MercyA Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 Laura Ann “Lauri” Carleton, 66, died from a gunshot wound Friday evening at her store, Mag.Pi, in Cedar Glen, about 80 miles by car east of Los Angeles, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office said. The suspected shooter, Travis Ikeguchi, 27, also is dead following a shootout with deputies after the suspect fled from the first shooting, authorities said. Ikeguchi had torn down the flag and yelled “many homophobic slurs” toward Carleton, and Ikeguchi shot Carleton when she confronted him, Sheriff Shannon Dicus said. Ikeguchi had also made “several disparaging remarks” about the flag before shooting Carleton, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/21/us/california-pride-flag-shooting/index.html This is truly frightening. So many reasons you might just get shot and killed just living your life (and exercising your right to free speech) in the U.S. 😞 21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 Yes, I heard about that. Sick and disgusting. Such a horrible tragedy. And how sad is it that you have to think about that before displaying something. It has entered my mind before and talked me out of doing it. 2 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 We have a "Love Wins" rainbow plaque on our back door which can be seen prominently from the side road due to the way our house is situated on the corner. I have had people shake their fists at me as they drive by, but no death threats or shots fired yet. I say yet because we live near Michigan Militia country, and these people are basically rabid humans. I try not to be scared, and I do spend time in my yard with our dog. We can't move because our elderly mothers are in poor physical health, and financially cannot afford to move. But if we survive until they pass away allowing us to relocate, it will be with a strong sigh of relief for sure. 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 It's terrifying that we have to fear homophobes. 7 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 1 hour ago, QueenCat said: It's terrifying that we have to fear homophobes. I mean, they've always existed and they've always been loud and threatening. That's what happens when hate and blind intolerance are taught and revered in unquestioning circles. We've been threatened, killed and erased for all time. The Matthew Shepard tragedy massively affected my teenage life. I for one won't back down now though. I've come to understand the more representation, the better--it's harder to hate people when you actually know them, KWIM? Which is exactly why certain...groups...are trying to silence us once again, because they know people are more tolerant and they must continue feed them an us vs them narrative. No matter who the "them" is ( They came for the...) I'm glad to see this conversation here though. DS went out of state recently and decided to not wear his favorite rainbow cat socks for fear of being shot (that and grandpa would have raised holy hell, but I didn't tell him that). That sucked, I could only agree with him he was making a good choice. Around here we don't give it a second thought, though, thank goodness. 2 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 I just wanted to point out that this happened in CALIFORNIA. (I know there are more conservative areas of California, of course.). There are good reasons for our LGBT friends to be terrified. 7 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 13 minutes ago, Terabith said: I just wanted to point out that this happened in CALIFORNIA. (I know there are more conservative areas of California, of course.). There are good reasons for our LGBT friends to be terrified. For the record, I didn't intend to minimize the threats and truly hope it didn't come off that way. Believe me, it is scary to be visible; I can easily "pass" but I don't want to hide anymore. And we shouldn't, it just fuels their venom. I'm just tired, tired of allowing a minority to steamroll the rest of us who want progress and kindness and diversity, who believe in personal autonomy and safety regulations and real climate action so our children can actually grow up. I'm tired of the ugliness permeating every headline, every conversation. The fake smiles behind cold hearts, the justifications of evil. They will always exist, but they don't get to win. 5 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faith-manor Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 18 minutes ago, MEmama said: For the record, I didn't intend to minimize the threats and truly hope it didn't come off that way. Believe me, it is scary to be visible; I can easily "pass" but I don't want to hide anymore. And we shouldn't, it just fuels their venom. I'm just tired, tired of allowing a minority to steamroll the rest of us who want progress and kindness and diversity, who believe in personal autonomy and safety regulations and real climate action so our children can actually grow up. I'm tired of the ugliness permeating every headline, every conversation. The fake smiles behind cold hearts, the justifications of evil. They will always exist, but they don't get to win. I feel this so very, very much! 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 I read it and was horrified. That it was in California, and in LA, caused me to do a double take. Not something I'd have expected there. but that last sentence, that's a huge part of the problem -- "not something I'd have expected *there*" -- it shouldn't be something expected *anywhere* (and yet, here we are, and it is). It is an ever scarier world we live in. 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 This story is so chilling. Our family lives in an area with deepening divisions, and hate is winning. We can see it in our school board (we regularly hit the news for the extreme views), and by the neighborhood yard signs and the bumper stickers, and by the hostility from former “friends.” It’s sad, and strange to witness the changes. We can’t look out our front window without literally seeing the signs! We hang a Pride flag every June, but this year I asked DH not to put it up. I felt like it was putting a target on our LGBTQ+ kid. DH and I decided we would put it up if they asked, but they did not so we left it down. At least one other family that we know personally made the same choice, for fear of people shooting at their house. So when this happened, it hit hard. It can happen anywhere. But I will say this: we went to our town’s Pride celebration and march, as always, and I was happy to see police officers waving Pride flags out their windows. That made us all smile — none of us expected that. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 4 hours ago, QueenCat said: It's terrifying that we have to fear homophobes. We need another name for that since phobe means afraid - though I am sure some of them are repressed homosexuals. But most aren't. I am not up on Greek, so I don't know what the term for hate is because that is what it is. Hatred of homosexuals. Or, if you are shooting people because of rainbow symbols- hatred of anyone who wants to show support to homosexuals. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 27 minutes ago, TheReader said: That it was in California, and in LA, caused me to do a double take. Not something I'd have expected there. Just being picky, but San Bernardino county isn't LA, and not much like LA at all. Still horrible! Of course. Just not as surprising to me as it would have been if it was actually Los Angeles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 2 minutes ago, marbel said: Just being picky, but San Bernardino county isn't LA, and not much like LA at all. Still horrible! Of course. Just not as surprising to me as it would have been if it was actually Los Angeles. Ah, ok, sorry about that! Being from a suburb of Houston, where anything within an hour's drive of Houston is still considered "Houston", I tend to apply that same logic to other places, so when it said "about an hour outside of LA" (or something like that), I just figured same-same. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbcdeDooDah Posted September 15, 2023 Share Posted September 15, 2023 Apparently Westboro is planning a protest this weekend outside of the store where she was murdered. https://www.mountain-news.com/news/united-response-of-christian-churches/article_fb2841bc-526e-11ee-aae4-6768f2e23159.html 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted September 16, 2023 Author Share Posted September 16, 2023 1 hour ago, AbcdeDooDah said: Apparently Westboro is planning a protest this weekend outside of the store where she was murdered. https://www.mountain-news.com/news/united-response-of-christian-churches/article_fb2841bc-526e-11ee-aae4-6768f2e23159.html Very frustrating and sad, but I love that so many local pastors signed the statement denouncing Westboro. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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