Nytimes article about : some incidents in NYC L.G.B.T.Q. community

[c4men]

Thought, I will share this here and hopefully it will help someone be more careful.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/03/nyregion/gay-men-roofie-attacks-deaths.html

 

[LookingAround]

Thanks for sharing. This is very scary and everyone must be on guard and very careful. 

[Luv2play]

This reminds me of the bad old days in the 1980's when Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen were considered killing grounds for gays. On my visits to NYC in those days I always avoided them and stuck to the West Village. 

Today I don't visit gay bars at all. I stick to well reviewed escorts on RM and so far so good.

[kingsley88]

Thx for sharing. It reminded me of a similar article from the NYPost from a month ago:

https://nypost.com/2022/11/11/roofie-robber-2-killed-in-drugging-attacks-on-gay-men/

Similar to Luv2play, I don't really go out to gay bars nowadays. I live in NYC and the only times I've gone out to gay bars here is when a friend is visiting and wants to check out Stonewall or a piano bar in the city.

They seem to be targeting younger gay men who have $$$. Be careful and always watch your cocktail.

 

[Marc in Calif]

3 hours ago, kingsley88 said:

They seem to be targeting younger gay men who have $$$. Be careful and always watch your cocktail.

And never go home with a trick from a bar (or elsewhere) -- let alone three tricks at a time. 

[+ Pensant]

I haven’t been to a gay bar in over 20 years, except for a visit to Stag PDX in January 2020. I would only order a bottles water when I did go. My nature is to be suspicious.

[Luv2play]

What a different world we live in now compared to when I was young. Picking up guys at bars was a way of life and filling in the time when you didn't have a steady boyfriend.

Living in Canada and Europe during my youthful days, I never felt in much danger altho I did exercise judgment and wasn't into drugs.

Interestingly the only time I picked up someone who turned into a scary experience at his place was in New York in the 1980's. That was on a visit.

After I retired at 50  and was spending the winters in Miami most of the action was in the bars especially the Black Eagle in Ftl. What a place!

 

[kingsley88]

10 hours ago, Marc in Calif said:

And never go home with a trick from a bar (or elsewhere) -- let alone three tricks at a time. 

I agree. My concern is by that time the person may be too drunk/drugged to think clearly. 

[+ Charlie]

I grew up thinking that gay bars were the safest places to find someone to go home with. What a different world it's become.

[Luv2play]

1 hour ago, Charlie said:

I grew up thinking that gay bars were the safest places to find someone to go home with. What a different world it's become.

Yeah me too. But did you ever see the movie "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" with Diane Keaton?. It was from that era when we gays were all hooking up with cute guys we picked up at the gay bars. 

Her story, based on a real case, was a cautionary tale. I remember the theme song by Thelma Houston, "Don't treat me this way".

[+ Charlie]

16 minutes ago, Luv2play said:

Yeah me too. But did you ever see the movie "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" with Diane Keaton?. It was from that era when we gays were all hooking up with cute guys we picked up at the gay bars. 

Her story, based on a real case, was a cautionary tale. I remember the theme song by Thelma Houston, "Don't treat me this way".

Yes, I did see that movie. I still thought the bars were safer than the streets as a place to pick up guys.

[Luv2play]

4 minutes ago, Charlie said:

Yes, I did see that movie. I still thought the bars were safer than the streets as a place to pick up guys.

Me too. I rarely took anyone home that I met in the parks except a couple, one who I recognized as an actor who went on to become a huge star on a Hollywood TV series in the '80s.

[BabyBoomer]

50 minutes ago, Luv2play said:

 I remember the theme song by Thelma Houston, "Don't treat me this way".

It was "Don't leave me this way".

~Boomer~

[Luv2play]

6 hours ago, BabyBoomer said:

It was "Don't leave me this way".

~Boomer~

Same difference but you are right. Lol 

[+ LIguy]

Watch the movie Cruising with Al Pacino

[+ Charlie]

2 hours ago, LIguy said:

Watch the movie Cruising with Al Pacino

Yeah, I saw that one, too.

[BonVivant]

It’s sad that lgbt places are no longer safe places. 20 years ago no straight would be caught dead in one. Now with all the normalization and equality syndrome, plus the economic dislocation, lonely gay men are easy targets. Exercise caution. Stranger danger. Yet one must live!!! 

[MscleLovr]

Actually this is not that recent a phenomenon.
 

I think it was 15 years ago that I learned that a major airline had a 24/7 crisis line for its staff who got into any such trouble. An executive of the airline surprised me by saying that a great number of incidents occurred in the US (Chicago was a particular hotspot) and that the majority of callers (victims of these assaults) were men. 

[+ Tygerscent]

On 12/5/2022 at 5:09 PM, Charlie said:

I grew up thinking that gay bars were the safest places to find someone to go home with. What a different world it's become.

One of the reasons I started Escorting was because I found the bars and dating sites to be unpredictable and unsafe. 

[maninsoma]

I don't know whether cruising in bars is less safe now.  There certainly have been risks in any era, though I'm sure that the vast majority of the time guys have just enjoyed their hookups without anything untoward happening.  Back in the mid-1970s in San Francisco, there was a serial killer dubbed The Doodler who found his victims in gay bars.  He earned his moniker because he would sketch his victims and present his drawings to them as part of his come-on.

[Luv2play]

On 12/6/2022 at 11:29 AM, Charlie said:

Yeah, I saw that one, too.

It was very controversial, even as it was being filmed. A lot of gays boycotted it. I went to see it but was not overly offended.

[+ augustus]

I already reported this in the Political Forum several months ago.  These criminals are too much!!  They not only rob and kill your person, but they also try to access your bank accounts through your cell phone.  They did it to one victim.

[+ DynamicUno]

I remember back in the 90s and 00s in Atlanta there were multiple awareness campaigns warning about roofie attacks, often with GHB.  There were stories about guys who were robbed or sexually assaulted, and the admonishments to watch your drinks when going out.  There was always an element of risk when going out. 

Still, this report is scary because it seems the perpetrators are using more deadly drugs and don't care if they kill their victims in the process. I hope they catch them quickly.

[pubic_assistance]

On 12/5/2022 at 6:56 PM, Luv2play said:

Me too. I rarely took anyone home that I met in the parks except a couple, one who I recognized as an actor who went on to become a huge star on a Hollywood TV series in the '80s.

I went home with someone who I met in West Side Park in Manhattan. I didnt recognize him but I did recognize his famous parents who's photos were all over the apartment. I found that very kinky that he was bringing back tricks while his parents were away. Later he went on to be a big Hollywood star ( now married with kids ) so I won't OUT him here...I think that's tacky.

Edited December 17, 2022 by pubic_assistance
spelling

[+ José Soplanucas]

This kind of attacks where the victim is drugged is currently an international trend. Indeed, we must be careful.

That said, I think you all are over reacting. You are forgetting all the threats we used to have in the past and overblowing this current one. I doubt gay bars are more dangerous now than before. Perhaps we are more fearful.