"Losing Matt Shepard" Part 1

     On Wednesday, October 7, 1998, a Wyoming mountain biker found the body of Matt Shepard clinging to a fence. Matt Shepard was beaten and abused the day before by Laramie citizens Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson; Matt Shepard was gay. As a University of Wyoming student, Matt's death drew national news attention, and it put the town of Larmie, Wyoming "on the map". Beth Loffreda's book, Losing Matt Shepard, explores the life and politics in the victim's home town and state, while it views this tragic death from a variety of perspectives.
     Loffreda's book is divded into six chapters, and the first chapter covers the media's influence on how outsider's view Matt's death and the city of Laramie. Unfortunately, there were times when the rest of our nation viewed Laramie as a racist town in the middle of nowhere. Of course, there were individuals who were homophobic and presented their opinions very strongly. However, masses amount of the Laramie and surrounding communities gathered together for various memorial services while he was still in the hospital, on his death bed. This tragedy could have happened in any town in any state, and it just happened to strike Laramie as the first major gay-murder.
     Losing Matt Shepard sparked an interest with me because the idea of gay respect has always been strong with me. Regardless of the legalization of gay marriage, gay respect is an issue that just requires a change in the mindsets of others. It made me sick when I read about the homophobic protesters who were present at his memorials. Loffreda even noted that one picketer at Matt's funeral was carrying a sign that read, "Get Back in Your Damn Closet". Not only is it cruel to say that to a gay person, but it is extremely offensive, innapropriate, and overall rude to present that at a fuernal. I am not saying that everybody should be in support of the concept of homosexuality because everybody is different. However, I do hope that one day, everybody will respect each other's opinions about homosexuality.
     Branching out of Losing Matt Shepard, the idea of gay respect is an issue all around me; especially in the school environment. Although I feel that compared to other schools my high school is exceptional in terms of bullying, I know that it is far from perfect. Whenever I hear somebody use the word "faggot", at all, I feel sick in my stomach. Usually, but unfortunately not always, I will step in and tell the user that that word is just not cool. However, what annoys me even more is when teachers do not act upon the students' disrespect. In some of my current and past classes, teachers of all sorts have heard students use derrogatory words such as "faggot" and not done anything. To me, that teacher is absolutely not fulfilling his or her duties as a mentor.
    Moving back to Loffreda's book, the first part of it does exemplify the good that did come out of Matt's tragic death. For one thing, it brough light upon the issue of gay abuse and harassment. Plus, I respect the fact that many Laramie citizens emphasized that this tragedy could have happened anywhere. Matt's death gave many Americans a bit more perspective about the reality of our own nation. Matt Shepard is a symbol for the tragedy and horror that exists within our nation, but he is also a symbol for hope to come in the future.