Out In The Mountains : News - Vandalism Strikes Queer Center

       Burlington – As OITM was going to press last month, vandals struck at 34 Elmwood Avenue, the building housing the office of Out in the Mountains and the R.U.1.2? Queer Community Center. It was the latest in a string of relatively minor attacks that provide "some indication of people not being too thrilled with us being in their neighborhood," said Center Director Christopher Kaufman. He reported the vandalism to the police and to SafeSpace.
      The police have no suspects.
      In this incident, someone took two chairs and a black, tile-topped wooden table from the front porch and smashed them. According to Kaufman, police in a cruiser on a routine pass discovered the wreckage strewn across Elmwood Avenue around 1:30 a.m. on September 21 and piled the remains on the center's lawn. The center director discovered the stack of pieces when he arrived at the building around 9:30 and "cleaned up the mess."
       "There's no evidence that it was a hate crime," Kaufman added. "I'm just thankful that the pieces went in the road and not through our windows." Given the timing of the police discovery, Kaufman suggested, it was likely that it was random vandalism involving people leaving a bar, and not specifically directed at the Center because of its queer identity and constituents.
       "Yeah, it makes me nervous, but we're not going to let it slow us down or be less visible," he said. "It makes me sad – it's a very nice porch to sit out on in the summer.
      "My larger fear is that someone might get hurt. We've had discussions with the staff that our first priority is safety, and they should call police if there is any question," Kaufman added.
       R.U.1.2? Staff member Clark Sheldon wrote in an email regarding the damage, "It's shitty that we, the folks who are the targets of hate, are the ones who have to 'be careful' and 'watch out,' as we're the ones who have been attacked. Random acts of violence are difficult things because holding someone accountable is nearly impossible when you don't know who did it and have no obvious evidence."
       He added, "My patience for having to keep my actions in check as a queer person is growing short, and I believe that the work to make our community safer cannot fall only on the shoulders of those attacked."
        In the 42 months Kaufman has directed the center, he says there have been five or six similar incidents. Since the Center moved from the Waterfront to 34 Elmwood Avenue in April, 2004, a rainbow flag and pole mounted outside a second-floor window was stolen, the Out in the Mountains sign in the front yard was ripped off its mountings, and anti-gay church leaflets were littered on the front lawn.