Kidnap for Ransom ring thwarted.

A series of horrific instances continue though carried over from 2010 to 2011 where LGBT persons mostly MSMs who are deemed affluent in a sense or have pricey material possessions with accompanying flashy lifestyles have been targeted for kidnappings in exchange for ransom in cash of kind by other gay or bisexual gangsters who have or are connected to the criminal underworld. The practice was an issue for the community some years ago but was slowed by the arrest of several of the operatives involved by the authorities and the death of another who was gunned down in 2009. 

These persons are known to some of their victims but issues to do with questionable activities of some of our community members has also caused a shadow on the community in terms of perceptions of the lavish lifestyles some persons lead without proper show or proof of income. Male homosexuals have long been perceived as having more disposable income by the mainstream and as such these hyper masculine types also seem to work from that belief be they gay or not, which gives some credence to the belief as well that most murders of more affluent SGL men is done by other gay men who are dependent so to speak on them for wealth and or money, even the dancehall fraternity has shifted its focus now from direct gay bashing and boom bye bye themes in murder music since they cannot do so anymore to now targeting supposed “switch hitters” or DL men as in this case men who will get into gay sex for clothes, material things and money, could this perception be a driving factor as younger more eye candy attractive thugs who are lazy want to still maintain? 

The would be kidnappers would in some instances form relatively long term associations or have sexual relations with their intended victims and move in for the kill either by direct capture at gunpoint or traps set to gain the material wealth or large sums of cash some msms carry on their person. One of the characters was incarcerated years ago for gun crimes and was also a leach on some of the community members who have or carry large sums of money or have retail clothing businesses as the demands for a kind of extortion as well include high end clothes, shoes and such.

 The matter came to a head just this Monday last December 12th when a well known drag personality was the victim of one such trap where a thug eventually held “her” at gunpoint and proceeded to rob the individual of thousands of dollars she was about to use to purchase items for resale for the advancing Christmas season. The scheme allegedly had two other men who were waiting in the wings to take the victim to a secure location while demanding ¾ of a million dollars, the key to the SUV and other gadgetry including high end cell phones and I-Pads recently purchased were eventually taken. 

The matter was however reportedly dealt with by “friends” this time connected to the diva who confronted the fleeing men in the Eastwood Park Gardens area where a car the “friends” were in was used to block the driving men who had the SUV in their possession, threats, heated words and a few blows were reportedly exchanged and the vehicle was returned as the men had no other weapons on them at the time and the gun turned out to be empty when they were cornered. 

A GPRS tracker on the SUV was used to locate the vehicle which they thieves did not realize was activated and well hidden and the diva kept in touch by phone with her cohort who assisted her in retrieving the SUV, so much for active networking there. She has since warned other compatriots to be very careful this season and other times as well and subsequently told me of the incident, I told her I will blog on it without exposing her identity, she agreed. 

It was also several months ago a male teacher from the Portmore community fell victim to this practice as he met a thug who as it turned out was also apart of this very same group, how coincidental? the actual numbers of them is still not clear but this thug who pretended he wanted a relationship with the teacher carried out the facade for months before finally arranging the move on the unsuspecting and enthralled lover turned victim. 

His car was stolen firstly and then an attempted robbery while he was away also occurred as the thug has access to the home via keys that were copied but the attempt was nipped in the bud by vigilant neighbours who witnessed the suspicious actions with the thug and other cronies and notified the police who arrived but the men escaped. The ring according to my well placed source inside the police unit who I spoke to days ago is or was based in Portmore with connections to Kingston, St. Ann and are also responsible for crimes outside the gay community, a woman who is described as “a man royal” was said to be apart of the ring who targets same gender loving women as well but she is now serving time for robbery with aggravation with her case pending awaiting witness testimony. 

Another of the other trouble makers in the community who had repeatedly robbed persons at either knife or gunpoint elsewhere or even at LGBT events or at their homes is also back on the street after a short time incarcerated but has been quiet as of lately, I ran into him some months ago in Half Way Tree but he knows when it comes to me he should keep his distance and don’t even entertain the thought however he was seeking money he says to purchase equipment to start a landscaping business he wants to run he says and not rob persons, he tried to convince me that he has changed but I have my doubts. This side of the thug community in the MSM grouping is not engaged at all by our advocacy structure and hence these problems surface every now and again and often go unreported. 

Let us also not forget the others in the homeless msm community that are being manufactured in a sense by the lack of engagement by the advocacy structure many of whom now are also becoming petty robbers and have targeted other community members, it was recently that there were two robberies in the New Kingston area of LGBT persons leaving an ATM machine on Knutsford Boulevard.

Other reasons and such

Lack of employment or requisite skills make them unemployable and susceptible to getting involved in criminal activity and in some instances their perceived sexual orientation by other thugs in their respective inner city communities set them apart as well although they may not suffer the ostracism and or displacement or forced evictions as the more effeminate brothers or divas are faced with as their defence mechanisms are more pronounced and may even involve violence as retaliation, we all know guns and bullets are available if one knows where to look and who to go to for sale, rental or burrowing. 

This also is a part of the whole public homophobia that presents itself from the underworld which looks as real to some but really is a masked version to conceal more problems these men maybe going through navigating the demanding hetero normative gangster imaged lives these men must show to be approved in not only the depressed areas where they originate, the mainstream but also from the very MSM community itself as we too have bought into the concept of hetero hyper masculine manhood as proof of having or being a real man in local standards. 

This pressure too drives this group to having to maintain an image even if it is a farce hence the expensive clothes, shoes, bleached faces, other forced hyper masculine aesthetics and attitudes such as higher than normal decibelled voice tones to project strength. Really sometimes when the outer trappings are removed they are lonely souls who need love. As indicated in the first paragraph many of these men are lazy, do not want to work and depend on “hustling” by our standards anything that brings in the bacon and they feel justified in doing so as the sanction/verification comes in cultural beliefs and odes such as men will or should do anything to survive so long as you are successful in doing whatever that illegal act is, this in my view also is part and parcel of the anancyism that pervades the national psyche, what other perfect example we can look at but the election campaigns now on in earnest where all these persons who do not normally work or are from depressed communities find this unusual energy to cheer with or alongside political party marches when it is known some of them are paid to be present there. 

 A recent murder in Portmore of an ally Sean McFarlane who was a clerk at the houses of parliament also has brought into sharp focus this issue of thugs who only want access to materialistic things as more details slowly become known though unconfirmed it is suggested he too was involved with one of his accused who have numbered two so far who have been caught by the police. Mr. McFarlane was laid to rest on November 27th at Meadowrest, he was found dead just outside his home in Greater Portmore on October 31 with several stab wounds in his car with money reportedly stolen. 

The initial report in the Gleaner only made mention of the would be killers being probably known to Mr. McFarlane a tactic the media uses to avoid putting the gay issue too much in such cases. The intersections of the effeminate or semi effeminate men who have sex with men versus the hypermasculine types are just ever so interesting and leads to all other kinds of issues some of which we are yet to fully comprehend. 

It was only in August of this year that a leading same gender loving female poet and blogger was also attacked and an attempted abduction was carried out but she managed to escape her attackers but the incident had traumatized her and she now literally plans her routes for travelling and outdoor activities and has greatly reduced her social activities away from home unless absolutely necessary. 

It was only a few months ago we were broad brushed by Senior Superintendent Fitz Bailey (see apology here) he noted that many crimes committed were by gay men, is there some truth in all of that? Also see: Stereotyping from the police ............... for some more background

Be ever so careful out there please and warn others. 

Peace and tolerance 

H

Melbourne elects Australia's first intersex Mayor

Melbourne has Australia’s first openly intersex Mayor following the election of long time queer community supporter and advocate Councillor Tony Briffa to the top position at the City of Hobsons Bay at the end of November.

Not being associated with any particular political party, Tony Briffa is an independent councillor whose focus has remained on representing his community (where he has lived all his life), community diversity and environmental issues.

Speaking enthusiastically at the launch of the Midsumma 2012 program on the weekend before the Hobson’s Bay election, Briffa who was a councilor at the time, said he was proud to be a member of the queer community and excited about the involvement of the city he represented in the full cultural life of Melbourne.

At the launch, he announced his intention to run for mayor, promising that should he get the top mayor position that he would be attending Victoria’s Pride March in February 2012 in full mayoral robes. Since officially becoming Mayor of the city of Hobsons Bay, Briffa has re-confirmed his intention to march at Pride March in the official robes. The City of Hobsons Bay, which includes the suburbs of Altona, Brooklyn, Laverton, Newport, Seabrook, Spotswood and Williamstown, has played an increasingly significant role in Melbourne’s queer cultural celebration the Midsumma Festival over the past few years, becoming a major hub of the 2012 program.

“I am excited about the future of our community and look forward to serving the city with enthusiasm and pride,” Briffa said following his election.

National LGBTI Health Alliance Board Member Gina Wilson says Briffa is inspiring.

“Tony is an inspiration and a role model for a whole generation of intersex people, both those who have suffered early interventions and those who have come to their differences later in life,” Wilson said.

“We share Tony’s hope that his election will break down taboos associated with intersex differences. Tony is a wonderful example of how intersex people can overcome the devastating and unnecessary medical treatment meted out to so many intersex children, and go on to become champions of human rights and cultural diversity for everyone.”

Additional Information:
The following is provided to help people understand who I am on a more personal level, particularly given my genetic intersex condition and some of the media articles about it. (Note that intersex conditions are sometimes also referred to as Disorders of Sexual Development, but I like to consider them as just a variation in nature).

The first thing parents are told when a baby is born is whether the baby is a boy or a girl. In my case, doctors weren’t sure because I was born with physical attributes of both sexes as well as missing attributes of both (i.e. a genetic intersex condition). This means I am biologically not exclusively male or female but somewhere in between (or both). My doctor immediately referred me to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne who ran a number of tests including chromosomal karyotyping, hormonal analysis, a laparotomy and biopsies. They diagnosed me with an intersex condition called “Partial Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome” and the treatment paradigm – likely elsewhere in the world – dictated that I was to be raised as a girl, any male physical attributes had to be surgically removed if possible, and I was not to be told the truth about my condition. This was a particularly difficult time for my parents.As a result of my diagnosis I was named Antoinette and raised as a girl. I went to Mount Saint Joseph’s Girls’ College in Altona and lived as a woman until I learned the truth about my condition and sought to find out who I would have been had the medical profession not sought to “normalise” me. I didn’t have a gender identity issue; I just wanted to be the person nature had intended. Frankly, after learning about my condition I felt like I was living a lie as a woman given I did not have a complete female reproductive system and was also born with some internal male organs.

After starting hormone replacement therapy to replace the hormones my testes would have produced had I not been castrated as a child, my body started to change. My voice deepened and I started to grow hair in places where I never had hair before. It started getting more difficult being “Antoinette” so I had my identity documentation “corrected” to state I was male. I didn’t particularly feel male because I didn’t have all the basic male attributes and the male upbringing, but it made public life easier. The funny thing is that my birth certificate is as wrong stating my sex as male, as it was when it classified me as female.

Years later I feel very comfortable having accepted my true nature. I am not male or female, but both. I am grateful for the years I lived as a woman and the insight and experiences it gave me. I am still “Antoinette” and have now also incorporated and accepted my male (“Anthony” or “Tony”) side. I feel whole. I’ll continue to live as Tony but I feel I am now at a point in my life where I can celebrate being different.
I am very touched that despite my condition the Altona and Hobsons Bay community has always accepted me. I think it shows our community is genuinely accepting and understanding of people who are different.

The following articles are just some examples of things I’ve done or articles written about me and my condition. My personal story has also been featured twice on 60 Minutes and I continue to advocate strongly for the rights of children born with intersex conditions and their families:

• “Choosing the Right Gender”, The Age (1 February 2005)

• “He’s the Man”, 60 Minutes (4 September 2005)

• “Human rights close to home for Tony Briffa”, Hobsons Bay Weekly (2 September 2009)

• “Dilemmas when gender is uncertain”, The Australian (19 March 2005)

• “Tony Briffa goes boldly as ‘other’”, The Hobsons Bay Weekly (7 July 2010)

• “Award-winning research gives hope to children of uncertain sex”, IBM Output (Winter 2007)

• Presentation by Tony Briffa at an Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW forum at the NSW Parliament House in 2003