Joseph Baken: The Little Boy Who Cried Wolf

I have been bullied for being gay; well, I was still a kid and didn't know from gay, so I guess I was bullied for being perceived to being gay. But, I have never been gay bashed--that sound you hear is me knocking on wood. What a horror that must be to have fists flying at you and feet pummeling your ribcage while someone, or a few someone’s, yell anti-gay slurs. Hate. Hate crime. And I think it should be punishable to the severest extent of the law. But then there's this, which makes my blood boil even more:

Missoula, Montana, law enforcement officials say that 22-year-old Joseph Baken who reported that he was the victim of a gay bashing, a hate crime, during the early morning hours of August 5 has actually fabricated the story.

“We have new information that we’re following up on,” said a Missoula Police Department spokesperson.

Baken reported to the MPD that he was celebrating his birthday downtown at the Missoula Club and, after inquiring about where he could find a gay bar, was beaten up by three men for being gay. The story broke all over the web, another gay bashing, another young LGBT person beaten for their orientation.

Except it never happened.

The Missoula Police Department obtained video footage that shows Baken doing a back-flip on Higgins Avenue and sustaining the injuries, lacerations to his face, that have been depicted on social media sites, during the landing.

Here’s a copy of the footage:

So, this little asshole decides to do a back-flip and he lands on his face. A rational person would say something like, "Ouch! That was stupid." A rational person would seek medical attention. But Joseph Baken decided to go to the police and say he was beaten up by three men because he's gay.

That would be a Hate Crime, but Baken's crime, other than being an asshole, is hateful. If even one gay person lies about being gay bashed, for whatever reason, they diminish every other Hate Crime against us. 

I hope they throw the book at him. Seriously. But, when Joseph Baken pleaded guilty to charges of filing a false police report, he was sentenced to 180 days in jail and a $300 fine. The jail time was suspended.

Big mistake. Huge. When he lied about being gay bashed, he basically gay bashed the entire LGBT community and got off with a wee fine. Joseph Baken is a reprehensible human being. Ask anyone who has ever had fists fly at their faces because they’re gay what they think of him now.

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