Early on the morning of May 1, 2007, around 1 am, my partner and I were returning home to Fort Lauderdale from vacation in Chicago.   Our flight was delayed, so we were the last group of passengers (around 20 or so) at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport.

While waiting for our luggage in the baggage claim area, we heard these words come over the PA system loud and clear:

“A man that lies with a man as with a woman should be put to death.”

A few minutes later, the same Biblical recording played over the loud speaker again.  We were understandably shocked and frightened.

We looked around for a security guard, airport employee, or TSA agent, but we were unable to find anyone because it was so late and everything was closed.  We quickly gathered our bags and went to our car, nervous to be alone in a dark parking garage after hearing what we assumed was a death threat against us.

The next morning, we called the airport to report the incident. The airport manager seemed disinterested in the threat and simply said “sorry for the inconvenience.”   After the tepid response from the manager, we contacted our county commissioner, as well as a local news station.  We also contacted various web sites and blogs about our experience, including Pam’s House Blend and Towleroad (who were amazing in their support!) to try and get some help.

A few nights later, we received a call from the police saying that they were able to locate the person who made the announcement and that he confessed.  The man was Jethro Monestine, a skycap for Superior Aircraft Services, who worked in  the baggage claim area.  After seeing the intense media coverage, a co-worker turned him in, fearing they too would be in trouble.  Monestine said that he downloaded the recording onto his cell phone and played it over the intercom as a “prank”.  He also claimed not be directing it at us, saying he was “bored between flights and just wanted to have some fun”.  He was eventually fired, but no charges were filed against him for what can only be seen as making a death threat over the PA at a major US airport.

The intense media coverage, as well as the religious aspect of the recording, led to a large amount of negative feedback and hate-mail being directed towards us.  Adding to this backlash was some skewed and sensationalistic reporting of our story, which included headlines that focused on the “bible verse” aspect of this incident, not the threat (one such example: “Prankster fired for playing bible verse that offended gays”).  This opened us up for attack from a number of conservative groups, blogs, and radio shows.  Websites and open forums began to fill with personal attacks directed at us.  Every anti-gay slur, threat of damnation and condemnation of us that you could imagine appeared.  Our motives, names, and even our appearance were viciously attacked.

This whole event really woke us up to the amount of hate that people are still capable of directing towards the GLBT community.  We received numerous stories from people around the country telling us their own horror stories of discrimination and not being taken seriously.  As with our own story, a lot of smaller incidents of discrimination and hate seemed to fall through the cracks, leaving many people to fend for themselves. Having gone through such an eye-opening experience, and finding that there were really very few resources available to LGBT individuals who needed immediate help in situations like ours, we decided to fight back.  This inspired us to form a national non-profit organization called Fight OUT Loud.  

While the experience of the airport and the ensuing backlash may have been difficult, it was probably one of the best things that could have ever happened to me.  It changed my life, got me involved, and started an amazing organization that is helping people across the country.

 

“Fight OUT Loud has a strong online presence and will continues to help people by being where they are- through Twitter, Facebook and other online platforms.”  explains  Waymon.

“We’re filling the gap for people who don’t know where to go with their issues. We have strong ties with existing organizations and help connect people to the resources and support they need. Most of our work is very individual- we are here to make sure no LGBT issue falls through the cracks. Whether it be doing the research about local ordinances to help in an individual case of discrimination or helping educate the community about a larger LGBT issue, we really work to make sure no one, no matter where they are or what they are going through, feels alone when faced with bias, discrimination, or violence. Most of our work and projects are extremely targeted and individual.”

 

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One gay man- lots of opinions… Journalist, Activist, Blogger, Politico, TV host, & all around political trouble-maker.

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