After reading some of the responses on this site over the past few months, I’ve sadly become to believe the Gay community is far more racially divided than I thought it was.

That saddens me.

The SCC Community, indeed the whole of humanity (in a perfect world), should be outraged at the senseless crime committed against Gunn. Even though there are difference in circumstance between the Gunn & Shepard murders, the bottom line is still that two young people lost their lives due to hate and we should use every one of these murders as a warning and a rallying cry for more proactive advocacy in our community.

James while I do concede your point in general, I do feel the need to point out that the Shepard case seems to be the exception rather than the rule. Matthew’s death rightly received the media attention it deserved, it is the others who have not received their due, and many of these others are white too. Ryan Skipper died less than 20 miles from my house by violence that would compare to Gunn’s and he also did not receive the media coverage that Shepard did, even though Skipper was also a pretty white boy. There are other white, asian and latino gays that die without fanfare every year as well.

I think the thing that set Shepard’s case apart from most others is that his murder was done in such a way that it made a statement that went beyond our community by the extreme circumstances by which it was committed. I think that if Matthew had simply been shot outside a bar or some other “common” occurance, then he also would have been little more than a sidenote in the news.

There is total neglect on the part of the media when it comes to this type of thing.

We drown in Caleys, Haighleighs, and Jonbennetts and completely miss all the true tragedy befalling those who are already going through tough times.

In Laramie, a Costco park bench with a plaque remembers Matthew Shepherd. One of the largest news stories of the decade and the best Laramie could do was dump a $49.95 bench near a bus stop downtown. The fact that a crime against a gay person even got this big is amazing. So while I agree about the lack of coverage I think his story did warrant the coverage. They all do.

Instead of hearing about real black Americans and the crimes commited against them we get to hear about Chris Brown and Rihanna, or Pac Man Jones’ exploits at t*ttie bars. Not that they shouldn’t be covered also in the entertainment news but real stories about real people get “whitewashed”.

This is what we want you to write about James. This is why we read these stories. Thanks.

Also, people like AG need to be banned from leaving comments anywhere on the internet. The kid obviously didn’t understand the intent of bringing up Shepard in a story like this.

One of your better entries Whithers.

When I first heard of the murder it was in the news but not much. It fell off as a news story quickly. So sad to see when this is clearly a case of “I’ll murder her to teach that Dyke a lesson about turning me down”. There was no drug deal gone bad or even a robbery, just plain murdered her because of her sexuality.

As a trustee of the states pride center I can tell you she is not forgotten nor will she ever be by the community she belonged to. She is in our minds and our hearts forever.

AG: Calm down, you’ve missed the point. Crimes against gay people are relegated to third or fourth place in the world of “news”, and crimes against gay and/or female people of colour are relegated to the bottom of that pile. On the other hand, violent crimes involving young men of colour hit the front page and the headlines regularly. In my opinion, these stories are intended to keep stoking ‘white fear’ (read: prejudice) in major urban areas while the loss of Princess the Poodle is considered ‘human interest’ and, therefore, more important.

Unfortunately, James, newspapers (and sites such as this one) are less about reporting what goes on in the world and more about selling product. In manipulating what is reported, one’s personal prejudices automatically filter the input, slotting what is learned into a priority list. In your case, as a blogger offering personal opinion based on stories covered (or not) by the mainstream press, such filtering is less important than, say, The NY Times filtering out any mention of ‘gay’ meaning ‘homosexual’ for decades, or almost anything owned by Rupert Murdoch adhering to his personal filters. The reporting of news should be unbiased, accurate and should simply present the facts. Unfortunately, this rarely happens.

AG has a valid point – the murder of Matthew Shepherd was different from the murder of Sakia Gunn. Part of that difference, as you point out, was the colour of the victims. However, the Shepherd murder was more sensational, premeditated and cruel. They were both horrible and unnecessary crimes, and both stories deserved to be treated with respect and dignity. Unfortunately, the Shepherd murder sold more papers.