LGBT

eridani

(51,907 posts) Sat Jul 4, 2015, 03:49 AM Jul 2015

32 Killed in Arson Fire At New Orleans Gay Bar: 1973.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/25/1396297/-Forty-Two-Years-Ago-Today-The-Worst-Mass-Murder-Of-Gay-People-In-US-History

The UpStairs Lounge fire was the deadliest in New Orleans’ history, and may very well have been the worst mass murder of gay people in American history. But aside from the first day’s coverage, New Orleans could barely muster a yawn. Newspaper photos of Rev. Larson’s charred body against the window frame came to symbolize the city’s apathy t0ward the tragedy. Talk radio hosts told jokes (“What will they bury the ashes of queers in? Fruit jars.”), and a cab driver callously quipped, “I hope the fire burned their dresses off.” Not only did the New Orleans Police Department barely investigate the crime, they could hardly be bothered to identify the victims. Major Henry Morris, chief detective of the New Orleans Police Department said, “We don’t even know these papers belonged to the people we found them on. Some thieves hung out there, and you know this was a queer bar.” Churches refused to allow families to hold funerals on their premises. Other families refused to claim their dead sons’ bodies. Four unidentified bodies ended up being dumped in a mass grave. Although there was a firm suspect in the case, no one was ever charged.

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32 Killed in Arson Fire At New Orleans Gay Bar: 1973. (Original Post) eridani Jul 2015 OP

Thank you for reminding us. Betty Karlson Jul 2015 #1

Gays are beaten and killed almost every week. xfundy Jul 2015 #3

Not unlike reportage of killings of groups of African-Americans. xfundy Jul 2015 #2

I remember this. Glad to see a documentary is being done about it. Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2015 #4

Terrible, brought back memories of Vanity Fair's 'The Killing Trail' tomm2thumbs Jul 2015 #5

I'm surprised I never heard about this. LuvNewcastle Jul 2015 #6

... shenmue Jul 2015 #7

A very important part of our history DemocraticWing Jul 2015 #8

Betty Karlson

(7,231 posts)

1. Thank you for reminding us.

Reply to eridani (Original post)

Sat Jul 4, 2015, 03:54 AM

Jul 2015

Last edited Sat Jul 4, 2015, 04:50 AM - Edit history (1)

A lot of hate crimes are easily forgotten, just because no-one bothered to remember them. And then the bigots would ask: "when was the last time someone gay was killed, eh?" And all we could answer was Mathew Shepard, because his murder was the first one to receive national attention.

xfundy

(5,105 posts)

3. Gays are beaten and killed almost every week.

Reply to Betty Karlson (Reply #1)

Sat Jul 4, 2015, 04:27 AM

Jul 2015

And assaulted at least weekly. They don't usually make the news, though, cuz who cares?

xfundy

(5,105 posts)

2. Not unlike reportage of killings of groups of African-Americans.

Reply to eridani (Original post)

Sat Jul 4, 2015, 04:25 AM

Jul 2015

Or the reports of the night in 1969 when gays stood up at Stonewall in NYC. To deny that the civil rights battles were similar is to deny reality. Yes, gays could hide in plain sight, but not be themselves.

Spitfire of ATJ

(32,723 posts)

4. I remember this. Glad to see a documentary is being done about it.

Reply to eridani (Original post)

Sat Jul 4, 2015, 04:49 AM

Jul 2015

tomm2thumbs

(13,297 posts)

5. Terrible, brought back memories of Vanity Fair's 'The Killing Trail'

Reply to eridani (Original post)

Sat Jul 4, 2015, 06:32 AM

Jul 2015

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/1995/02/texas-murder-199502

A powerful read.... just a part....

The trail. On a frigid night in East Texas in 1993, just a few weeks before Christmas, a 23-year-old gay man named Nicholas West is abducted from Bergfeld Park in Tyler. He is taken to a hilly, isolated area of red clay nicknamed the Pits, a place where pleas for mercy evaporate under the cold shine of the stars. He is punched, and kicked, and slapped across the face with a .357 magnum. When he falls to the ground, utterly alone and helpless in that marrow of darkness, blood oozing out of his eye, his three abductors gather around him with their arsenal of loaded weapons.

Then the shooting begins—so many entrance and exit wounds that by the time of the autopsy West’s body looks like a stickpin doll. There are at least nine bullets, the first in the abdomen, then several through the arms and hands, then at least four up the back in a pattern as neatly spaced as the buttons on a shirt. Eight shots at that point, but Nicholas West is still alive, his breath reduced to a tiny gurgle, until the final shot is fired into the back of his head. Then he is left on that field of red clay facedown, without shoes or pants, his arms by his sides and his legs spread apart like those of a sleeping child, the bottom of his socks red from the clay, and his underwear soiled by a fear that none of us can ever know.

____________

The subject who followed the stream of incidents noted in the article, Dianne Hardy-Garcia, is still active and going strong. Kudos to her and the strides her investigations led to in both Texas and nationally.

LuvNewcastle

(16,858 posts)

6. I'm surprised I never heard about this.

Reply to eridani (Original post)

Sat Jul 4, 2015, 06:53 AM

Jul 2015

I used to spend a lot of time over in New Orleans, a lot of that in gay bars, and no one ever told me about this. I wish one of my friends in particular was still alive so I could call him up and ask what he knew.

It does sound like this was a hate crime when added to the list of other church fires around that time. The only reason I think it could be anything other than a hate crime is that I've heard stories through the years about rivalries between bar owners and how some have been put out of business, either temporarily or permanently. Fires weren't unusual. When you combine that with New Orleans mob history, the reason behind the fire doesn't look so obvious. I'll have to see the documentary and hear their evidence.

I noticed Christopher Rice is the narrator. He's Anne Rice's son, and he's not a bad writer himself. Hopefully, a lot of people like him are working to preserve gay history. I wish I had written down the stories I've heard from older gay men through the years.

These times we're living in today are great for the gay community, but people never need to forget what it was like before. Also, there's still work to be done. If there's one piece of advice I would like to give other gay men and women, I would tell them to cultivate friends in all age groups and don't get stuck in your own little clique. We can't benefit from our accumulated knowledge if we don't share with each other.

shenmue

(38,506 posts)

7. ...

Reply to eridani (Original post)

Sat Jul 4, 2015, 09:58 AM

Jul 2015

DemocraticWing

(1,290 posts)

8. A very important part of our history

Reply to eridani (Original post)

Sat Jul 4, 2015, 01:44 PM

Jul 2015

Not only was the violence sickening, but the response of the public was too: complete rejection of all the people who died.

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