Cornwall Police Hate Crime TEST CASE.

Cornwall Police Hate Crime TEST CASE.

Cornwall police have previously demonstrated disinterest in homophobic incidents & by their attitude contribute to perpetuating HATE CRIME against gay persons.

At least this has been the unfortunate experience of a number of gay persons in Cornwall in recent years. Organisations like the LGBT Intercom Trust, based in Devon have been found to be ineffectual in both representing gay victims of Hate Crime & victims of Cornwall police homophobia.

Unfortunately, the Intercom Trust appears far more interested in appeasing the Cornwall police than it does in ACTUALLY representing gay victims of abuse & homophobia. That is at least my own personal experience & observation. Cornwall police have been found to perpetuate and exasperate homophobia by their ineffectiveness and in-house prejudicial & discriminatory attitudes common place within the Cornwall police force towards gay persons.

So it is with interest that we are going to publicly watch the progress of one homophobic HATE CRIME incident now reported to the police. To gauge whether Cornwall police take seriously Hate Crime against gays & their ‘to date’ own completely ineffectual & worthless police ‘True Vision’ policy on hate crime, which is ignored by so many Cornwall police officers.

The test case:-

An out 17yr old gay youth in Cornwall messaged via the website ‘bebo’, a former pupil of the school they had both attended, just to say ‘hi’. The 17 yr old youth had been subjected to considerable homophobia when he had attended Helston school & through other previous gay students who attended Helston school, homophobic bullying is a known particular problem at this Cornish school.

This is the message sent originally by the 17 yr old gay youth (surname redacted):-

“ello Richard so u don’t remember me well that’s a shame its me peter ****** lol”

This was the shocking response received! The message received has been reported to bebo, but without effect!

“Oh right so it it u gay boy
U just wait till me nd Jamie b********* and Ashley b******** nd crazy see you cause we r going to kick the living shit out of ya you fucking wanker. U betta hope that we neva see you again cause you will be in hospital and i mean it cause I will put you there and when u get we will be there waiting 4 u.

Jamie said tht he will break your fucking neck Ashley will break your legs nad crazy will…break your jaw

BEST HOPE WE DON’T SEE YOU FUCKING TWAT HAHAHAHA”

Had the 17 yr old gay youth who received this message NOT been homophobically bullied whilst at school , abused and homophobically violated by Cornwall police and also a witness to two previous serious violent assaults upon gay persons in Cornwall last year, it might, just might, have been a case of ‘sticks & stones’.

The abuser is known, we have copies of the physical violence threats made in writing which have been provided to the police.

The reality is, there is a problem in Cornwall of a homophobic mentality and a denial of the reality of the problem within & by Cornwall authorities in their response to homophobic hate crime, (especially when abuse is carried out by authority employees, like Cornwall police).

The scene is set; now let’s see how long Cornwall police take to respond. Whether they try to play it down, ignore it, or brush it aside as is the usual common practise in Cornwall by police of homophobic incidents.

Remember in 2005 there were 354 reported homophobic incidents to Devon & Cornwall Constabulary. Only 13 out of the 354 cases reached Court.

Watch this space!

Hayle LGBT Coffee/Drinkies evening!

Cornwall PRIDE Beach picnic Day update!

Eleven persons turned up for the coffee drinkies evening at the Bluff Inn last night to add to the steering group for the Cornwall LGBT PRIDE picnic in August.

Although listed as an 'outeverywhere' event (the coffee/drinkies evening last night), the ONLY OUTer member present was myself.

A good showing of Cornwall gay youth with three representatives of the under 21's. Women were represented by two women from Cornwall lesbian newsletter OUTBACK. The rest were interested & commited gay men to further lgbt diversity in Cornwall.

I believe a very pleasent evening was enjoyed & had by all.

Next Coffe/drinkies evening scheduled for 15th August.

...and members of the steering group are having a social night out in Plymouth to attend the Plymouth Fireworks exhibition in early August.

STR8 Borg! You will be assimilated into the Hive!

STR8 BORG!

You WILL be assimilated into the hive collective!

I am quite stunned at a seemingly horrible trend currently amongst some gay men.

Some gay men seem so desperate to fit in with mainstream society that they are willing to attack verbally any other gay person who are not grey, bland & straight acting. I cannot believe the constant put downs and verbal attacks I have read in profiles, chat rooms & discussion threads of persons who may be more flamboyant, camp or willing to express themselves against mainstream thinking that everything is theoretically rosy in the gay garden. Equally, they attack any who dare to voice personal experience there is STILL a problem with Homophobia within institutions like the police!

I have been quite appalled at some of the vicious and voracious comments made by some persons said to be gay men in their messages on/to various sites (including this one) concerning the homophobic abuse experiences of other gay people.

There seems to be such a strong desire by some gay men (if they are in fact gay?) to ape straight heterosexual lifestyle in a bid to be accepted, that they will verbally put down & add to the abuse experiences of gay people by dismissing off hand or attacking the gay victim as it being a gay persons fault they have been homophobically violated and abused.

It seems we as gay people are being assimilated into the STR8 Borg hive collective!

TWO HUNDRED year Tradition..Gay Picnic Cornwall.

Cornwall LGBT Pride
Beach Day Picnic

ITS TRADITIONAL SINCE 1803!!!

Cornwall has no gay PRIDE! So a few of us decided we ought to have at least an informal gathering this year to celebrate an LGBT community presence.

An urban PRIDE event was not feasible in rural provincial Cornwall, but what better way than to gather on a Cornish beach to enjoy the collective company of other LGBT people and the natural beauty of the County.

We realised this could NOT be an organised commercial event like that of city based Gay Pride events. Just a few gay friends, who invited their gay friends, who invited their gay friends, all to gather this 25th August Bank Holiday and have a LGBT PRIDE Beach Day Picnic.

So imagine my surprise to find last week in the West Briton newspaper July 12 2007, an article by Frank Ruhrmund on a book “A strange and Unquenchable Race: Cornwall and the Cornish in quotations”
One of the quotes taken from the book was an item from the Royal Cornwall Gazette in 1803, like over two hundred years ago. Which read:-

“Penzance is a very different place from the commonly received opinion. We have cards for the sedentary, books for the lounger, balls for the light-heeled, clubs for the convivial, picnics for the gay and thoughtless.”

PICNICS FOR THE GAY… in 1803… in Cornwall!

Bargain …so our informal Gay PRIDE Beach Day Picnic is simply following a tradition in Cornwall that is over two hundred years old!

Well it made me smile!

Cornwall Police & Social Services abuse gay youth!

Please don't anybody doubt we have in Cornwall (by actual gay experiences) one of the most HOMOPHOBIC abusive authorities in the Cornwall Police & Social Services in Britain!

Cornish HOMOPHOBIA Hurts!!!

Cornish HOMOPHOBIA Hurts

.
.
Gay Men NOT safe in Cornwall, UK?

You might think this was a reference to safer sex, but NO!

A problem with Cornwall is things take longer to filter through

…like Gay EQUALITY!

In particular, this seems to be the case with Cornish Authorities.


Cornwall’s institutions seem happy to mouth words of ‘gay equality’ …yet fail abysmally when it comes to putting it into practise!

This, a particular problem with the Cornwall police force!

Despite complaints from gay persons, to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), who made FACT: twenty-two recommendations of needed improvement in public service in 2006 by the Devon & Cornwall Constabulary.Unfortunately, Devon & Cornwall Police seem to choose to continue their previous abusive homophobic practises and completely ignore IPCC recommendations and correspondence & communications from gay victims critical of police abuses & violations experienced in Cornwall.

This has had a knock on effect.

The newly formed ‘Cornwall Gay PRIDE Beach Day’ steering group decided unanimously very early on, NOT to involve Cornwall police in the informal Cornwall Gay PRIDE Beach Day. Simply inform local police of progress. This was decided due to negative experiences of so many of lgbt persons involved in the PRIDE Beach Day of Cornwall police continuing negative attitudes towards gay persons in the county and patronising response of Cornwall police to gay persons complaints.

Unfortunately, Cornwall police officers ignore the ‘TRUE VISION’ policy on homophobic hate crime. As is the Crown Prosecution Service definition of a ‘homophobic incident’. This is probably why …FACT: of 354 homophobic incidents reported to Devon & Cornwall Police… ONLY 13 cases were finalised in Court.

Cornwall police very quick to try to prosecute vulnerable gay persons, but drag their heals in disinterest when it is a gay person who is the victim of the crime…especially when the perpetrator is A CORNWALL POLICE OFFICER!

1.) The way Cornwall police handled a violent assault upon two gay men in Helston in 2006, (in which one man bottled over the head & kicked in the head whilst on the ground) was disgusting! The abusive manor in which Cornwall police dealt with the violent incident & assault upon two gay men, despite complaints, was entirely ignored & covered up by the police authorities.

2.) The abusive ‘stop & search’ by police of a gay youth in 2006 in which a partial ‘strip search’ was carried out by police in a chapel coffee morning. The youth exonerated from any wrongdoing, but he was intimidated & violated by the police. Again, this police abuse never investigated. The gay youth just happened to be a witness AGAINST Cornwall police in another complaint investigation.

3.) The total destruction of not one, but two gay owned businesses in Cornwall by a police ‘homophobic’ vendetta, which has lasted into its fourth year. Despite the IPCC finding & making twenty-two recommendations, Cornwall police have point-blank refused to return communication with the victim of the Cornwall police abusive violations & misconduct.

My own personal FACTUAL experiences of Cornwall Police cause me to believe on gay equality & diversity issues Cornwall Police force is ‘Corrupt’.

I personally have encountered:-
NO HONESTY,
NO INTEGRITY,
NO IMARTIALITY,
NO TRANSPARENCY of conduct by the majority of Cornwall police officers I have had gross misfortune to encounter on a variety of occasions on gay sexuality issues.

It has been the experience of various gay persons in Cornwall that there is NO protection from this continuing type of ‘homophobic’ violations & abuses carried out as a matter of course by Cornwall Police Officers. Various gay persons in Cornwall have found the IPCC to be ineffectual when it comes to protecting gay members of the public from homophobically motivated abuses by Cornwall police!

For those gay persons ‘lucky’ enough to encounter a positive response from Cornwall police I am pleased, however it STILL appears to be the ‘exception’ rather than the rule!

STOP CORNWALL POLICE HOMOPHOBIA NOW!

Cornwall PRIDE Beach Day! An update!

.
.
Cornwall GAY PRIDE
PICNIC on the Beach!
Sat. August 25th

AN UPDATE

A 2nd steering group meeting took place on 4th July and numbers of LGBT participants were up!

Realities of what could be achieved in Cornwall regarding Gay PRIDE this year were discussed. The ‘good news’, thanks to ‘Ben & Peter’ around 2,000 gay & bisexual men in Cornwall have already been individually messaged over the internet regarding this informal LGBT gathering in Cornwall. Lesbian women in Cornwall are proving a little harder to network too. Individual ‘steering group’ members took responsibility for Press releases and informing various authorities. Although once again there was agreement NOT to involve Cornwall police, but still to inform them.

Ultimately, this Cornwall LGBT PRIDE Beach Day is a return to roots of Gay PRIDE. A NON –commercial informal LGBT community celebration & gathering to enjoy each others LGBT company and have fun on a beautiful Cornish beach!

There are several different websites carrying this and other information and updates in blogs & web pages.

http://www.pinkpasty.blogspot.com
http://www.myspace.com/gaycornwall
http://www.gaycornwall.com
http://www.bebo.com/pinkpasty23
http://www.outeverywhere.com?r=209829

More lgbt volunteers required & to join the social aspect of being part of the steering group!!!

Its all bumping along quite nicely!

email lgbt-pride-beach-picnic@tesco.net

Cornwall PRIDE Beach Day: Coffee Evening

Cornwall PRIDE Beach Day:

Coffee Evening for those who wish to contribute to the steering group.

Wednesday 4th July 7.30pm Near Helston.

email lgbt-pride-beach-picnic@tesco.net for directions if attending Coffee Evening


UPDATE

Well things are coming along very nicely for the informal lgbt community gathering for the Cornwall PRIDE Beach Day 25th August.

1. More lgbt persons in Cornwall are wanted to participate in the steering group.

2. More fit young Cornwall gay men volunteers required to put their names down to participate in a "Cornwall Gay Guyz PRIDE calender" for 2008. We had great fun doing the photo shoot for the above poster and looking forward to the calender shoots later this year!!

3. The PRIDE steering group coffee meetings will be continuing as an lgbt social opportunity in Cornwall after the PRIDE Beach Day.

4. Cnwll PRIDE 'Steering Group' Members Social Event:

A social trip to Plymouth International Fireworks Exhibition in August. This is a good evening out! (If the weather holds!)

Things for the PRIDE Beach Day are just bumping along nicely!