Hate Hurts: Unfortunately It Can Also Kill by David P. Hughes
All people who live honestly about their sexual orientation or gender identity are heroic, as it takes great strength and courage to face the daily struggles for personal freedom in the face of enormous opposition; to ultimately give their life for said freedom makes them—HEROES.
This year alone there have already been eight hate crime GLBT murders that we know of. These statistics are staggering and continue to rise. The thought of people out there with that much hate in their hearts truly terrifies me!
Do you know the names Ryan Skipper, Sean Kennedy, Satendar Singh, Lawrence King, Adolphus Simmons, Philip Walstead, Michael Sandy, Gwen Araujo, Pvt. Barry Winchell, Simmie Williams, Sanesha Stewart, Daniel Yakovleff, Nireah Johnson, Scotty Joe Weaver, Julio Argueta, Billy Jack Gaither, Alecia Bello, Patrick “Patricia” Murphy, Brandon Teena, Amancio Corrales, Scott Amedure, Allen Schindler, Jason Gage or Ronnie Paris?
No? How about Matthew Shepard? The same thing that happened to him happened to all of them. These men and women were all murdered for their sexual preferences. All because of hate. There are hundreds more that we have not listed as well, that we have not been able to get to.
One man has had enough and decided to do something about it. After the death of young Ryan Skipper, Scott Hall was fed up with it all and decided to create an organization that helps educate and memorialize the people murdered for being who they are. On March 14th, 2007, Gay American Heroes was born, founded by Scott, along with a board of directors and an advisory board and an honorary board. This honorary board is filled with names like
GAH is raising money to build a national traveling memorial that they will take to communities throughout the country in order to honor the lives of GLBT people who have been murdered as a result of hate crimes because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. GAH offers counseling for family and friends and works with local law enforcement. They are trying to educate the public as well as promote acceptance and equality among all people and shine a light on this horrific injustice in
Across the
The Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Wall has 58,195 names on it. If the world keeps going at the rate it is, with the amount of violence and murders acted out against the GLBT community in just one short century, the Gay American Heroes Memorial Wall will be as large as the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Wall and will quickly surpass it.
I don’t know about you, but I do not want to see this memorial get even one more name on it. I don’t want my name on that wall! Unfortunately, this is also a war and we are its soldiers. The sad truth about these memorials is that they are covered with the blood of innocent people. Let us prevent the loss of anymore!
Let us help them in this fight. Join with Gay American Heroes and fight for people’s lives. Let us not add any more names to the memorial. These men and women who have already died should not have had to do so. But please, let them be the last. You can help us help the loved ones left behind and to educate the rest of the community by going to the website http://www.gayamericanheroes.net.
Take the time to read the website, look at the different links. Get outraged, cry a little but don’t just ignore it. If you can afford it send a small donation to help. You can volunteer your time as well if you would like. Simply send an email and ask what you can do.
I applaud Scott Hall and those who have taken the time to stand up, fight back and say, “NO MORE!”
All people who live honestly about their sexual orientation or gender identity are heroic, as it takes great strength and courage to face the daily struggles for personal freedom in the face of enormous opposition; to ultimately give their life for said freedom makes them—HEROES.
2 comments:
We all tend to believe hate crimes happen in other places. We don’t want to believe it can happen here – that our “crazies” are not as dangerous as the ones in other areas.
Do you remember Clayton Lee Waagner?
Before the AFA and religious extremists in Venango county jumped on the anti-gay campaign, they focused their fear and hatred on abortion clinics. And in Kennerdale, in VENANGO COUNTY, they created a zealot who landed on the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitives list.
His wife, then living near Clintonville, said, “he had targeted 40 people to kill if they didn't quit.”
The Associated Press reported;
“During his trial, Waagner testified that he had watched abortion clinics for months, stocking up on weapons after God asked him to "be my warrior" and kill doctors who provide abortions.
The Rev. Donald Spitz, a Pentecostal minister who heads Pro-Life Virginia in Chesapeake, Va., and a Waagner supporter, said it was shame that he got caught.”
It can happen here. It has happened here. All it takes is one person hearing the message of hate and intolerance and deciding to be a “warrior” for God. And make no mistake, there are people in Venango County affiliated with AFA who, like Rev. Spitz, would not be unhappy to see that kind of warrior spring up in our midst.
The “action alerts” sent out by this group ARE intended to motivate readers to action. They first build a case that GLBT people are dangerous to the family and pose a huge risk to the community. The parallels to anti-abortion campaigns cannot be ignored. Then, as now with GLBT issues, they felt they were loosing control legislatively and with public attitudes. This is when there is the greatest danger of someone emerging to take matters into their own hands.
It’s not a matter of free speech. The AFA and WAWN use false reports and twisted logic to create fear and hatred of GLBT people. I believe these fall into the category of “fighting words”. Though it hasn’t been tested in court since Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U.S. 568 (1942), fighting words are not protected by the first amendment.
Daniel Yakovleff's death was not the result of bigotry. He went home from a gay pickup bar with another gay man and was found dead in that man's bedroom the next morning. There is absolutely no indication that it was a hate crime. The local gay community is more worried that one of their own did it and has not been arrested.
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