i wasn’t gonna font tonight.
i needed a break,
plus i’m not feeling good.
as i was catching up on “this is us“,
one of the foxholers sent me a email tonight.
in the body of it,
it said:
“Go watch the stories.”
it was from an ig by keith d rowe aka @dreeeeewey.
his friend,
ny’zavian dozier aka @damndozi,
was involved as well.
they are two gay males who were on vacation in croatia.
well foxhole,
i’m literally frozen at what i watched.
i had to font about this.
so this is how the first story started:
and these are the stories…
foxhole,
i’m so disturbed i’m legit speechless.
i’m on the verge of tears at this moment.
i’m sending a tremendous amount of prayers to them.
may their recovery of their physical,
mental,
and emotional beings be quick.
i hope they’re able to get back to their homes quickly and safely.
videos cc: instagram
Black AND Gay and in Eastern Europe?? On purpose??!? They MUST be in the sunken place.
This was sad but informative. I am a single gay black American man and I was traveling solo throughout Europe for 3 months last year. Thankfully, I didn’t really have any problems in the places I went (UK, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Italy -though i know Italy is problematic), but I almost went to Croatia, so this is kinda alarming in that I did my homework and it seemed like Croatia was quite welcoming. I’m really sorry for these guys and the experience they had.
This website may prove helpful for those considering international travel, but as others have said, keep in mind that when you add Black to LGBTQIA+ there’s more to consider.
https://www.equaldex.com/
The person who said Croatia is gay-friendly. No, it’s not. Croatia “accepts” gays just as long you don’t kiss or hold hands etc. in public. Think Republican.
Let this be a reminder for everyone to always do your research before you travel to another country instead of thinking about how many people you want to fuck.
^in a positive way,
they brought awareness to how other countries operate.
we always see the exceptional travel pics and videos,
but there is a whole other side black folks need to be aware of
Itâs awful…
As a black European (French) Iâll say this to you: As a black man, you needs to be super cautious of where you decide to travel. Itâs not even a question of African American…
There a some countries that are safe like France, UK, Belgium, Switzerland, some parts of Germany, Holland, Sweden, Norway Portugal and maybe some parts of Spain. Some of those countries were colonizers and as sad as it is, their populations are used to see black people. In Europe, contrary to the USA, black people are less seen as threats.
That being said, you should be careful anywhere because youâre American and unless youâre in France, Uk, Germany or Switzerland you wonât have a special treatment if something happens to you. I usually avoid going to Italy except maybe for Rome, Milan or Florence…You know the big shopping places.
Iâm personally not interested in going to Eastern Europe as their racism and xenophobia is on another level…
Greece is very popular because Mykonos is an international Gay spot but except for the areas where rich, gay tourists goes, itâs not a really safe place.
Being black is one thing. Being black and gay is another thing. In Europe, people are not Out like they are in the US…
Itâs maybe tolerated but people live their sexuality in a very discreet way because thereâs still a deep, rooted homophobia. Youâll never see two men kissing each other or holding hands…If they are white, they can try to do that in their neighborhood but thatâs it.
The same for transgender women. Itâs nearly impossible for them to be part of the society…
Thereâs this thing about people not liking Americans. Itâs not really true. People donât like the fact that Americans act the way they act in their countries, anywhere they goes. Thatâs why some populations are side-eyeing Americans.
All of that to say that be careful when you travel…Even more as a black man. If you are in a group of strong masc black gay man, yes, nothing will happen to you because nobody will see a glimpse of vulnerability but when youâre flamboyant, they see it as weakness and when people are going to jump you, nobody will help you.
^thank you for this breakdown.
itâs all very eye opening.
What hapenned to these guys is beyond awful and I really hope they will be ok, being an American travellling around Europe is usually safe as people actually quite like folks from the US president aside.I must say from my own experiences going to countries in the Balkan states i.e. Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria etc can be somewhat tricky as a gay man. These countries are beautiful but they have quite a long way to go in terms of gay rights and thats something I would weary of especially if you are a visibly gay man.
Outside of the US, Black people are seen as “black” before being seen as American. So the American shield won’t always protect black people in general. A lot of these foreigners could possibly assume that you’re African (especially if you’re unambiguously black) before American so I wouldn’t go out on a limb and throw AA people in the “safe American” umbrella. Dress sense/clothing could possibly help Black Americans by distinguishing them as “Westernized” compared to Africans based on stereotypical appearance of Africans but that can only go so far. If the locals hate Black people then American nationality can’t always protect us.
I’ve been reading about how dangerous it is for Blacks. In some parts they look at you like the African expants. I know one beautiful dark skinned women was studying abroad with her white friends in Italy. When they were on the beach, a seemingly drunk Italian kept harassing the white girls but ignoring the blacks. Later, as he was leaving, he told the white girls to take their trash with them. The girls got tired of him and left, he then threw some liquid at the two black girls and said, “Disgusting black women.”
She also posted that while she was walking and needed directions, everyone seemed to avoid her and when she walked up behind an Italian woman and asked for assistance, the woman screamed, held on tight to her purse and ran and hid and watched her from a distance. She straight up acted like she had some kind of disease.
A lot of these gay friendly places are extra friendly if you are white because they associate white Americans as rich and Black Americans as lower class. Most of them are not that fond of Americans anyways but if you have money, they will smile like they the Lord has arrived to pick them up in a Porsche.
There have been incidents where black political leaders or athletes have had bananas thrown at them. I can only imagine being black and gay and in the wrong area….
Life be rough. A lot of self hatred too. I remember talking to a black guy from Europe who said he’s not attracted to Black men. He sees them like brothers. I kinda went off on him and he was telling me that I took it too personally and I told him off and let him know he wasn’t about to down anyone being black. I don’t care if he was Black too.
Iâm in Greece now and I understand to be extra cautious when traveling abroad and I will make a mental note going forward!
Like I said before, you have to be aware when traveling abroad period, but especially as black people.
Theyâre on live twerking in front of police cars presumably drunk. I get theyâre having fun, but donât get caught up in one of these countries where you literally have no rights as a citizen. A lot of these people in these countries hate Americans to begin with and blacks even more, and gays twice as much.
If theyâre from the south they should know better. Itâs taught to us in particular very early on some places you need to be careful.
Yea this scares me period leaving the country is dangerous anyway really right now with number 45 in white house they prey on Americans any how I stay with local stars
Many places around the world are NOT safe for Black People at all regardless of sexual orientation. Did you read the story years ago about the Black guy who was stomped to death while on vacation I think in Europe somewhere
^sheesh
hell even asap rocky can fall into this discussion as well.
That was Greece I believe.
Meanwhile, the first place wanna run to is Santoriniđ
If you look it up, results say Croatia is gay friendly. I’m guessing that means for White gays.
We really need a Black Gay Travel Guide.
^i mean,
we can get the guide but are 1 or 10 of the locals filled with hate?
you cross paths and it pops all the way off…
The Black ones on IG who are always jetsetting with a white sugardaddy don’t care about us anyway, so not sure how to get the information. đ
^lmao @ a white sugar daddy