Word: schindler
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Furthermore, any argument of self-defense is questionable. Helvey's physical stature--newspapers described him as 6'4" and well-built--belies his assertion that he was "surprised and frightened" by Schindler's approach. His ability to brutally disfigure his victim underscores his strength. There were blood trails on the ground indicating that fSchindler had begun to escape from the restroom, only to be dragged back in for continued beating. This brutality far exceeds the so-called necessity of self-defense...
Additionally, Helvey was not alone the night of the murder. Aviator Charles Vins witnessed the event, and surely could have aided his friend if Schindler had made unwanted advances on him. (For Vins, the consequences of his failure to prevent the murder were light: In exchange for testimony against Helvey, he received only a four-month sentence and a bad-conduct discharge for failing to report a serious crime and resisting arrest...
...Helvey's excuse for murder is as implausible as it is untenable. Before his death, Schindler had complained to friends and American entertainers whom he met at the naval base that he had been the victim of increasing harassment as word of his homosexuality had spread. In his personal journal, he had also expressed fears of being attacked...
Unfortunately, whether Helvey's story is true or not, the brutal murder of Schindler is sure to provide fuel for opponents of allowing homosexuals to serve in the military. Already, a number of people have cautioned that gays and lesbians should be excluded from military service for their own protection...
...murder of Schindler, these people say, is evidence that anti-gay sentiment is too strong for homosexual officers to be successfully integrated into the military. But pervasive bigotry and the threat of violence against African Americans was never a legitimate justification for continued segregation in the South or in the military, nor is it adequate in the case for discrimination against gays today...