Man attacked in park responds with faith

By Shelia M. Poole

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Joshua Noblitt refuses to give in to the fear and anger he's felt since he and a friend were attacked and robbed at gunpoint in Piedmont Park earlier this month.

A United Methodist minister, the Atlanta man is relying heavily on faith, which he says has helped him "move on in a healing way." And that includes concern for the young men whom he said attacked him.

Noblitt, who works at the federal defender's office, said his job often brings him in contact with young people in the criminal justice system. He thinks about what brought them to the point where they would attack someone, and worries about their salvation.

He's also thought more about the word "forgiveness" and what it really means.

Last Sunday, Noblitt, the 32-year-old minister of social justice at St. Mark United Methodist Church on Peachtree Street, stood before the congregation and read from an open letter that described the emotional struggles he's experienced since the incident.

"The path of fear is easy at first, because it makes me feel safe by building up walls; viewing others with suspicion, and lashing out with violent intentions to protect myself before I am harmed," Noblitt wrote.

Noblitt and his then boyfriend, Trent Williams, were having a picnic in the park when several youth approached them and asked if were they were  gay, according to Noblitt and press reports. The youths threatened them, but Noblitt said they left when he told them to go away. A few minutes later, they returned with a stick and began beating Noblitt and Williams, who was visiting from Ohio, Noblitt said.

Their assailants may not have realized what they were getting into. Noblitt and Williams, who holds a black belt in karate, fought back, he said. One of the attackers called for reinforcements. Noblitt was able to get away long enough to call 911. At least one assailant was armed with a gun, Noblitt said. Police arrived and arrested several youth ranging in age from 13 to 19.

"I wonder how people so young could have found themselves in a position to make the decision to assault and rob people that they perceived to be gay and not think through the harm that it would cause to us, to the community and to themselves," Noblitt writes in the letter. "Clearly spiritual starvation is at play in all of this, and I wonder what else."

The attack "leads me to try to find ways to reach out to people in search of common ground and the reflection of the divine that exists in each of us."

This weekend, Noblitt plans to return to Piedmont Park. He's helped organize a community picnic, which will be held from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday in the park, near the site of the attack off 10th Street near Charles Allen Drive.

"I love going to the park and I want to keep going," he said. "It's important to reclaim that space and create some new memories."

Church member Diane Haase, who lives in Ansley Park, said she understands why someone might be angry about what happened. But "I'm glad, upon reflection, he chose the path of love. It's wonderful."

Hate crimes based on sexual orientation remain the third most common type of hate crimes, behind race and religion. Nearly 17 percent of the 7,783 hate crime incidents reported in 2008, the most recent year available, involved sexual orientation, according to the FBI.

Often, hate crimes and other crimes, like robbery and vandalism are linked, Jason Marsden, executive director of the Denver-based Matthew Shephard Foundation, founded in honor of 21-year old Matthew Shepard, who was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime in Wyoming in 1998. He also thinks anti-gay hate crimes may be on the rise. There appears to be a hardening "of attitudes against minority groups," he said.

As for Noblitt, "I didn't ask for any of this to happen," he said. "Now that it has, it's my choice how I move forward with my life. I really hope that something good can come from all of this."