Matthew
There are events that happen in the world that serve as wake up calls, events that make you aware that the world can be an ugly, horrifying place. The first such event in my life was the murder of Matthew Shepard. The murder woke me up to a reality I knew nothing about -hate crimes. The murder woke up the country, and the entire world. * Matthew Shepard was in the Fireside Bar in Laramie, Wyoming, on the night of October 6, 1998; he was sat at the bar, sipping a beer. Also in the bar were Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, seated in the back of the bar. McKinney and Henderson noticed Matthew sitting at the bar; they went up to Matthew and began a conversation with him. After chatting a bit, McKinney and Henderson offered to give Matthew a ride home, which he accepted. The three men then left the bar and piled into a truck. The offer of a ride home was in actually a plot to ambush Matthew. McKinney and Henderson targeted Matthew Shepard specifically. They wanted to “teac