Against homophobia: thousands of people take to the streets in Spain
Spain was recently shaken by the death of a 24-year-old homosexual man. He became the victim of a crime.
Now many people have taken to the streets to make an important statement against homophobia.
Especially on the streets of the Spanish capital Madrid there was a lot going on. The demonstrators had made it their task not "only"todraw attention to the violent crime, but in general to the hatred that many queers are still confronted with today.
What had happened?
The man who became the victim of a violent crime with a homophobic background last weekend was named Samuel. He got into a discussion with strangers who accused him of filming them with his smartphone.
After an exchange of words, a brawl ensued, in the context of which it became clear that the perpetrators acted so brutally against their victim because they accused him of being gay. A corresponding statement of the woman with whom Samuel had talked on the phone (and not filmed) is available. According to this, the perpetrators shouted that they intended to kill him because he was gay.
The injuries inflicted on the victim were so severe that he eventually died in the hospital.
Officially, however, the accusation of homophobia has not yet been confirmed. The investigation is still ongoing. No one has been arrested yet either. However, the search for the criminals may be a little easier than expected. Because: at the place of the happening video cameras are installed. The footage has already shown that seven of the perpetrators attacked their victim.
Spaniards protest in many parts of the country
Even though all directions are still being investigated so far, the fact that the attackers, according to the witness mentioned above, stated that they wanted to kill Samuel because he was gay is already very significant and worrying.
People in other parts of Spain also demonstrated against homophobia and for more tolerance.
Among other things, the numerous statements on the posters brought along show how much the act touches people emotionally. The various messages were complemented by quite a few rainbow flags.
As terrible as the cause of the demonstrations may be. The rallies and gatherings of people show once again how strong the support for the LGBTQ community has become in the meantime and how much a sensitization of society has taken place here.
Grief also in the social networks
Not only on the streets in Spain, but also in the social networks are mourned since the weekend.
Although the investigation is ongoing and it has not yet been 100 percent determined what role Samuel's sexual orientation played in the attackers, condolences have been frequently tagged with the hashtag "#pride" or "#lgbtq" since the beginning.
Whether the perpetrators will be caught or possibly even turn themselves in voluntarily, only time will tell. What is certain is that the cowardly act has once again shown that homophobia frighteningly still exists in our modern times and obviously knows no boundaries.
In times when there are still countries where laws are passed against queers and homosexuals are discriminated against (or even killed), it is therefore even more important to oppose an act like the one that happened in Spain with concentrated strength and to take a clear position.
By the way, Russia is attacking the EU for its "LGBTQ propaganda".