The story of Matthew Shepard is one that I’m sure everyone
my age and older is familiar with. An unsuspecting, innocent, gay college
student in Wyoming is brutally attacked and tied to a fence by two homophobes
and left to die. It’s a heartbreaking story and one of the leading civil rights
stories of our day. Matt’s parents, Dennis and Judy, created the Matthew
Shepard Foundation to support LGBT youth and in 2009, Barack Obama signed into
legislation the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
In my tenth grade English class each year, we watch the HBO
TV movie The Laramie Project as an
introduction to our unit about tolerance and individual responsibility. The Laramie Project is a play from the
Tectonic Theatre Project in New York. The play’s story revolves around a town
shattered and rebuilt by the murder of Matthew is based on interviews and
transcript of many people involved or close to the case. It’s a real tear
jerker, with plenty of emotional moments and a powerful message: people are
people, and to hurt someone out of hate is wrong.
So let me tell you how surprised I was when a student told
me about The Book of Matt, a new book
about Matthew Shepard.
“Basically, Matthew Shepard was addicted to meth, and he was
killed over drugs, not because he was gay,” he informed me in a matter-of-fact,
albeit non-judgmental manner.
Shocked at this statement, I politely told him that I hadn’t
heard of that side of the story, but that I would check it out. And so, true to
my word, two weeks ago I checked The Book
of Matt out from the library.
The Book of Matt turned
out to be a fascinating read. It presents a completely different side of the
Matthew Shepard murder, one of promiscuity, addiction, and underground drug
rings. Through a decade-long research process Jimenez, a gay man himself,
argues that Matthew Shepard was not killed because he was gay. In fact, Aaron
McKinney, one of the killers, and Matt knew each other longer before that
fateful October evening. Rather, the murder is attributed to a struggle over methamphetamine
and the money that comes with dealing it. This thesis is carefully crafted by
Jimenez through thousands of hours of interviews and networking with the people
of Laramie, WY, as well as Denver, CO. Many of these people were also
interviewed by the Tectonic Theatre Project for The Laramie Project.
To me, the question that remained while I read the book and
still remains: If it wasn’t about being gay, why is that the story we have all
been told?
Jimenez attributes several reasons that the hate crime story
spread like wildfire including: the close proximity of the murder to that of
James Byrd, Jr in Jasper, TX; two friends of Matthew’s who knew nothing about
his illicit activities and so immediately suspected gay hate, Bill Clinton’s desire
to turn media attention away from his impeachment scandal, and cover-ups from
Laramie police officers who may have also been involved in the drug circle.
Most importantly, Jimenez touches on a profound truth about America: we love
our victims as much as our heroes. It is easy for us to portray Aaron McKinney
and Russell Henderson as evil gay-hating rednecks, and Matthew as an innocent
martyr, crucified for his beliefs. Matt has become an American myth, almost
dehumanized as a result of this martyrdom.
Stephen Jimenez attempts to uncover the truth about Matthew
Shepard and find out the human behind the story. In the process, he also
humanizes in some way the murderers Aaron and Russell, their families, and
other citizens of Laramie.
While this book does not shed Matthew Shepard in the best
light, let me assure you that Stephen Jimenez in no way condones Matt’s murder.
Instead, he argues that Matt, while a victim, was not the only one. Perhaps the
most interesting part of the story for me was learning more about Russell
Henderson, Aaron McKinney’s wingman in the whole process. Although he received
two consecutive life sentences, and definitely did terrible things like failing
to prevent the murder from happening, he was also preyed upon by Aaron and beat
up that night; therefore, to lump him in the same category as Aaron McKinney
seems unjust. He too, was a victim; a victim of family problems, of hanging with
the wrong crowd, of abuse, and of drugs.
The story of Matthew Shepard is horrific, sad, and should
have been prevented. However, as my English classes pointed out when we discussed
this book, to cover up the truth even to do something good can still be wrong.
Methamphetamine is a terrible, terrible drug and has ruined more lives than
just Matt, Aaron, and Russell’s, and I think that Jimenez is trying to expose
the problem with this drug as much as the truth about the murder.
Why you might like
this book: This is an extremely controversial book, but I believe much of
what Jimenez says. As Jimenez delves into the story, he reveals much more about
Matt, Aaron McKinney, and the town of Laramie than is usually revealed in the
folktale that has become the Matthew Shepard story. Although he is not the best
writer, I truly believe that Jimenez has done his research and has struggled to
uncover the truth.
Why you might not
like this book: Many people are very offended by this book, basically
arguing that Jimenez is a poor, unreliable journalist with no credibility or
soul (see here). Most importantly, people believe that this could take away or
taint all of the good that has come out of Matt’s death.
Similar Titles I’ve
Read: None that I can think of, to be honest. However, you may be
interested in Judy Shepard’s memoir The
Meaning of Matt.
I would recommend
this book to: fellow English 10 teachers or teachers that use The Laramie Project as a teaching tool,
and others interested in the Matthew Shepard story.
Talking about this book with my classes was a great way to
talk about what is “true” and how life is more complex than right or wrong,
black or white. Could both The Book of Matt
and The Laramie Project be true?
Could both reveal truths about life without being factual? Both argue that the
murder was wrong and that people do not deserve to die in senseless, terrible
ways. Hopefully, through both media, people will be reminded of the lesson we
all need: life is precious and should not be wasted.
P.S. You can watch Stephen Jimenez give a book talk about The Book of Matt here.
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