Community Identity in The Laramie Project - “Scars”
Scars
Physical injuries leave our bodies marred by sores and wounds. Those wounds give way to scars, which in turn become either our stories or our insecurities. Like a physical wound, tragedy within a community leaves behind scars that are just as or even more traumatic. A community can easily become defined by tragedy, letting one moment cast a dark shadow that lingers for countless years. While those scars may never fade from memory, a community possesses power in the way they treat the aftermath of such an event. Will they treat that tragic event, that scar, as a story to remember and grow from, or will they try to hide and repress the memory entirely? The town of Laramie, Wyoming, especially to outsiders, is almost synonymous with the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard. The Laramie Project, a play by Moises Kaufman, seeks to encapsulate the nuance of that event’s impact by providing personal accounts of the incident from numerous community members. Scarred by such a heinous event of the past, The Laramie Project is able to demonstrate a community’s various efforts to heal and grow in its wake.
Just over 20 years ago, in October of 1998, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson offered 21-year-old Matthew Shepard a ride home from the bar. Outwardly motivated by homophobia, McKinney and Henderson would later rob him, torture him, tie him to a fence, and leave him for dead on a near-freezing Wyoming night. It took almost a full day for somebody to stumble upon Matthew’s comatose body. 6 days after the attack, the hospital pronounced him dead. His murder would send shockwaves through not only Laramie, Wyoming, but much of the country. Some people just wanted to make sense of the event, make it fit their personal narratives, while others demanded change. 5 weeks after Shepard’s death, the Tectonic Theater Project stepped in to help give the event context and offer solace, as well as further incite action in our country’s treatment of the LGBT community. For inclusion in an exploratory stage play entitled The Laramie Project, they would go on to interview the loved ones of both the victim and assailants. They would interview their acquaintances, witnesses in the case, first responders, local religious leaders, and countless others. Their unbiased approach to providing perspective is able to paint a picture of how Laramie’s community identity was challenged and renegotiated in the way they reacted following Matthew’s passing.
Prior to Matthew’s death, homophobia appears to have been somewhat of the status quo in Laramie. Their collective identity is one defined by a sort of “don’t ask, don’t tell” attitude toward the LGBTQ community. Even in the wake of Matthew Shepard’s murder, and knowing their words will be immortalized in The Laramie Project, many of the play’s interview subjects express homophobic opinions without shame. It’s entirely possible that their views are so normalized in Laramie that they don’t even notice when the things they say fit textbook definitions of homophobia. In act one, Marge Murray, first responder Reggie Fluty’s mother, is quoted as saying “As far as the gay issue, I don’t give a damn one way or the other as long as they don’t bother me. And even if they did, I’d just say no thank you. And that’s the attitude of most of the Laramie population. They might poke one, if they were in a bar situation, you know, they had been drinking, they might actually smack one in the mouth, but then they’d just walk away...Laramie is live and let live” (Kaufman, 17). By the last line, Marge seems to think she’s painting Laramie in a good light. However, she is admitting that LGBTQ peoples are so othered in Laramie as to invoke “poking”, similar to the degradation of performers in a freak show. While “live and let live” may sound tolerant, it doesn’t mean that the Laramie community is all inclusive. Rather, they seem to believe in something akin to “don’t ask, don’t tell, and if you do tell, we may feel take the opportunity to smack you in the mouth.” Matthew is viewed as a disruption or a deviant. This is especially true when one considers the religious leanings of a town like Laramie.
Wyoming and other states in the mid-west are heavily Christian, and their rhetoric reflects that. The town’s local Baptist Minister states his position in an interview for the play: “I will tell you one thing: I hope that Matthew Shepard, as he was tied to that fence, that he had time to reflect on a moment when someone had spoken the word of the Lord to him-and that before he slipped into a coma he had a chance to reflect on his lifestyle” (Kaufman, 69). There’s a chance that his intention was to suggest hope that Matthew reflected enough to be considered repentant and achieve salvation, but it’s difficult not to see his words as a direct implication that Matthew’s sexuality is reason for his torture and then death. Regardless, this is his way of healing and coming to terms with the event. However morbid, the Baptist Minister finds his solace in his belief that Matthew’s death was part of God’s plan, or rather a lesson to be made.
While potentially influenced in part by religion, a few members of the community seek to make some sense of McKinney and Henderson’s crime by excusing and justifying their actions, McKinney himself putting forward the “gay panic” defense during his trial. Claims of “gay panic” defend acts of assault or murder by suggesting moments of “violent temporary insanity because of unwanted same-sex sexual advances” (Gay Panic Defense). At one point the Tectonic Theater Project interviews Shannon and Jen, two of McKinney’s friends. They express desires to hang out and “smoke a bowl with him” (Kaufman 60), Shannon then insisting he’s not a bad guy but rather he “was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, said the wrong things” (Kaufman 60). She doesn’t see Matthew’s brutal murder as reason enough to stop hanging out with the guy. “It probably would’ve pissed him off that Matthew was gay ‘cause he didn’t like-the gay people that I’ve seen him interact with, he was fine as long as, you know, they didn’t hit on him. As long as it didn’t come up” (Kaufman, 61), Jen says. The two girls make it clear that, despite the intention and brutality of Matthew’s killers, they at least partially blame potential unwanted advances for the events that would follow. McKinney’s attempt to use gay panic as a legal defense fails, but it’s telling that such a defense exists to begin with. While it’s use has significantly dwindled over the years, there are those who can truly find their peace in this hateful form of victim-blaming.
It makes sense that the ways some choose to repair and regroup in the wake of Matthew’s death will still bear resemblance to the social climate that was fostered in the Laramie of their upbringing. After all, people are often unaware of the impact their rhetoric can have upon members of the community. Still, in the ways some were impacted and sought to heal from Matthew’s death, we see a marked change in perception of the LGBTQ community. Jedadiah Schultz, a university student who was moved by Matthew’s death to audition for and portray a gay character in the play Angels in America, admits, “And the reverend will tell you flat out he doesn’t agree with homosexuality – and I don’t know – I think right now, I’m going through changes, I’m still learning about myself and – you know I don’t feel like I know enough about certain things to make a decision that says, ‘Homosexuality is right.’ When you’ve been raised your whole life that it’s wrong…” (Kaufman 57). Schultz, despite his Mormon background and parent’s refusal to even attend their son’s play, displays a struggle to define his beliefs outside of the beliefs popularized within his community. This struggle is what motivates his attempt at healing, and in this case growing, from Matthew’s death. He is slowly broadening his world-view, considering the implication that the views of his community and his own parents may be questionable. At one point he emphasizes that his parents had been willing to see him commit murder in a stage play, but not engage in homosexual acts. In using Matthew’s death as a means of questioning his reality, Schultz makes a positive step toward growth and remission within his community.
Matthew’s father, Dennis Shepard, has a scar which runs far deeper than the scars of the defendants and community members. When a tragic event affects one so personally, the way that person seeks to heal can vary greatly. Rather than seeking revenge or restitution, Dennis finds his healing in mercy. After Aaron McKinney was found guilty of murder, his lawyers plead with Matthew’s parents to oppose use of the death penalty. In a statement to the Court following this exchange, Dennis says, “Matt believed that there were crimes and incidents that justified the death penalty. I too believe in the death penalty. I would like nothing better than to see you die, Mr. McKinney. However, this is the time to begin the healing process. To show mercy to someone who refused to show any mercy…Mr. McKinney, I give you life in the memory of one who no longer lives. May you have a long life, and may you thank Matthew every day for it” (Kaufman 96).
Following the conclusion of the trials which followed Matthew’s death, his parents launched the Matthew Shepard Foundation, an organization whose mission is to “erase hate by replacing it with understanding, compassion and acceptance” (About Us). The organization would go on to lobby for changes in federal legislation to prevent hate crimes against members of the LGBTQ community. That change would come in the form of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, passed by Congress in 2009 (Compton). Following these strides, conditions for the LGBTQ community in America have undoubtedly improved. Although some say the Act did little to impact state-level laws (Compton), it’s passing alone sets a precedent for the kind of treatment of the LGBTQ community our country will not condone. The Matthew Shepard Foundation also launched a program called Matthew’s Place, described on their website as “an online village designed to provide young people with the resources they need to thrive in this world, make a difference, and gain tools to lead healthy, productive, hate-free lives. It provides a wealth of materials including regular blogs from a dedicated group of young people making a difference in their own communities” (Matthewsplace.com). Visibility has improved exponentially over the years, with queer relationships becoming the subject of feature and Oscar-winning films such as, Love, Simon and Call Me By Your Name. The Laramie Project is still performed in theaters across the country each year. Eastern Connecticut State University most recently put on the play in the Fall of 2013, and the music department organized a concert honoring the life of Matthew Shepard in Fall of 2018. It stands to reason that Dennis and Judy Shepard have been able to prove that on top of mercy, political action can be an extremely valid and productive mode of healing.
The Laramie Project has become a widely-respected piece of theater not only for bringing light to a tragic hate crime, but for examining it from every perspective involved. Each audience member is able to see some element of themselves in the characters portrayed, whether that be one of the witnesses, the parents, Matthew Shepard, or even in one of his attackers. Similarly, Laramie, Wyoming is a place many see their own hometowns in. It’s easy to put yourself in the community member’s place and consider what you might’ve done, how you might’ve coped. By seeking objectivity in their portrayal of Laramie and the event which occurred there on October 12, 1998, The Tectonic Theatre Project is able to explore how and why we react to tragedy in different ways. It’s up to the audience to decide whether those methods are valid, or constructive, or right. Most can agree that the most fulfilling way of coping with one’s scars, whether physical or emotional, is to address and embrace them. This is a lot easier than it sounds, but isn’t it worth the effort? That’s up to the audience to decide.
Works Cited
“About Us.” Matthew Shepard Foundation, www.matthewshepard.org/about-us/.
Compton, Julie. “Two Decades after Matthew Shepard's Death, LGBTQ Community Still Battles Hate Violence.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 12 Oct. 2018, www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc- out/two-decades-after-matthew-shepard-s-death-lgbtq-community-still-n919401.
“Gay Panic Defense.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Dec. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_panic_defense.
Kaufman, Moises. The Laramie Project. Vintage Books, 2001.
“MatthewsPlace.com.” Matthew Shepard Foundation, www.matthewshepard.org/matthews-place/.