Soviet immigrants bring severe homophobia with them

On a hot summer afternoon along a placid lakefront in the Sacramento suburbs, Satender Singh had come with a group of fellow Fijians to celebrate his promotion at an AT&T call center. Three married couples and Singh, a lighthearted 26-year-old, drank and hooted and danced a crazy conga line to East Indian music.

Andrey Vusik, a 29 year old russian immigrant, fresh from morning church services with his young children in tow, stared with disgust as Singh danced and hugged the other men while their wives giggled. To the Russian, Singh seemed rude and inappropriate, a gay man putting on an outrageous public display.

Angry stares led to an afternoon of traded insults. As the long day slid toward dusk, the tall Russian immigrant approached with a friend to demand an apology. Singh refused. Vusik threw a single punch. Singh's head smacked into a concrete walkway. The joyful young man with the musical laugh died four days later of brain injuries.

Vusik, a father of three, fled the U.S. and remains a fugitive, charged with involuntary manslaughter. Authorities suspect he is on the run in Russia, and the FBI has joined the hunt. Meanwhile, a young friend of Vusik -- Alex Shevchenko -- faces trial next month on hate-crime charges, accused of helping to inflame the confrontation last July 1 and then hurling a bottle as he fled.

comment:
I find it a bit ironic that this "man" (Vusick) felt an afront towards his "manhood" by Mr. Singh, yet he ran away like a coward, attempting to evade responsibility for his actions.

I guess that's how "real men" are when you're from Russia.

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