Matthew Sheppard

InnerBrat · Post by **InnerBrat** » 2003-10-09 10:05am

Ddin't want to distract from the marriage thread (which, BTW

) but can someone fill me in on this piece of recent US history?

I'm sure I'll remember the story if you point me in the right direction. Thank you

Post by **haas mark** » 2003-10-09 10:06am

InnerBrat wrote:Ddin't want to distract from the marriage thread (which, BTW ) but can someone fill me in on this piece of recent US history?

I'm sure I'll remember the story if you point me in the right direction. Thank you

Matt Shepard was the victim of a terrible hate crime up in Montana IIRC. I do know that he was riding in a truck with some guys ho eventually took him out and beat him severely, leaving him tied to a barbed wire fence to die.. which he eventually did.

~ver

Post by **haas mark** » 2003-10-09 10:10am

Note: the IIRC being "in Montana" part.

~ver

Post by **haas mark** » 2003-10-09 10:12am

Main site for Matthew Shepard memorium

~ver

InnerBrat · Post by **InnerBrat** » 2003-10-09 10:14am

*shakes head* It's really coming to something when people go here before Google, isn't it?
Thanks Ver, I've looked it up now.

I didn't know whether this was him or that kid who was abducted, assaulted and murdered by two men and became the Religious Right's 'martyr' (apologies for using that word, I couldn't think of a less politcally charged term with the same meaning)

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-10-09 10:18am

http://www.matthewshepard.org/

This is the "official" site, I believe.

Post by **haas mark** » 2003-10-09 10:23am

Darth Wong wrote:http://www.matthewshepard.org/

This is the "official" site, I believe.

Either way. I've not slept, and they're both listed.. but meh.. Guess I didn't refine my search enough. [shrugs]

InnerBrat wrote:*shakes head* It's really coming to something when people go here before Google, isn't it?
Thanks Ver, I've looked it up now.

Welcome.

I didn't know whether this was him or that kid who was abducted, assaulted and murdered by two men and became the Religious Right's 'martyr' (apologies for using that word, I couldn't think of a less politcally charged term with the same meaning)

Eh, whatever works, IB. Sometimes you can't help but be a bit heartless to make your point properly, no matter how much it hurts.

~ver

Sriad · Post by **Sriad** » 2003-10-09 02:43pm

Mathew Shepherd was (as you already know, having looked it up

) killed in Laramie Wyoming, which is a hair under 100 miles North of where I lived at the time. In fact, he was flown down to the hospital in my town, which is where he stayed in critical condition for a couple days before dying.

It was, as you can probably imagine, a pretty big deal.

I saw The Laramie Project a couple years ago, it was a pretty powerful show.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2003-10-09 10:20pm

There was a small civil conflict in Wyoming barely neigh-on 110 years ago (actual shooting involved, mind), and the state is the least populous in the union. It's very rugged and one of the most "western" areas still around. They (the murderers) felt their manhood was threatened and they responded with violence, which was the way they'd been raised to respond when their manhood was perceived as threatened--probably a bigger threat in their eyes than that of imminent death.

It's going to take a while for such attitudes to be fully erased from places as starkly remote as Wyoming, which is a pity--it's one of the most incredibly beautiful regions in the world IMO (though this may be my misanthrophy showing through). There's simply no pressure for social change there; not much more now than there was before this incident. It's one of the "drag" areas as I call it: You're probably going to have to bring the rest of the country up to the level of the Netherlands in terms of social consciousness before you drag them along, if you will.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-10-09 10:33pm

InnerBrat wrote:*shakes head* It's really coming to something when people go here before Google, isn't it?
Thanks Ver, I've looked it up now.

I didn't know whether this was him or that kid who was abducted, assaulted and murdered by two men and became the Religious Right's 'martyr' (apologies for using that word, I couldn't think of a less politcally charged term with the same meaning)

That was Jesse Dirkhising.

It's kind of insulting to use his death that way. His murderers were pedophiles who happened to be homosexual, nothing more.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-10-09 10:35pm

Remember the first rule of the Christian Right: if a homosexual kills someone, it's because of his homosexuality. If a heterosexual kills someone, it's because he's not Christian. If a Christian kills someone, he wasn't really a Christian. And if God kills someone, it was actually a GOOD thing. Praise the Lord!

Post by **haas mark** » 2003-10-09 11:47pm

Darth Wong wrote:Remember the first rule of the Christian Right: if a homosexual kills someone, it's because of his homosexuality. If a heterosexual kills someone, it's because he's not Christian. If a Christian kills someone, he wasn't really a Christian. And if God kills someone, it was actually a GOOD thing. Praise the Lord!

Don't forget that if s/he's a homosexual, s/he's inherently NOT a Christian, no matter what the proclaim.

~ver

Post by **fgalkin** » 2003-10-09 11:54pm

Darth Wong wrote:Remember the first rule of the Christian Right: if a homosexual kills someone, it's because of his homosexuality. If a heterosexual kills someone, it's because he's not Christian. If a Christian kills someone, he wasn't really a Christian. And if God kills someone, it was actually a GOOD thing. Praise the Lord!

The scary part is that it's 100% true.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

Sriad · Post by **Sriad** » 2003-10-10 12:39am

Darth Wong wrote:Remember the first rule of the Christian Right: if a homosexual kills someone, it's because of his homosexuality. If a heterosexual kills someone, it's because he's not Christian. If a Christian kills someone, he wasn't really a Christian. And if God kills someone, it was actually a GOOD thing. Praise the Lord!

That's wonderfully quotable.
In fact, hey! Two other people just did!
:gets a pen:

Alyeska · Post by **Alyeska** » 2003-10-10 12:59am

The Duchess of Zeon wrote:There was a small civil conflict in Wyoming barely neigh-on 110 years ago (actual shooting involved, mind), and the state is the least populous in the union.

Ahem, Alaska has the smallest state population.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2003-10-10 01:09am

Alyeska wrote:
The Duchess of Zeon wrote:There was a small civil conflict in Wyoming barely neigh-on 110 years ago (actual shooting involved, mind), and the state is the least populous in the union.
Ahem, Alaska has the smallest state population.

No, Alaska has the second smallest population. The population of Wyoming is around 490,000 according to the 2000 census; that of Alaska is 640,000.

InnerBrat · Post by **InnerBrat** » 2003-10-10 04:04am

Wyoming's mostly Yellowstone, isn't it? I seem to remember the state map being mostly National Park, and when we holidayed there we stayed in Montana because the Park boundary was on the state line.

What pisses me off more than anything about all of the surfing I did yesterday, was the amount of space godhatesfags has dedicated to Matthew Shepard. That Church is evil. (and it turns up on the first page when you Google his name)

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-10-10 04:09am

When you're a homophobe, you think of homosexuals as evil, to be treated the way we treat murderers or rapists. That's why they have no sympathy.

Frank Hipper · Post by **Frank Hipper** » 2003-10-10 04:16am

InnerBrat wrote:Wyoming's mostly Yellowstone, isn't it? I seem to remember the state map being mostly National Park, and when we holidayed there we stayed in Montana because the Park boundary was on the state line.

What pisses me off more than anything about all of the surfing I did yesterday, was the amount of space godhatesfags has dedicated to Matthew Shepard. That Church is evil. (and it turns up on the first page when you Google his name)

It's not even a Church, at least not the way most people understand the term. It pretty much just consists of Phelps and Family, and is a legal construct so that he can enjoy tax free status.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2003-10-10 05:36am

Most people AND the IRS do not consider them a church, and are pursuing Phelps on Tax evasion charges. I am currently waiting for Morris Dee's to sue his ass into non-existance on the behalf of the family of some gay person who was the victim of a hate crime.

hmm, interesting thought I wonder what owuld happen if I looked up Morris Dees under google?

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2003-10-10 05:39am

answering my own question

The top five entrys

google wrote: SPLC: Morris Dees
Morris Dees. In 1967, lawyer Morris Dees had achieved extraordinary business and
financial success with his book publishing company. ... Morris Seligman Dees Jr. ...
www.splcenter.org/centerinfo/morris.html - 13k - Cached - Similar pages

DomainSpa.com - Monetized Domain Parking
Domain Traffic comes from several sources and according to industry statistics,
every parked domain (domain that is waiting to be developed) receives an ...
www.deeswatch.com/ - 2k - Oct 9, 2003 - Cached - Similar pages

The Church of Morris Dees [Free Republic]
... The Church of Morris Dees By ... In the eyes of Morris Dees, we're all
sinners, all victims, and all potential contributors. Morris ...
www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a3e5cb925c4.htm - 49k - Oct 9, 2003 - Cached - Similar pages

Morris Dees -- Child Molester, Pervert, and Liar?
Morris Dees -- Child Molester, Pervert, and Liar? ... F. Morris Sets A Trap In February,
1979, Morris Dees realized that he was in a precarious legal position. ...
www.zianet.com/wblase/endtimes/dees1.htm - 23k - Cached - Similar pages

The Patriotist - The Dirt on Morris Dees
Morris Dees Fact Sheet. ... Morris Dees and I, from the first day of our partnership,
shared one overriding purpose: to make a pile of money. ...
www.patriotist.com/dees.htm - 19k - Oct 9, 2003 - Cached - Similar pages

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2003-10-10 09:21pm

The Duchess of Zeon wrote:
Alyeska wrote:
The Duchess of Zeon wrote:There was a small civil conflict in Wyoming barely neigh-on 110 years ago (actual shooting involved, mind), and the state is the least populous in the union.
Ahem, Alaska has the smallest state population.
No, Alaska has the second smallest population. The population of Wyoming is around 490,000 according to the 2000 census; that of Alaska is 640,000.

Alaska used to have the smallest state population, though. It still has the lowest population density as well.

As for Phelps, I'm just glad that just about everyone, save his church and a few really zealous pastors, think he's a nut.

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2003-10-10 09:30pm

The Yosemite Bear wrote:I am currently waiting for Morris Dee's

Ugh. Dees is the Phelps of the Left. To him, a bunch of rednecks in the woods
is automatically a racist gathering.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2003-10-10 09:31pm

InnerBrat wrote:Wyoming's mostly Yellowstone, isn't it? I seem to remember the state map being mostly National Park, and when we holidayed there we stayed in Montana because the Park boundary was on the state line.

Yellowstone is just the northwestern corner of the state. Most of the state are actually huge privately owned ranches (a lot were bought by dispossessed European nobility who moved to America in the 1880s and 1890s--that was the cause of the civil discontent in Wyoming) where if you can get permission from the owner you can find some of the best hunting in the Americas. In the Northeastern corner of the state there are major coal mines, so big that some of the only recent major new railroad construction in the USA was built to service them by the Burlington Northern back about two decades ago. However, a lot of the state is federally owned land in some form or another, but not nearly as much as Nevada--about 80% of Nevada is federally owned land IIRC.

What pisses me off more than anything about all of the surfing I did yesterday, was the amount of space godhatesfags has dedicated to Matthew Shepard. That Church is evil. (and it turns up on the first page when you Google his name)

Google responds based on hits and I suspect many people go there to stare at the trainwreck. As I recall, they picketed his funeral with signs declaring he was in hell, which was when that merry band gained their greatest notoriety, and they've been trying to gain more (and only gaining hatred against themselves or being outright ignored) ever since.

theski · Post by **theski** » 2003-10-10 09:36pm

Ladies, Duchess and InnerBrat wrote:

InnerBrat wrote:
Wyoming's mostly Yellowstone, isn't it? I seem to remember the state map being mostly National Park, and when we holidayed there we stayed in Montana because the Park boundary was on the state line.

Yellowstone is just the northwestern corner of the state. Most of the state are actually huge privately owned ranches (a lot were bought by dispossessed European nobility who moved to America in the 1880s and 1890s--that was the cause of the civil discontent in Wyoming) where if you can get permission from the owner you can find some of the best hunting in the Americas. In the Northeastern corner of the state there are major coal mines, so big that some of the only recent major new railroad construction in the USA was built to service them by the Burlington Northern back about two decades ago. However, a lot of the state is federally owned land in some form or another, but not nearly as much as Nevada--about 80% of Nevada is federally owned land IIRC.

Wyoming also has some of the best skiing in the world at Jackson Hole..

Black Diamonds everywhere

StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Matthew Sheppard

Matthew Sheppard

Re: Matthew Sheppard