Gay College Student Beaten by Homophobes, Ignored by Oklahoma Police
Claremore, OK – A 24-year-old gay college student was beaten late last month by three men screaming anti-gay slurs as he took out the trash at his apartment complex. Phillip Nelson, an out and open gay man, was jumped and thrashed in the quiet town of Claremore, approximately a half hour drive north of Tulsa. Investigators have basically blown off the incident, leaving Nelson emotionally wounded in addition to his physical injuries (see photo at left). EDGE reports that Nelson is struggling to cope with the combination of brutal attack and police indifference to a hate crime against him. “I keep calling them and leaving voice mails but I never hear anything back,” Nelson said during an EDGE interview. “No one ever returns my calls, which has me wondering if they’re kind of trying to let this thing die out and go away, or if they are going to do anything about it.” Media coverage outside the gay blogosphere has been sparce. Besides the EDGE report, which according to Michael Lavers grew from a tip given by one of their readers, only one other story has appeared in the news media. Oklahoma lawmakers aver that laws protecting LGBT people are not needed in their state, and in a notorious move by State Senator Steve Russell, legislation has been introduced to circumvent the James Bryd, Jr. and Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, signed into law by President Obama in October 2009. The Oklahoma House of Representatives has not yet voted on the bill, which passed the State Senate last month. Nelson’s case is a clear reason why protection statutes for LGBT Oklahomans is urgently needed. Nelson’s three attackers who remain unapprehended by local police as of this writing, assaulted him while screaming “You are going to die!” and “Faggot!” leaving him with multiple bruises and cuts on his face and over his body. Days later, his antagonists broke into Nelson’s apartment and scrawled “Fag” on the walls. Though Nelson reported the beating to Claremore police, no police report of the attack was filed until Nelson called in law enforcement for the break-in. Then, in what may have been an attempt to cover their tracks, the police insisted that Nelson file separate reports on both crimes. The whole ordeal has shaken Nelson, but as he told EDGE, he has had to face homophobia all his young life. “I’ve been called names all my life, even by my family members; and after a while I learned to get numb from it,” he said. “I just got numb from a lot of things. I’m happy with myself and that’s all that matters.” LGBT Oklahomans grow tough in the Sooner State. They have to.
4 Comments
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
About
If you are a first-time visitor to the Unfinished Lives Project website, we invite you to read A Welcome Message introducing you to our project. We are truly grateful for your visit.
The Unfinished Lives Project website is a place of public discourse which remembers and honors LGBTQ hate crime victims, while also revealing the reality of unseen violence perpetrated against people whose only “offense” is their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender presentation. LGBTQ people in the United States are suffering a slow-rolling decimation of terror and murder all across the country. Every locale and demographic of society are affected: First Nations, Anglo, Black, Latino and Latina, South and Southeast Asian, Transgender, Bisexuals, Gay men, Lesbians, disabled, young, and mature. Homophobia has a long, crooked arm, and it is reaching out to snatch the life away from women and men whose tragic stories are under-reported to begin with, and whose memories are swiftly forgotten.
The horror of these killings transcends the shock and bereavement of loved ones and friends. These are not typical homicides; they are not killings for money or drugs, incidents of domestic strife, or crimes of passion. The vicious nature of hate crimes against LGBTQ persons is extremely brutal, grotesquely violent, and egregiously hateful.
Each murder serves the LGBTQ population as a sobering warning about the actual level of danger in our communities. The message these killings send is that freedom and open life for LGBTQ people is a cruel dream. Every time we remember one of these victims, however, the intentions of their killers are frustrated. To remember these women and men is to begin the process of changing the culture that killed them.
Our Project Director
Dr. Stephen V. Sprinkle (Keith Tew photo).
Stephen V. Sprinkle is Director of Field Education and Supervised Ministry, and Professor of Practical Theology at Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth, Texas, a post he has held since 1994. An ordained Baptist minister, he is the first open and out Gay scholar in the history of the Divinity School, and the first open and out LGBTQ person to be tenured there. Read More…
Recent Social Justice Advocacy Activity By Dr. Sprinkle
Summer 2009 – Dr. Sprinkle responded to the Fort Worth Police Department and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission Raid on the Rainbow Lounge, Fort Worth’s newest gay bar, on June 28, 2009, the exact 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. Dr. Sprinkle was invited to speak at three protest events sponsored by Queer LiberAction of Dallas. Here, he is keynoting the Rainbow Lounge Protest at the Tarrant County Courthouse on July 12, 2009. Read More…
Contact Us
Communicate with the Unfinished Lives project team:
info@unfinishedlivesblog.com
Schedule a Presentation
Dr. Sprinkle will gladly present his acclaimed presentation to your organization. To arrange an Unfinished Lives presentation for your organization or group, please contact us.
Dr. Sprinkle has given his Unfinished Lives presentation to these and other community groups and organizations. Read More…
-
Where are our readers?
Publisher: Steve Sprinkle (Project Director)
Steve Sprinkle
Unfinished Lives: Remembering LGBT Hate Crime VictimsBrite Divinity School/Texas Christian UniversityFort Worth TXprofessor, minister, author, blogger, LGBTQ advocate
Follow Unfinished Lives on Facebook
Box Turtle Bulletin- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
- HRC Back Story
- Know About The Gender Identity Movement
- Why Is There A Need For Human Rights?
- Kinds Of Human Rights
- Human Rights Purposes And Violations
- Human Rights For Every Human Incident
- 8 Reasons Human Rights Are Important
- Everything About Human Rights
- Human Rights Issues Education & Law
- We Need To Stand Up For Our Rights And Those Of Others
- Coca-Cola Receives Perfect Score On Human Rights
- The Advocate: Daily News
- 47 Scorching Photos of Temptation Sundays in Las Vegas
- 17 Photos of the Trans Experience by Mariette Pathy Allen
- Montana Library Cancels Trans Woman's History Lecture Due to Anti-Drag Law
- Taylor Swift Celebrates Pride Month, Speaks Out Against Anti-LGBTQ+ Bills
- Pregnant Trans Man Graces Glamour UK Pride Cover
- Anna Cathcart & Anthony Keyvan Break Down Their Character's Friendship in 'XO, Kitty'
- Tennessee Judge, Appointed by Trump, Rules Anti-Drag Law Unconstitutional
- Chasten Buttigieg Condemns Anti-Trans Movement, Urges Loud Pride Celebrations
- 'Somebody Somewhere' Is Getting a Third Season
- 13 Vintage Photos of Los Angeles Pride from ONE Archives
- Dallas Voice: Instant Tea
- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
Unfinished Lives 
Aside from making this viral, everyone should email the Claremore, OK Police Department and encourage them to pursue Phillip Nelson’s case!
You can email the PD through this link:
http://www.claremorecity.com/forms.aspx?fid=43
As a Christian, I wonder if those three men who attacked this young man would stand up to call themselves Christians. I wonder if they know what the term “coward” means. It is when three “men” attack ONE young man simply because they do not care to understand differences, and they choose to live in ignorance and darkness. Folks, our job is not done. However, I hope that we do not become oppressors in our own ways. If we do, we continue to go in circles. Let us do the right thing in the name of Jesus, not acts of cowardice. As this young man can tell you, it may hurt at times, but we have to keep the struggle going forward. God bless you Dr. Sprinkle for your peaceful but strong stance against injustices. There are many of us who love you!
i am sorry he was beaten. Maybe if he were a Lesbian he would have been embraced and supported. I wish the Gay movement would separate from the Lesbian crap. They are accepted, Gay men are not. The rights and realities of ALL men are up for grabs now as Men in general are experiencing insane levels of poverty, harrassment, mistreatment and suicide. Men are placed in a box, gay and straight and are not allowed to express themselves as Human beings. Men need to Ditch the dykes and be free. Let women deal with their issues. I have never seen women take to the streets to protest men’s suffering . Why? because they dont give a shit. they want us to cry our hearts out for them. But I doubt if any women came to the aid of this dude. They will use it as a step to further their own cause. Which in reality excludes MEN! Wake up! All men are suffering. War is a result of the broken hearts of men. Broken because no one cares. Especially women! Wake up. I will forever support Gay men’s issues but I will never take a stand for Dykes. Never. They are only pigging backing off of the hard won work of Gay men.
Fake. The black eye is photoshopped.