TW: Rape, Assault, Death, Homophobia
The truly, viciously evil people of this world are those who can’t accept diversity.
This is not in any way a new revelation, nor is it one I, myself, can take credit for. Rather, it is a theme that has been threaded into my conscience since I was a child. I’m lucky that I was always taught that being different is okay; differences make for an interesting world. It’s a thought that I have earnestly tried to take into close consideration whenever I am faced with a difficult judgment about someone else. Accepting the diversity of the human race is imperative during tumultuous and uncertain political times, and it is something I adjure you to deliberate and understand by the end of this story.
I was tearfully reminded of the importance of tolerance when I stumbled upon the poignant documentary, Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine, after indulging my fascinations for true crime podcasts. If you know the story of Matthew Shepard, then you know how important his tragic and unwarranted murder was to hate crime laws in the United States. If you do not know his story, I urge you to read carefully and with caution, as it is gruesome and staggering.
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Matthew, “Matt,” Shepard, described in this film as a loving, gentle, kind-hearted young man by all of his friends and family, learned a devastating lesson about the dangers of being different in the face of adversity– a lesson that should not, nay, can not continue to be taught.
Matt was in high school when the world first exploited his weaknesses.
He was an adventurous, friendly, and well-traveled boy from Wyoming who enveloped everyone he met with warmth and smiles. From one country to another, he and his friends enjoyed the sights and wonders of the world and all of its people. His father got a job in Saudi Arabia which paid for an education at the American School in Switzerland, so he was able to truly experience diversity at a young age. However, he struggled with his own differences– differences that transformed into insecurities and eventually death. Matt was gay.
In 1995 he was shown the unforgiving unfairness of society when he was beaten and raped by 6 men while on a school trip to Morocco. When he returned to his school, and eventually home, he was a different person. He was no longer the bubbly, outgoing boy he was. He was a victim. As horrifying as that is, I wish I could say that was all that happened to him. However, 3 years later in October of 1998 when Matt was just 20 years old, two hateful men lured him out of a bar while pretending to be interested in gay men. They preyed on his sexuality and insecurities, drove him out to a field near Laramie, Wyoming, tied him to a fence, and mercilessly beat him because of who he was attracted to. He layed in the field, barely alive, for 18 hours until a jogger found his bloody body. After a grueling 6 days on life support, Matt Shepard died from his injuries on October 12th, leaving his mother, father, and brother with a broken family.
The two murderers, who do not deserve to be named here, were tried and sentenced to life in prison– only after Matt’s parents fought for their release from the death penalty, allowing them to live because Matt would not have wanted anyone to die. However, the trial and the funeral proceedings were anything but peaceful, as the defense attorneys used shameful tactics and claimed the “gay panic defense,” accusing Matt of trying to “make a move” on the two criminals, thus causing the murder. A hazy trial with defense pleas and ever-changing motives finally ended with the conviction of the two men.
The grieving family was still not out of the woods, though. Homophobic members of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church and other protestors held defamatory signs and chanted hateful slurs about homosexuality. They leered at the friends and family of this innocent young man, sent hate mail and death threats to the hospital staff who treated him, and praised Matt’s untimely, inexcusable murder. There was no peace.
News broke and people on both sides of this case were outraged. Some wanted Matt’s death to spark change in the way hate crimes are handled, while others argued that his murderers were in their rights to kill a “fag” if he was trying to “seduce” them. Luckily for the LGBTQ+ community and for those who are discriminated against and are victims of hate crimes, The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was signed into law by former president Obama in 2009– 11 years after Matt’s death.
22 years after his death, the gay/trans panic defense is still a “lawful” defense strategy that excuses violent and possibly lethal actions against the LGBTQ+ community.
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I have been exceptionally fortunate to have been shown love and acceptance during my most vulnerable years. I was around Matt’s age when I came to terms with my own sexuality, and I cannot even imagine having to suffer through the abuse and hate that he endured. Thus far I have felt fairly safe because I have been surrounded by people who embrace diversity and applaud differences. I have not been afraid to be who I am.
Until recently.
The current political atmosphere is suffocating. The hate that is plaguing the United States, and those who also feel the effects of this monumental election, hangs overhead like a sticky black tar threatening to drown us all. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I am afraid of what could happen should the current presidency continue. Hate speech is soiling the hope that women, people of color, and non-heteronormative/cis-gendered people have slowly gained. It is scary to think about the regression of equality in a society so proud of its freedoms. It is scary to think about the crimes that could go unthwarted because of prejudice in the hearts and minds of those who serve to protect. It is scary to think about having to hide ourselves away because we are afraid of hate crimes and hate speech directed at us. I do not want to be on the receiving end of two violent, hateful men who were never wronged by their victim, nor do I wish that upon anyone ever again.
It should not have taken Matthew Shepard’s and James Byrd Jr.’s brutal murders to strengthen hate crime protection, but it did. Now here we are. We have ultimately come such a long way from where we started, we cannot afford to turn back.
In terms of the fight for equality, I cannot make anyone do anything they might not want to do, but I can hope you never have, and never will be, a truly, viciously evil person.
