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Gay Man Befriends the Man Who Tried to Kill Him 

Gay Man Befriends the Man Who Tried to Kill Him 

how-i-became-friends-with-the-man-who-tried-to-kill-me

What does it take to forgive the man who nearly ended your life? 

After being kicked out of his house for being gay, teenager Matthew Boger was living on the streets of Los Angeles when he was attacked by Tim Zaal and his friends.

They group yelled "Let's kill the faggots" and beat Boger up in front of a hot dog shop, leaving him unconscious and alone on the street. When Boger woke up, he was badly injured and terrified.

Years later, the pair encountered each other at the Museum of Tolerance in L.A., where they both ended up working. Zaal had left his homophobic, white supremacist roots behind and Boger found himself faced with a question: Should he forgive the man who nearly killed him?

Watch Boger and Zaal discuss the attack and its aftermath.

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Elizabeth Daley