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Author
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Topic: TVMattNYC - you aren't in St. Maarten are you?
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product of communism
Open Line Veteran
Member # 717
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posted April 12, 2006 08:04 AM
Per news wires:
TWO C-B-S EMPLOYEES ARE RECOVERING FROM A BRUTAL ATTACK IN THE CARIBBEAN.
THE MEN WERE BEATEN WITH TIRE IRONS OUTSIDE OF A SAINT MAARTEN BAR EARLY
THURSDAY MORNING.
THE VICTIMS BELIEVE THEY WERE TARGETED BECAUSE THEY ARE GAY.
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Tripe Face
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Member # 3328
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posted April 12, 2006 08:21 AM
As of last night, TVMatt was fine. He sent me a private message.
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"Tripe is getting far too much attention.
There will be no dealing with him soon." Writer2 11/9/07
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Bandit '07
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Member # 3260
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posted April 12, 2006 09:58 AM
web page
By JEFFREY KOFMAN
April 11, 2006 — They were six friends on vacation in the Caribbean, escaping the last bluster of the New York winter on the easygoing island of St. Maarten.
One of them, Ryan Smith, 25, and 6 feet 7 inches tall, had the resume of a rising star: a graduate of Columbia University, a former White House intern, a former intern at the David Letterman Show, and now a researcher at CBS News.
His mother, Patricia Smith, was at home in Sandusky, Ohio, last Thursday morning. She had just sent an e-mail to her son asking him how his vacation was going. She remembers that just after she clicked the SEND button on her computer the phone rang. It was one of her son's friends calling from St. Maarten.
"He told me that Ryan was badly hurt, had a head injury," she said. "And they were attacked, and Ryan took the worst of it."
"You can't believe it," she said, eyes filling with tears. "You can't believe it's your son."
Ryan Smith was airlifted to Miami where he is now in the intensive care unit of Jackson Memorial Hospital with a crushed skull and brain injuries in a suspected gay-bashing attack.
Dick Jefferson, a friend and colleague who was vacationing with Smith, also suffered injuries and was airlifted from St. Maarten to Miami. He was released from the hospital, but his head bears a huge scar, dozens of stitches, and a titanium plate implanted by neurosurgeons.
Jefferson, a senior broadcast producer for the "CBS Evening News," said the attack happened late at night, as he and others in a group were meeting at their car to head home to their rented villa. Smith and his boyfriend, Justin Swensen, had been at Bamboo Bernie's, a popular local bar while other friends had stopped at a casino nearby. As Jefferson approached the parking lot at Bamboo Bernie's, he saw a scuffle. He realized that Smith was being attacked by several men and was about to be hit by a speeding car.
"What the hell is going on?" Jefferson remembered asking.
Moments later, Jefferson said, he was knocked unconscious with a four-pronged tire wrench.
Swensen said that he had witnessed the entire incident and that the attack was a hate crime. He and Smith had been sitting together in Bamboo Bernie's, a bar where they had been previously welcomed. Smith was talking to Swensen about a recent family tragedy. They were hugging.
"Some of the local guys in the bar were sitting across from us. They started making fun of us," Swensen said. "We really we did nothing to provoke them."
The couple's hecklers were thrown out of the bar, but they allegedly waited in the parking lot for Smith and Swensen. Smith walked ahead of Swensen, who said he saw him get hit with rocks, spray cans, and then a tire iron. Meanwhile, a car headed straight at Swensen, who jumped onto the hood to avoid being run over.
Swensen and the others eventually got Smith and Jefferson to the hospital. He wasn't able to call Smith's parents until the morning.
It was a difficult conversation, he said. Smith's parents did not know who he was and yet he had to tell them their son had been gravely injured. When he was pressed to explain why the assault happened, Swensen said, he finally explained that it was a hate crime because he and Smith are gay.
"Ryan hadn't told them that before," he said. Patricia Smith is not ready to talk about those issues. She is unwavering in her love for her son and her sense of injustice.
"It doesn't matter if I know, if my husband knows," she said. "What's important is that these hate crimes are unjustifiable for any reason."
The part of the island of St. Maarten where the assault took place is Dutch territory in the Caribbean, just like the island of Aruba. It was almost a year ago that Natalee Holloway disappeared in Aruba. Since then, her parents have had an exasperating odyssey through the island's Dutch legal system. Smith's family and friends are bracing for a similar journey.
St. Maarten police, Jefferson said, initially did not want to investigate the incident.
"The police response has been no police response," he said. "The best way I can explain the police response is when the detective finally came after three phone calls to get my report, he asked, 'Why should I even bother talking to you? Are you guys even going to file charges? You are just going back to America.' Police were totally indifferent to the situation, the crime, or to the seriousness of it."
"Two days after the incident I had not heard from the police," Jefferson said. "Yet I heard from the Department of Tourism, which told me they were taking over the investigation. I couldn't help but laugh. It is ludicrous that the tourism department is trying to prosecute and become a police department. They are not the experts in police work; they are the experts at getting tourists to the island. It's like saying you got hurt in Miami and the Miami Chamber of Commerce is investigating your beating."
However, St. Maarten police insist a full investigation is underway. On Monday, they published a newspaper advertisement asking witnesses to the attack to come forward.
"We do not take the ill treatment of any person, whether resident or visitor, lightly, and we are pursuing this matter to find the suspects," said police spokesman Johan Leonard.
Swensen and Jefferson said that they could help identify some of the assailants and that there were several witnesses.
Smith, however, is still in intensive care and cannot talk coherently. His mother said doctors did not yet know her son's prognosis, but she had been warned he faced a very long recovery.
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http://twitter.com/weatherchaos - link to my Twitter page. (Yes, I am a twit.)
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rootboyslim
Open Line Veteran
Member # 706
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posted April 12, 2006 10:02 AM
Hey mom, your son is hurt badly and he is gay.
Thanks for the call.
Imagine how the guy who made the call felt? Tough tough choice. Those Caribbean dudes should be beaten with a tire iron.
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It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care!
FEAR THE TURTLE!
GO TERPS!
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TVMattNYC
Open Line Veteran
Member # 4950
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posted April 12, 2006 11:53 AM
quote:
Originally posted by product of communism:
Per news wires:
TWO C-B-S EMPLOYEES ARE RECOVERING FROM A BRUTAL ATTACK IN THE CARIBBEAN.
THE MEN WERE BEATEN WITH TIRE IRONS OUTSIDE OF A SAINT MAARTEN BAR EARLY
THURSDAY MORNING.
THE VICTIMS BELIEVE THEY WERE TARGETED BECAUSE THEY ARE GAY.
Thank you for your concern, POC.
Dick is a friend of mine.
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Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
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Diplomat
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Member # 2560
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posted April 12, 2006 11:55 AM
Matt--keep us posted on how your friend is doing.
Let's hope and pray that these guys recover, and that those responsible will be brought to justice.
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"I should sooner live in a society governed by the first two thousand names in the Boston telephone directory than in a society governed by the two thousand faculty members of Harvard University."
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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TVMattNYC
Open Line Veteran
Member # 4950
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posted April 12, 2006 11:58 AM
I'm not sure about Ryan, but from what I've heard Dick is going to be fine. He will, however, have a titanium plate reinforcing his skull for the rest of his life ...
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Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
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TVMattNYC
Open Line Veteran
Member # 4950
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posted April 12, 2006 12:08 PM
This is a sad commentary ... and a warning ... for all gay men and lesbians.
We like to think that with all the Gay Pride parades that are now held world-wide, it's OK to be Out and Proud *everywhere*. Sadly, that's not the case.
I don't know the specifics of how EXACTLY things really happened on St. Maarten (and I'm certainly not blaming anyone but the bashers here), but I do know my own friends who "gay it up" when they travel, and it's just not wise. I know it sounds homophobic coming from ME of all people, but you just can't let it all hang "out" outside the U.S. like you can in Chelsea or the Castro District. Hell, you can't even "gay it up" in most parts of AMERICA without stirring up some trouble.
We've come a long way. But we still have a long way to go. In the meantime, *discretion* is the name of the game.
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Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
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Ryder13
Open Line Veteran
Member # 1673
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posted April 12, 2006 12:11 PM
"Well", he said warning everyone that this was going to be an example of gallows humor, "he'll have some interesting stories to tell about going through metal detectors in the future."
Now, having given into my impulse to indulge in black comedy -- I hope the legal book is thrown at those responsible. And, while I don't believe in solving problems with violence -- incidents like this sorely test that virtue.
Please allow me to add my good thoughts for your friends swift recovery, Matt. Please do keep us posted.
EDIT to add: While I agree with much of what you said, Matt -- there is a difference between 'discretion' and 'being singled out'. Without knowing more about the situation -- it's difficult to make that ascertation. At first glance though, it sounds as if the attackers were upset that they were kicked out of an inclusive bar because they were disturbing patrons -- which of course, is not only the right but the responsibility of the business. That would make this a case of 'blaming the victim'. i.e. -- "We were making fun of you, and you had the AUDACITY to not just sit there and take it, and you got us kicked out, so now we're going to make you pay for our bad behavior."
[ April 12, 2006, 12:17 PM: Message edited by: Ryder13 ]
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"We know you have a choice, thanks for watching."
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product of communism
Open Line Veteran
Member # 717
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posted April 12, 2006 01:15 PM
quote:
Originally posted by TVMattNYC:
quote:
Originally posted by product of communism:
Per news wires:
TWO C-B-S EMPLOYEES ARE RECOVERING FROM A BRUTAL ATTACK IN THE CARIBBEAN.
THE MEN WERE BEATEN WITH TIRE IRONS OUTSIDE OF A SAINT MAARTEN BAR EARLY
THURSDAY MORNING.
THE VICTIMS BELIEVE THEY WERE TARGETED BECAUSE THEY ARE GAY.
Thank you for your concern, POC.
Dick is a friend of mine.
Glad to hear you're ok...
BTW - I'm in the early stages of planning a July 4th trip to NYC...
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McCovey Cove Returns
Open Line Veteran
Member # 6507
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posted April 12, 2006 01:27 PM
Having been to San Maarten several times, I can tell you finding justice in this case will be difficult. The Dutch side is incredibly corrupt. I'm not surprised to hear the police have no interest in investigating the case. It will probably take a bribe of some sort to get them working. Even then, the process could be a very, very slow one.
Side note: Bamboo Bernie's has great sushi.
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That's liking trying to f*ck while doing your taxes and singing karaoke. There are some things that you just shouldn't do at the same time.--markminn
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Tripe Face
Open Line Veteran
Member # 3328
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posted April 12, 2006 01:29 PM
Please pass our best wishes for a speedy recovery to your friend and the other victim.
Between Aruba and St. Maarten, it's lookin' like Cuba may be the safest island in the Caribbean for us Yankees.
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"Tripe is getting far too much attention.
There will be no dealing with him soon." Writer2 11/9/07
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Produce man
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Member # 1608
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posted April 12, 2006 01:31 PM
I'll stick to Hawaii.
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"DON'T TAZE ME, BRO!"
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Meow Meow
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Member # 9138
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posted April 12, 2006 02:59 PM
quote:
Originally posted by TVMattNYC:
[QUOTE][QUOTE]
Dick is a friend of mine.
Don't we know it! ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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Vulcan
Open Line Veteran
Member # 49
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posted April 12, 2006 03:07 PM
Ditto the others, Matt.
Now, here's the funny part. When I heard about this attack, my first impulse was "I hope this guy survives, and the guys who beat him get the max."
I didn't think about it being Matt, because I don't think of Matt as "gay" anymore. Matt is a Medialine regular who has some screwy insights at times, especially about New York City supremacy. But he's an on-line acquaintance -- not my GAY on-line acquaintance.
Same goes for you, Ryder and Bandit0. Yes, I very well remember that you guys are all "out." It's just not the first adjective that pops to mind when I see your screen names.
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A few sharp thoughts about communications
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2006 Tally - BarkieDawg Lifetime Achievement Award.
"I feel old now."
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Ryder13
Open Line Veteran
Member # 1673
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posted April 12, 2006 03:16 PM
And Vulcan, you have just explained why it is so easy for people to have prejudices against a group as an abstract, and so difficult to do it once you actually know someone from said group. Even in a virtual setting like this one.
They become persons -- and it's very hard to 'pre-judge' a PERSON. You can dislike them, but that's not the same thing.
[ April 12, 2006, 03:17 PM: Message edited by: Ryder13 ]
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"We know you have a choice, thanks for watching."
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Anne Bonney
Senior Member
Member # 9704
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posted April 12, 2006 03:50 PM
I'm sorry, Matt. I hope your friends are okay.
Re: "gaying it up" What do you mean by that? Holding hands? Kissing? I don't understand.
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The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt. ~ Frederick Buechner
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Bitter Newsie
Member
Member # 9787
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posted April 12, 2006 04:50 PM
quote:
Originally posted by TVMattNYC:
Thank you for your concern, POC.
Dick is a friend of mine.
Yes, that's why you're gay.
Seriously though... I mean, not to be anti-gay or whatever...but there's just some places you people shouldn't go, strictly for safety reasons.
Not sayin' it's right.
Cause hey...uh..rainbow power and all that.
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Laughing Angel
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posted April 12, 2006 05:01 PM
...there's just some places you people shouldn't go, strictly for safety reasons...
WTF???
Tell me MCO Mike (a.k.a. Bitter Newsie)--how/why do you keep coming back to Medialine?
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Say, there's a wreck
On the side of the road
Lots of blood and broken glass
The kid who was driving
I know from somewhere
Some kids just drive too fast
---Trans-Island Skyway
Donald Fagen
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Bitter Newsie
Member
Member # 9787
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posted April 12, 2006 05:13 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Laughing Angel:
...there's just some places you people shouldn't go, strictly for safety reasons...
WTF???
Tell me MCO Mike (a.k.a. Bitter Newsie)--how/why do you keep coming back to Medialine?
Look, I'm not MCO Mike, so drop it already. I resent the implication.
And as for places one shouldn't go, it's just fact. White people probably shouldn't go into the hood late at night, if ever.
Black people probably shouldn't go into affluent neighborhoods in fancy cars.
Gays shouldn't go...well...anywhere if they're going to swish around.
I'm not saying it's right, it's the way the world is going.
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Vulcan
Open Line Veteran
Member # 49
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posted April 12, 2006 05:20 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Bitter Newsie:
Look, I'm not MCO Mike, so drop it already. I resent the implication.
Well then, I guess it's time to whip out the ol' Vulcan Industries™ Mike Crook Detection Kit®©
Read it, and you be the judge...
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A few sharp thoughts about communications
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2006 Tally - BarkieDawg Lifetime Achievement Award.
"I feel old now."
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TVMattNYC
Open Line Veteran
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posted April 12, 2006 06:24 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Anne Bonney:
I'm sorry, Matt. I hope your friends are okay.
Re: "gaying it up" What do you mean by that? Holding hands? Kissing? I don't understand.
"Gaying it up" = being OUT in public.
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Pinkie
Senior Member
Member # 9554
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posted April 12, 2006 08:02 PM
What a horrible situation. Keep us updated on your friend, Matt. I hope they're both okay.
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"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."
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Bandit '07
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posted April 12, 2006 08:03 PM
Sorry to hear about your friend Matt ... hope that all turns out well for everyone affected by this.
Cool posts by Vulcan and many others. Too bad something like this has to bring the oft-unstated to the forefront.
You folks are really, really great.
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http://twitter.com/weatherchaos - link to my Twitter page. (Yes, I am a twit.)
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Diplomat
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posted April 12, 2006 08:08 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Ryder13:
And Vulcan, you have just explained why it is so easy for people to have prejudices against a group as an abstract, and so difficult to do it once you actually know someone from said group. Even in a virtual setting like this one.
They become persons -- and it's very hard to 'pre-judge' a PERSON. You can dislike them, but that's not the same thing.
Everyone is a unique individual and I think a lot of people seem to forget that.
As for this crime, I don't really care if the victims were gay or anything else. That doesn't matter.
What I care about is that people were attacked for no reason. Someone did this. I don't care what excuse they give for having done it. I care that they're still on the loose and capable of doing it again. People who would do something this horrible should be caught and punished.
[ April 12, 2006, 08:11 PM: Message edited by: Diplomat ]
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"I should sooner live in a society governed by the first two thousand names in the Boston telephone directory than in a society governed by the two thousand faculty members of Harvard University."
William F. Buckley, Jr.
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Jane Craig
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Member # 4873
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posted April 13, 2006 06:48 AM
Matt, please do keep us posted. This kind of violence -- for whatever reason -- is incomprehensible to me. How small must people feel to be threatened by strangers?
This has happened twice to a friend -- and it jars you to the core.
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LENSCRAFTER
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Member # 6078
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posted April 13, 2006 07:02 AM
Thinking of you and your friends Matt. Very sorry to hear this.
Even though I live in the heart of the Bible-belt and have been "out and about" I have never seen such hatred or brutality. Quite an eye-opener.
Keep us posted.
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s'news
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posted April 13, 2006 10:40 AM
My best wishes, Matt.
Wherever and whenever this sort of thing happens, it's sad and it's wrong. I'm sorry to report that it's been known to happen in Houston. I'm happier to report that, in several cases, the folks who did it went to jail.
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TVMattNYC
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posted April 13, 2006 10:43 AM
Thank you everyone.
I'll pass your best wishes on to Dick and Ryan.
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Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
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