The Laramie Project
The Laramie Project
In 2000, the United States projects to the world that we are a nation of tolerance and acceptance. Less than ten years ago, our nation was attacked by Muslim extremists bend on striking fear into our society and yet we now teach our children about Ramadan and other religious celebrations so they can learn to accept other cultures and beliefs. Yet within our borders still lies prejudice that will outwardly manifest itself in words, actions, and deeds which displays a very different picture about parts of our society, one that does not accept or is not tolerant, one that pervades a spectrum of prejudice which runs from slang words and phrases all the way to ...
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event that transpired in Laramie, Wyoming, when a young gay college student, Matthew Shepard, was robbed, pistol whipped, tied to a fence and left for dead on October 6, 1998 and died 6 days later due to his injuries. The play presents the immediate aftermath of lives of the citizens of Laramie depicting the various ways each is dealing with the crime itself, the media circus that has invaded their town, and the fact that Laramie will forever wear this albatross of shame and intolerance. The reactions and candid interviews which make up the play are a revealing display of the same feelings and tensions running throughout the United States with regards to homosexuality and its place in society. The town is like a microcosm of these different interpretations, thoughts and beliefs about gay individuals and their lifestyle. Just as Kaufman alludes to in his statement about “the moment”, the affects of Matthew Shepard’s killing had on the citizens of Laramie revealed the ...
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in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal’” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have a Dream Speech). What he wanted was for no one to be judged based upon anything other than who they are as a person, not their race, their sex, their sexuality, their anything. That is the true meaning of acceptance. Romaine Patterson’s reflections of Matthew show acceptance. Not once did she mention his sexuality, she spoke of his smile, his friendship and even his politics, not his sexual orientation (Kaufman, 31). For Romaine, that did not define ...
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The Laramie Project. (2011, April 5). Retrieved April 25, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Laramie-Project/97625
"The Laramie Project." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 5 Apr. 2011. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Laramie-Project/97625>
"The Laramie Project." Essayworld.com. April 5, 2011. Accessed April 25, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Laramie-Project/97625.
"The Laramie Project." Essayworld.com. April 5, 2011. Accessed April 25, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Laramie-Project/97625.
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