[dt_toronto_geek]

My main beef with BIA (or whoever) is those RIDICULOUS pavement signs. The iron (or whatever they are) ones on the ground. They're ugly, and in the winter they are DANGEROUS. What moron decided that these would be a good idea? It doesn't add to the aesthetic to the area at all and look (at best) shoddy. When they're covered with a thin layer of snow (with ice underneath) they are extremely dangerous. Remove them. Spend what ever budget they are allocated to get rid of them.

I was having a great walk with my dog during the snow fall late this afternoon & had to stop off at Pharma Plus. As I was walking toward Wellesley on the west side of the street guess who slipped on the "WELLESLEY" brass sign that was covered under a layer of snow and went down? ME! My elbow is killing me. It's the first time that I finally got nailed by one of those stupid things, and only days after we were discussing them.

There's also Buddies (usually Friday/Saturday nights), and Straight (small, but supposedly more "posh")

Straight Lounge has been closed the past few weekends, not sure if they're doing some renos. or what's going on there. The heat lamp is still out front.

 

[marathe]

Looks like the Gay village is coming under attack from swarms of homophobic students from Jarvis Collegiate

http://www.torontosun.com/news/colu...ists/mike_strobel/2011/01/22/pf-16994926.html

I just came here to post that. If I see one of these little scumbag refugee kids from St. Jamestown doing anything that resembles this the next story's going to be about a pack of homophobic teens getting beaten half to death by a straight guy in broad daylight while the afternoon crowd at George's cheered him on.

 

[DTowner]

Looks like the Gay village is coming under attack from swarms of homophobic students from Jarvis Collegiate

http://www.torontosun.com/news/colu...ists/mike_strobel/2011/01/22/pf-16994926.html

Those slushies better be low-fat or those little bitches are DEAD!

The 'funny' thing about this is that those homophobes watch Glee. Lol.

This must only be happening during the week and not on the weekend. I dare them to do it on a Saturday night.

 

[DTowner]

I was having a great walk with my dog during the snow fall late this afternoon & had to stop off at Pharma Plus. As I was walking toward Wellesley on the west side of the street guess who slipped on the "WELLESLEY" brass sign that was covered under a layer of snow and went down? ME! My elbow is killing me. It's the first time that I finally got nailed by one of those stupid things, and only days after we were discussing them.

Ouch! That's exactly what I'm talking about. I haven't gone down yet but have slipped a bit many a time (thankfully, I've mastered the art of holding a coffee in one hand, chaning a song on my iPod in the other and maintaining my balance. Lol.)

 

[Riverman]

A camera and a bit of coordination is the best weapon against that type of assault. The gay area is my choice so far to live when I relocate to Toronto, it's a beautiful neighbourhood.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Those slushies better be low-fat or those little bitches are DEAD!

The 'funny' thing about this is that those homophobes watch Glee. Lol.

This must only be happening during the week and not on the weekend. I dare them to do it on a Saturday night.

Someone may already have. I was on my balcony having a puff & heard a ruckus. Looked over and could see kids running every which way, the police came flying from every direction within a few minutes and later taped off the area in front. Thursday night around 6pm in front of Jarvis Collegiate.

 

[DTowner]

Someone may already have. I was on my balcony having a puff & heard a ruckus. Looked over and could see kids running every which way, the police came flying from every direction within a few minutes and later taped off the area in front. Thursday night around 6pm in front of Jarvis Collegiate.

Wow! Well I am glad the police are involved and that article appeared in the Star. At least if it happens again the person to whom it happens won't think it's a personal attack or something random and he/she can report it to the police. I really want to know who these kids' parents are. Are they new to the city and they don't realise where they are???

 

[Peepers]

I live in the area and I would say that overwhelmingly the student body of Jarvis is comprised of children of recently arrived refugees from countries where being gay is a crime punishable by death. Most of them reside in regent park or St James town. They seem to follow strict religious tenets since the girls all wear long black dresses and scarves and even in some cases full-face burkas. In their culture dogs are also considered dirty and many times while walking my dogs these students will go out of their way to show disdain for them.

 

[TwoDogs_39]

I just came here to post that. If I see one of these little scumbag refugee kids from St. Jamestown doing anything that resembles this the next story's going to be about a pack of homophobic teens getting beaten half to death by a straight guy in broad daylight while the afternoon crowd at George's cheered him on.

LOL! I love you!! I admire our straight allies. Thank you.

 

[Dan416]

I wish I lived in the gay village so I could stand together with my gay brothers and sisters against this homophobic intolerance. It disgusts me. I don't know what city these kids think they live in.

 

[khris]

Stop allowing these people in to our country, and that would definitely help.

 

[Peepers]

As a long time resident of this area this is something that I have seen coming for a long time and I am afraid it will only get worse. Today it is "slushies" what will tomorrow bring ? Baseball bats? Bullets?

We have seen this same problem played out before in the capitals of Europe.

Amsterdam, once the Gay capital of Europe is now the "Gay-bashing capital" of Europe:

http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/ezra_levant/2010/10/08/15630946.html

I hope that the community does not make the mistake of thinking that the Police will actually solve the problem and provide protection. For reasons pertaining to "cultural sensitivity" they will treat these hooligans with kid gloves. Also, let us not forget that there are many homophobes on the police force as we discovered during the G20 when officers hurled the insult "faggot" at gays in the detention centre *. Residents of this area need to be prepared. Travel in groups and be prepared to take action yourself. Bear repellent is easily attainable from army surplus stores and is an effective way to ward off attackers.

* http://www.rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/alex/2010/07/woman-shot-g20-police-speaks-out : "A person in a cell next to mine was told to 'stop crying, faggot'."

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Let's not overreact to a few reported "slushie" incidences. I've lived in this area for over two decades and have seen a lot of changes - some good & some bad, I've seen some seriously messed-up sh*t but in all my years I've never been a victim of any type of crime (short of getting robbed on Charles Street W. in the early 80's in my teens) and I'm out a lot at night, especially in the spring, summer and fall.
I don't care for this neighbourhood being referred to as "the gay village", maybe that's just me - I prefer the Church-Wellesley Village as I think it's a more inclusive name for the neighbourhood. There is certainly a much larger than average amount of gays & lesbians who live around here not to mention the bars & clubs but I'd hazard a guess that the gay/straight ratio who live in the neighbourhood now is roughly 50-50. Any man in the area - straight or gay - can have "faggot" yelled at him from a bunch of pussies speeding off in a car or have a few eggs tossed his way, it's pretty uncommon compared to 20 years ago but it still happens. The real problem in the neighbourhood that's been growing at an alarming rate in the past decade is crack and the crime that comes with it. There will be a few more slushie attacks but the fad will die out, it's the drug use and rising crime that troubles me most about the nabe. That's really where the focus needs to be in making this a safe and vibrant area to live in.

 

[adma]

Maybe the implied difference is that these aren't the white-trash suburban homophobes of yesteryear, but the kids-of-immigrants (or, if you want, the kids-of-Ford-voters) class...

 

[DTowner]

Maybe the implied difference is that these aren't the white-trash suburban homophobes of yesteryear, but the kids-of-immigrants (or, if you want, the kids-of-Ford-voters) class...

Ford would never waste a perfectly good slushie on someone else. Lol.

I'm not big on being 'culturally sensitive' if I find cutural practices violate basic human rights and go against everything I stand for as a Canadian. Multiculturalism — fine; most of us come from 'ethnic' backgrounds (I do). However, I am a Canadian and as such demand certain human rights and protections — I don't care what your religious or cultural beliefs are. If they are hateful and go against the laws of this country — get out. That's why I hate 'ghettoised' communities like St James Town or Chinatown or Greek Town, what have you. It breeds a dangerous mix of community — and ignorance.

If the police don't step up their game they'll find a much bigger problem on their hands: queers who fight back. Certainly, that one guy chased them down to Jarvis. Who knows what would've happened if he got hold of one them? Lawsuits, retribution, oy vey.