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Man attacked transgender woman on a Blue Line train and broke her wrist, DA says
By adamg on Thu, 11/21/2024 - 7:54pm
A Boston man faces felony charges, including a civil-rights violation, for the way he allegedly yelled slurs at a woman who identifies as transgender before physically attacking her on a Blue Line train at Maverick station, causing injuries that included a fractured wrist, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.
Gregory Burnett, 53, faces charges of assault and battery causing serious bodily injury, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon - his shod foot - and violating the victim's civil rights while causing an injury for the attack on a train stopped at Maverick on Oct. 31.
Burnett was arrested Nov. 12 at Maverick station. He had been held without bail at the Suffolk County jail until a hearing last week, at which East Boston Municipal Court Judge Debra DelVecchio determined he was a danger to society - and ordered him outfitted with a GPS device and confined to home except to go to work, the DA's office reports. He is due back in court on Jan. 21 for a probable cause hearing.
The DA's office provided this account of what happened on Halloween night:
The victim was on a Blue Line train which was stopped with the doors open when a man, later identified as Burnett, boarded the train, immediately approached her, and began shouting derogatory terms at her. The victim said Burnett made statements such as "you’re not a woman, you're a man" and then assaulted her by punching and kicking her. The victim reported Burnett kicking her in the crotch area.
The victim attempted to defend herself but Burnett grabbed her foot by the heel and pulled her leg, causing her to fall to the ground, fracturing her wrist.
Several passengers on the train intervened and assisted the victim in fighting off Burnett and removed him from the train.
The victim, who identifies as transgender, told police she felt targeted due to her gender identity based on Burnett’s remarks during the assault.
Innocent, etc.
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Comments
Hate rides the rails
But blue line riders seen something and did something and bounced Burnett out of the train.
What the fuck is wrong with these people?
How in the fucking hell is a transperson being a transperson any threat to anyone?
53 is more than old enough to know better. I hope he rots in jail for this and the likely 57 other violent offenses he's been allowed to skate on.
American's are insanely angry!
I was in a returns line at Lowes today. 5 people returning things. One guy yells at another for entering in through the exit door, which was the enter door. For returns and an older gentleman complained when I tried my 3rd credit card to try and figure out which one I used for a purchase to get a refund.
This guy tooks things way further but so many American's just need to get laid! So much pent up sexual frustration :(
Hopefully someone can make America calm again !
Is history repeating itself?
I feel like we're on the verge of our own 1938 Germany. Step 1: Make people feel butt-hurt about something, real or fake. Step 2: Identify a sub-group or groups as the cause. Step 3: Give tacit approval for Step 1 mob to act on Step 2 group (good people on both sides). Shake vigorously and step back to watch the action.
Resist resist resist! Max punishment for violent hate crimes.
Two different things
People being testy is a real thing, particularly around the holidays. This was a targeted hate crime. You can't blame it on long lines at the checkout or someone being cranky-confused about the exit door.
Pulse of Society
I agree with this being a targeted hate crime.
But people being rude and nasty elsewhere just shows the pulse of society right now. People are riled up. When people are riled up, especially with hate mixed in, they are liable to pop. As what was done here.
Add the fact that oh orange one and his minions have spewed so much hatred toward transpeople in recent months.. its like throwing gas on a fire.
Sad to say that we're going to see more of this as more gas is thrown on the fire.
Yikes
I winced when I saw "Pulse" in the subject line. Clearly not what you were talking about (I don't think?), but you'll understand why my mind went there.
Wow
As a gay man, I'm ashamed that didn't even cross my mind. I've updated the subject line accordingly. Sorry! That was not my intention.
No reason to feel ashamed
No reason AT ALL to feel ashamed. It's a common expression, and it was only the context that made my mind go there.
People are on edge
Those who aren't riled up with hate mixed in are scared about what's going to happen starting in January. I've had a few people snap at me who usually are easy to deal with, and most people I know have had the same experience. Those who aren't happy to have hate unleashed are on edge and having trouble keeping cool (especially as many of us anticipate dealing with people on the other side of things over the holidays).
Stand up. Help others. Fight back.
The positive takeaway I got from this story is that several other passengers intervened to stop the assault. It’s horrible that anyone has to feel unsafe, especially feeling unsafe simply by existing.
Especially as violent and ignorant people are given new encouragements to act out, it’s important for all of us who are capable of regulating our emotions to intervene in public when we see bad things happening.
Most of those with excessive wealth encourage us to demonize one another. Let’s remember our shared humanity.
AMEN!
AMEN!
Yes
Yes its nice to know bystander effect didn't happen here.
More of this please. Sad to think that we may have to do this more and more in the coming years.
Sticking your neck out is often risky
Leaving aside the immediate risk in confronting a violent individual, there is absolutely no guarantee that the DA's office won't decide to make a criminal out of you if the winds blow a certain way. While we can't do much to reduce the first risk, we can do better with the second one.
Part of the reason good law enforcement is so fundamental to civilized society is that it minimizes the demand for vigilantism, which is inherently messy. We shouldn't be prosecuting Daniel Penny, but the system also failed Jordan Neely by leaving him to fend for himself.
As my CJ professor reminded me
Dead men tell no tales.
Self-defense can be a matter of privilege
I'm a short, older white woman.
I'm also a nasty punk with a history of inflicting ER-level trauma on anyone who has ever physically attacked me or groped me. I moved a lot in my childhood, but only got bullied once each time. Think chihuahua energy. I once grabbed a guy who was punching his girlfriend in the walkway under Kenmore and slammed him against a wall, feet dangling, to stop the attack. He just froze and then slinked away.
I don't exactly worry about that ridiculous MA law about "carefully blah blah weighing equal blows" blah blah in the moment.
But I know it is not likely that I would see the same consequences as a minority or male in the same self- or other-defense situation.
Who saw this coming.
Who saw this coming. Really. I'm sure this was completely unpredictable. No, really, this is my sincere face.
It's about time for cis people to stop being shocked, or pretending to be, when trans people are the victims of violent crimes. This is happening by design.
Shocked =/= surprised
I find all instances of anti-trans (or other groups) violence shocking even while I'm sadly not surprised by them. I hope I never stop being shocked by this and other occasions of violence or abuse.
For those white folk that
For those white folk that didn't vote for the rapist, racist, felon it's never wrong to punch a nazi boot licker. It's past time to step up, and out of our privilege and help those that we've f*cked for eternity.
As someone stated above
The flaw with that is that a prosecutor and judge might punish you.
If I had guaranteed immunity, open season.
"Identity Politics" Leads to This
Republicans ran almost exclusively on "identity politics" by demonizing non-cis people, immigrants, or anyone else who wasn't a part of the majority, leading directly to hate crimes like this. Now, alleged liberals like Seth Moulton are blaming the left for the election results and saying the GOP has a point. The rest of us with any hint of empathy left for fellow humans need to push back. Human rights are not negotiable.
Generally agreed, but...
Generally agreed, but I expect we could have an interesting discussion on exactly what "identity politics" is and whether that's a useful phrase. I think my working definition would be something like "the politics of people who have been defined as 'other', such that their welfare is separate from the general welfare (and is often framed as being in direct competition with it)". Chicken and egg..."identity politics" would not exist if groups of people had not been stigmatized, but given that they have been, identity politics are necessary for these people's survival.
I don’t think the courageous
I don’t think the courageous Rep. Moulton is saying the GOP is right for demonizing trans people, he’s saying a contributing cause of our Party’s degeneration is from taking identity politics too far and demanding unquestioning obedience to a worldview to the exclusion of debate- hell, to the exclusion of free speech.
Why did his "courage"...
come after the election, and after he noticed which way the political winds were blowing?
You are an Obvious Shill
Stop with the false pretenses, troll. Your dishonesty is as obvious as it is ugly.
Again, you try to deflect by criticizing everyone but those responsible for goading on this heinous assault on a trans person. Even now Nancy Mace and your religious zealot speaker Mike Johnson are continuing the GOP hatefest on Capitol Hill to demonize an elected representative from Delaware.
Chill. Out. With the gender appearance obsession.
About 6 years ago at my daughter's 20th bday party at Legal's in Chestnut Hill, I made my way toward the men's room to do what one does in a restroom, and another diner actually started yelling after me that I was going to the wrong room, and proceeded to GET UP AND FOLLOW ME THROUGH THE RESTAURANT almost to the alcove, still yelling. Older white male, maybe 70. I was 45 at the time.
I'm short. I have long hair. I have a spinal deformity I was born with and another from a car crash, and I walk a bit unsteadily with a crutch when not using a wheelchair. He only saw me from the back.
Once I realized he was actually following/yelling at *me* I turned around and asked if there was a problem. People are staring at this guy making a scene and thus, me.
Oops, I have a beard.
Oops, I have no breasts.
Oops, I speak at the baritone end of tenor.
Guy proceeds to look stunned and sheepish, starts waving his hands in apology, another person from his table has already been trying to drag him back by his shirt so he slinks off.
He's humiliated himself and I get to go piddle in peace like everyone else, yay?
None of that should have mattered. It's none of his business and not his job to police who's using which restroom in the first place regardless of appearance. This applies to any public space whether it's a bathroom or the MBTA or anywhere else; nobody appointed you gender appearance cop.
Also? Trans men exist. Genderqueer people exist. If someone accidentally goes into the "wrong" restroom, they'll quickly figure that out all by themselves.
JFC, just leave people who aren't hurting you alone.
If I behave like that when I'm 70
Take me somewhere, shoot me dead, and leave me there.
Hell, do that if I ever challenge someone else's bathroom use at any age.
You said black people shouldn't be allowed in bars.
And support racist policies that discriminate based on the skin color you were born with.
Forget the bathroom, you already act like that about the entire building.
More likely than not...
A street person with mental illness. I could be wrong about that, but it's bizarre that so many of these supposed "forward thinkers" here in Boston don't even consider that possibility. Already assuming it's someone with their shit together who just hates with malice aforethought.
So...?
If it was a "street person with a mental illness", why that particular target? What difference does their mental state make to their victim?
And?
I never implied it makes a difference to the victim. Where did you pull that from? But it can make a difference in how we talk about and classify the behavior. How do you know he didn't also target people based on other factors? Perhaps he has a condition that prevents him from behaving rationally to a variety of anomalies in his world? Maybe it's even more complex than that. Applying the same standards of intent to a person with untreated disease of the brain that you would to a simple hater shows ignorance of medical problems. It's like implying that an active opioid addict should behave as rationally as any other person. If he's an untreated mentally ill person he's not behaving rationally, so applying standards of rationality to him would be a false comparison. it doesn't excuse the act but it helps to understand it beyond the over-simplified perspective that it's simply "transphobia" or an angry person, and it's relevant to the overall discussion of what we define as "hate." In the scenario I've outlined it wouldn't be just transphobia or hate. It would be mental illness. That's completely different than violence based on bigotry. Do you apply moral judgements and equivalencies to people with other diseases?