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Epicene
On October 27, 1992, Petty Officer Allen R. Schindler, Jr., 22,
was brutally beaten to
death in a public restroom in Sasebo, Japan,
by two of his shipmates.
- Hate Crimes Information
They beat him until
his liver was
see-through and
his bones
were firework fragments
in the thick red sky
of his body.
The coroner thought
he had been
in a plane crash
or wreck, not
just arms
and legs
swinging.
His organs
popped
one by one
on the floor
of the bathroom—
a public bathroom
in Sasebo, Japan—
no one knew English.
The two men
took turns
painting the tile
red for the
thirty seconds
it took to end.
They started with
the head,
to the chest,
groin, legs
until only two
unbroken ribs
remained.
They said it was like
kicking a soccer ball—
that satisfying thud.
They said they would
do it again
because he
deserved it
for loving
men.
They said
it was easy,
no regrets,
nothing to
apologize for.
And the last thing
one remembers doing
is putting a foot
to his throat
and standing—
full weight—
against him.
Andrea Judy
Email: Andrea Judy
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