I didn't even remember who he was until I saw an article on the front page of yahoo. I wiki'd him and... I think it's extremely sad that 10 years later, I feel like we as HUMANS (particularly as Americans-and I mean the ones of the U.S) haven't come very far. Not only was this a heinous crime, what made it even WORSE was this:
The anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, led by Fred Phelps, picketed Shepard's funeral as well as the trial of his assailants,[32][33] displaying signs with slogans such as "Matt Shepard rots in Hell", "AIDS Kills Fags Dead" and "God Hates Fags".[34] When the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled that it was legal to display any sort of religious message on city property if it was legal for Casper's Ten Commandments display to remain, Phelps attempted and failed to gain city permits in Cheyenne and Casper to build a monument "of marble or granite 5 or 6 feet (1.8 m) in height on which will be a bronze plaque bearing Shepard's picture and the words: "MATTHEW SHEPARD, Entered Hell October 12, 1998, in Defiance of God's Warning: 'Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind; it is abomination.' Leviticus 18:22."WHAT THE FUCK?!! (In my defense, 10 years ago I was just starting high school and basically.. did not know shit. I vaguely remember hearing about this but it didn't affect my little bubble of a world.) I understand there are a lot of zealous Christians out there who are just as appalled and aghast at things like this, so by no means am I directing any sort of animosity towards them. Like the anti-war protestors of our day--what makes these people think it's okay to intrude on ANY sort of memorial service with their so-called religious messages?! I am not religious, and I don't believe there is a "hell" so it's not particularly impactful to me when someone tells me to go to "hell" (I may already be there ha!) other than me perceiving it as one of this persons's worse imaginable insults he/she can hurl at me. I do not support the current war, but I also don't believe soldiers should be insulted or spit on, not to mention the amount of disrespect one may receive, alive or dead. It's just so incredible that such close-minded people still exist in this world... and it makes me ashamed to call myself, well, human.
So in this tune, I hope everyone votes NO on Prop. 8. When will people learn that "separate but equal" does not work?! And really, if two people love each other, who are we to limit their possibilities? I may not think marriage is a big deal, but then again I'm probably just taking it for granted. If same-sex couples wish to marry, I absolutely believe they should be able to. This bullshit about "protecting marriage" is exactly that - pure bullshit. So it's okay to Britney Spears to run off to vegas and have a marriage for 18 hours? THAT'S how sacred a marriage is? And it's okay that maybe most people don't think marriage completely through and so we end up with a high divorce rate?
Ugh.
