Weekly Post

For my final project Julianne and I are talking about what effect Social Media has on society. I personally don't think social media has many pros too it. Social Media is something to look at when you're bored but I don't think many positive things come out of it. For one false information can get spread very quickly which isn't good in any case and can start unnecessary drama. My generation of kids is very on top of all social media sites; snapchat, instagram, twitter, facebook. It's kinda crazy now because I feel like social media is a way for people to get to know each other now and can give a false sense of who that person is.
Which also leads into how someones social media can be looked at when considering that person as an employe or a student. I think thats a bit ridiculous because people are doing all the same things that kids did back in the day and they are using the evidence on social media as a factor when considering someone for a position.
Social media also made bullying so much easier. Its easy to make of someone behind a screen and it happens way too often. Cyber bullying is a huge deal and had lead to too many suicides. If there wasn't all these cites that make it so easy to talk down on somebody the world would be a better place and kids would be happier.

Madison Rasmussen

Ms.Menough

Senior Lit and Comp

November 18

The Matthew Shepard Case

The Matthew Shepard case was displayed as a hate crime in The Laramie Project but looking further into the case ABC’s 20/20 report, and The Book of Matt prove that Matthew Shepard’s death was caused by methamphetamine.  

Laramie, Wyoming’s culture is more on the conservative side. Most people in the town assume its a hate crime because they don’t agree with the homosexual lifestyle. Someone with that view will automatically have the bias opinion that Matt’s death was motivated by hate towards homosexuals. “Now as for the victim, I know that the lifestyle is legal, but I will tell you one thing: I hope that Matthew Shepard as he was tied to that fence that he had some time to reflect on a moment when someone spoke a word of the Lord with him- and that before he slipped into a coma he had a chance to reflect on his lifestyle”(Minister, 66). The Baptist Minister believes that Matt’s death was a hate crime and he thinks it happened because of his lifestyle. A conservative town like Laramie will provoke bias opinions like the Minster’s.

In The Laramie Project, Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project went to Wyoming to find what truth about the Matthew Shepard case, Laramie had to offer. They found that the people there were in denial that a crime like this could happen in their home town. “Were a good community and we are, a majority of the people here are, good people”(Engen, 47). The people in Laramie were shocked that a hate crime could have happened in their town and they are scared to come to terms with it. They were hoping the men who committed this crime were just passing through Laramie, not residents who lived and grew up there. “ You get bad apples once in a while”(Engen 47). In every group there is bound to be some bad apples. Gil Engen is saying Aaron and Russle are the bad apples in Laramie. The town as a whole is a welcoming and accepting place but the two men are the exception.The interviews consisting in the play are based off of the death of Shepard being a hate crime. Laramie doesn’t want to see the truth and they would rather believe the lies that they are telling themselves. Which gives people who have read the play a bias opinion that the case was a hate crime.

In ABC’s 20/20 report they show another side of Matt and facts that were not exploited in The Laramie Project.  Laramie was a major part of the meth ring that connected to Denver. While interviewing Aaron he talks about meth and how it connects the young men. “Meth made the world go around in Laramie”(McKenney, 20/20). Aaron was a frequent meth user and was using around two or three grams a day. Matt had become depressed after finding out he was HIV positive and turned to drugs. By the time Aaron was 18 he had a serious meth addiction and was a head dealer in Laramie. Aaron and Matt were friends who partied often together, and even had a intimate relationship. Meth was such a big part of both of their lives and was the main reason Matt got killed. The effect meth had on Aaron’s brain and the desperation for the drug lead Aaron to be violent and Matt just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was killed.

The murder of Matthew Shepard was proven not a hate crime evidence found in the 20/20 report and the Book of Matt show that there were other motives behind Matt’s death. He  had mental problems because of the extreme meth use. His superego was extremely weakened. The super ego is the part of the brain that controls urges and plays a moralizing role. “ ‘How did Matt react when you were beating him?’ ‘He was very cooperative” (McKenny 20/20 report). When Aaron is talking in his interview he is very comfortable with talking about killing Matt. He acts as if he is above everything and its clear to see that he isn’t emotionally invested in anything, which are signs of a true sociopath. The only thing that Matt invested in was meth. Matt would buy meth from Aaron and if he didn’t have the money for meth he would exchange sexual favors for it. “Matt owed Aaron money for meth ...I believe Aaron threatened Matt about it” (Henson, Book of Matt). He was coming off of the high and was looking for more meth at the time he killed Matt. The possibility of Aaron getting heated because Matt owed him money is very likely. Aaron had anger issues aswell, “I have attacked my best friends coming off of meth binges”(McKenny, 20/20 report). Matt and Aaron were friends and sexual partners but clearly Aaron doesn’t have any remorse when it comes to others. Aaron was bisexual and didn’t have anything against heterosexuals. “Aaron was Doc’s little whore, his little plaything”(Baker, The Book of Matt). Aaron, being an escort, would travel in Doc O’Connors limo to Denver to sell meth and his body, and many times Matt was with them. The facts that were provided in the 20/20 interview and Stephen Jimenez’s The Book of Matt prove that Matthew Shepard’s death wasn’t a hate crime but meth induced rage turned for the worst.

In the 20/20 Interview they talk about the “mythology of Matthew Shepard” that was formed from The Laramie Project and the media. The “myth of Matt” is that Matt’s death was a hate crime. The media took this story from a small town and blew it up. They ran with the idea that is was a hate crime and brought attention to the gay community. “ People really do want to mythologize important events in history...” (Maloney, Book of Matt). The town of Laramie didn’t want to know the truth and let Matt’s death be a hate crime. The Laramie Project  altered the way people view the Matthew Shepard case because of their strong believes that it was a hate crime. The play was written with the bias’s the people in Laramie had. On one hand it had some positive outcomes in spreading awareness for the LGBTQ community. It also brought Laramie closer as a town, when looking for support from one another. On the other hand the case wasn’t looked at as closely as it should have been and was closed after they decided it was a hate crime and that was the end of it.

Matthew Shepard’s case can be taken from many different perspectives based on one’s beliefs. If someone wants to believe the mythology of Matthew Shepard they will, but the evidence proves that Matt’s death was not a hate crime but drug related.

Weekly Blog

I think that the death of Matthew Shepard had a lot to do with the use of meth between these young men. It is known that Aaron hadn't slept in day before he killed Matt because of all the meth he was on. Sleep deprivation would mess with anyone's brain chemistry and I think it caused Aaron to be more irritable which lead into the rage he had towards Matt.

Aaron was a meth addict and was using 2 - 3 grams of meth a day and was having withdrawals at the time he killed Matt. Being such a frequent and high dosage meth user his withdrawals had to have been really intense and most definitely would have increased his rage. 

Aaron's brain chemistry being so messed up his super ego has extremely weakened which controls ones ability to resist urges and to keep ones morals in mind. At the time he killed Matt, Aaron's superego wasn't working which would have made him stop hurting Matt, but without that sense he had no control. 

The Laramie Project

After we have looked further into the Mathew Shepard case I know am sure that this wasn't a hate crime, but it was a meth induced rage gone for the worst. Aaron Mickeney told his girlfriend as he was hiding the drugs in his house to tell the cops that the reason he killed Mathew Shepard was because of the fact he was gay. One officer that did meth with Aaron warned him when the police were coming to his house.  Aaron said "meth made the world go round in Laramie".  Aaron Mickeney was a key component in a drug ring and if the truth behind Matts death was found out it could have brought down a huge drug cartel.
The police didn't even dig for the truth when it came to this case. They let it be a hate crime. "As I told you many times Aaron is not telling the truth. He did know Matt...Aaron does not want people knowing the truth". Matt and Aaron were friends they partied together, they were even intimate with each other. The crime was not a hatred towards gay people because Aaron was bisexual. Aaron sold Matt drugs and they would do them together in the back of Doc O'Connor's limo, he was a prostitute, he did not have hate for gay people. He had a rage for meth.

Matthew Shepard

Based on my findings so far I do believe that Matthew Shepard's assault was a hate crime. For one, Arron Mickey confessed to the beating of Matthew being a hate crime. He told his girlfriend about all the hate and rage he had towards Matt and that he needed to teach him a lesson. The brutality of the beating was definitely caused by a rage that Arron had for Matthew.
The media brought a negative vibe to the town of Laramie, WY. I think that the media only focused on the crime and not on the person Matt was. Which made it harder on the family and friends grieving on Matt's death. The media also gave the town of Laramie a really bad name. The focus was on what was wrong with the town and not what was wrong with Arron Mickey. The town of Laramie was a small town and most of the people interviewed in the Laramie Project said that the town was comfortable with people being gay. The town mostly consisted of people with minimum wage and everybody knew each other. In one interview the news broadcaster was asking a women about the crime and they were it was the most beautiful day and all the news caster could focus on was the crime.