A queer man was violently assaulted on a London Tube line while numerous onlookers stood by.
Content warning: This story may include topics that could make some readers feel uncomfortable.
On 27 November, retail worker Alan Hunter attended the Steps concert at the O2 Arena.
While on his way home from the event, the 35-year old was involved in a homophobic attack on the Jubilee line.
According to a report from the PA News Agency, the attack occurred after Hunter asked a woman and her friends to stop using nitrous oxide balloons on the tube.
The request quickly escalated into an argument after the unidentified individual called him a “f***ing f****t”.
After their heated exchange, the woman and her friends proceeded to assault Hunter in front of the other train passengers.
“She pushed us twice in the head, grabbed my hair, I grabbed hers in self-defence, and then the six lads jumped on top of us,” he explained.
Hunter admitted to insulting the woman but only after she called him the homophobic slur.
“Had she not called me a ‘f****** f*****’ I wouldn’t have said anything. I refuse for us to be second class citizens and just stand there and take it,” he said.
Hunter also told PA that he felt demoralized after the attack due to no one stepping in to de-escalate the situation.
“People are protecting themselves and trying to be safe in a dangerous place. But at the same time, it’s just completely demoralising, if I saw someone getting hurt I would jump in and help,” he explained.
The London native went on to say that the rise in anti-LGBTQ+ attacks is due to the rise in “right-wing politics”.
“With Trumpism and Bolsonaro in Brazil, there’s been very rapidly a rise in such right-wing politics and it’s given a free mouthpiece to people who for a long time couldn’t say anything,” he said.
“You can’t put Mentos in Coke without the thing absolutely kicking off, and basically politics was the Mentos in the Coke.”
Shortly after the incident, British Transport Police released a statement condemning the attack.
“British Transport Police received a report of a homophobically aggravated assault on the Jubilee line at London Bridge station shortly after midnight on Sunday November 28,” they said.
“We take hate crimes extremely seriously and are making a number of inquiries into this incident.
“Any witnesses or anyone with information is asked to contact BTP by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 31 of 28/11/21.”
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