In 1998 I was living in New York City when Matthew Shepard was killed in his hometown of Laramie, Wyoming, and after hearing of the crime the collective response of my friends and I was “No, this cannot be happening again.” After a series of bias incidents against LGBTQ+ people in the city that year and Matthew’s murder and its surrounding circumstances, it was all too difficult to accept. We went to a vigil in midtown and were surprised when a quiet gathering with a few hundred people holding candles built into a loud and powerful march of 5,000 down 5th Avenue decrying this heinous act. The fact that Matthew’s sexuality was his killers’ motivation was clear to us then and remains so now nearly twenty-five years later. After Tectonic Theater Project from New York City went to Laramie and published interviews from people in the town and courtroom testimonies in the first play in this series “The Laramie Project,” any doubt that this was a hate crime should have been dispelled. As Tectonic returned to the town for this play “Ten Years Later,” its members found that after a tabloid news report from the show 20/20, a series of rumors, and changing stories from those close to the crime, this truth had become much less clear.
Time can have a significant impact on traumatic events in history, it can foster healing, but also revisionism. John Dorst, a folklorist in the play calls the change in perception in the town a “reaction formation”, when communities who “try to control their own history…the facts of the case or the court proceedings….is one of winnowing and reduction, the paring away of detail until frequently the actual events – something you might call a story – dissipate. And that’s what folklorists call the genre of rumor.” For some people the fact that Matthew’s murderers (who were born and raised in Laramie) were driven by homophobia is a truth simply too uncomfortable for them, and they have turned to new and more convenient narratives.
Far too often our society faces violent acts motivated by bigotry and fear wielded on victims for no other reason than them being themselves. According to the Department of Justice, in 2019 there were “7,103 bias incidents involving 8,552 victims and 211 hate crimes, involving 260 victims.” Of these 16.7% were based on sexual orientation, 2.7% gender identity and .9% gender, 20.1% religion and 57.6 Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry. Since 2014, these numbers have increased nearly 25%, and with many unreported, we can assume there are many more. With the recent spate of anti-Asian bias, the death of George Floyd, and the #Metoo movement against sexual harassment and violence, the breadth of these incidents in our country today is overwhelming. What does it say about a society in which these traumatic events happen so frequently? How do we come to terms with and do something to stop these acts of ignorance which stem from the most malevolent parts of humanity? These are the central questions and problems “The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later” explores.
For the past three months it has been deeply rewarding to work with this gifted group of performers, designers, managers, and technicians on this play. We have collectively faced the challenges of the pandemic, and instead of being limited online, we have creatively worked from our homes and navigated virtual performance. We have connected in the searching we are all doing in our lives right now, and alongside the characters in this play who are reflecting on the significance of Matthew Shepard. We have chosen to remember him by fully inhabiting and telling his painful and complex story with earnestness. The honest and unflinching representation of what has happened to Matthew Shepard, George Floyd, Tarana Burke, the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, and so many more - is the way to keep these hateful crimes out into the light of day and dispel false and misleading narratives about them. With these truths we can more effectively hold perpetrators accountable, build empathy and support for victims, and combat intolerance and ignorance in all its forms. These victims deserve, and our society should demand - no less.
Thank you.
Joshua
