Comments on: Why the Shepard murder was different

By: jimmy palmieri

jimmy palmieri — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:02:45 +0000

We must never forget grizzly occurences against humanity, like that of the killing of Matthew Shepard. If we forget, it will happen yet again. Matthew’s brutal murder not only hurt the LGBT community, but was felt by the hetero community. The shame of it, had to be owned by the hetero community, but tens of thousands of them joined forces with us, in an effort to say ENOUGH ALREADY!
I remember where I was, and what I was doing, when this news hit the airwaves. I also remember how we gathered in West Hollywood, filling Santa Monica Blvd. with thousands of us standing in quiet silence as we looked at a picture of Matt screening on the MCCLA building wall. It was sad and healing.
Forget Matt? Never. Try to move on and heal, and fight for a hate crimes bill and law, DEFINITELY.
Respectfully,
Jimmy Palmieri
Founder of The Tweakers Project
http://www.tweakersproject.org

By: Doug loves you

Doug loves you — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:10:32 +0000

If by chance MR. and MRS. Sheppard are reading, my heartfelt sympathy to your family and Matthew’s friends. To those of you who wish victims other than white kids would be mentioned, I’ll do it. Anyoner who is attacked and killed for being gay regardless of color, nationality or sex should be remembered in a national rememberance day, although many communities do so. We should all hang our heads at the fact that tnhese crimes are commited and we do not demand amendments to state constitutions calling for mandatory execution for any hate crime perpetrators. Extreme? Maybe, but if you knew you’d forfet your miserable life, it might make a difference. And Idon’t particularly care for the lawyers who get extensions and retrial after retrial for their “clients”. How in the name of whats right can you expect to ever rehabilitate a monster who do what they did. Here’s another issue to think about these days other than just gay marriage and the likes. We have a lot to do folks and it aint gonna be easy either. But we have to start sometime and it may as well be now. My prayers to anyone who has been or knows of a victim of our sometime sick, depraved society. Peace….

By: rjb

rjb — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:17:32 +0000

Iala-

I think you’re wrong. In fact, the James Byrd murder and the Matthew Shepard case were often mentioned in the same sentence, as they are in this article. Indeed, in 1998 the American news media was – as I recall – very quick to link the two and to suggest that they pointed to ugly, unseen prejudice in the American heartlands. The James Byrd Jr. Foundation does similar good work to the Matthew Shepard Foundation. The case is still clearly remembered by many people, in America and beyond.

By: mark.philly

mark.philly — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:46:56 +0000

Why am I not able to find any pictures of MS body, as he was found on that fence? The ones homicide keeps under lock and key. Just like the Iraq war. We do not like to see the carnage.

By: Bruce Kogan

Bruce Kogan — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:00:18 +0000

I’ve got a slightly different take on this question because of the fact I worked at New York State Crime Victims
Board for 23 years as their only openly
gay investigator. I did hundreds of
claims for GLBT people including a few
Matthew Shepard type homicides.

Images mean so much and it was the image
of this slightly built young man left
hanging and dying on a barbed wire fence
that the media picked up and it’s what
caught the imagination of the public. The real story is that this is something
far from isolated and I’m in a position
better than most to tell you that.

Sad to say that we still do not have
Federal Hate Crimes legislation and the
denial of it means that in the minds of
too many in this country, it is still an
open season on GLBT people. Hopefully
that will change with a change of
adminstration.

By: lala

lala — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:41:17 +0000

Keori may be young, but he brings up a good point. Anyone care to mention the gay black man who was dragged to pieces behind truck around the same time? I seem to remembr that it was not much of a news story and there certainly were no marches, plays, or charity events in his honor.

By: LGBT for Obama .com » Obama Statement on the 10th Anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s Murder

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:20:23 +0000

[...] Barack Obama released the following statement on the tenth anniversary of the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard. Statement of Barack Obama on Ten Years Since Matthew Shepard’s [...]

By: Ken C.

Ken C. — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 14:53:31 +0000

On the Sunday following Matthew’s death the worship leader in our church read a piece she had written interspersing the news accounts of what was done to Matthew with the an account of the crucifixion of Jesus. I think the power of that moment for our little faith community speaks to why Matthew Shepard’s death made such a deep impact. There are two particular forms of individual violent death that touch a deep visceral spot in the American cultural psyche. They are crucifixion and lynching. I believe that Matthew Shepard’s death was so deeply shattering, in a way that others have not been, because it symbollically touched that deep nerve. Matthew’s killers unwittingly chose to do something that immediately linked Matthew to something so deeply ingrained in the collective American mind that it “got through” to us in ways that other tragedies have not. The outspoken condemnation of those who demonstrated at Matthew’s funeral, counterbalanced by the “angels” who spread their wings, gave an even more biblical aspect to those days. Each tragedy that occurs is part and parcel of what was done to Matthew Shepard, but the way it all unfolded leant an archetypical element to Matthew’s death that continues to speak powerfully.

By: Against the Grain

Against the Grain — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 14:12:15 +0000

[...] a powerful article called “Why the Shepard murder was different,” Cathy Renna explores what made Matthew’s murder the one that united the LGBT [...]

By: Trace

Trace — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 08:19:09 +0000

So Mathew exhibited poor judgment? Yeah, maybe he thought that he was going to hook up with one or both of the guys? Troy, people use poor judgment every day. That simple fact does not mean that this is anything that should have ever occurred.