What our friends are saying about the 10-year anniversary of Matthew’s death
Category: Life
Below are some comments left to us by some of our friends. Please, subscribe to our blog to get our latest posts and please leave comments on the Memorial to show your love for Matthew, to vent about what happened, even to talk about Matthew if you knew him.
"Thank you for all that you do with your memorial for Matthew. He'll never be forgotten."
"I hope and pray that we can honor his memory by passing legislation, in the next Congress, that will protect people like Matthew Shepard from discrimination. A single legislation may not prevent future violent attacks against members of the LGBT community but it will create a ripple of hope that will span out for years to come, just like it did after Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Ever since then the lynchings stopped. Perhaps, one day, the attacks against members of the gay community will stop and we won't have to suffer through another loss like the one the Shepard family experienced ten years ago. May God be with them and may God be with Matthew Shepard."
"I can't believe it's been this long. His family and friends will remain in our hearts as he himself will always."
"10 yrs and still such hatred with our country at war you would think we would all get along to matthews family and friends my deepest sympathy and condolences you can be sure i will post some thoughts and also some u tube vids there is one that puts tears in my eyes everytime i watch it i know that matt is with GOD i dont beleive we are abominations we are all created equal in the image of God your friend bill"
"Matthew has been in my thoughts and will stay there for a long time to come. Its awful that in the 10 years since his death, little has changed as far as how people REALLY feel about LGBT people (of which I'm one of). Sure, we have legal gay marriage in a few states, there are dozens of gay characters on TV shows, but how does America really feel about us? We're still equated with child molesters and rapists, and nothing is going to change that until the Catholics and Baptists stop brainwashing people into thinking that way. Rest in Peace, Matthew."
"Matthew was and is a very special person to my girls and me...we knew matt from a friend named alex that is my girl's god father...we loved knowing matt and who he was and will always be...we always fight even my daughter in school about what happened to matt and sorry to say i did know the two jerks that did that to him...i am from laramie and i think they should have got what they did to matt...but i know i got to let the hate for them not control me....WE LOVE MATT AND MISS HIM VERY MUCH....EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW THAT HATE IS A VERY BAD THING AND NEEDS TO STOP...EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW WHO AND WHAT MATT WAS ALL ABOUT....HE IS AND WAS A VERY SPECIAL PERSON THAT WAS FULL OF LOVE AND CAREING PERSON.....WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER MATTHEW FOREVER AND WILL NEVER STOP FIGHTING FOR EVERYONE TO QUIT THE HATE ON ANYONE THAT IS HUMAN...WE HAVE HIM AND HIS FAMILY IN OUR HEARTS AND PREYS"
"I will always remember the day that Matthew fought back as it is my birthday. As a birthday present, I was taken to a production of the Laramie Project in Oklahoma City, Ok." I will always hold his "fight" in my memory."
10 years ago today, Matthew Wayne Shepard was abducted, beaten, and left to die
Current mood: sad
Category: Life
Friends, family, co-workers, peers, and loved ones,
Today marks the 10 year anniversary of one of the most shocking events in GLBTQ history. Shortly after midnight on October 7th, 1998, Matthew Shepard was abducted from a bar in Wyoming, taken out to a desolate field, tied to a cattle fence with his own shoe laces and was beaten until he could barely breathe. As he cried for help, for his attackers to cease torturing him, his attackers continued to beat, pistol whip, kick, and spit on him. He was left to die that night. Miraculously, he survived 18 hours until a bicyclist by chance found him.
Today, may we honor the life of Matthew Shepard, and remember the 4 agonizing days both he and his family went through. Please remember Matthew today as you wake up, you kiss your loved ones, you say hi to your friends and you interact with your co-workers and peers. Remember that Matthew can no longer live the same lives you can because his life was taken away by two men who were taught to hate "fags". Remember Matthew today, as you go about your day and remember that today, 10 years ago, Matthew was propped up against a cattle fence, unable to move, speak, or otherwise communicate with anyone.
10 years ago today, Matthew Shepard became our community's martyr. In his honor, please post pictures of him, post blogs about him, talk about him with those people you interact with on a daily basis. Keep his memory alive, for it is the only way Matthew can live in our hearts, souls, and minds.
-William Daly Creator, The Matthew Shepard MySpace Memorial
Please keep come back to this blog on October 12th for another blog posting in honor of the 10-year anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death.
Tell everyone you know about this Memorial!
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes
Good morning dear friends,
Last night, I had a dream. I had a dream that I lived in a world in which I could marry the man I love. I lived in a world where those who targeted persons of our community for beatings, lashings, and death were given life sentences for anti-gay hate crimes. I lived in a world where we were all equal to our heterosexual counterparts. It was a beautiful world where I didn't have to constantly look behind my shoulder, where I could openly love my boyfriend. Upon awakening, I realized this was a dream, but not one too far off.
As you read in the last blog, only 13.4% of 2,000 polled remembered Matthew. We, as a community of GLBTQ persons and our supporters must come together to bring awareness of Matthew's murder, especially in this 10th year anniversary of his death. We must show the world that these hate crimes occur EVERY SINGLE DAY to unsuspecting GLBTQ persons. This awareness begins with you.
By the end of this year, I hope to raise our numbers from the 2,800s to over 3,000, and to over 5,000 by this time next year. Will you help me in acheiving this goal? Please tell your friends here on MySpace of this Memorial. Place us in your Top Friends list, blog about and write bulletins about this Memorial. Help me to spread the word of justice, equality, and a world without hate. Help me to help our community.
Thank you all for friending this Memorial and for keeping the memory of Matthew, and those who have been the victim of anti-gay hate, alive. Remember to always speak kindly and fondly of our fallen brothers and sisters, and to remind others to follow suit. Thank you all for everything you have done!
Warmly, William Daly Creator, the Matthew Shepard MySpace Memorial
Shocking statistics from NYC
Current mood: surprised
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes
Good afternoon friends:
Most of you know me by now, but for those of you who do not my name is William Daly and I created this Memorial in Matthew's name back in May of 2006. I currently live in New York City, pursuing a lifetime love for culinary arts... I digress.
This past weekend, I spent the day in Times Square. Everyone knows where this is (it's where they drop the ball on New Years Eve). I was just walking around, and something came over me. I stopped a random person crossing the street (whom I already knew was not from the area) and asked them if they knew who Matthew Shepard was; I then asked them if they knew that there were over 1,049 benefits, protections, and tax deductions GLBTQ couples could not receive if they were married (if in a civil union, couple receive an average of 400-600 of these benefits). The person answered "No" to the first and "Wow... no! I never knew that!" to the latter of the two questions.
Out of curiosity, I decided on the spot to take out a course syllabus that was in my messenger bag, along with a pen, and split two pieces of paper into sections. One sheet was dedicated to remembering Mathew, with allowable answers being "Yes", "No", and "Maybe" (maybe means that they remember his name, and remembered that it was an important story, but didn't remember the actual incident). The other sheet was devoted to whether people knew there were over 1,049 benefits, protections, and tax deductions that married GLBTQ couples are denied upon their marriage (an average of 400-600 withheld in the case of civil unions). Possible answers were striclty "Yes" or "No". Upon choosing random people, they were asked the first question, allowed to answer, then asked the second question and allowed to answer. They were never told what the possible answers could be.
This is where the shocking news comes. Of 2,000 randomly selected people in New York City only 267 people remembered hearing about Matthew Shepard. That's only 13.4% of those surveyed remember Matthew Shepard! Please remember that the death of Matthew was broadcast across the world, in hundreds of different languages, to all countries and nations with televisions and cable. His name was on every newspaper, in almost every magazine, mantioned on every radio station. Whether his name was spoken in a loving or hateful way, Matthew's name was spoken none the less. And only 13.4% of 2,000 people in NYC remember him!
When polled about the benefits, protections and tax deductions, 113 people of 700 answered "yes", meaning they know about these benefits that are denied to GLBTQ couples. Of the 2,000 people surveyed, only 700 hailed from the United States, or moved to another country after being raised and growing up in the United States. That's 16.2% of those polled know about these benefits, tax deductions and protections! YIKES!
So my point is this: People still to not know about what happened to Matthew Shepard in 1998. They do now know, whether they were sheltered from the news or refused to hear it, about the hate that occurred that night; the hate that was transfered from those two men, through the pistol and into the head of Matthew as he received those later fatal blows. And few do not realize just how little equality the GLBTQ community is shown here in the United States.
Friends, PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD! We can no longer preach to the choir, we must reach out to those who have been sheltered from the hate our community is shown. We must EDUCATE, and teach tolerance and equality! It does us no good to preach equality to our own community as we all know about it. Please help your community... our community and spread the word. I hope you have found these statistics as surprising, heartbreaking, and disgusting as I have.
- William Daly Creator, Matthew Shepard MySpace Memorial
** SURVEY NOTES ** In the event I surveyed someone from a foreign country, at least one member of the family spoke fluent english and was able to ask other members of their family in their respective language. Families ranged from two to five people and those who answered either directly to me or through the translator were counted in the survey. Those who did not answer either refused or were too young. Those persons hailing from a foreign country were immediately disqualified for the second question and were not asked. Those surveyed were respectively from the United States, England, Germany, Japan, Thailand, Italy, Israel, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Panama, Spain, Poland, France, Turkey, and Russia. I personally introduced myself, explained that this was only an interest survey and their answers would be used for my personal interest and publised on a memorial for Matthew Shepard. They were allowed to refuse to answer any of the questions after the questions were spoken and were not forced to answer any questions. Approximately 3,500 people were approached by me personally, 2,000 of which agreed to take part in this survey. No names were taken, only the country in which they currently resided. Participants were not bribed to answer, nor were they paided for taking part in this survey. They were also given adequate time to think about and answer each question, though they were not allowed to converse with others or contacting others via cell phone or text message prior to answering the questions. Sexual orientations ranged from heterosexual to homosexual, bisexual, questioning, homosexual and transsexual. Participants were randomly selected and were not specifically targeted for their perceived sexual orientation or affiliation with any specific social group of people (IE race, religion, creed, etc).
Let it also be known that after questioning participants and allowing them to answer, they were briefly educated on who Matthew Shepard was, what happened to him, and where we are as a nation today. They were also told some of the main benefits and protections that are withheld from GLBTQ couples of those 1,049+ benefits, protections, and tax deductions.
I know it has only been a couple of days since I first contacted you about my latest, and last, fund raiser of the year. On September 14th, 2008 at 11am, I will be meeting with hundreds, even thousands, of GLBTQ couples (and their supporters) to march across the Brooklyn Bridge. This is the 5th year MENY has marched across the bridge, and it receives media coverage throughout the state and nation. We are marching to create equal marriage opportunities to ALL couples within the State of New York.
I'm sure many of you do not understand how this effects you, as most of you do not live in New York. Think about this for a second: we all know someone who classifies themselves as homosexual, whether you realize it or not. We are your brothers, your sisters, your parents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins; we are your co-workers, your neighbors, that cashier you always say hi to when you're getting your morning coffee; we are your favorite actors and actresses, your favorite sports icon, and your favorite news caster. You are the first person we came out to, the first person we cried to when our first same-sex relationship failed. We are the person who is always, and will always, be there for you when you need us most. We've taken care of you when you were sick and you took us to the prom when you couldn't find a date.
Don't you think we deserve the same rights, privileges, benefits and protections that you are given the moment you kissed your spouse at your wedding? I certainly do. I think that I deserve to be able to have a wedding with my significant other and to be able to kiss him in front of all the people I love, and call him my husband, not my partner or the guy I live with who I got a civil union with.
Please donate to the Marriage Equality New York today, and pass this e-mail along to anyone who might be willing to donate. Whether you live in New York or not, your contributions effect people all over both this state and our nation. Please visit http://www.firstgiving.com/williamdaly to donate with a credit card. If you want to donate with cash or check (made out to "MENY), you may send your contribution in a sealed envelope to me:
William Daly 100 Henry Street, Apt 226 Brooklyn, NY 11201
~William Daly
"I am the love that dare not speak its name." - Lord Alfred Douglas
Please visit this link to see if your state will protect you in the event that you are the victim of a crime based on your affiliation with a certain group of people (IE you are gay, or black, or Jewish, or disabled). If your state does NOT protect you, PLEASE write letters to your representatives, Congress people, and Senators and explain to them how important this kind of legislation is!
- The Matthew Shepard MySpace Memorial - ** Fighting for Equality since 2006 **
Have you gotten a friend request from a William Daly, or "Chef William"?
Current mood: anxious
Good afternoon friends!
Many of you (well, approximately 100 so far) have received a friend request from a William Daly (or Chef William), claiming to be the creator of the Matthew Shepard MySpace Memorial. No need to worry, he is indeed the creator of this Memorial!
In an effort to show all of our friends that William is truly a real person, with real problems, a real boyfriend (both of which are... yep, really gay), and lives a real life, he has decided to friend many of you here on this Memorial profile!
When you accept his friend request, go ahead and wander around his profile! You'll notice that he is deeply interested in culinary arts, loves the Vengaboys, has posted the same letter pertaining to the MENY march, and has many friends from Florida!
So please, get to know the creator of this wonderful Memorial because he cannot wait to get to know YOU!
And PS- check out the blog below this one... PLEASE DONATE! :-D
- The Matthew Shepard MySpace Memorial - ** Fighting for EQUALITY since 2006 **
Official letter from William Daly on Marriage Equality New York
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes
Good afternoon!
Thank you all who donated to my group back in May for the 2008 AIDS Walk New York. We raised over 1,000 as a group, and over $10 million as an organization. It was incredible!
But today, I come to you asking for donations again. This cause is extremely important to me, possibly even more important than the AIDS walk was. On September 14th, 2008 at 11:00am, I will be marching across the Brooklyn Bridge with hundreds of fellow GLBTQ members (gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans gender and queer/questioning). Why will be be marching across the bridge, you may ask? We are marching for Marriage Equality in the state of New York.
In less than one year's time, I will become a New York resident and settle down here in the city. In a few years, I hope to marry my current boyfriend here in New York. But as of now, we would be unable to do so. The 5th annual Marriage Equality New York (MENY) march is fighting for marriage equality for EVERYONE in New York state, easily one of the most diverse states in the United States. But without financial backing to lobby in the State Senate, we will not be able to gain momentum and respect to change the current laws and regulations.
Today, I am not asking for donations. I am begging for your donations. I am not asking for sympathy or pity that my community is not treated equally and fairly in a world that we all share and live in together. Your sympathy and pity is not going to change the State of New York, in all honesty. We cannot do anything with feelings, can we? But with your contribution, we achieve equality, FINALLY!
Please donate by credit card today at http://www.firstgiving.com/williamdaly. If you are unable to donate by credit card, or cannot contribute the minimum amount required to donate by credit card, please make a cash or check donation (checks made out to "MENY") and send it to me in a sealed envelope to:
William Daly 100 Henry Street, Apt 226 Brooklyn, NY 11201
Again, I thank everyone who donated to my team for the AIDS Walk, and I thank everyone in advance who can make a contribution to the MENY march, no matter how small or large your donation is. Every dollar counts!. I promise this is the last fund raiser I am participating in this year, and all donations are tax deductible!
"Dear Parents" public service announcement... PLEASE WATCH THIS!
I wish there was a better way for us to teach our children not use words of hate. I wish that there was a better way for us to cope with the decisions made by our peers. I wish that we didn't know the words of hate...and that we never started the cause of hate crimes. It's all around us. The important thing is to make sure we don't set the example that it is alright for us to say words of that nature.
Anti-gay hate in Florida... against students!
Category: Life
Please leave comments, vent, chat about this... let it all out! Please don't keep your comments to yourself, reply to this blog!
PONCE DE LEON, Fla. - When a high school senior told her principal that students were taunting her for being a lesbian, he told her homosexuality is wrong, outed her to her parents and ordered her to stay away from children.
He suspended some of her friends who expressed their outrage by wearing gay pride T-shirts and buttons at Ponce de Leon High School, according to court records. And he asked dozens of students whether they were gay or associated with gay students.
The American Civil Liberties Union successfully sued the district on behalf of a girl who protested against Principal David Davis, and a federal judge reprimanded Davis for conducting a "witch hunt" against gays. Davis was demoted, and school employees must now go through sensitivity training.
And despite all that, many in this conservative Panhandle community still wonder what, exactly, Davis did wrong.
"We are a small, rural district in the Bible Belt with strong Christian beliefs and feel like homosexuality is wrong," said Steve Griffin, Holmes County's school superintendent, who keeps a Bible on his desk and framed Scriptures on his office walls.
Holmes County, on the Georgia line, has about 20,000 residents. There is some agriculture, but most people are employed either by prisons or schools; some commute to the Gulf Coast to work in tourism. Ponce de Leon, with fewer than 500 residents, has a cafe, a post office and an antique store.
Many in the community support Davis and feel outsiders are forcing their beliefs on them. Griffin, who kicked Davis out of the principal's office but allowed him to continue teaching at the school, said high schoolers here aren't exposed to the same things as kids in Atlanta or Chicago.
"I don't think we are that different from a lot of districts, at least in the Panhandle, that have beliefs that maybe are different from societal changes," Griffin said.
Gay rights activists said that's no excuse for what Davis did.
'Witch hunt' The problems began last fall when Davis, who did not return phone messages from The Associated Press, admonished the senior, who is identified only as "Jane Doe" in court records and whose friends say she doesn't want to talk about the experience.
The friends donned gay pride T-shirts and rainbow-colored clothing when they found out how Davis had treated her, and he questioned many of them about their sexuality and association with gay students. Some were suspended.Ardena Gillman also knew some of the students would need to learn to be tolerant.
"What happens when these kids get out in the real world after they leave Ponce de Leon and they have a black, homosexual supervisor at their job?" she said.
The ACLU sued in January, and Smoak ruled this summer that Davis violated Heather Gillman's rights.
"I emphasize that Davis's personal and religious views about homosexuality are not issues in this case. Indeed, Davis's opinions and views are consistent with the beliefs of many in Holmes County, in Florida, and in the country," Smoak wrote in an opinion released last month. "Where Davis went wrong was when he endeavored to silence the opinions of his dissenters."
Hailed as hero, villain as Ardena Gillman suspected, the lawsuit created hard feelings in town.
A Wal-Mart worker yelled at her, accusing her of trying to "bankrupt" the school district, which was ordered to pay $325,000 in ACLU attorney fees. One of her friends has refused to talk to her because the lawsuit conflicted with the woman's religious beliefs.
Others flatly hail Davis as a hero.
"David Davis is a fine man and good principal, and we are a gentle, peaceful, Christian, family-oriented community," said Bill Griffin, 73 and a lifelong Ponce de Leon resident who is no relation to the district superintendent. "We aren't out to tar and feather anyone."
The lawsuit could reflect a division between the high school students who have grown up in an era of gay tolerance and the community's elders, said Gary Scott, a school board member.
"But I think that's less of an issue here than in Miami or Minnesota," he said.
The judge's scathing rebuke left Scott questioning how his community's beliefs could be so different from the judge's opinion.
"I guess I didn't realize we were this bad," Scott said.
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