It appalls me to see again and again that perpetrators of these hate crimes are
the 20- something children of our old "Woodstock" days. If this generation was
supposed to be about love, then why do we still have this rampant hate? Why did
we teach our children that it was okay to do these things to others? In the
business world, it is also now our generation that is leading the way to slash
and burn small business and our communities in the name of more profits. What
kind of hypocrites have we become?
The right-wing zealots are quick to condemn those that aren't like them, but I
agree with Jane's observation that Jesus taught compassion and mercy for the
disenfranchised. In fact, I was always under the impression that this was the
object of all of his lessons. How then do we justify our actions that are way to
the contrary?
Many of my closest friends and favorite people are gay and lesbian, and that's
their business. They are among the best and brightest people I know. America's
moral crusade is full of holes.
Diane Cooner, straight but not narrow
Jane Sooby wrote:
> Happy coming out day. Maybe next year we can be more joyous about it. I
> share these thoughts with all of you to inspire contemplation about
> community and inclusion, and to help break down barriers to understanding.
>
> It's a sad story coming from Laramie, Wyoming, a university town that has
> had an active gay community for a number of years now and the site of a
> conscienceless crime against a gay man last week.
>
> >From the Associated Press:
>
> "A gay student at the University of Wyoming was savagely beaten, burned and
> left to die tied to a wooden fence. Four suspects were arrested.
>
> A passer-by found Matthew Shepard, a 22-year-old political science major,
> bloody and unconscious Wednesday evening a mile northeast of Laramie. His
> skull had been smashed with a blunt object.
>
> The man who found Shepard at first thought he was a scarecrow or dummy
> because of the way he was positioned on the fence, police Cmdr. Dave
> O'Malley said."
>
> I know a lot of people--gay and straight--in Laramie and in the state of
> Wyoming who are walking around in shock that such a thing has occurred.
>
> To right-wing zealots who insist that homosexuality is bad and wrong, I say,
> "See what your words have wrought." The constant message of hate seeps into
> people's brains and encourages them to act at the most base level that
> humans are capable of. It enables them to dehumanize people in the
> particular class being characterized as bad, whether it is gays and
> lesbians, people of color, or people seen as different from the norm in
> other ways. Jesus taught a lesson of love for all including and especially
> the disenfranchised.
>
> It is ironic that this sad event occurred so close to national coming out
> day, a time for gays and lesbians to take the next step in coming out in
> their lives. Harvey Milk, another martyred gay man, encouraged gays to come
> out in every area of their lives to raise people's awareness. Gays and
> lesbians aren't depraved perverts wandering around the streets of America
> seeking to seduce the young or sodomize the straights. We are the people
> working at the bank, in the university, driving truck, teaching school,
> flipping burgers, etc. etc. We have and care for children, we have pets, we
> love our families. The more you know us, the more you will realize how
> average we are. Yet the more we are terrorized, the more being ourselves
> threatens others, the more we will be forced to hide, to go underground for
> fear of being the next victim. As we can see, this is not a baseless fear.
>
> I welcome any questions or comments.
>
> Jane Sooby
>
> University of Nebraska-Lincoln alternative crops research technician
> Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society western organizer
>
> High Plains Ag Lab
> 3257 Rd. 109
> Sidney, NE 69162
>
> 308-254-3918
> 308-254-2402 (FAX)
> 308-254-0725 (HOME)
>
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