Melbourne Gay Bar Sircuit Apologises For Police Tribute
Chris Driscoll, the owner of Sircuit Bar and Mollies Dinner on Smith Street in Melbourne, has been forced to offer an apology after the venue was lit up in blue last Thursday to honour the memory of gay police officer Glen Humphris who along with three of his colleagues were killed in an accident on the Eastern Freeway last year.
Bar Owner Apologises
A torrent of abuse began flooding the Sircuit’s social media channels. Comments described the venues’ actions as “vomit”, “gross” while also asking management to “read the room”.
The backlash was so swift, that the venue has now blocked any further comments being posted on its Facebook page.
Another social media user declared it as an “absolutely abhorrent statement to make. Why not stand in the fight to stop black deaths in custody instead of supporting oppressors? The queer community will never stand with cops.”
Another user posted “White gay men proving, yet again, that they will always be white men before they are anything else. Truly the weak link in the movement.”
Driscoll in response to the outrage posted that Humphris was a “Sircuit regular and a valued member of our community and is missed”.
“We would like to acknowledge that the way that was chosen to remember Glen has deeply affected our community, and this was never the intention. We will do better. We always want to welcome all our LGBTQI+ community and provide as safe a space for our community as possible.”
Sircuit also announced it would be making a donation to Black Rainbow, a national organisation supporting Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander LGBQTI+SB (Sistergirls and Brotherboys) while also announcing that in the coming days and weeks, the venue would be in contact with community leaders to further its scope of inclusion and continue to provide support to other LGBTQI organisations.
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I’d like to acknowledge that the message was tone deaf of Aboriginal and LGBTIQ+ treatment by Victorian Police.
There are three different issues here;
1. Deaths in Custody – 3 decades of ignoring a MAJOR issue from various governments and both Victorian Police and the department of (in)justice.
2. The complete denial of Victorian Police in how they acted/behaved toward Mr Nik Dimopoulos and the Hares & Hyenas owners. And their disinclination to acknowledge what occured on the night.
3. The way a business and individual chose to remember the death of 4 police officers, including one who was gay.
Systemic problems in Victorian Police which are representative of the first two issues should not be an excuse to diminish the loss of four police officers. Should we ignore those four deaths because of the major systemic problems within Victorian Police?