This is Mathew Shepard:
He’s a handsome young fellow, isn’t he. So full of hope and potential, so innocent. He had a heart of gold, and wouldn’t hurt anyone, ever. He was born December 1, 1976 in Casper, Wyoming. That means that he would be 42 today, and he would probably have a lovely family and a great job. He doesn’t have that though, because these opportunities were taken away from him.
On October 12, 1998 he was beaten and tortured by his “friends”, Mckinney and Henderson. He was unsuspecting, and in fact he thought they were his friends. He needed a ride home from the Fireside Lounge they met at, and so of course, the two young men offered him a ride. They then proceeded to take him to a very rural area in Casper to beat, torture, and mutilate this young man. They then tied him to a fence and left him to die, alone. They beat him so hard that reports said that you couldn’t see his skin, as he was drenched in blood, the only sliver of skin that was visible was washed clean with his tears.
When I first heard of his story I didn’t know the motive. I didn’t know why this innocent soul was killed so brutally and so angrily.
Some say he was murdered because of who he loved. He was a gay man. Some say he was murdered because of drug dealing.
The two murderers claimed that it was to rob him, but their story kept changing, and it kept becoming more twisted. It was obvious that this man was killed purely out of hatred or drugs. They said that he made sexually suggestive moves, and it was self defense. Despite this, Mckinney said that he killed him for how he felt about gays. To make the state of this crime even more obvious, the two men admitted to pretending to be gay to gain Shepard’s trust. This part isn’t nearly as disgusting as the next part, the part where I tell you about today’s reality.
This still happens, although rarely. Whether it be a hate crime or drug dealing.
My parents are gay, and if anything happened to them, my heart would break. His family’s hearts broke with his broken body. The fact that people who are different than others had to hide away in the past is shameful.
This happened 20 years ago, and this story is still potent. My heart breaks for those who feel like they have to hide away.
So what disgusts me is the amount of hate two humans can possibly have. Apparently enough to kill someone for something they can’t control. Or the fact that substances can take control over life and death.
I can’t end this post with my normal signature so I guess I’ll do it to this:
Cheers! To Mathew, and the wonderful things he brought into our bleak world.
