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On fire! |
Registered: March 2012
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last night my room mate asked me to watch a movie which i had never seen befor, it was the matthew shepard story. well after watching it i can honestly say that i have never been so moved and touched by a movie. at the end of the movie was a web site addy for the organinazation that his mom set up after his death, the addy is...matthewshepard.org. if during your day you have time to go to an awesome site dedicated to stopping hatered and intolerance do stop by and check it out.
for one life that was cut short by violance his legacy of kindness is living on. while at his site is was reminded of this "PLACE OF SAFTY" and again i am moved to thank Tim for putting his heart and soul into this site, thanks dude.
i dont know why i never saw that movie but i guess the powers that run this crazy had me wait till i was in a "healing place" in my own soul befor i could experance what the movie was all about. now that i am comming to grip with my own life and my past, both good and bad, i feel that a movie like that was put in my path for me to stumvle apon last night.
ok now i am babbling....
peace folks
later
tim...of the USA
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Guest
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On fire! |
Registered: March 2012
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If you get the opportunity, rent/watch The Laramie Project from HBO.
Here is some information from recent posts at Crzy House. Tim, I don't mean to monopolize your board but Matthew Shepard is someone near and dear to my heart. I even made a memorial site for him. The link is at the top of my board. I've shed many, many tears thinking about him and always wished if only...if only I had been there...if only someone, anyone, had been there that night... but that' not to be. He was so tiny...I think that's what gets to me most...he was so tiny and totally defenseless against those two cowardly monsters.
There have been three films on TV about Matthew Shepard. The first was on MTV. Then HBO and NBC. All were made with the full cooperation of Matthew's parents and all are powerful films.
This year, I went to my first Pride Celebration - I had three different activist groups participating in the parade and I was tableing for Radical Queers at the festival -giving out information, selling teeshirts, badges, buttons, etc. This girl came on stage, - Randi Driscoll - and she said, "This song is for Matthew"
And she started singing "Amazing Grace" acapella and thousands of people just stopped talking, stopped whatever they were doing and it was total silence. Amazing Grace is the introduction to her song for Matthew entitled "What Matters." She had a beautiful voice that sounded exactly like Sarah McLachlan and as she sang about Matthew people stood silent, some huggin, many with tears rolling down their faces.
I bought the CD single for $10 that day and talked to Randi for awhile. The song is available for downloading at
What Matters I highly recommend everyone download the song and listen to it.
100% of all CD sales goes to the Matthew Shepard Foundation.
*******
This was also posted - a friend of mine sent it to Sergio - and asked him to post it and see that I knew about it...He got it in an e-mail..
***************(Part of the E-mail)
OMG!!!! Have u ever seen "Dear Jesse?" wholly shit it's a documentary this gay guy made about Jesse Helms...I forgot to tell you about this, Ive read alot about it and finally saw it a few nights ago with Adam.
Ok anyway, aside from being excellent he travels all over to interview people and at the end of the movie he's at a college campus talking to two guys a really good looking black theater major and this beautiful other kid and their talking about why they don't like Helms and Im thinking god that guy looks familiar ...
and the black guy introduces his friend as his boyfriend and well they put his name across.....it was Matthew Shepard a few months before he was murdered. I felt like I was punched in the stomach.
He was so beautiful and so small...and it's the only live footage Ive ever seen of him...can you imagine the irony. And their talking about the gay groups on campus and the black guy says how he's not involved because its so dangerous and how the Klan still holds rallies and Matthew is laughing and saying he's very involved. And its a beautiful day and the suns shining in his face and his hairs blowing in the wind and he looks so vibrant and young and alive...so full of promise and hope and I think it hurt me so much I blocked it out of my mind and that's why I didn't write you about it sooner.
But it's called Dear Jesse and if there's any way you can rent it or see it I hope you can get it.
**************
So, Tim in the USA, I'm glad you got to see one of the films. I think everyone should educate themselves, be informed about gay history and especially about innocent people like Matthew Shepard who died because of the homophobia encouraged and taught in the U.S. by most major religions, the Boy Scouts, and many elected government officials in our nation.
Matthew Shepard died and ten thousand high school and college boys stood up and said, "I'm gay." His legacy is every gay/straight alliance in schools all across this country. His memory burns brighter every day.
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tim
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Really getting into it |
Location: UK, West of London in Ber...
Registered: February 2002
Messages: 842
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The thing that perplexes me most about this subject is how many "Good Ol' Boys" will jerk each other off as kids, and say "It's just boys being boys", but will beat and kill in cold blood a sweet and gentle boy who happens to have the mixed fortune to be gay.
I also get perplexed that so many gay men are raped by the allegedly str8 giys who beat them up. That is not a heterosexual activity.
I don't mean to detract from a thread in memory of this one poor lad. I do think a wider discussion is valid as well, and this seems a good place to start it.
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e
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On fire! |
Location: currently So Cal
Registered: May 2002
Messages: 1179
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Having grown up in a family of rednecks, I know that there are certain "lines" that can be crossed and others that can't when it comes to "boys being boys." Those lines are different for each individual, but are fairly rigid for that "mentality." Jerking off together is fairly acceptable, masturbating each other is a bit less acceptable. Anything further and you run the risk of being labeled homosexual, even if it's just a one time experiment. The later in adolescence that it occurs, the more "homo" it is. And you DON'T talk about it.
Rape on the other hand is really not a sexual act. Most experts on the matter tend to agree that it is more an act of violence and an expression of anger. Perpetrators aren't really looking for sexual gratification. They are more after a sense of power and control. It is the ultimate act of dominance. It does have a sexual component, however. Many perpetrators tend to have sexual problems of one sort or another. When perpetrated against a homosexual as a "hate crime" it is often meant to send a message to the victim and to others of how worthless they really are in the view of the perp.
It is a very complex topic and there is a lot more to it than I've put here. There are likely as many reasons for it as there are rapists. This is just a simple explaination.
Think good thoughts,
e
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Guest
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On fire! |
Registered: March 2012
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wow a SIMPLE comment on a movie and it has turned into a rather deep comversation......please every one jump in here.
late
tim...of USA
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On fire! |
Registered: March 2012
Messages: 2344
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when first I saw this story and read the full account of these heros, I cried for Matthew. How anyone could do what they did and the justify it to themselves is beyond me. They targeted him because he happened to be the easiest one in the Place they went to. He wasnt really killed because he was "gay" but because these animals could.
They and the people who run the Westboro Baptist Church, are so anti christian and HUMAN. Who set them up as judge and jury? who told them it was ok to HATE? I am close to tears now as I remember the story and it is ingrained in my mind, word for word. I suppose the worst part was that they didnt finish him off, they left him there hanging on the fence and he knew he was dying, cause they found his body and there were tears dried on his poor little face. They estimated he hung there for more than an hour before he died. GOD ..............
Matthew Shephard, you were one very beautiful person who deserved better, my tears are for you.........
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Guest
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On fire! |
Registered: March 2012
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I know how compassionate you are and how many times you have been there for me. *hugs* And I don't want to cause you any more pain. Matthew Shepard is an ache in my heart and I want you to know the truth about his death.
He was 5'2" and weighed less than 110 pounds.
He was singled out at the bar, not because he was the smallest person there, but because he was gay. They pretended to be gay and offered him a ride home. That's the truth.
He was beaten with a pistol they were too tired to beat him anymore. Then they took his shoes, and tied him to a fence and left him to die in freezing cold weather.
He hung there on that fence for 18 hours
18 hours.
a guy on a bicycle saw him in the distance and thought he was a scarecrow
His face was caked with blood, except where it had been washed clean by his tears.
he died in a hospital 5 days after they smashed his skull with a gun.
While Matthew lay dying in hospital, just a few miles away, a group of students from Colorado State University thought it would be funny to ride atop a homecoming float that featured a scarecrow figure designed to resemble Matthew's battered body. The figure was wearing a sign that said "I'm gay." An obscene message was painted across the back of the scarecrow's shirt. They thought it was funny.
This was a hate crime, and Matthew was brutally attacked, and left there to bleed his life away, simply because of who he was.
No one gets robbed of less than 20 dollars and then beaten and left to die.
Matthew was killed to make a point. His fragile, broken body was left strung up like an animal as a clear message to gay men everywhere
The opportunity to be threatened, humiliated and to live in fear of being beaten to death is the only 'special right' our culture bestows on homosexuals.
At the trial matthew's father gave one of the most courageous, moving speeches I have ever heard in my entire life.
In one small part of his statement to the murderers, Mr. Shepard talks about Matthew and those 18 hours.
"You left him out there by himself, but he wasn’t alone. There were his lifelong friends with him—friends that he had grown up with. You’re probably wondering who these friends were. First, he had the beautiful night sky with the same stars and moon that we used to look at through a telescope. Then, he had the daylight and the sun to shine on him one more time—one more cool, wonderful autumn day in Wyoming. His last day alive in Wyoming. His last day alive in the state that he always proudly called home. And through it all he was breathing in for the last time the smell of Wyoming sagebrush and the scent of pine trees from the snowy range. He heard the wind—the ever-present Wyoming wind—for the last time. He had one more friend with him. One he grew to know through his time in Sunday school and as an acolyte at St. Mark’s in Casper as well as through his visits to St. Matthew’s in Laramie. He had God.
I feel better knowing he wasn’t alone."
Matthew was in a coma when they found him. He never regained consciousness and died 5 days later.
*hugs*
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Michael Simon
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Toe is in the water |
Registered: January 1970
Messages: 92
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I think it does not matter how horrible it has been, or how cruel. Something has be done that no human being should do, and for a ridiculous rason: hate. But it is good that ppl like you Lance dun let his death to be forgotten, or you Bro as you keep him in your heart even though you di dnot know him...so you give his life a posthumous reason. *hugs you*
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Guest
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On fire! |
Registered: March 2012
Messages: 2344
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Thanx Lance for telling me that. I must have gotten it all mixed up but I did read he had died there sorry.
I believed it was because he was there and just unlucky to be picked out. I can imagine the fear he had inside as they beat him, I experienced similar fear more than once also. I wish truly, that I could have taken the beating for him, I would have. I hope that EVERY day those guys re-live that horrible incident and that they cry like Matthews Mum and Dad and Family have. The longer they spend in Jail the more I hope that night haunts them. Why they needed to show how easy it was to single out a person who was a good kid...... sorry, I cant continue, this really upsets me... Hugs Matthew........
Hugs for you also Lance..
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Guest
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On fire! |
Registered: March 2012
Messages: 2344
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my grand mother used to tell me...out of all pain comes groth. after reading matthews web page and getting to know what his mom and dad have done with there pain i know that it is my job and responsibility to do what ever i can to help some one else feel better about themselfs, to hold out a hand n friendship and 'be there' when ever i can be. i shall turn my pain into action, not sure exactly how or in which direction i am going to go or what i am going to do but I MUST DO something.
i truly wish i had an address for the 2 scum bags that did that to matthew, i would love to write them and tell them that as much as they hated gays they alone have caused more people to stand up for us and with us, i'd also ad a few choice words to them but thats another thing.
once again go check out matts web page...Matthewshepard.org
peace
later
tim...of USA
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Guest
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On fire! |
Registered: March 2012
Messages: 2344
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I didn't mean to imply that I personally know Matthew. I never met him. I was just a kid in high school when he died.
His death touched everyone in such a deep personal way - gay or straight. He could have been anyone's son - anyone's best friend.
Matthew's mother issued a statement thru a spokesman on the day he died. She said, "Give your kids a hug and don't let a day go by without telling them you love them."
When those words were read on the news, at that moment parents, straight people all over the country who had been indifferent or even against gay people, finally understood and their hearts opened and they wept for Matthew Shepard. They knew that no one deserved to die like that, to be hated like that.
Matthew didn't die in vain. He left a legacy. He left us.
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e
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On fire! |
Location: currently So Cal
Registered: May 2002
Messages: 1179
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The story of what they did to Matthew was one of the most horrifying things I have ever heard. Sadly, though this scene has been played out on many occasions and not just against gays. Hate is an awful thing.
Tim, your grandmother is right. Growth can come from pain. But you must work through it to make it happen. Unfortunately, some folks don't. Good to see that you are making the choice to try. Just be yourself and whatever it is that you need to do will become clear.
Think good thoughts,
e
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Guest
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On fire! |
Registered: March 2012
Messages: 2344
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ive seen that movie a few times and every time i do i cry its impossible to believe anyone could do that to another human being even reading this makes me tear up cuz i can never get over the fact that it could have been any one of us
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I found myself cryimg like a baby while watching his story, as well as when I first heard it on the news. It pains me everyday to see hatred firsthand. I have recently on the recieving end of hatred like that. Unlike Matthew however, I am still alive.
It is because I am still kicking, that I have decided to try to help others and volunteer my time to organizations that help educate or assist people in need. (though I have done this for just a few years now)
If we all did just a little, the world can and WILL improve. I urge anyone who sees injustice or hatred to do just a little.
"Be excellent to each other, and, party on dudes"!
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Steve
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Really getting into it |
Location: London, England
Registered: November 2006
Messages: 465
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If have followed this thread with emotion.
I believe that hate is born of fear. (I believe, therefore I cannot prove it.) The deepest fear that irrationally violent straights have of gays is their own latent homosexuality: I must destroy that which reminds me of the threat to my own 'manhood'. It is surely clear that the answer to this irrational hate is exactly what Lance described: people begin talking about it, realize that gay people are just that: people, and that their sexual orientation (as such) threatens nobody. I believe that the more people talk openly about homosexuality as a natural phenomenon in human nature the less hate crimes we shall see as a result of a fear of latent homosexuality.
Hate is hate is hate. It cannot be rationalized away for the hater. In my part of the world we live with hate all day every day. In our educational system we try very hard to teach youngsters not to hate Palestinians: it is very hard. (The Palestinian educational system teaches youngsters to hate Israelis/Jews: it is very easy.)
The best way to prevent hate crimes is to make people aware that they are just that: crimes - vulgar, cruel, inhuman. If people were constantly aware of the infinite value of every human life we would be better drivers on the roads.
As Lance implied: the answer is to educate people not to hate. One of the prime ministers of my country once said to the Palestinians: When peace finally comes we will forgive you for killing all our sons; one thing we shall never forgive you is for making us kill your sons.
Here endeth...
Lance, you leave your friends in the lurch and hang them out to dry? LOL I'm still around, you know!
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Michael Simon
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Toe is in the water |
Registered: January 1970
Messages: 92
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..of a saying I once read by Voltaire :
I do not agree with you,
but I will defend to the death
your right to say it.
Aceppt others and others minds, ideas, and respect them 
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Guest
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On fire! |
Registered: March 2012
Messages: 2344
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the irony of my thread about matthew and hate crimes has been brought home.
this past friday a young gay man was found dead is his appt. i knew this guy, not like we were close or any thing but i still knew him. the twist of fate is that the police are strongly looking at his death as being 'related to him being gay'.
please keep a good thought in your heart and mond for kevin and his family he was a kind and gential soul and i am forced to look at his death with some fear in my heart that this too may have been like matthews death.
his apt was broken into and he died of ' other than natural causes'...what ever tha hell that means. one thing i do have to say on a better note about this is that the police here are really looking into who he knew and what might have happened to him.
ok i am far to pissed off to go on right now
keep a good thought
peace
tim...of USA
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Guest
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On fire! |
Registered: March 2012
Messages: 2344
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I'm not on line too much for chatting - usually in the morning before class and sometimes really late at night - about 1:30-3 a.m. The rest of time I usually just check the board, read and post. I've been spending a lot more time with JJ. But I'm still around and I still love you to pieces. And I worry about you all the time - with the news and all. Stay safe. *hugs*
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Michael Simon
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Toe is in the water |
Registered: January 1970
Messages: 92
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so there is some truth about the situation. shame what happened today again
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Re: matthew shepard 
Matthew Shepard, the Person I never knew 
Well said..it reminds me 
