Anti-gay harassers booted from a Somerset restaurant. Is it part of a hateful trend?
A Sunday dinner at Fiesta Mexican Restaurant in Somerset turned ugly when two customers were ejected for spewing homophobic slurs and profanity at four gay patrons, including former Dighton selectman Brett Zografos — an incident that some say reflects a rising tide of anti-LGBTQ+ hate in the SouthCoast and nationally.
Zografos’ friend Holly McNamara, a former Somerset selectman, said she met him for dinner Sunday night; when Zografos arrived, she said, he told her he thought he heard someone say a homophobic slur as he walked by.
Zografos is openly gay.
“He said he looked around and no one was looking at him, so he thought he just overheard something wrong,” McNamara said.
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About a half-hour afterward, a commotion ensued as three people sitting at a table began arguing with two men at a nearby table. The three people were being harassed by the two customers, who made vulgar hand gestures and directed homophobic slurs at them — and they'd had enough, saying they refused to be intimidated.
McNamara said, “That alerted Brett, because he was like, ‘Oh my God, I wasn’t hearing things.’”
McNamara recorded the end of the confrontation and posted it to Facebook, capturing a photo of one of the men. But very quickly, she said, Fiesta management intervened.
“Management handled it really well and they escorted the guy out,” she said. “And they apologized to all of us. They’re wonderful.”
Kate Dempsey posted about the incident to the Our Town: Somerset Facebook page, addressing the homophobes: “You should be ashamed of yourselves. The fact that my 7-year-old daughter had to witness such a disgraceful act of hatred is infuriating. … Your lack of respect for other humans is infuriating. Do better."
A representative from Fiesta confirmed that employees told the men to leave after the incident.
Zografos declined to be interviewed for this story.
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A sign of anti-LGBT trends across the region and country?
McNamara said she knows why this episode happened.
“I think people feel emboldened because of the way national politics is playing out," she said. “They feel enabled by social media, by national politics.”
Andy Pollock, president of the South Coast LGBTQ+ Network, agrees and ties incidents like this to broader anti-LGBT trends in the culture.
“We’ve had four instances of Nazi violence against LGBT events in the SouthCoast area, and we’re concerned about an increase in book-banning, which is happening in Rochester, Mattapoisett and Marion," Pollock said. “It seems like this area has been targeted.”
The Dighton town library has come under scrutiny regarding books near or in the children’s section, with some people objecting to the availability of books about gender and sexual identity. Neo-Nazi groups have disrupted drag queen story hours at libraries in Fall River and Taunton in recent months. Nationally, Tennessee has banned drag shows, with similar bills filed in as many as 17 conservative-leaning states. Missouri’s Republican-led state House of Representatives has voted to block all funding for libraries if they allow minors to borrow books challenged as pornographic or obscene by state statutes.
“I think there are certain political parties that target LGBT people and ideas,” Pollock said. “It seems they gin up fear regarding LGBT. … I think it’s a fear-based tactic to get out the vote, especially the conservative vote.
“It’s frustrating for us, because our agenda is to live peacefully and joyfully in who and what we are — not to convert or to change anyone, but just be there to support those who seek our help.”
Although the incident at Fiesta did not become physically violent and passed quickly, Pollock said situations like this can escalate.
“Words have actions, and words have meaning," Pollock said. “When you denigrate a population ... then you lessen those folks. And when you lessen them, you say they are less than you and therefore violence is acceptable."
How to handle homophobic hate
The network is hosting a Family Fun Day in Taunton at the First Parish Church, 76 Church Green, on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event will feature stories being read by a drag performer, Taunton Mayor Shaunna O’Connell and other readers, face-painting, hair glitter and other family-friendly activities. But he said they’re having to prepare for the possibility of angry protests from those with a hateful agenda.
Whether it's handling an organized protest, or people spewing vulgarities in a restaurant, Pollock said, his advice is the same for those targeted by hate.
“Walk away. Disengage,” Pollock said. “Those people are not there to learn. They’re not there to listen. They’re there to cause trouble. … Getting into an angry shouting-fest doesn’t make anyone look good. You’re not going to win and you’re not going to change minds. The way to do that is to live your life, live it openly and positively as an LGBT person, and to demonstrate to your neighbors and your friends and your family that you’re just like they are, except you have this difference.”
Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Anti-gay hate incident in Somerset could reflect drag, LGBTQ book bans
