Gay student blames attack on sexuality
Three men yelled slurs, grabbed him, stole mobile phone
A gay student at the University of Alberta says three men targeted him because of his sexuality, attacking him just steps away from his dormitory house near campus.
Chevi Rabbit, 26, said he was walking to the Safeway near his house on 84th Avenue on Thursday evening when the men pulled up beside him in their car, yelling anti-homosexual slurs.
“I felt really embarrassed. I just said ‘thank you,’ because I didn’t want anything to do with it,” said Rabbit, a fourthyear native studies and anthropology student.
He said although he tried to keep walking, one of the men jumped out of the car, grabbed him in a headlock and then threw him to the pavement. When he fell, the man grabbed his iPhone and got back into the car. The car, described as a silver or grey four-door Acura, retreated down a back alley and was gone.
Rabbit received bruises on his knees and a cut on his hand.
He said the man who attacked him is a six-foot-three white male with a French accent. The driver of the Acura is described as black, with short, curly dark hair. The last man is pale and possibly Middle Eastern. All of them are between 25 to 30 years old, Rabbit said.
Several people watched the attack unfold, some who had been playing volleyball and others who had been drinking beer in front of a nearby frat house, Rabbit said. After the man pushed him to the ground, six of them came to help and at least one person called the police.
When the police arrived, they tried to find the men by tracking Rabbit’s phone through an iPhone app. However, the men had switched it off, making them impossible to locate.
Rabbit believes this isn’t the first time he’s seen these men. On July 14, the men drove by and shouted similar insults at him, but from a distance, he said. And although Rabbit said the incidents have left him shaken, he said he was even more shocked since he has never felt endangered because of his sexuality.
“I’m openly gay. I don’t go around pronouncing it, but I’m very feminine. I’m a regular gay guy, but I’ve never had a problem in Edmonton,” said Rabbit, who also works as a part-time makeup artist. “It was just so publicly done and in a heavily populated area.”
He said he moved to the area in January because he believes this is a good neighbourhood, but he’s now staying at his parents’ house in Ponoka, about 90 minutes south of Edmonton. Rabbit’s mother has even asked him to start carrying pepper spray when he goes jogging, he said.
This kind of incident isn’t unusual among people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer, said Kristopher Wells, the chair of the Sexual Minorities Liaison Committee with the Edmonton Police Service. He said the sexual minority group is one of the most vulnerable, with the federal Justice Department indicating that hate crimes based on sexual orientation account for 12 per cent of all hate-related crimes.
“It’s surprising for many, but not perhaps not at all surprising for the (gay) community,” Wells said. “We may have legislative equality, but we’re not there yet for social equality.”
“I personally wouldn’t feel comfortable walking down Whyte Avenue and holding my partner’s hand,” he added. “There would be repercussions, either of violence or words. … It’s a very unfortunate reality that needs to change.”
While Rabbit said he no longer feels safe in his neighbourhood, he’s not sure if he will move since he only has a year left of school. He said he’s determined to not let it affect him too much.
“I don’t know, I felt like, should I not wear makeup anymore?” he said. “But I won’t change who I am. … I feel bad it actually happened and I hope it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”