Christian Dingus, 28, was with his partner when, he says, employees told the couple not to kiss inside, and the argument escalated outside.
A gay man accused a group of Washington, D.C., Shake Shack employees of beating him after he kissed his boyfriend inside the location while waiting for their order.
Christian Dingus, 28, was with his partner and a group of friends at a Dupont Circle location Saturday night when the incident occurred, he told NBC News. They had put in their order and were hanging around waiting for their food.
“And while we were back there — kind of briefly — we began to kiss,” Dingus said. “And at that point, a worker came out to us and said that, you know, you can’t be doing that here, can’t do that type of stuff here.”
The couple separated, Dingus said, but his partner got upset at the employee and insisted the men had done nothing wrong. Dingus’ partner was then allegedly escorted out of the restaurant, where a heated verbal argument occurred.
Man that’s an unfortunate last name.
Some christian dingus is who I’d expect to be the homophobe lol
Lol I was reading that bit and felt really bad for poor middle school Dingus.
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I remember having to get my dad out of a burger king because two dudes smooched one another. That bigot never once in his life accepted that other peoples lives were their own and none of his business.
Can I take a wild guess and also say that he’s more than likely one of those people that cry “the government needs to stay out of my business!!”
I know far too many of those people… It’s only bad if it’s aimed at them.
Not anymore.
It’s absolutely insane to me that people care so much what other people do. While my dad isn’t a bigot, nothing seems to be more interesting what other people do. He has to keep an eye on his neighbours all the time and tells me things like when their light is on at night. I keep telling him that i absolutely don’t care. He once asked me something about my neighbour and was shocked that i didn’t know. I didn’t tell him that i din’t even know his name, or anything really.
Tell me your dad is the HOA president without saying your dad is the HOA president.
Glutton for punishment if you’re homophobic and working at the Shake Shack in Dupont Circle.
Heh, he’s called Dingus.
Sorry, Dingus, people kinda blow sometimes.
His first name makes it even better/worse depending on which side of the srgument you’re on.
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There is never a reason for either party to escalate a verbal disagreement to a physical one, but I would be very shocked if the PDA were as innocent as they imply it was for someone to walk out from behind the counter and calmly ask them to knock it off. There are always two sides to every altercation, and even his description, “kind of briefly - we began to kiss” sounds like downplaying the degree of the kissing going on. It sounds like there was a good chance that it was a pretty excessive makeout session. They really seem to want to make it a homophobia thing, and maybe it was… whether the employees’ line for excessive would have been the same for a straight couple as for this gay one, I don’t know. But I wouldn’t be shocked if the request was at least arguably reasonable for a business that doesn’t need people sucking face at the counter. Or maybe I’m wrong and the entire restaurant staff in left-leaning Washington DC are just a bunch of homophobes. Idk.
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I read his words. It was his words that made me doubt. He and his partner were the victims here, for sure. But that doesn’t mean that they are being honest about the preamble to the altercation. But if not fully believing a person about every single detail of their story, if not taking every single assumption that they made as gospel makes me homophobe because they happen to be gay, sure. Whatever.
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I didn’t say I had evidence. I said I got a feeling from the way he phrased his story. I also said I might be wrong.
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THE VIOLENCE WAS NOT JUSTIFIED.
then why do you keep trying to justify it?
I said I got a feeling from the way he phrased his story.
“From the way you phrase your posts, I guess you might have disturbing images on your hard drive. I might be wrong.”
Would you take offence if I said that? If yes, then think about what you’re doing.
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I accused them of getting a little too into their makeout session.
You also say that this does not warrant violence. So why even make that point?
If one of my female friends is sexually harassed, and I say, “There’s no excuse for that. It doesn’t matter how you were dressed. However, I bet you were dressed provocatively,” am I being a despicable piece of shit?
weirdo
I accept I’m ‘weird’, because I’m heavily autistic. But at least I don’t come across like someone who says “Of course you’re not at fault, BUT…”
Edit: checking your post history, you’ve never said anything interesting. Okay, bye.
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There is never a reason for either party to escalate a verbal disagreement to a physical one, but…
You modify a ‘never’ with a comma and a ‘but’. So, not ‘never’.
PDA were as innocent as they imply it
“They kissed in a non-innocent way and I had to assault them.”
Hmm, that sounds like bullshit to me.First of all, the word “but” doesn’t negate the statement in the first half of the sentence. “I wanted ice cream, but I ate a donut instead” doesn’t mean I never wanted ice cream. The but, in this case was meant to indicate that, while I am on their side in regard to the violence that occurred becuase it was unjustifiable regardless of what started the interaction, I would not be surprised to find put that he downplayed that detail and the employee may have been justified in asking them to stop. Him downplaying that detail, and/or the employee being justified in asking them to stop does not, in an way shape for form, excuse, defend, or approve the violence that followed. That was the exact reason I prefaced that statement with the fact that the physical violence wasn’t acceptable here.
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People like big buts.
The but, in this case was meant to indicate that, while I am on their side in regard to the violence that occurred becuase it was unjustifiable regardless of what started the interaction, I would not be surprised to find put that he downplayed that detail…
It’s ‘unjustifiable’. So why link that to assuming the victim was obfuscating the truth? In the same sentence, you are absolving the victim of blame while also claiming that they lied.
Because I was prefacing my statement in an attempt to ward off misunderstandings about whose side I was on. I underestimated the degree to which people lack a sense of nuance apparently, though
What ‘nuance’ is there about speculating that two assaulted gay people were kissing harder than they described?
As you yourself say, it does not have any bearing on the violence done to them being acceptable. So why link those two things together with a comma but?
That it’s possible it’s less to do with them being gay and more to do with them potentially making out heavily and making the workers uncomfortable, which is possible if they were a straight couple too instead.
Not condoning the violence in the slightest
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potentially making out heavily
You get attacked on your commute.
I say: “It’s terrible you were dragged out of your car and hit, that’s not acceptable!”
I then add: “You probably were driving badly, though, which pissed people off.”
The second sentence modified the first, yes?
Dude, you are wrong. Give it up. No guy has ever had the shit beat out of him by a stores employees for straight PDA. This was homophobia, and your bullshit argument just invalidates the very real struggle gay people go through every day. You are clearly not gay. So learn when you don’t have the context to speak up, accept you are wrong, and sit the hell down.
No guy has ever had the shit beat out of him by a stores employees for straight PDA.
I’ve certainly not heard of a hetero couple being assaulted for kissing. Unless they were seen to be of different ethnic heritages or religions.
How I’ve seen people deal with seeing kissing they don’t want to see: “Stop that and leave.”
How I’ve seen people deal with their bigotry being triggered: escalating violence.
SILENCE!
There are always two sides to every altercation
Yes, and in this case it was the side that violently beat a man for an event which started with their queerphobia and the other side that didn’t violently beat a man for any reason.
Even a full-on gay orgy in the dead center of the restaurant is no excuse for violence.
But beyond that, people who are bothered by PDA are so fucking lame. You really want a sterile, sexless world devoid of passion and expressions of love? I think that sounds so fucking miserable
I agree with you but the place of business has every right to ask them to leave. If they don’t leave or start arguing back what else are they supposed to do to get them to leave? How is that different than a bouncer in a club?
Call the cops and have them trespassed. You shouldn’t put hands on someone unless there’s immediate danger.
It’s an awkward position to be in these days, wanting someone out of your establishment. I’d argue that calling the police on a homeless / queer / brown / black / trans person is recklessly gambling with their life. If you want them off your property but don’t want them killed, you’re not left with a lot of options. I don’t have a solution here, I just want to highlight that the degradation of public institutions in the US has gotten to the point that you really can’t just casually phone the cops unless you’re comfortable with the possibility of some blood on your hands.
Oh, so you want them killed?
To a degree they do. Businesses have the right to refuse service, but not if doing so appears to be targeting somebody for discriminatory reasons. Since the impetus here seems to be the kiss between two men, if they aren’t asking opposite-sex couples who engage in the same to leave then this actually is not a legal request. There’s some context here that is impossible to know, so frankly I’m not really keen to make a clear determination one way or the other personally, but I still wanted to point out that it’s not really automatically as simple as “the business asked them to leave.”
You really want people fingering each other on a park bench next to the little league field? See, I can play the extreme straw man game too.
I don’t think we should encourage it, but frankly I also don’t think it’s the apocalyptic moral event others seem to either. Humanity fucked outside, in relative public for centuries and I’m pretty sure not every single child of that era was forever traumatized by it.
You should have stopped after the first sentence.
I don’t fucking care if they were in spit-swapping makeout mode, they did nothing wrong.
It’s saddening to me that the take of “there’s probably more to the story here” is so objectionable. Judgment absolutely should be withheld pending investigation.
Making up stories just so someone can blame the victims is generally not well received here.
But it’s obviously not the making up stories part that’s bad, who the stories get made up about is far more important.
So, you know the bigotry is wrong, you just celebrate it anyway.
It saddening to me to see someone put in the hospital because they kissed their partner. It’s even more saddening that assholes like you want to invalidate that experience with your baseless doubt.
As someone who works retail, customers lie. There’s a million examples of customers who start fights with employees and then pretend to be the victim. Their sexuality doesn’t enter into it.
What’s more likely, a bunch of employees collectively decided to assault a gay customer for no reason? Or a customer was making a scene and then when asked to leave decided to assault an employee and the others had to help?
Seriously? People are attacked, killed, and imprisoned for being gay all over the world today. And how often are random people attacked by minimum wage employees for any other reason? Here’s a hint. Not very often.
You’re being ridiculous. “All over the world” is not relevant; this is Washington DC not Uganda so let’s not hastily generalize. Otherwise you can knee-jerk believe Jussie Smollett.
Let me ask you this; there’s HUNDREDS of videos online, YouTube and world star, about a brawl between a McDonalds employee and a customer. How many of them show the customer at fault, and how many show the employee starting the violence? I know the answer, but clearly you don’t. The answer may surprise you.
Oh, and you bringing Jussie Smollett into this tells me all I need to know. You are a closet homophobe who is looking for any excuse to demonize the gay community. You can fuck right off with that shit. Anyone can find a person that has done something horrible that represents a minority community. The actions of a single person do not mean shit in this context. There were plenty of witnesses that saw the assault.
Let me be very clear. I don’t give a fuck what these guys were doing in the restaurant that night, or how they responded. It is never acceptable for a group of random people to claim vigilante justice and just beat the shit out of two people that didn’t instigate physical violence.
Nice attempt at assumptions, I’m merely trying to tell you that you shouldn’t believe every accusation just because they come from a member of a minority that you love. As a member of another minority I’m obviously against hate crimes and violence, and my skepticism comes from years of cynicism from working in retail and watching angry people try to make up stories to get the manager to fire people because they don’t like being told no by cashiers.
If your mind is made up, then peace.
I bet you tell black people racism is over too, don’t you?
Edit: because I realize you may actually think homophobia is over in more civilized parts of the world, let me remind you of the stabbing in NYC last year that was determined to be a gay hate crime: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/05/nyregion/oshae-sibley-stabbing-charges.html
This is New York, not Uganda.
What’s more likely, a bunch of employees collectively decided to assault a gay customer for no reason?
Is this wilful ignorance?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acts_of_violence_against_LGBT_people
In Oklahoma, I’m sure it happens multiple times a day. In DC, probably not quite as often.
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
If the truth tends be in the middle, then all very right-wing people have to say is “kill all foreigners, make child marriage legal, and give men complete control over their wives, daughters, and female employees.” And someone who judges that, yes, we must look at the middle, will choose the halfway point in-between all or nothing. That will mean:
- around half of foreigners should be killed,
- around half of children married,
- and around half of men and women should live in a strict patriarchal hierarchy.
A very King Solomon approach. Cut everything in half, and see which half (or whole) dies.
We are talking about this case. I very specifically did not say that generally the truth tends to be in the middle. Do not put words in my mouth.
We are talking about this case.
Ah, so when it comes to gay people being beaten up, they’re always partially at fault?
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Woah. So many angry SJWs here. I kind of see your point, but you connecting the dots was, I think, obviously a bit gratuitous.
Lemmy must have finally arrived, we’re now attracting the kind of chuds that use SJW as an insult.
The way these people harass other users is ridiculous, but I’m not trying to prove anything. I wish there are consequences for the actions of everyone involved in this sad situation, and I hope some clarification becomes public. This is my last comment here, since consulting other sources, that seems to be the case.
EDIT: I don’t know what a chud is. Won’t be investigating this word, doesn’t seem practical to me.
This is my last comment here
Good. Us “SJWs” won’t miss you at all.
I wish there are consequences for the actions of everyone involved
what he means is he hopes for consequences for the gay men who had the audacity to kiss in public.
So many angry SJWs here.
“Imagine being upset at gay people being assaulted by fast food employees.”
I would be very shocked if the PDA were as innocent as they imply
You’re probably right. They were most likely forcing unwilling patrons into the corner and shoving tongues down the innocent dinners throats. Why should the simple, expedient (and most likely) answer of INTOLERANT BIGOTS even be considered? Open your eyes, sheeple!
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Asking them to leave is one thing, but assaulting one of them is inexcusable no matter what they were doing.
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Then the way they were kissing is irrelevant.
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I guarantee nothing would have been said to begin with if it were a man kissing a woman the same way.
…dunno where you live, but if I started going with the tongue with my girl I would 100% get absolutely kicked out of any food place. It’s not a place for that high public display of affection.
Not saying tho they did that. Just pointing out you’re flat out wrong.
Well, not no matter. For all we know, one of them took the first swing, the video is very truncated.
I don’t feel confident siding with either side with such limited information.
My money is also on bigotry, but the way Dingus said “began to kiss” makes me wonder how intense it was. If he’d said “gave my partner a kiss” that’s one thing, but “began to kiss” sounds like it might have been more like “making out” which I don’t want to see anyone doing in a restaurant.
I’m just speculating and the real answer is probably homophobia, especially given the assault that ensued.
I’m sure the difference is that if it were a hetero couple people might have commented “Get a room!” or something and left it at that, and it wouldn’t have escalated.
I think fat people aren’t cool and gross to look at. So i expect that they respect my wish and keep away from me. I don’t care if female or male, because i’m not a bigot.
Doesn’t even compare to assault.
Nothing good ever happens at Shake Shack.
You don’t like paying $15 for a tiny burger?
This is an action-packed comment section.
That has to be a fake name…
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Was the name changed for privacy? Imagine going through life being named Christian Dingus
Oh that would be super insulting & an invite for a slander case. I would say, unfortunately, that his name is most definitely Christian Dingus.
Man I wish I could have seen this. Sounds funny as shit
