Community | August 04, 2010 | 29 comments

Gay Couple Saves Life of Homophobic Neighbor | Gay Rights | Change.org

source: http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/gay_couple_saves_life_of_homophobic_neighbor

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toyotabedzrock
Need any further proof that love always outlasts hate? Check out this story from Birmingham (United Kingdom)(http://www.sundaymercury.net/news/midlands-news/2010/08/02/birmingham-gay-couple...), where a gay couple tormented by a neighbor's homophobic remarks -- to the point where the neighbor was fined and served with a police order -- end up saving his life from a deadly house fire.

The story comes from the Sunday Mercury, which had a chance to speak to the gay couple, Bryn and James Tudor. Turns out they're a pretty famous gay couple. In 2005, they were the first gay couple in all of Birmingham to commit to each other in a civil partnership(http://www.queerty.com/birminghams-first-married-gays-james-and-brynn-tudor-save...) -- a pretty cool thing to put on your resume.

But their marriage didn't please their neighbor, Baljit Koonar, none too much. For years, Koonar would taunt the gay couple with homophobic remarks, verbally harassing and bullying the Tudors to the point where they almost thought about packing up and moving to a different neighborhood.

"We had put up with his verbal abuse for years – it affects you every day," said Bryn Tudor. "[But we] did not want to give in to the bully.”

For Koonar's sake, it's a good thing this couple didn't move. Because had James and Bryn not been there on the night that Koonar's house caught on fire, who knows how this story would have turned out.

“I was sleeping when something woke me up at around 5am. I could taste smoke in the back of my mouth," James Tudor told the Sunday Mercury. "I couldn’t see anything out of the front window, but when I went to the back there was smoke billowing out of next door and the family were on the roof."

And that's when this gay couple sprang into action.

The couple, along with some help from other neighbors, grabbed a ladder and used it to get Koonar's family -- his wife, their two kids, and a grandmother -- off the roof of the burning house. According to James Tudor(http://www.queeried.co.uk/gay-couple-homophobic-abuse-rescue/), in the literal heat of the moment, everything became about how to save lives rather than the history of tension between these two houses.

"Our thoughts weren’t about him. We wanted to get the kids down as soon as we could. You don’t think about anything that person has done, it’s just about the value of human life," Tudor said.

Kind of makes you think, right? The person you treat with homophobic, transphobic, racist, or sexist remarks today may just end up being the same person who one day saves your life.
  1. groups:
    Community,   News and Politics,   Politics,   Progressive America,   10 more
  2. tags:
    Gay,  Homophobia,  Neighbours
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29 comments // Gay Couple Saves Life of Homophobic Neighbor | Gay Rights | Change.org

  • Omnomynous
  • unclecharlie
    • -5
      unclecharlie  

    • Phobia is a fear of something. Disagreeing with a particular lifestyle does not make one phobic. I don't agree with the gay lifestyle, so does that mean I am afraid of homosexuals? Of course not- but, because this fellow who was rescued doesn't subscribe to the gay lifestyle philosophy, he is labelled a "homophobe." Throwing a label on someone because they don't agree with you- now THAT'S intolerant!! We all bleed the same, we breathe the same air, but don't call me a "homophobe" because I disagree with the gay lifestyle. I have a phobia- not against homosexuals, but against heights. Stop whining, and grow a backbone!

    • 1 year ago
  • toyotabedzrock
    • +3
      toyotabedzrock  
    • unclecharlie:

      They where harassing and bullying the gay couple. In general bullies harass people because of there own fears.

      When it comes to gay people, there is many dishonest rumors that are spread to induce fear and harassment. It has been shown over and over that people who are very negative toward homosexuals are repressing there own bi or homosexual attractions.

    • 1 year ago
  • Mark701
    • +1
      Mark701  
    • unclecharlie:

      Then why would this man continually taunt the gay couple? If he doesn't agree with their lifestyle, that's his right. However taunting them is not. He could keep his opinions to himself or share them with friends if he feels the need to vent. The only reason to taunt the couple was to inflict pain by expressing his hatred for them.

      If for some reason you find nothing wrong with the man voicing his opinion to the gay couple, then reverse the situation. Imagine this guy and his family are the only straight couple living in a gay neighborhood. However, everytime one of his gay neighbors see him he makes snide, hateful comments about his heterosexual lifestyle. Is that acceptable?

      Finally throwing a label on someone is defensible if it's true. Hitler was a murderous dictator, Staline was a Communist dictator, Son of Sam was a serial killer etc. Is that intolerant or a simple statement of fact?

    • 1 year ago
  • CarolineS
  • CalgarC
  • versasrev
    • +2
      versasrev  

    • It was funnier when the Onion did it...

      Now that its actually real I can't make myself laugh about it, I know it's funny I know I want to laugh, and yet I can not. That makes me kind of sad. Anyway, good job.

    • 1 year ago
  • dalistuff
  • Jeremy_Benson
  • Pollo_Loco_
  • Pollo_Loco_
    • +6
      Pollo_Loco_  

    • "And that's when this gay couple sprang into action."
      This line made me imagine them transforming into super-heroes.
      Captain Queer! With his sidekick, HomoBoy!

    • 1 year ago
  • UtopianSky
  • KaleidoscopeEyes
  • ezrierin
    • 0
      ezrierin  

    • I would have saved his family and him for all the obvious reasons. But if he had been alone..., I would not have been so inclined. But I would.

    • 1 year ago
  • Mariased
  • bailey78
  • CarolineS
  • wellhunggimp
  • EdJoyProductions
  • s_peak
  • CarolineS
  • CarolineS
  • toyotabedzrock
  • CarolineS
    • +1
      CarolineS  
    • toyotabedzrock:

      i'm not demonising, you cant have any sympathy for this mans homophobia, or try to say he was simply misinformed, he made his neighbours lives a hell, and all the while never stopped to look and see that they were doing him no harm, he's disgusting, not misinformed.

    • 1 year ago
  • blaino
  • EdJoyProductions
    • +7
      EdJoyProductions  

    • How much do you want to bet that Baljit Koonar goes back to being a homophobic asshole by next week?

      Kudos, Bryn and James Tudor for being excellent human beings!

    • 1 year ago
  • Stoneyroad
  • EdJoyProductions
  • oppressed1
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