Matthew Shepard - SCN
May. 2nd, 2003 01:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
morrigirlThe single most aggrivating thing about doing a report on Matthew Shepard is that there are virtually no resources detailing his LIFE. All biographical information I've found on him BEGINS with the date of his death, as if the guy didn't exist before that day.
Nowhere on the net, in books, in magazine articles does anyone mention what kinds of activities Matt was involved in during school, what subjects he found interesting, what he could normally be found doing on a typical Friday night. All information I've managed to gather about his personality and temperment has been pure hearsay and I can't find any reliable sources to confirm them. For instance, did you know that at the time of his death Matt was suicidally depressed? That he would often call his sister and she would have to talk him out of a suicide attempt? I've heard this from a few sources, but the "official story" of Matt and his death doesn't even mention let alone confirm this fact.
At this point I know all there is to know about Matt's death; I haven't the first clue about what went on during the 21 years he was alive. I guess that's part of the journey from person to icon. In Matt's case his elevation to sainthood requires the erasure of his human existence. To be a martyr he needs to have existed simply to die.
Not only is that terribly sad, it's also disrespectful. I don't know about anyone else, but I sure as hell don't want to be remembered for my death. His death CAN'T be what made him so wonderful. I want to find out what did.
Nowhere on the net, in books, in magazine articles does anyone mention what kinds of activities Matt was involved in during school, what subjects he found interesting, what he could normally be found doing on a typical Friday night. All information I've managed to gather about his personality and temperment has been pure hearsay and I can't find any reliable sources to confirm them. For instance, did you know that at the time of his death Matt was suicidally depressed? That he would often call his sister and she would have to talk him out of a suicide attempt? I've heard this from a few sources, but the "official story" of Matt and his death doesn't even mention let alone confirm this fact.
At this point I know all there is to know about Matt's death; I haven't the first clue about what went on during the 21 years he was alive. I guess that's part of the journey from person to icon. In Matt's case his elevation to sainthood requires the erasure of his human existence. To be a martyr he needs to have existed simply to die.
Not only is that terribly sad, it's also disrespectful. I don't know about anyone else, but I sure as hell don't want to be remembered for my death. His death CAN'T be what made him so wonderful. I want to find out what did.
