Queer Martyrs: Jerry Paul Smith (UPDATED)

Update July 4th, 2021: I haven't seen more official news on the matter, and the most recent ones are already 2-3 weeks old at this time. I won't consider Jerry as a martyr from now on because of the controversy. Although there are no official reports regarding him being a criminal that I can check (again, if someone knows about a site with official information, let me know), I believe in people and I seriously doubt many users in the internet would comment and share stories of abuse connected to this man. I will keep the entry for reference, but that's it.

EDIT: I just read many comments about Jerry being a catfish and predator by people who knew him. It seems media and many people on social media want to paint a good picture of this man, so just will wait for further news and details on the investigation. If that's the case, I will edit the original entry and post a new one as well about it.

Hello pornies, I hope you had a good weekend. Today I come with more news, a name we should remember and a story we need to share as often as possible: that of Jerry Paul Smith, 40 years old, being beaten to death by Isimemen David Etute, an 18 years old football player, on May 31 at Jerry's home in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Smith, courtesy of Smith family. Source.

The Roanoke Times reported that:

Reverberations continued to spread Thursday from the Memorial Day killing of a gay Blacksburg man whose alleged attacker, a Hokie linebacker, told police that he’d lashed out after discovering the person he met for a sexual encounter was not a woman.

Again, let's that sink for a bit.

A man who was born in the 80s and saw the liberation of the queer community, their rise as a recognized group, witness the fight for equality, witness the many victories, found his death at the hands of a XXI century guy just before Pride Month.

How insecure and how fragile must a man's masculinity be so they kill someone? I can understand a punch, a kick, an insult, nausea, and many more things I cannot think about right now. I can imagine how guilty, loathsome, dirty, ashamed, and embarrassed that guy had to feel. It's not what you usually expect to experience if you identify as straight, and it may have created so many conflicting emotions and thoughts I can almost feel sorry for him. But killing? Advocate gives enough details about it and the further actions:

A suspended Virginia Tech football player accused of killing a gay man has said he became enraged after discovering the person he had met for a sexual encounter was male. 

Jerry Paul Smith was killed May 31 at his home in Blacksburg, Va. A medical examiner ruled he died of blunt force trauma to the head; an autopsy further revealed that every bone in his face was broken and that he had skull fractures, the Roanoke Times reports. His teeth had also been knocked out.

His body was discovered the following day, and Ismemen David Etute, 18, of Virginia Beach was arrested June 2. Etute is charged with second-degree murder.

Etute appeared in Montgomery County General District Court in Christiansburg Wednesday. Prosecutor Jason Morgan, in arguing against Etute’s release on bond, testified that the defendant had met Smith for oral sex April 10, after the two had connected on Tinder. Etute believed that the person he had hooked up with was a woman named Angie. He returned to Smith’s apartment May 31, realized Smith was a man, and flew into a rage.

It isn’t clear from media reports why Etute thought Smith was a woman during the initial encounter. No one has identified Smith as transgender; his family has said he was a gay man. But Etute became so agitated that he began punching Smith, according to information presented by Morgan and by defense attorney Jimmy Turk. (...)

Etute had entered Virginia Tech at midterm and participated in training with the football team. He is now suspended from both the team and the university.

I want to stay polite, to remain respectful, but I just can't, and I'd rather stay silent on my thoughts about it and not even share Etute's photo. I want to focus on this man who was left to die alone in his own home. However, I can't not write a prayer for and in honor of Mr. Smith to keep his story in mind and send him all the love he deserves.

Jerry Paul Smith's Activism Prayer

Join us as we march as tanks,

Rainbow army in the streets.

A living storm won't fade to black,

Electric rainbows made of steel.

Fuel our strength so we stay fighting,

Fill our heart so we stay brave,

Be our ground so we stay marching,

Make us louder so we stay heard.

Kinky regards, K!

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