BECAUSE I TEND TO BE, well, prolific, there is a lot of text contained here. The killing of Matthew Shepard is just the culmination of years of lesser-publicized hate crimes against lesbians and gay men.
Among the first things I did, after reading a load of news stories sent to me from a friend, was to write two letters. The first was a letter to gay friends alone, urging them to do more, accompanied by a huge list of news stories, which cover not just the killing and the apprehension of the killers and their accomplices, but also homophobia, hate crime legislation, conservative Christian attitudes toward lesbians and gays, and other issues.
I was fairly sleepless though, on Tuesday, 12 October, and from 2-5 AM I wrote to about 50 cousins, friends, email correspondents, and acquaintences, resulting in what I later called "The Scarecrow Planted on My Heart," originally entitled something like "My Special Right to Insomnia: Matthew Shepard, Optimism, and Me." It provoked some interesting and inspiring responses and reactions from its recipients.
I later edited (click here for the first long version) and severely changed the open letter to family and friends into a more publishable format, but also altered it quite a bit in the effort. Click here to see the shortest version.
What ensued was a rededication to doing something positive with my life and within the gay community. I also wanted to do something more useful than just set up a webcam and have people tune in on the offchance of seeing me naked, like Sean Patrick Live. What I am doing is exposing something of a much different nature.
Onto the first entry in my online diaries....
For your convenience, the latest entry.
Click here to go to the master index to the diaries.