My essay and my view

        Recently we've been forming our opinions on whether or not we think the murder of Matthew Shepard was a hate crime or not. With all the evidence gathered from the Laramie Project, The Book Of Matt, 20/20 special, and other reports there is substantial evidence on both sides of the question. It's easy to see how this story is used in so many schools because it allows the student to base there own opinion and express how they feel which is crucial in our countries school system. I personally believe that Matthew's murder was not a hate crime and instead a drug deal gone wrong. The Laramie community in general does not support the gay community and it's easy to see how a well known thug in Aaron Mckinney would hurt someone who is gay in Matthew Shepard. These two men knew each other though and this murder was not because Matthew was gay. In Stephen Jimenez's book The Book Of Matt there is proof from Doc' Oconnor and other members of the Laramie community that they had seen Aaron and Matthew together before and they did in fact know each other. Laramie is a very small tight knit community and it's hard to not know somebody or at least know somebody who know's somebody and that's why it's hard for me to believe that these two men didn't know each other. Matthew and Aaron were both into the drug scene and some say that they had even been in business together. Aaron needed drugs and Matthew could of been carrying some or selling and because Aaron was in a meth induced rage at the time of the murder its clear he would of done anything to get drugs or money from Matthew. Aaron had been up for days and craving the high more than anything and would of done anything to continue that high. You cant forget about Russell who at the time wanted to get Aaron drunk and in my opinion just wanted to help his friend rob Matthew. That's why he tied Matthew up, so they could easily rob him but then it took a turn for the worst when Aaron rage and the meth took over.

          Aaron knew Matthew could of had drugs on him or to sell and picked Matthew because he knew him and wanted to rob him. Matthew accepted the ride because Aaron was a familiar face to him and didn't think something like this would of ever happened to him. What's sad is Matthew was defenseless and couldn't do anything to stop what was happening to him. Aaron wouldn't kill someone because they were gay. There's proof from Stephen Jimenez and Doc O'connor that Aaron could of in fact been bisexual. He participated in a sexual threesome with Doc O'connor and another woman. Doc says numerous times that Aaron did not hate gays and in fact could of been bisexual. Doc drove Aaron around numerous times in the back of his limo and knew Aaron and how he viewed the gay community. Aaron was unstable and would of done anything to get his hands on some drugs and that's why Matthew Shepard is no longer alive. It goes to show you what one of the worst drugs on this planet can do to the mind. It can turn you into a monster and that's what Aaron Mckinney was that night on October 12th, 1998. Russell could of stopped Aaron and he has to deal with that guilt everyday for the rest of his life but really Aaron couldn't of been stopped because of the state of mind he was in. Russell made a minor attempt to intervene and was struck in the face by the butt of Aaron's pistol. Aaron was even assaulting his friends and that was because of the meth. Aaron had nothing against gays and that alone is enough for me to know this murder wasn't a hate crime. 

In class quotes

" Because they believed that it was wrong-that homosexuality is wrong. They felt that strongly about it that they didn't want to come see their son do probably the most important thing he'd done to that point in his life"(Jedadiah Schultz, 10).

" It's a tough business, as Matt Shepard knew, and all his friends know, to be gay in cowboy country"(Newsperson 1, 45).

" Yes, i would, your honor. Mr. and Mrs. Shepard, there is not a moment that goes by that i dont see what happened that night. I know what i did was very wrong, and i regret greatly what i did. You have my greatest sympathy for what happened(Russell Henderson, 81)

Deeper into the Laramie Project

         This past week we got an in depth look at the Matthew's Shepard killers Russel Henderson and Aaron Mckinney. Learning more about them allows you to understand why this murder happened in the first place. Mckinney is ruthless, even to this day he's not the least bit sympathetic nor sorry for what he did to Matthew and the Shepard family. In the 20/20 film Mckinney shows his sociopathic mentality and its pretty disturbing to the viewer. It's also disturbing to know that Mckinney could be lying about his sexual orientation and the murder still. There's evidence in The Book Of Matt that Mckinney was in fact bisexual and even had a sexual threesome with Doc O'connor that Doc says was in fact true. In the film Mckinney denies that he's ever had any kind of sexual interaction with a man which i believe is a lie and he's still lying to this day. Mckinney knows the beating he put on Matthew was savage and brutal and yet has never apologized because he's a ruthless human being. He had the opportunity to apologize to the world in his 20/20 interview and im sure the thought never even crossed his mind which is so disturbing. Mckinney deserves the punishment hes received and he's lucky that he isn't dead. Usually people like Mckinney don't survive in prison.

     This week we also got a new view of Russel Henderson and how the sentence he received could of been unfair. Just in the picture above you can see the scar that Aaron Mckinney left on Henderson's face when he struck him in the face but the butt of a .357 magnum the same weapon his used to beat Matthew with. Henderson tried to intervene when Mckinney was beating Matthew and thats why Mckinney struck him with the pistol. Henderson knew what Mckinney was doing was wrong and tried to stop it but ultimately returned to the car because he didn't want to try and stop Mckinney again. Henderson coud of stopped the murder and he knows that, he states that in the 20/20 film and you can see the regret on his face which is something you didn't see with Mckinney. Henderson was a eagle scout, a overall good kid who took a couple wrong turns along his path but deep down he was a good person. In the 20/20 interview Henderson apologized to the world and the Shepard family which is something most people didn't see coming. Henderson never struck Matthew, he tied him up to the fence  which wil never be okay and ultimately is why he's serving his double life sentence but he didn't want Matthew dead like Mckinney did. It's unfortunate what happened to Henderson but he could of stopped this murder and thats why he is in prison. At least he knows that what he did was wrong and feels sympathetic and wishes he could take that day on October 12th, 1998 back more than anything.

Last week and the Laramie project

        This past week we got a really good introduction to the Laramie Project and began reading and analyzing the book. Really focused on the culture of Laramie and the community and the impact the media had on this story. All the support from both the media and the community really allowed Matthew Shepard's story to get out into the public and receive the support it did. Although at times the media could of been a lot much for the Shepard family to handle at the time they did a great job of using Matthew's story to make sure something like this doesn't happen again and thats special. When it comes to the community most would say Laramie was really just a dot on the map and thats it. After Matthew's story Laramie became a town everybody's heard of in the U.S and that says something about the community of Laramie. Most people in Laramie work minimum wage jobs and dont live anything like the life of people living in the cities. It's a farm town that up until Matthew's story was left alone and had never received any media attention. The culture and the community changed quickly after the murder and the people of Laramie had to adapt. Being known by most people in the country as the place where that kid was murdered was not what the people of Laramie wanted at all. Instead they came together and brought awareness and support to Matthew's murder and thats something the people of Laramie can be proud of.

          We also began forming our opinions on whether or not we think Matthew's murder was a hate crime or something else. So far there has been a lot of evidence from Stephen Jimenez and his book The book Of Matt that Matthew's murder could of been something else beside a hate crime for him being gay. That possibly it was a drug deal gone wrong and Aaron Mckinney was under a meth induced rage and was really a ticking time bomb. It can't be a robbery because you dont do something to someone like Aaron Mckinney did to Matthew Shepard only for some shoes and a wallet. According to Jimenez Matthew and Mckinney knew each other and had been in business with drugs and could of led to the whole confrontation. If it wasn't a hate crime it had to of been drug related and there's quite a bit of evidence to prove that. Learning more about Mckinney and his accomplice Russel Henderson will help form my opinion because its still unsure. There's so many theories and stories that come with Matthew's story and that;s why this incident is so intriguing to everyone. Its still unsure to a lot of people as in what actually happened and thats fascinating because this story needs a conclusion. Everyone has there own opinion and thats another thing that is so interesting about this story because everybody has different views. It's just good to know Matthew's story didn't go un-noticed and got the support it did.

Hate crimes and more blogs

        With the powerful presentation in class and our notes on hate crimes i've learned that the world we live in can in fact be a horrible place and bad things do happen. There's so much hate and now rightfully so we have hate crimes to try and stop the hate thanks to President Obama and the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. hate crime laws. Hate crimes are "traditional" offenses like murder, arson, or vandalism with an added element of bias. People go out of there way to commit a crime based on someone's race, religion, disability, ethnic origin, and sexual orientation. In Matthew Shepard's case it was because he was homosexual and the two boys who murdered him took advantage of that and committed the crime out of hate. Matthew Shepard was a innocent boy who was taken advantage of and killed because he was "different " from what these boys thought was the norm and didn't like the idea of a homosexual kid which is when you see that the world we live in is messed up at times. In James Byrd Jr's case he was killed because he was black. The men who killed him were extreme racist and said to have been active members in the KKK which is one of the main things i think of when i think of hate. There's no other group that demonstrates more hate and hate crimes then the KKK. Knowing the KKK is still active reassures me that once again the world we live in can be a bad place.

I'm glad hate crimes are getting more serious and more awareness because we need a solution and quickly and i think we will be able to eliminate all the hate on this planet one day.

















          Another presentation i really enjoyed this past week was A Wolf At The Table by Augusten Burroughs. Augusten is an amazing writer and his ability express his pain and leave the reader with an image is remarkable. The reader always feels bad for Augusten and i've never even read one of his books. The book is all about Augusten's relationship with his father and how much of a struggle his childhood was at times. Augusten grew up with un-stable parents especially his father who was a messed up man. I couldn't imagine growing up in his scenario and most people feel the same way and thats why people are so fascinated with his books. Learning about Augusten has taught me a lot about being able to move on and be yourself. Augusten is able to persevere so can we. He overcomes his mentally un-stable and abusive father and pursue his writing career even though he wasn't so sure about writing as a profession. Augusten and his book can teach us a lot and i really enjoyed the presentation in class and learning more about such an amazing man's story.

second week of presentations

        This week there were numerous presentation on A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah and now i can see why so many kids chose this book for there memoirs. Learning Ishmael's journey is life changing, i dont know if theres many people who can relate to the horrors that filled his life. The videos show in class really emphasized how horrible life was for many kids Ishmael's age in Sierra Lione where he was from. Running from war and seeking your family might be one of the most horrifying things anyone can endure. During his story in search for his family Ishmael comes across a village where his parents are supposed to have taken refuge. When he comes across this village he finds it burned to the ground and bodies everywhere. At this time he was only a boy and finding your whole family killed is the worst thing that could happen to anyone. His ability to keep fighting and move on though is remarkable and thats where people learn to fall in love with Ishmael's memoir.

     Ishmael does some horrible things during his time as a child soldier but it was either that or death or even death for your whole family if you refuse to the rebels request. Being able to survive that lifestyle and escape is takes a lot of perseverance and thats why the picture above. Whats special is Ishmael is able to escape this life and come to America and share his story with us. People here are fascinated by his story because nothing like this happens where we live. Once we here of Ishmael's journey it makes us realize how lucky we are to live where we do in the best country in planet. I really enjoyed learning Ishmael's journey and can understand why there were numerous kids in our class that chose this book.

         The other memoir i really enjoyed this past week was The Open by Andre Agassi. This story hit me really close because i can relate in many ways with Andre's story. When it comes to tennis and sports in general Andre is so revolutionary. He knew he was good at something and made the most of it which anyone can respect. Even though he didn't enjoy tennis most of the time he did it to make his father happy and because he knew he was good. Sometimes i dont like hockey that much because of what it has done to my social life but i continue to do it because my dad wants me to and because im good at it. I want to get a college scholarship for hockey and thats worth sticking with the game. Its the same thing with Andre, he was able to make a career out of tennis even though it wasn't his favorite thing. You have to respect someone who wants to make everyone happy and i see that in Andre. Pleasing his father was so important to him and thats what he did. 

  

      Watching the video of Andre;s last match was also really interesting because you see how thankful he is for the game of tennis. Even though he didn't enjoy the game part of the time he loved his fans and did find joy in tennis eventually. Seeing him show respect to his fans was really special. He was such a good guy and people knew that which was important. He one grand slams and at times didn't even care. He said losing hurts more then winning feels good which also shows you how much he hated failure and disappointing his father and fans. Success was so important to him and that's why he was so special in the game of tennis but in sports in general. Someone who hates failure as much as he did is something special in all of sports. His story is so special and im glad i learned about it in class.

Memoir Presentations

      By far my favorite presentation i saw was the Fab Five. This story is so remarkable and life-changing when you get to the bottom of it. These five men changed college basketball but also changed the game of basketball all together and gave the young black athlete hope. Starting all five freshman was unheard of especially all five being black. One thing i loved about this story was Michigan University, they put the best five players on the court and didn't care what people thought which was revolutionary at the time. Another thing extremely special special about this story was the E:60 done on it. E:60 is a ESPN show that documents the greatest moments in sports and i was able to watch it last year. The first time i saw this film it changed my perspective on sports and thats pretty powerful.

They changed the game and changed the perspective of the athlete which was so important. The athlete went from the norm of the white athlete and corny high shorts and boring white shoes to the acceptance of the black athlete and long baggy shorts and black shoes. You have to put the best possible players on the court and Michigan was the first school to step out of that racist norm. Five black freshman starting for a big university was now a thing. Another thing that was special was the bond these five men formed after there freshman season. They were five all-stars and friends getting the opportunity to play with each other and dominate the game that they love. Even though there journey ended horribly they shocked the world and thats something to remember.

Another memoir i found extremely interesting was the last lecture. Randy Pausch's story is inspirational and heart warming and i really enjoyed learning about it. Knowing you have months to live and remaining positive like Randy did is one of the coolest things i've heard in a while. I cant imagine how i would act and feel if i was in Randy's position. I know i wouldn't be as positive as he would and i would probably be upset that my life was being taken away at such a young age. The last speech he gives at Carnegie Mellon was so inspirational and i would of done anything to have been able to be there and experience that. Being able to joke around and have fun with his audience who he knows feels bad for him was so awesome. My favorite part was when he did push ups showing the audience that he in fact may be in better shape then them and he's dying. I love that attitude and respect him so much for that.

The most disappointing part of this story is what Randy leaves behind. Randy left behind his wife alice and his three children. There father was taken away from them to early and they deserved to know how great of a man there father was. I know they will find out one day how amazing there father was but the saddest part is knowing they wont get to experience him. Even though the story is so amazing and life changing its also very sad and i bet a hard read when you learn that Randy is going to die. All together learning about Randy Pausch and his last lecture impacted me and im glad i learned a little about it in class.