A Letter of Hope By: Michelle Nguyen

Dear People of Laramie,

I am writing to you in regards to Matthew Shepard. I know your town has been continuing to recover from the horrific hate crime inflicted on this young adult and I want to express my sincere sympathy for what your town has had to deal with. I am writing to you because I feel that there is an extreme problem with hate crimes that seems to be increasing across our country and something needs to be done. An idea I had is that the town of Laramie can use the Matthew Shepard story and serve as an advocate for hate crimes which will educate Americans on how to create a better environment for all people. I hope this letter will encourage you to join this cause allow others to have a better understanding of the views of others not based upon what they have known for their whole lives. I truly believe using the Matthew Shepard case to educate people about the severity of hate crimes and the effects it can have will give people a better perspective as well as begin to lower the amont of hate crimes occurring today.

In the dictionary, hate crime is defined as a crime, usually violent, motivated by prejudice or intolerance toward a member of a gender, racial, religious, or social group. I know that the people of Laramie were not expecting to be known as a town that classified hate, until Matthew was brutally beaten because of his unique sexual orientation. Matthew Shepard was a victim of hate for being a homosexual and was not able to express his sexual orientation or defend himself from those who didn’t quite understand his views. Surprisingly, the ones who murdered Matthew Shepard were locals from your town which is known to be a safe place. From Matt’s death, I am sure it has left a huge impact on Laramie but not only that but worldwide.

The impact of this horrific act quickly spread across the United States, homosexuals were reminded that their beliefs were misjudged to the rest of society. This created more insecurities and acts to fight against the hate crimes that were directed towards their life style or community. In respond to the case of Matthew Shepard, The Laramie Project was created which depicts the tragic events that occurred that day and allows viewers to see the story of Matthew Shepard and others involved. The Laramie Project also allowed people not familiar with the case of Matthew Shepard to show his story but to show the world that no one should discriminate based on how a person should live their lives.

The Laramie project illustrated that you are a state that stands up against hate crimes, but there is still some that feel Matthew does not deserve justice. According to your town’s website, it described Laramie as “a place filled with hospitality, entertainment and excitement, where we welcome visitors from all corners of the globe.” As I look at your town and its descriptions, it doesn’t give me the sense that your town is one full of hate. The movie did show that some of the younger generation did support Matthew, but it also showed that your town has people who do not understand Matt’s life style and were ready to judge. An example where I notice that your town did not show that they were willing to understand Matt’s views was when Sherry Johnson one of the people interview for the Laramie Project announced that Matthew should not have received all the publicity that he did because everyone dies and those who served for our state are not recognized. I do realize that these people do have a point that we should care for those who die in the force, but Sherry would like the town to see that her view should show respect for those who care most about the equality of people. I know that not everyone thinks of hate as a serious issue but hate is shown everywhere.

An example of this occurred in recent events in 2008 in Oxnard, California, a 15 year old boy was shot in the head at his middle school by a 14 year old boy who was classified as a homophobe. Lawrence King died because he expressed his unique sexual orientation which later progressed into young teens harassing Lawrence for being gay. The New York Times states, “The gunman, identified by the police as Brandon McInerney, “is just as much a victim as Lawrence,” said Masen Davis, executive director of the Transgender Law Center. “He’s a victim of homophobia and hate.” This was shocking to read because a kid that was so young was killed for wanting to be something he felt he should be and by someone that was about his own age. It is surprising to me that kids that young experience hate and learn to hate before they even begin to learn that some people are different in beliefs. I believe that Brandon was not given the chance to understand the views of Lawrence and now a 14 year old kid is serving 52 years to life in prison for this wrongful act. The New York Times also states, “The shooting stunned residents of Oxnard, a laid-back middle-class beach community just north of Malibu. It also drew a strong reaction from gay and civil rights groups.” This shows that hate crimes are still going on and can happen anywhere. This is similar to Matt’s case because they died because of their sexual orientation as result to hate.

Although most people in your town do not discriminate those who choose to be homosexuals there are many places that do. These people who watched the discrimination happen did not have the courage to stand up for those of a different sexual orientation and stand up and fight the sexual inequality which led to serious hate crimes.

A person that has tried to educate the seriousness of hate crimes is Judy Shepard. She wanted to make a difference in the world because she wanted to show people that Matthew wanted to be who he wanted to be. As a result she started The Matthew Shepard Foundation, where their mission is to create diversity to help youth establish a safe place for people to be themselves. Judy Shepard is able to tell her story of Matt and how she feels that he has impacted the world. She states, “The life and death of Matthew Shepard changed the way we talk about, and deal with, hate in America. Since his death, Matt’s legacy has challenged and inspired millions of individuals to erase hate in all its forms. Although Matt’s life was short, his story continues to have a great impact on young and old alike. His legacy lives on in thousands of people like you who actively fight to replace hate with understanding, compassion and acceptance.”

I hope this letter will motivate you to take a step to fight against hate crimes nationwide because it happened in your own backyard. Your town has experienced it firsthand which means you know the seriousness to this issue. With that said I feel it is important for the country to be educated in this hateful act, so we as the people can prevent cases like Matt’s from ever occurring again.

Sincerely,
Michelle Nguyen