Matthew Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998)

[Homoaffectional]

I agree with you on that.

It does not help that a lot of gays and lesbians (examples: posters here) reject hate crime legislation. It would help if we could agree on something.

Hmmm... if you wanted me to be nice to you, where were you on this thread? If you had backed me up when all the self-hating and the "Libertarian" gays struck, I would have been really nice to you.

And yeah, there are two categories of the gays on this forum that oppose hate crimes legislation. Some of them oppose it for some stupid reason because they think it punishes "thought crimes" or something, which is total bullshit, because the ACLU has backed this latest version, whereas they withheld support for previous versions. The other are the ones who feel that gay issues are the most "controversial" when gay rights is one of the most universally unified when it comes down to the vote counts, not only among Dems, but among a surprising number of Repubs that tend to vote conservative on other issues, even such as the war which is now opposed by even more people than the average support for most gay rights (both of which are quite high numbers). The war aside, no "partisan" issue tends to pull in the most votes from both sides. The only thing that got more votes from the other side of the aisle was S-CHIP. Some people feel that it will "cost" us politically, but that's also bullshit. People cite polls that say 20-25% of people will be "less likely" to vote for a candidate that supports gay rights while 10-15% will be "more likely", but the 20=25% are simply the hardcore Bush, fundamentalist base voters. The Democrats never had a chance to win those votes anyway. That's what some of these people don't get. The Dems aren't "losing" votes... you can't "lose" votes that you never had in the first place.

Anyway, at least in the hate crimes legislation case, it's good to know that with or without a self-loathing gay here or there, it has the most backing... among a bipartisan majority of members of Congress, among polls, among progressive organizations. Even without some ignorant people who haven't a clue about much of anything, hate crimes legislation will be just fine without 100% unity from the gay "community". Hell it doesn't even need 75% unity.

ENDA, on the other hand is another matter, but I can get into that on another thread.

And watch Bill Maher - he had some real negative things to say about hate crime legislation recently. Rahm Emmanuel was on the show and stated eloquently why it is needed.

If you're asking me to watch Maher, in your own words "don't hold your breath" (and I mean that in a nice way). Maher is another one of those opportunists who became anti-Bush because he got bitten by the post 9/11 fascist bug. He is more conservative than he appears to be... he's just one of those who doesn't want anyone to interefere in his bedroom because you can tell he's a bit of a pervert -- you'd have to be to lose your concentration whenever Ann Coulter shows up on his show, cuz he's too busy fantasizing about what he wants to do w/ his/her Adam's Apple. But he only pays a teeny bit of lip service here and there to the concepts of civil rights. He'll only endorse any civil liberties he sees directly affecting him, and will throw anyone under the bus that he thinks is totally separate from him. Weird "Libertarians" annoy me. If he can turn a few million more people against Bush, I'll take it, but I only watch him occassionally for guests I really like, and when I do, it's on YouTube or something. He's certainly no reason to subscribe to HBO.

 

[JackFTwist]

we seem to be straying off the Matthew Shepard thoughts. As far as a thread from November 2006, I don't even remember it, I was very new here then. In a very different sphere, I do what I can for marriage equality. If that thread you linked to was new here now, I'd most likely post in support, not because I want anyone to like me (no one does) but because I believe in marriage equality. Any other issues with me, lets take to PM...

...because I do not want anything to take us away from this thread on a martyr, Matthew Shepard.

I can only cry when I think of what he went through in his last conscious thoughts.

 

[opinterph]

we seem to be straying off the Matthew Shepard thoughts. …

...because I do not want anything to take us away from this thread on a martyr, Matthew Shepard.

I particularly commend AdmiraalW238 for creating this thread. Thank you! The YouTube video you appended to the OP is exceptionally moving.

OTOH, I do not think Matthew Shepard was a martyr. He was just an ordinary guy, leading an ordinary life. He became extra-ordinary because we learned so much about him and his family and about his encounter with cruelty and prejudice. I don’t think he ever intended to become notorious – his story just happened to be one that was recognized, published, and empowered in a way that transformed public opinion. We remember him not because he endorsed some design of personal sacrifice, but because he was exactly who we ourselves are – ordinary citizens who simply desire to realize the same respect and courtesy as everyone else.

 

[AdmiraalW238]

I was unaware that this was the procedure and just assumed that it was a joint session...so my apologies for any confusion on my part but I least I got the 2/3 majority right...let us hope that President Bush does not veto the bill

 

[JackFTwist]

OTOH, I do not think Matthew Shepard was a martyr. He was just an ordinary guy, leading an ordinary life.

I believe Matthew is a martyr because he died for the cause - the cause of however we wish to term it, the cause for the right to live. Not every martyr chooses to die, in fact, that would seldom be the case, many martyrs are accidental, but his death as horrific as it was is a witness of where hate leads us - it gives impetus for the struggle for the rights of all - and is a martyr's death.

 

[Kulindahr]

Matt's death was a big catalyst in my realizing (1) I really was a sexual being and (2) that I like guys (I speak of this in a blog entry).

I shared that with folks at the Matthew Shepard booth at Gay Pride, and they cried to know that his death brought about something good.

If I had a time machine, I'd go back and Pink Pistol their asses. Since I don't --

I am grateful for all the media coverage that helped me "wake up".