Laramie Project Quote and POEM

"And we're still going to have people who hold with the old ideals, and I was probably one of them fourteen months ago. I'm not gonna put up with it, and I'm not going to listen to it. And if they don't like my views on it, fine. The door goes both way." (Kauffman 86)

Every day people wish they could stay forever.

Yet some must come and go,

for their lives are just too precious for God to allow them to flow.

Every day people remember the death of Matthew Shepard

Yet some think of this as an act evil.

They are mistaken. 

They should never forget that good comes from evil,

and this is why his story is never forsaken. 

Controversy surrounding Matthew's murder

I honestly think that this is such a horrifying picture. I think that this has a lot of controversy over it because they make many references to God. I am a Christian, and I absolutely believe in the morals of God, but there is also the side, where people who are Christian preach happiness and kindness and love. These signs show no resemblance of love or kindness, and I think that these are wrong. I think a huge controversy is that people have the right to free speech, so they CAN hold up signs like these. I just think that if these people truly believe in God, then they should try and be kinder and more loving.

Matthew Video

I really like this video because it shows the rationale for Dennis and Judy Shepard's decision to give the life sentence, rather than the death penalty. This video only shows pictures of Matthew, but it has a recording of Dennis Shepard (Terry Kinney). This is from the movie of "The Laramie Project" movie on HBO. I really like this because even though you can't see his speech, you can feel the emotion he has especially with all the pauses and the tone. 

Trial for Matthew

These are the three suspects in the beating death of Matthew Shepard waiting to be arraigned on Oct. 9, 1998. From left are Russell Henderson, 21, Aaron McKinney, 22, and Chastity Pasley, 20. The men are serving life in prison for murder. Pasley was sentenced to 15 months to two years for being an accessory after the fact to murder. I think that the message conveyed here, is that R. Henderson and A. McKinney are two heartless people who committed a brutal crime. The fact that they just committed a hate crime and both got prison sentences for life -- they don't seem to be too upset. With Chastity Pasley covering her face and showing some emotion is a powerful message. She is sentenced for being an accessory, and will only get about 15 mo. to two years. For her to be this emotional, I feel that she does have a heart and truly feels upset by the situation. 

Matthew Shepard Bio

Matthew Wayne Shepard was born on December 1, 1976 and he died on October 12, 1998. He attended the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming. He died at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado from severe head injuries. He was described by his father as "an optimistic and accepting young man who had a special gift of relating to almost everyone. He was the type of person who was very approachable and always looked to new challenges. Matthew had a great passion for equality and always stood up for the acceptance of people's differences."

Positive Stereotypes in Society..

I think that a general stereotype that people have of America is that we are all proud to be American. I think that this is positive because I do think that being an American is awesome. I think that it's really nice how people will embrace being an American. I also think it's positive because I think it's good to show pride and liberty through a whole country, and to really embrace America's morals and values.

Negative in Society...

I think a really negative stereotype that we have in America, is that all Mexicans escape Mexico by hopping over the fence and running. I think that this is really an inappropriate stereotype because the US was founded by intruders, and we are known as the Melting Pot. I don't think that we should be discriminative or telling jokes about Mexicans crossing the border because I'm pretty sure many people can cross the border without "hopping the fence." People in the US should not be generalizing that all people of this ethnicity are illegal immigrants.