It’s hard enough out here for
a gay, without gays like Dayna Morales, AKA The
Story That Would Not Die. I mean, think about it, as a gay man, I am often
accused of wanting to have sex with children, to convert children to my deviant
lifestyle; I am often accused of ruining marriage by wanting marriage; I have
been accused, by some of the far less intelligent folks, and I’m looking at you
Sally Kern, of being worse than a terrorist simply by being an openly gay man.
So, it’s hard out here, and Dayna
Morales, and gays like her, make it even harder.
By now you all know the story — see
my post HERE and HERE— but here’s a quick refresher: Morales was a server in a restaurant
and claims she was stiffed — meaning she did not get tipped — by a guest who left
an anti-gay comment on the receipt. And folks all over the world began standing
up for Dayna, with some even sending her money in support. Morales, an
ex-military person, said she would donate the money to Wounded Warrior Project,
a nonprofit that supports veterans returning from overseas duty.
Trouble is, the folks who left that receipt say
they never wrote the note and, in fact, left an $18 tip for Morales. Then came word
that Dayna had been suspended form her job pending an investigation that she is
a liar. Right on the heels of that accusation came the news that Dayna Morales
has yet to give one thin dime to the Wounded Warriors.
A Wounded Warrior representative checking for donations by the name Dayna Morales,
and the ZIP codes for Bridgewater, where the restaurant is located, as well as
Bedminster, where Morales said she lives, was unable to find any matching
donations. He did say, however, that the donations could have been made from a
different ZIP code, or by a third-party. But,
the more we learn, the more we find that Dayna Morales is the reasons, just one
of the reasons, that life is hard for the gays.
Now, friends and family are
speaking out about Dayna Morales and we are learning that there isn’t much
truth to anything she says.
Morales, who was reportedly dishonorably
discharged for failing to show up for drills, has also said that Hurricane
Sandy severely damaged her home, causing her to seek shelter in a boarding
house, when he home suffered only minor damage.
Even worse, Morales also claimed
to have been deployed in Afghanistan where her entire platoon was killed except
her, though, a spokesman for the Marines says she was deployed to Romania and
there is no record of her ever being in Afghanistan.
Now, however quietly,
some of the money that people sent to Dayna is being refunded. At least three people
who sent money to a PayPal account set up in Morales’ name say their donations
were refunded.
Brittney
Stilgenbauer was one of hundreds of people across the country who offered
support, and a cash donation, after Dayna posted her story to Facebook and it
went viral: "I felt awful for her, and I thought it would be great if
people could come together and donate a dollar each and make up for her tip
that she lost."
Stilgenbauer,
in fact, as well as others, on Facebook encouraged Morales to set up a PayPal
account to accept donations, and that same day, a PayPal account in Morales' name was set up and publicized on
Facebook. Brittney Stilgenbauer donated to the account that first day, but this week she received
notification that her donation was being refunded.
Morales did not
respond to requests for comment, with her only statement on this whole mess being, "All I know is what I've
been saying."
But what she's been saying seems far different than the truth. It's hurting the LGBT community — the last thing we need is more ammunition against us, for being liars and thieves — and it's hurting veterans, and veteran's organizations, who could have used the money she was collecting.
And all because of
what, exactly, Dayna?
