Matthew Shepard’s horrific death at the hands of redneck homophobes shocked America and changed its laws. But 15 years later, a different truth emerged. Why does it matter?
I hate to sound so pessimistic as we all mourn the death of Matthew Shepherd. But my first reaction when I heard the prepared statement from the Matthew Shepherd Foundation was cynical. Foundations generate funds and support an employment base. Any challenge to the official narrative puts this in jeopardy and doesn't serve to advance the cause. What a beautiful and troubled young man. My heart still goes out to his family.
I note that a paragraph appears in the 2014 Observer version of this article that does not appear here:
John Stoltenberg is a gay-rights activist who lived with the feminist writer Andrea Dworkin until her death in 2005. He’s a long-time supporter of The Laramie Project, but has also blogged positively about The Book of Matt. “Keeping Matthew as the poster boy of gay-hate crime and ignoring the full tragedy of his story has been the agenda of many gay-movement leaders,” he says. “Ignoring the tragedies of Matthew’s life prior to his murder will do nothing to help other young men in our community who are sold for sex, ravaged by drugs, and generally exploited. They will remain invisible and lost.”
That's right. I removed it. I would not give you the time of day after your brutal betrayal of feminism and feminists, and I would NEVER include your words in my writing. But let me add an explainer to it, in case anyone thinks it's an oversight
I used to think this. But we take into account intent in other ways. If you plan to kill someone we (usually) treat it differently than a spontaneous act which is different that a merely negligent act. I presume this is because we index punishment to what mindsets we think are "worse". I can't really come up with a reason why some other factor also shouldn't be taken into account. I'm not exactly in favor of hate crimes laws, just open to them. But they don't seem quite as aberrant to me as I once thought.
OK. I mean I'm just a layman idiot, so I'm not trying to start some BLAARGH! internet argument. But isn't "intent" a "thought" that we are adding punishment for? If "intent" isnt a "thought" then what is it? (To be clear I'm not making a case in favor of hate crimes laws. Get 'rid of 'em if you want.)
I hate to sound so pessimistic as we all mourn the death of Matthew Shepherd. But my first reaction when I heard the prepared statement from the Matthew Shepherd Foundation was cynical. Foundations generate funds and support an employment base. Any challenge to the official narrative puts this in jeopardy and doesn't serve to advance the cause. What a beautiful and troubled young man. My heart still goes out to his family.
Great article Julie - thank you for posting it - I didn't know any of this - just the "official" story.
I note that a paragraph appears in the 2014 Observer version of this article that does not appear here:
John Stoltenberg is a gay-rights activist who lived with the feminist writer Andrea Dworkin until her death in 2005. He’s a long-time supporter of The Laramie Project, but has also blogged positively about The Book of Matt. “Keeping Matthew as the poster boy of gay-hate crime and ignoring the full tragedy of his story has been the agenda of many gay-movement leaders,” he says. “Ignoring the tragedies of Matthew’s life prior to his murder will do nothing to help other young men in our community who are sold for sex, ravaged by drugs, and generally exploited. They will remain invisible and lost.”
(https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/26/the-truth-behind-americas-most-famous-gay-hate-murder-matthew-shepard)
(https://dctheaterarts.org/2014/08/11/magic-time-laramie-project-convenient-untruth1/)
That's right. I removed it. I would not give you the time of day after your brutal betrayal of feminism and feminists, and I would NEVER include your words in my writing. But let me add an explainer to it, in case anyone thinks it's an oversight
Thank you Julie for remaing true to women despite attempts to influence you to the contrary.
Incredible story.
I hadn't heard about this before but I wish I had known when my friend told me I was just as bad as the killers because of my gender critical views
I used to think this. But we take into account intent in other ways. If you plan to kill someone we (usually) treat it differently than a spontaneous act which is different that a merely negligent act. I presume this is because we index punishment to what mindsets we think are "worse". I can't really come up with a reason why some other factor also shouldn't be taken into account. I'm not exactly in favor of hate crimes laws, just open to them. But they don't seem quite as aberrant to me as I once thought.
OK. I mean I'm just a layman idiot, so I'm not trying to start some BLAARGH! internet argument. But isn't "intent" a "thought" that we are adding punishment for? If "intent" isnt a "thought" then what is it? (To be clear I'm not making a case in favor of hate crimes laws. Get 'rid of 'em if you want.)