current issue | main page | infotainment | past editions | special events | classifieds...a-l | classifieds...m-z | feedback!

by Toni Pizanie
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

Accountability - Part 2

As I sit watching the rain nurture vines which entwine the burned shell that is the view from my home office window, I think how it was a tragedy that afforded me this newly remodeled home. I wonder if the tragedies of the men that I interviewed today would resolve themselves as well.

July was a difficult month; a month when a brilliant star was shockingly ripped from our loving embrace. It is also a month when the innocent show of affection between two Gay men so incited a homophobic bully that he beat a young man half his size into unconsciousness which after several weeks still causes blurred vision. More disturbing is the fact that the bully walked away and the victim was arrested for battery.

Earlier this day, under the hot mid-morning sun I walked to the Rake/Wooldridge home. I stopped before climbing the steps and tried to visualize the panic and confusion that took place on July 7 on the spot where I was standing. There was no hint of that terrible night, no sign that the window had been damaged by an angry Black teen working out his rage.

This was no simple robbery. Doug Rake believes that it was an act of passion to show who was in control. By pursuing Kevin and Doug up the steps of their home and trying to force their way into that home, these young men were acting out a hostility that put even themselves in danger.

Behind that door where Kevin Wooldridge was mercilessly murdered, is the evidence of two happy and comfortable people. Pictures abound. Every surface graced with photos of the joyful couple with their friends and families. Dozens of candles attest to the romantic and peaceful atmosphere of the home.

Doug is still a little scattered. There is so much emotion when sharing pieces of Kevin's life that it is not easy to stay focused. "I can not quit," he told me, "Kevin would be pissed. We were together only fifteen months...." and thanks to "Kevin's zest for life, we fit a lifetime into those months. Kevin was loved because he was consistent. There was a common thread that ran through his life with family, friends and co-workers."

Doug and Kevin's father are pleased by the way they were treated by the NOPD. They are glad the men were caught and thankful to the French Quarter Citizens Against Crime and Crime Stoppers for posting a reward large enough to get action.

Doug showed me a copy of a newsletter from New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau. On the front page reads the message: "In Memory - Kevin Wooldridge was a key member of the New Orleans hospitality industry. His vision, volunteerism, dedication, enthusiasm and absolute professionalism will leave a void within the community." Are there enough positive adjectives to give an accurate picture of Kevin? Kevin was truly a visionary. He believed that impossible only meant that you had to think bigger and work harder for the solution. He loved New Orleans and had grand ideas on how to bring the city back to its once admired status.

"I am not Kevin," Doug says, "I have learned wonderful lessons from him and I want to stay in the hospitality industry and do the work that Kevin and I talked about and dreamed of for New Orleans." Sometime in Sept., Doug will be holding a celebration of Kevin's life at the House of Blues. There will be more information in this column as plans are confirmed.

Doug is hopeful that the community will unify around Kevin's death and work with the city for more police coverage in the residential area of the French Quarter. We talked about police presence on bikes and scooters and agreed that this is needed. We talked about an article on the front page of the Times-Picayune that said crime was down. We have both witnessed so much crime recently that we wonder how these statistics could be accurate. "Good people are leaving the Quarter," he said. "Tourism is falling because of crime. How can this be true?" he thumps the T-P article. How indeed.

And so the invitation is set before you, the community. What can we do to be accountable and stop the senseless murder of those we love, admire and want to keep in our lives? I would suggest a form of positive protest to our City Council, Mayor and Police Chief. Visit with Doug in Sept. at the House of Blues and share his plan of education and awareness.

My day of interviews continued at the Lesbian & Gay Community Center of New Orleans where among others I was able to sit with a now calmer Tomislav and Doug. Doug's physical bruises are almost healed though he is still concerned over the blurred vision in his right eye. He told me that after his memory of the beating began to come back to him, he realized that he had not made any crude remarks to his attacker.

In his confusion immediately after the event, he thought that he must have said something yet knows now that he did not. We also talked about my first article on the incident and the understanding that I had from my initial conversation with his partner by phone. We weren't drunk he told me. We had only ordered two drinks at the Pub and drank nothing at Oz. We stopped in the doorway of a club on Bourbon where music was being played and didn't drink there either.

When they passed Razoo's, it looked inviting enough for one drink before going on to their intended destination, the Corner Pocket. That is when the couple was told to leave and called "f-king fags" and allegedly assaulted just outside Razoo's entry by the bully standing at the door. This is not the first time this establishment has been named by Gay men who have been verbally abused.

As of press time, NOPD had yet to provide a report on the investigation of wrongdoing by the Department. The two week period they were asked to wait has passed and there is no indication when the report will be available. The attorney representing Tomislav has given him to believe that the charges will be dropped. That doesn't undo the deplorable treatment they received while in custody.

But who is going to make the bully accountable for his actions? The couple has been told that "you can't force the government to arrest someone." I don't understand. Doug was beaten, Tomislav witnessed the beating and no one was arrested for this attack even though the attacker was standing there when the police arrived. These men want justice. They are young and new to the city.

Doug's small mid-America background shows in his quiet gentleness. The community should want justice for him because this has happened to too many of our family. Are we going to unify and back these victims by demanding that justice be served? I truly pray so. I am sickened by the educated, good citizens who refuse to get involved. If we continue to sit back and do nothing every time one in our community is murdered or beaten, are any of us safe? Are you?

current issue | main page | infotainment | past editions | special events | classifieds...a-l | classifieds...m-z | feedback!