American Journalist Victim of Hate Crime In The Netherlands

From The Editor & Publisher:  "Chris Crain, editorial director of the gay newspaper chain Windows Media, was beaten by seven men in Amsterdam, Holland, as he was walking hand-in-hand with his boyfriend early Saturday morning.  Crain described the gay-bashing in a first-person story scheduled for publication Friday in the Washington (D.C.) Blade, one of several papers owned by Windows. Crain and William Waybourn founded the chain in 1996.  "I was covered in blood, mostly from my nose," Crain wrote, "but I got lucky: no broken bones, no damage to my vision, just some very nasty bruises and a lot to think about."  In the article, headlined "Looking hate in the face," Crain said he never imagined that he would be beaten up for being gay in the gay-friendly Netherlands, where same-sex marriage is legal and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is against the law.  "As a child of the South, where 'fag' and 'queer' were everyday insults, I would have expected a fist to the face somewhere back home for sure," he wrote."    Story . . .  [Mark Godsey]