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<\/p>\nIcelandic Man\u2019s Facebook Account of Homophobic Assault Goes Viral<\/b>
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An Icelandic<\/a> man<\/a>\u2019s Facebook description<\/a> of a homophobic assault in Reykjav\u00edk<\/a> last Saturday night has gone viral.<\/span><\/p>\n \ufeff<\/span><\/p>\n \u00dalfar Viktor Bj\u00f6rnsson said that on his way home he was approached by a man<\/a> who asked Bj\u00f6rnsson is he is gay<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n When Bj\u00f6rnsson said yes, the man<\/a> hit him in the face and walked away.<\/span><\/p>\n Speaking to <\/span>Gay Iceland<\/b><\/a>, Bj\u00f6rnsson said:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cit\u2019s not uncommon to experience verbal abuse and harassment for being gay<\/a>. I have been subjected to all kinds of nasty comments and challenges. It\u2019s mostly been in the form of unpleasant and degrading comments, but I have never before been physically assaulted.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He added that homophobia in Iceland is often subtle and not overtly visible. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s why so many people seem to believe that such things don\u2019t occur in Iceland in the year 2018. We are supposed to be more advanced in these matters than for it to happen that people are struck down for being who they are. We have come a very long way but equality is still not a fact, and I\u2019m sorry to say that we still have a long way to go to achieve that. People are still being assaulted and we are still acting as bystanders that let prejudice blossom in silence.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Of the man<\/a> who assaulted him and those who have defended the assailant, Bj\u00f6rnsson said that while it\u2019s okay to have opinions, \u201cnobody should have to suffer for being who he is.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s time for us to regard being gay<\/a> or queer as something that people are,\u201d he added, \u201cnot something that people do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He told Gay Iceland that the support he found on Facebook has helped him to feel better. <\/span><\/p>\n Bj\u00f6rnsson has yet to decide if he will report the assault to police.<\/span><\/p>\n (Image via Facebook<\/a>)<\/p>\n The post Icelandic Man\u2019s Facebook Account of Homophobic Assault Goes Viral<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\nRELATED:\u00a0Fiji Prime Minister Says Gays Should Go to Iceland and Stay There<\/a><\/em><\/h2>\n