Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
If you perform it, they will come — or so the members of the Westboro Baptist Church would have all producers of “The Laramie Project” believe.
But when they failed to follow through with their warped crusade against the “fag propaganda” of the world by avoiding the University of Maine’s production of “Laramie” Sunday, the church fulfilled and reinforced a very different prophecy — that the actions and words of the WBC shall never stand for a thing.
Matthew Shepard’s life concluded in October of 1998 at the unjust hands of violence and hate when he was targeted by Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson at the Fireside Lounge in Laramie, Wyo. for being gay.
Shepard’s murder has now become a catalyst for advancing hate crime legislation and is the basis for “The Laramie Project,” an artistic commentary aimed at battling homophobia.
Whereas most of America celebrates Matthew Shepard, the Westboro Baptist Church dubs him a “disobedient pervert” and his mother, Judy Shepard, an enabler of evil. Thus, their believers traverse the country, supposedly over hell and high water, to protest “The Laramie Project” and the debauchery it allegedly breeds.
Yet, when high noon came to pass yesterday, WBC left UMaine high and dry when it promised otherwise. For a group that slings damnations and crass language around with the trajectory of a 10-foot rosary, it’s typical to find that not only do they have nothing to stand for, they don’t even bother standing at all.
Actions speak louder than words, but inaction is downright deafening. By failing to defend its promise of protest, the church is admitting fault in its own credence.
While this can be seen as a success for the civil-minded, it cannot be the only victory against such a sadistic bracket.
Naturally, the WBC probably won’t attend locations where resistance is guaranteed, such as a college campus. After all, bullies prefer to prey upon the defenseless — their moronic principles travel farther when the recipients aren’t fully prepared to bat them down. Therefore, you’re more apt to find the WBC picketing on the hallowed ground of fallen soldiers, aiming their incredulousness at people who can hardly look up from their grief, let alone defend it, or high schools, where the fear of speaking up is nothing compared to the daily terror of fitting in.
On March 4th, the WBC plans to boycott “The Laramie Project” at Gunderson High School in San Jose, Cali, and on March 23, they will do the same at Howell High School in Mississippi. Any type of support for the opposition during those two days, whether through letters encouraging the “Laramie” performers or contributions to the LGBTQ organizations in those areas, could help silence the WBC for good.
The WBC may not have brought the fight to us, but we can certainly send our reinforcement to the places where they are sure to assemble.
