Blog 8

In South Africa, a 28 year old man has been arrested for torturing, then murdering a young 21 year old man. The victim is known as David Olyn, and was apparently attacked because of his sexuality. Because Olyn was openly gay, the 28 year old man chose to murder him.
In South Africa, it is forbidden to discriminate against someone based on their age, appearance, orientation or host of any other factors. A policeman dealing with this case stated that this crime was committed in discrimination by sexuality and the murder was considered a "hate crime". This murder in particular was unusual because the suspect approached a group of seven teenagers that had been drinking near a local dam in the Belle Vista neighborhood to join him by watching him "kill a moffie".  A "moffie" is a slang word that africans use for a gay man.
The seven teenagers watched the suspect smash Olyn in the head with a brick, followed by him jumping on his face. The suspect then tied Olyn up with some sort of wire and set him ablaze shortly before the teens wandered off. The next day, the seven teens returned to see if Olyn had survived and it wasnt until then that they called police with the discovery of his dead body.
This is most certainly something that should be used as a warning around the globe. Violence in this area has become so often and such a usual thing that kids and teens have become almost numb to it. It is dangerous to be oblivious to how crime could be done on your or your friends based on something so small such as your skin color or sexuality. Because of the various opinions that people hold on gay people or on the color of peoples skin, they sometimes have stronger responses to others. People develop such strong opinions that it becomes an issue if someone else strays away from that, in this case Olyn chose to be gay, which was clear against what the suspect thought was right.
This can be an issue all around the globe, especially with how diverse the world is becoming. By being more diverse and making decisions to be gay or "stand out in the crowd" in an usual way, you are bringing attention to what some people may find unacceptable. These diverse choices are making the world stronger today, but there are people that will go to violence and perform hate crimes against those choosing to be diverse. Around the world, we must become aware of how criminals like this will react to our decisions and be cautious in order to protect ourselves from hate crimes like this one. Discrimination is everywhere, and it is important to be aware of the violence it might cause.
http://guardianlv.com/2014/03/gay-south-african-murdered-others-invited-to-watch/