Raynard in good spirits despite attack

Jake Raynard says it’s not just him who needs to move forward in the wake of a brutal early Saturday morning beating that saw him left for dead in an empty parking lot on Thunder Bay’s north side.

Raynard, 30, says the entire community needs to move forward.

"This story isn’t just mine. I’m sure there’s many other people out there who have encountered a lot of the same problems that I have in my life, and have encountered hate-related crimes and a lot of discrimination based on that," he said, his right arm planted firmly around the shoulders of his sister Jackii, sitting on a backyard swing. "I would urge them to come forward and make their stories known and have it so we can start to heal as a community and start to move forward beyond this kind of hate."

After a night of partying on Friday, Raynard and two friends were outside of a gay-friendly Cumberland Street bar having a cigarette. They were approached by an individual who asked them for a cigarette.

After repeatedly being told no, the man became aggressive, started pushing Raynard and his friends, who walked away toward the Water Street bus terminal. They noticed they were being followed by a group of between six-and-eight men.

One of the pursuers grabbed one of Raynard’s companions by the throat. The 6-foot-2 Raynard, who lives in Toronto and was in Thunder Bay to celebrate his nephew’s 10th birthday, struck back and herded his friends into a taxi, but was surrounded before he could get in himself.

His attackers, who yelled words like "faggot" and "vagina" at him, chased him into an alley. Raynard grabbed a brick for self-defence. It went black from there.

When he regained consciousness he remembers pounding on the window of a nearby fast-food restaurant for help, bruised and bloody from the vicious assault that allegedly saw the brick used against him.

A source told tbnewswatch.com that it took about an hour for police to respond to the emergency call, placed by employees of the fast-food restaurant.

Raynard awoke the next afternoon at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre with a broken jaw, broken eye socket and broken upper patella. He underwent facial reconstruction surgery and had two metal plates, nine screws and a wire used to put him back together again.

For legal reasons Raynard is unable to talk about the specifics of the case, which he and his sister have labelled a hate crime.

He and his sister said they’re overwhelmed at the support they’ve received since the incident hit the media on Monday. In just more than one day, more than 2,500 members joined a Facebook group asking people to unify around Raynard.

"It’s been absolutely wonderful. People from all over the world have been sending their love and their prayers and their healing thoughts and just thank you so much. It’s helped us so much with everything. It’s great," Jackii Raynard said.

Juan Anderson, who started the Facebook group, said he realized his friend’s story would be met with a lot of attention. Because of that he decided he would help deal with media as well as assist in organizing rallies or events designed to help support Raynard. The first rally will take place Friday at 6 p.m. starting at Waverly Park.

Anderson said he believes the community also needed an avenue to voice its disapproval of what had happened to Raynard.

"Initially I hoped for something more formal than a Facebook group," Anderson said. "But in today’s reality you can’t really get 1,200 people together in less than 24 hours with anything other than Facebook."

While community support grows, so does the concern that what happened to Raynard is not an isolated incident.

Dave Ivany, director of Gender Issues Centre at Lakehead University said that since Raynard’s story has come out, more people are starting to tell their stories about dealing with homophobia in Thunder Bay. Ivany said while the severity of Raynard’s attack is rare, there are cases of people being followed and verbally abused in Thunder Bay.

"The stories are starting to come out of the woodwork," said Ivany. "I don’t see this as an isolated incident but certainly the most extreme."

For Ivany, the attack affects the entire community at large, not just the gay community. With the rally on Friday and discussion forums being planned for the future, Ivany said everyone in Thunder Bay should show their support.

"It’s a time to stand up and be allies for the queer community," Ivany said.
Ivany sees pockets of tolerance in Thunder Bay, but admits that sometimes it’s hard to find a safe space. He said homophobia is not something that can be spotted easily.

"You can’t tell by looking at someone that they’re going to be violently homophobic," Ivany said. "Just like you can’t tell we’re queer."

Pride Central’s Dexter Darrah, also at Lakehead University, said that while people on campus have been emotional since they heard about the incident, he doesn’t see any fear.

"The queer community doesn’t seem to be panicked as much as shocked and outraged," Darrah said.

Darah hopes that no one will let their emotions get the best of them as the outrage and calls for justice spread throughout the community. He said people need to remember that there are still pieces of Raynard’s story that are missing.

"The entire story isn’t 100 per cent clear yet," said Darrah. "We should all keep our eyes peeled and our ears to the ground so that we’re not doing anything inappropriate before we have all the facts."

Battered and bruised as he is, Raynard is still able to maintain his sense of humour through it all, saying he’s just happy he could finally shave on Wednesday.

"I don’t look half as bad with this hair off my face than I do with it on. I’m feeling good. At this point I don’t feel I have much to lose. My physical well-being has already been damaged. But my spirit inhabits this body. And it’s very strong," Raynard said. "I’m going to be fighting for what I think is right, and hopefully the community will join me in that fight."

Thunder Bay police continue to investigate the incident. Click here to submit a letter to the editor.