a real bad apple of his friend at the time after he gave a verbal warning that he would wrest my brother away from her influence!  He and his associates are dead or in prison for life for their lifestyle.  His parents didn't give a hoot what their children did.
  My little brother did fine, thank you.   He raised two daughters and sent them to college, one is not far away from a PhD!
  Joelene

have conduct issues

Yeah, that's almost cute.  I suppose Jenna Jamseson has a slight modestly problem and Danica Patrick drives a little bit fast.

They are thugs.  Asocial for sure, psychopathic perhaps and almost feral.  They are right on the line between being put away, and put down.

Asocial for sure, psychopathic perhaps and almost feral.  They are right on the line between being put away, and put down.

I would imagine that those types of girls become rather well acquainted with the correctional facilities in the future

Yeah, and all at a cost only slightly higher per year then sending them to Harvard.  Such a deal.

none of these people (maybe the older lady) are humans, Ya! the manager tried to stop it, did he once check to see if she was alright, or anyone for that matter. A dog hit by a car would of been treated better.

and I wonder why I struggle to come out

These two thugs do not represent any part of the human race.

do not represent any part of the human race.

Congratulations, you're just like them.  That is exactly what they think.

Quote from: Joelene9 on April 23, 2011, 07:01:44 PM
  YES! HERE! HERE!  My mom was always checking who we were friends with.  She did allow some latitude, but was strict with our upbringing, especially in that darned housing project we lived in at one time.  My mom won the tug-of-war of several years, of my brother with a real bad apple of his friend at the time after he gave a verbal warning that he would wrest my brother away from her influence!  He and his associates are dead or in prison for life for their lifestyle.  His parents didn't give a hoot what their children did.
  My little brother did fine, thank you.   He raised two daughters and sent them to college, one is not far away from a PhD!
  Joelene

that's a good thing definately. it goes to show that you have to raise your kids while you have the chance. before they become teenagers who know everything, who later become adults who are responsible for their actions.

Quote from: tekla on April 22, 2011, 11:34:51 PM
the manager tried to do something

Yeah, warned them that the police were on the way.  That's not exactly helping.

The manager did a good job.  Alot of managers would have stayed behind the counter, waited for the police, and maybe the transwoman gets dead.  I  think we should thank him, not condemn him for not doing more.

The manager certainly kept the woman from being harmed worse.  He kept his employees from getting hurt, or hurting someone and getting sued.  If the police were on the way, he probably is responsible for that.  Telling the perps that the police were on the way, got them out of the building, which was his first responsibility.  Besides, in a big city, the cops might not have got there for hours.

We should probably also note that the perps are in custody, and the cameraman has been canned.

Karma is just a placebo (so to say) of revenge. When something happens that seems like it was revenge for a past action, it is labeled as an effect of karma. Otherwise, it's just bad luck. Karma and luck are the West's 'Magic'; the same goes for good things too. Although, the theory is nice in terms of reassurance and self-critique.

With that said, I do hope that they get what they deserve. The video was sickening and I ended up stopping it after only watching a few seconds of it. The video will undoubtedly be good for the courts because you can't deny it or downplay it. It also spreads the news far faster, which is good because more people will become outraged by the events shown in it and perhaps give things like this more thought. The video is also bad because unfortunately some people will undoubtedly find it funny and simply mock it. Most things in life are double edged swords with a good and bad side, this video is one of them.

The event shown in the video is without a question, horrible.

As others have pointed out, this isn't the only case of someone being beaten. In general, our current society is terrible. This happening before to others, is irrelevant to it happening in this case (with the exception of the previous ones not preventing this one). It only strengthens the claim that society is (and pretty much always has) been an ugly thing.

Sure makes you question the intentions of mankind more and more.

I think it was actually the camera-man warning the perps to flee, not the manager.

Where I fault the manager and witnesses is in this regard: there's a point, relatively early, where the attackers leave the presence of the victim. At that point it's responsible to get between the two and prevent any further attack and no one did that. Which gave the thugs liberty to return and resume the attack.

That shouldn't have happened.


all this said, there is no certainty this girl was attacked BECAUSE she's trans (or technically WAS trans)

She says herself in the video on the Sun site that one of the thugs accused her of "talking to my man" and it might well be that the attackers didn't initially know her history until the camera guy mouthed off.

It could also have had a lot to do with race - it might simiply be one of those neighborhoods where white people are at risk of attack just for being there.

I think now that more facts are out the "community" needs to take a breath and assume a more strategic and calculated position.

I have a one-word solution to this: firearms

Quote from: tekla on April 23, 2011, 07:55:08 PM
do not represent any part of the human race.

Congratulations, you're just like them.  That is exactly what they think.

I understand what your saying telka but when you see things like this first hand happening to another transwoman your extremely prone to immediately begin made to relive traumatic situations of discrimination intimidation and fear that you've personally experienced. Least that's what I felt when I saw it.

What I want to emotively say makes this clear.
"I don't want to be better than the bigots I just want to live"

Sad but true... It's tricky to regain emotional clarity when you get into that state it happens when you see things like this. what works with me is realizing ownership of emotions the realization that this was her nightmare not yours. and while it's fine to be angry as a matter of defensiveness (it could of been you.) don't let it swallow you and remember that it wasn't.

What also helped me I was curious to learn more about this story so I googled it and they have a thread on stormfront about this, yes that stormfront
They were making extremely cruel racist remarks about the attackers begin black Comments about (gorillas and monkeys abound) and presuming that the woman was a cis-woman. undergoing a similar process but with the race issue begin there central point of how they thought the situation related to them.

They had a much harder time once they realized they were trans and realized that alot of them would empathize with the attackers.

Quote from: Britney_413 on April 25, 2011, 01:59:40 AM
I have a one-word solution to this: firearms

Then you'd only hear a story of a young transwomen begin killed in a male prison accused/convicted of murder. you wouldn't care at all because most of us feel edgy about standing up for transsexual convicts or suspects.

Yeah the thread on RedState and FreeRepublic (which are pretty much StormFront Lite^*) ran the same way, beginning with full out racist attacks on the attackers, then slowly moving to the point where most of the posts were siding with the attackers once the trans part was added to the mix.  That fun lovin' Tea Party, who knows what side they'll take next?

But there are more than enough u-tube vids showing similar incidents for me to think the underlying reason had nothing to do with being trans, but something much deeper.  The trans things was just a convienent excuse.  And simple surface hate is not going to solve that problem, though MdDs might start to offer to Super-Size your beating, or ask you if you want a concussion with those fries because it is becoming that common at fast food places.

I'm also not convinced that shooting a 14 year old girl wouldn't be pretty hard to defend in an inquest.



* - do not go to these sites unless you have a 'beyond cast iron' stomach.

as some else once told me better to be tried by 12 then carried by six and two one one with no way to withdraw is always self defense if a cop can shoot them so cant you
jess