Blah-ditty-blah

sorry to bring out another downer. . . but another tough subject has fallen into my lap. this time it came from my mom. . . who i think hoped that i would email it to people. . . which i will do, but i'll also post it.


sorry it's kinda long. . but i think you need the entirety:

WASHINGTON — The Human Rights Campaign and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance
Against Defamation strongly condemned plans by anti-gay Rev. Fred Phelps to
erect a hateful so-called "monument" to the death of Matthew Shepard in
Casper, Wyo.

According to a letter Phelps sent to the Casper City Council, the monument
would include a bronze plaque with Shepard's image and the words "MATTHEW
SHEPARD, Entered Hell October 12, 1998, at age 21 In Defiance of God's
Warning … ." Because of a ruling last year by the 10th Circuit Court in
Denver, the city may have no choice but to display the intolerant and
bigoted message in Shepard's hometown or remove another statue in the park
displaying the Ten Commandments.

Shepard was 21 years old when he was savagely beaten, tied to a wooden fence
in a remote area of Laramie, Wyo., and left to die in freezing temperatures
in an anti-gay hate crime five years ago. Phelps and the Westboro Baptist
Church of Topeka, Kan., where he is a pastor, screamed "God Hates Fags" and
held signs that read "No Fags in Heaven" at Shepard's funeral.

"Matthew was killed by men who believed that hating people because they are
different is something to be glorified. And what fueled them is the same
form of bigotry and intolerance fueling Phelps," said Elizabeth Birch, HRC's
executive director. "The people of Casper do not want their children playing
in a park that is home to such a revolting and reprehensible message.
Furthermore, the American people want their children to grow up treating
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people with fairness and respect, not
turning a blind eye to public displays of hatred."

"Phelps' offensive behavior is just another mean-spirited ploy for
attention," said Joan M. Garry, GLAAD's executive director. "Having this
coincide with the five-year mark of Matt's death makes it even more
offensive, both for Matt's family, the state of Wyoming and the GLBT
community." Garry continued, "GLAAD urges the media to explore the ways in
which this kind of hateful rhetoric fuels the climate of prejudice and
violence that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people face."

The city must now decide whether to move the statue of the Ten Commandments
to private property or to allow Phelps to raise his monument. Phelps, a
disbarred lawyer, told The Salt Lake Tribune that he would buy private
property in the city to display the monument or sue the city.

For more information on hate crimes and legislation that would give local
law enforcement officials the resources they need to investigate and combat
hate crimes based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender or
disability, visit: www.hrc.org/issues. To access a resource kit for
journalists covering hate crimes, visit: www.glaad.org.

The Matthew Shepard Foundation was founded in December of 1998 by Judy and
Dennis Shepard in memory of Matthew. Judy Shepard is currently serving as
its Executive Director. The Foundation is carrying out Matthew's legacy by
developing its own educational materials and programs, and supporting
educational projects, activities, and documentaries that raise awareness of
discrimination and diversity. Mrs. Shepard raises awareness for gay and
lesbian issues, hate crime legislation, and equal rights for the GLBT
community through her annual series of speaking engagements for high
schools, colleges and community organizations. Ninety-eight percent of all
donations are directed to funding of programs and grants. For more
information, please visit the website at www.MatthewShepard.org. The Gay &
Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and
ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in
the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on
gender identity and sexual orientation.

The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian and gay political
organization with members throughout the country. It effectively lobbies
Congress, provides campaign support and educates the public to ensure that
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans can be open, honest and
safe at home, at work and in the community.

i knew of this site that a friend showed me once. . .. (john . . . can't believe i remember you pointing this out to me)
very terrible name when i was shown it, years ago, there was a picture of matthew shepard burning in the flames of hell. . now there's a link off of it that shows what the monument will look like.
see it

i don't known what all i can do. . . personally, other than be a decent person day to day. . . but when you see things like this, any decent person would want to do more. something to stop another person's ability to put up such a monument to hatred and intolerance. . .and ignorance. . .

another site that i don't think is mentioned above is the site kept by matthew's family.
matthew's place

there are some good links off of it. . . and the speech that matthew's dad gave after the trial is incredibly moving, and powerful.

honestly. . . i remember the incident in the news. . . but i didn't follow it. how i know more about it is from seeing a production of the laramie project which is a play. . . but i believe was also made into a movie version. there was this incredible section where one of matthew's friends recounted how they dealt with the people yelling 'god hates fags' outside the court. a group of them got together and made and wore large angel wings. they made a line separating the evil protestors blocking them from the people they meant to harm with their angel wings. they didn't shout or physically react back. i think, if i remember the play correctly. . . they stood there. . . strong, singing . . . amazing grace maybe?

honestly, as far as the play was. . . the desciption of this moment was one of the more moving. the thought of seeing people create something so beautiful and loving in the face of. . . and blocking those that create so much fear and hatred was truly inspiring.

i'd love to see pictures or video of this. wish i had paid more attention to the news.

anyway. . .

i wonder if mr phelps has an email account? perhaps in inpouring of emails rationably written against his monument would be an influence? i guess i can be comforted by the fact that if this monument goes up. . .. it will be demolished. . . there are too many decent people in the world that own hammers to allow it to stand.