The Laramie Project

Recently I read the play “The Laramie Project” by Moises Kaufman and the members of Tectonic Theatre Project. This play was inspired by true events about a young man named Matthew Shepard.

Matthew Shepard was a student at a college in Laramie, Wyoming. On October 7, 1998, Matthew was found bound to a fence in the hills outside of Laramie and was savagely beaten to death. Matthew was a victim of a hate crime because he was gay.

In the play “The Laramie Project”, it reviews the town’s reactions to this event. The members of the Tectonic Theatre went to Laramie and returned there several times. During these visits they conducted over 200 interviews with the townspeople.

One of the interviews that struck me the most was with one of the accused. Aaron McKinney was one of the two accused of the hate crime on Matthew. When interviewed as to why he did it, he said that Matthew was hitting on him.

This is where my opinion comes in. I really highly doubt Matthew would’ve hit on him. By the description one townsperson said about Aaron, he seemed to me like a drunken and poor redneck. He couldn’t even get a girl if he wanted to, let alone a guy.

A second reason why this claim seems so completely false to me is that gay people know who is straight and who is gay. We have really good gaydars because, well, we’re gay ourselves. We know what to look for and what qualities a homosexual would possess versus and heterosexual. And I’m not talking about the stereotypical differences like “lesbians look like men” or “gays act like a girl”. There are plenty that don’t fit into that stereotype. But most gays just know based on certain things people do. Just like straight people get stared at if they’re pretty or hot by another straight person, which happens with gay people too. That’d be one of the many ways to tell who’s gay and who’s not. Plus, if they lived in the same town, wouldn’t Matthew already know he’s straight? Gays don’t waste time on straights, mostly because we aren’t attracted to them.

Now, even if Matthew did hit on Aaron (although highly unlikely) why would Aaron beat him to death over that? I think that says plenty more about Aaron than it ever could Matthew. Just because I don’t like guys doesn’t mean I’d kill one if they hit on me. To me it sounds like Aaron is insecure with his own sexuality so he lashed out on Matthew because he’s not afraid to say he’s gay.

Now although this interview stuck out to me, another, more uplifting one did as well. A man named Harry Woods lived in the center of Laramie. Harry Woods was 52, and he was also gay. The homecoming parade route went right by his house on both sides. After the Matthew incident made news, people created a banner just for him at the end of the parade. Harry said around 100 people were walking behind that banner in support of him the first time they passed his house. By the second time that group had grown to more than 500.

I think this says a lot about how society is changing for the better. More and more people are willing to accept others for what they are. Although there are still horrible people who don’t see people as real people, much like Aaron McKinney, our society is beginning to turn for the better and build support for those that deserve it. Rest in peace Matthew Shepard.