Advocate.com – By Andy Marra
Andy Marra had many questions when she was punched in the face for being a transgender woman back in November 2006. But instead of giving her answers, her attackers fled. Now she has decided to tell her story, and she is making an appeal for answers about hate crimes.
Finding the answers to hate crimes
I had just exited my stop on the subway after a particularly long day at the office, and I was grateful to stretch my legs and enjoy the crisp November air. I popped in my headphones, turned on some music, and began my five-minute walk towards my apartment in the Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood where I live.
On my walk home I always pass a bodega. As I walked by, I noticed a group of young men glaring menacingly at me. I didn’t know who they were, and my headphones muffled their voices. I decided to mind my business. I wanted to get home and put together a grocery list for the next day at the Union Square farmers market.
Then, out of nowhere, a fist flew towards my face, hitting me square in the jaw. I stopped dead in my tracks. Stunned for a moment, I finally turned to see who it was and watched the three young men from the bodega laughing and running off. One of them looked back at me and shouted something I couldn’t fully make out, but it sounded like “she-male.”