# Five soldiers beat a gay man nearly to death **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 9, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706 "2006-03-09T17:46:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/21 "2006-03-10T04:02:53Z")
If they’d killed the guy and got the death penalty, would Phelps picket their funeral? ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/22 "2006-03-10T04:12:26Z")
If they’d killed the guy and got the death penalty, would Phelps have picketed their funerals? ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/23 "2006-03-10T04:13:49Z")
Gosh darned slow boards, thought that first one had failed. Grumble ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/24 "2006-03-10T04:48:10Z")
I think you’re all missing the important question. Did this gay man have weapons of mass destruction? Marc ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/25 "2006-03-10T05:54:15Z")
What the fuck does any of this have to do with the fact that they were soldiers? Why not “5 Men beat a gay man mearly to death”? So if these 5 guys had never come in the military they would have never done this? Ok… Oops, I forgot, the US Military trains us to be evil. I haven’t reached my crimes-against-humanity quota for this month yet. Better get cracking! I need to remember what message board I’m on. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/26 "2006-03-10T06:06:04Z")
> [@Stinkpalm](#): > > What the fuck does any of this have to do with the fact that they were soldiers? Why not “5 Men beat a gay man mearly to death”? So if these 5 guys had never come in the military they would have never done this? Ok… > > Oops, I forgot, the US Military trains us to be evil. I haven’t reached my crimes-against-humanity quota for this month yet. Better get cracking! > > I need to remember what message board I’m on. :rolleyes: I don’t think the US Military trains people to be evil, but they clearly didn’t train these 5 assholes to have any sense of honor or decency. They’re a disgrace to military personnel. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/27 "2006-03-10T06:19:24Z")
> [@Fionn](#): > > I don’t think the US Military trains people to be evil, but they clearly didn’t train these 5 assholes to have any sense of honor or decency. They’re a disgrace to military personnel. They don’t issue that out with the uniforms. Sorry. What the fuck do you want the screening process to be to get into infantry or artilery? If all you want is “the best this nation has to offer” then you are going to have a pretty small military because not everyone is an angel or even nice. If they were all black would they be a disgrace to all black people? If they were all strippers would they be a disgrace to all strippers? If they were all people would they be a disgrace to all people? Oh wait… The fact of the matter is that this board LOVES to jump down peoples throats the second that they break out the broad brush or attach the actions of a few to the larger group to which they may be a part of. The ONLY time I don’t see the scolding is when a military guy is in the news for being a fuck up. Then it’s a thread in which every fucking post makes some comment about the US military. Look, if these fuckers were operating in a military capacity at the time of the incident (and save your on-duty-24hrs-a-day-shit) then I could see selling your pit thread as 5 us soldiers. In this case they are 5 fuck-ups that happen to all be in the Army. Individual US Troops != Devil Spawn. Fuck off. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/28 "2006-03-10T06:23:32Z")
> [@Fionn](#): > > I don’t think the US Military trains people to be evil, but they clearly didn’t train these 5 assholes to have any sense of honor or decency. They’re a disgrace to military personnel. I have to agree. We expect more from our soldiers. They should represent the best of our society, not the worst. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/29 "2006-03-10T06:38:21Z")
> [@](#): > > The Solomon Amendment forces these schools to allow recruiters or lose federal funding. Technically, the SC ruled that Congress has the power to force recruiters in period, federal funding or no. > [@](#): > > In this case they are 5 fuck-ups that happen to all be in the Army. Beating up a guy the Army officially considers unfit to serve. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/30 "2006-03-10T07:29:39Z")
> [@Stinkpalm](#): > > What the fuck does any of this have to do with the fact that they were soldiers? Why not “5 Men beat a gay man mearly to death”? So if these 5 guys had never come in the military they would have never done this? Ok… > > Oops, I forgot, the US Military trains us to be evil. I haven’t reached my crimes-against-humanity quota for this month yet. Better get cracking! > > I need to remember what message board I’m on. :rolleyes: How about reading the linked article. What’s the title of it? Could it be “Third ID Soldiers Charged in Beating?” Why, I think it is! If you’re going to bitch about posters on the SDMB identifying the perpetrators as soldiers, then it seems like WTOC TV of Savannah, Georgia should be on your hit list, as well. The official anti-gay bias of the U.S. military makes the occupations of the attackers relevant. So too does the fact that we tend to hold our servicemen and women to higher standards when it comes to appropriate use of physical violence than average civilians. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/31 "2006-03-10T07:54:39Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > the incidents involving Lawson were on-base so out of the purview of civil law enforcement. I know the situations aren’t identical; but I’m bemoaning hateful culture coddled and supported inside the military. Georgia isn’t exactly a state known for its tolerence of gays. (Remember _Bowers_?) I don’t think that’s correct. (Unless I’m mixing up the cases.) That soldier was assaulted off-base, in a bar in town. The attacker (another soldier) was arrested and charged by the local police. But the military authorities picked him up from the town jail, and specifically asked them to drop the civilian criminal charges, so they could pursue it thru military courts. Then the military didn’t file any charges against the attacker, instead started a dont-ask-dont-tell investigation of the soldier who was attacked. And they released the attacker back to the regular barracks, while moving the attacked soldier into isolation. Not exactly “Equal Justice for All”. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/32 "2006-03-10T07:58:34Z")
> [@Stinkpalm](#): > > What the fuck does any of this have to do with the fact that they were soldiers? Why not “5 Men beat a gay man mearly to death”? So if these 5 guys had never come in the military they would have never done this? Maybe because these 5 guys themself linked it to their soldier status. The statements they made were clear on that. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/33 "2006-03-10T11:13:53Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Those soldiers are vile human beings. I can’t, nor do I want to, understand the fear and hatred that drives such people. I won’t speculate on the outcome of their arrests, upcoming indictments, and/or trial. Courts are fickle places. > > However, linking the Solomon Amendment to the case is very, very thin. I kind of do want to understand what drives these people. Unfortunately several people in my family are pretty virulently anti-homosexual (of course most of the people on this forum think I am too, but that’s neither here nor there.) I mean, I can’t watch TV with them because of it, because if I turn the channel and it lands on anything gay related my ears are subjected to a barrage of anti-gay expletives. I was watching a movie on the new network that came out that’s dedicated to I guess gay subculture, I can’t remember the name of it now. Anyways the movie was Being John Malkovich, not necessarily all that great but I was bored and it was like noon on a sunday. I could barely last through the commercials because a cousin of mine was there and he was spewing his hate out pretty brazenly. And I’ve seen this type of behavior, this outright hatred for gays in a lot of people. But one thing all these people have in common is that I could _never_ imagine them beating someone down or killing someone. Hell, I don’t think most of them have the spines to get physical. I wonder what it is that translates hatred into outright violence ---
**Author:** ![sulamith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@sulamith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sulamith)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/34 "2006-03-10T12:40:21Z")
Hey ya’ll, there’s been a few developments in this case that I thought you’d like to know. I live in Savannah, and the rest of the story is unfolding. It seems that the man who recieved the beating, 37 yr old David Bennett, wasn’t coming out of a gay bar when this happened, although he had been in one earleir in the evening. He was in another bar down the street in the historic district, McDonugh’s, a straight bar. The soldiers were in there too, playing pool, drinking, buying rounds for everyone, apparently celebrating being home from Iraq. Mr. Bennett was drinking and partying with the 5 guys and others when Mr. Bennett stole the wallet of one of the soldiers. Mr. Bennett fled, the five guys pursued him out into Perry Lane, bringing him down right in front of Blaine’s Back Door, the gay bar. He wasn’t coming out of the gay bar. Yes, one of the soldiers did brag about beating up “the faggot”, when police arrived, and Mr. Bennett was taken to the hospital to be treated for the beating he got, but it was discovered that Mr. Bennet is wanted in four other jurisdictions on probation violations, failure to appear, and burgalry charges. THEN before he could be questioned further, be disappeared from the hospital… just left AMA. Mr. Bennett is a con man who travels around scamming people and robbing them. So… it appears he got his beating not for his sexual orientation, but because he is a thief. Did he deserve a 5 on 1 beating for stealing a wallet? Probably not, but hell, if you are going to do something like that to a drunk soldier at 3 am, you should probably expect that he and his testosterone-driven buddies are going to nail your ass. I just thought ya’ll would like to know that these soldiers aren’t quite the monsters the initial story dipicted. They weren’t out looking to beat up some gay guy, in fact they were hanging with him in the straight bar with all going well until Mr. Bennett decided put one of his cons into play. If somebody tried to make off with my wallet or purse, I might just want these guys around. Maybe they are guilty of not being as culturally sensitive as they should be, calling the guy a faggot, but this was not a hate crime. They had no problem with Bennett until he stole from them. Sorry I can’t provide a link, but I am sure someone else can. I am mostly a lurker here, but since folks around here are talking about this, I thought I would pass it on and possibly make some of ya’ll feel a little better. There probably are raging gay bashers out looking to beat up homosexuals, but that wasn’t the case this time. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/35 "2006-03-10T12:44:17Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > And I’ve seen this type of behavior, this outright hatred for gays in a lot of people. But one thing all these people have in common is that I could _never_ imagine them beating someone down or killing someone. Hell, I don’t think most of them have the spines to get physical. **I wonder what it is that translates hatred into outright violence** (bolding mine) I think it’s a combination of a testosterone-charged environment, an “us vs. them” mentality, and an unspoken disapproval of homosexuality. The “don’t ask, don’t tell” brand of tolerance is a crock of shit. By not allowing someone to be who they are, you’re stating that the person is “not ok.” Obviously soldiers aren’t the only people who can go over the top with their disapproval for gays, but _institutional_ disapproval, in effect, fans the flames. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/36 "2006-03-10T12:53:14Z")
Atcually I think it’s absolutely relevant that these men were in the Army. The antihomosexual mentality down to the individual soldier level is astounding! I can’t believe the intolerance I hear pour out of some peoples’ mouths. When it comes from people who outrank me, I just ignore it and drive on. When I hear it from privates, you’d better believe I stop the show and have a quick talk with them. These exchanges are not all that uncommon: “That fucking faggot!! God I hate faggots so much. I’d beat the shit out of him!!” “Whoa whoa… what!? Why would you even give a shit” “He’s a faggot!!” “So… Joe fucks fat chicks. You gonna beat him up too?” “It’s disgusting” “I don’t see how it can make you so pissed off that you’d want to hurt or kill someone. How does it even concern you” “I guess it doesn’t” “So then maybe you should direct your aggression elsewhere. If someone is gay, that’s absolutely no business of yours. Honestly, who gives a shit.” “Well… I guess” or shit like: “SGT Jones lost my paperwork again. I know he’s a faggot, you can tell” “Why? Is his office decorated nicely?” “No… he acts and talks like a fag. [impression]” “Well hate him because he’s an incompetant asshole. Not because he’s gay” “Whatever, I still hate that motherfucker” and this doesn’t even touch on the times someone brings up having gays in the military. Then all hell breaks loose. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/37 "2006-03-10T12:53:57Z")
[Link to update on story](http://www.wsav.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSAV%2FMGArticle%2FSAV_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137834620603&path=!news!localnews) It looks like the use of “faggot” here was a reaction to the fact that the soldiers had been buying this little shit drinks all night before he ripped them off. Equivalent to “you bought him drinks and he still stole your wallet?? And there were five of you?? What a complete bender.” Not particularly edifying, but certainly isn’t a “hate crime”. Wind yer necks in people… let’s save the outrage for someone who deserves it. ---
**Author:** ![sulamith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@sulamith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sulamith)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/38 "2006-03-10T12:56:03Z")
I’ll try to post a link, but admittedly I don’t know what I am doing… but here goes… [http://www.chathamcounty.org/jims/jail/poster.asp?dn=P0603017](http://www.chathamcounty.org/jims/jail/poster.asp?dn=P0603017) Not exactly a poster child for “innocently minding my own business”. He has felony warrants in 3 other states. ---
**Author:** ![sulamith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@sulamith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sulamith)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/39 "2006-03-10T13:03:56Z")
Thanks for posting the link, e-logic. People around here were all wrapped around the axle over this, very quick to jump to conclusions, the story spread like wildfire, but now, in the words of Emily Latella, “Nevermind.” ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706/40 "2006-03-10T13:36:56Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > We’re not talking about 20 years ago. We’re talking [last weekend](http://www.wtoctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4599539). I bet they walk when you consider the case of Kyle Lawson. Lawson was discharged after getting beaten by fellow soldiers and threatened at knife point so much that his Sgt put him up in a cot in his own quarters to protect him. Also take into consideration the Supreme Court upholding the Solomon Amendment in support of the anti-gay attitutude of the military. Let’s also take into consideration that the Supreme Court upheld a particular law, said law which Congress enacted. The last time I checked–5 seconds ago–the United States of America was not a military dictatorship. Did I miss anything of importance in those intervening 5 seconds? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/five-soldiers-beat-a-gay-man-nearly-to-death/347706.md?page=3)