The Laramie Project

While reading The Laramie Project I had many emotions come over me. The case of Matthew Shepard was very controversial, and it was fascinating hearing the many perspectives and sides of the story. I went through emotions of anger, sadness, and frustration, throughout the duration of the play. I hope that the play was able to open others eyes to the injustice gay people face in our society, like it was able to open mine.

First and foremost while reading I felt angered by the disrespect so many of the people had for gays. It was shocking that people thought it was okay to treat people with such hate. The words the characters in the play used made me very frustrated about the way people treated Matthew. They had no basis on which to treat him poorly in anyway. He had done nothing wrong to any of the people who despised him, and it is extremely angering that people hated him simply for being openly gay. I felt a lot of emotion in wanting those people to learn their lesson about treating people who are different than them in such an inappropriate manner.

The more of the play we read, the more upset and sad I became about the situation. It made me heartbroken to read the perspectives of the people who know Matthew, such as his mother and father. It would be one of the hardest things in life to loose a child, especially one so innocent. I felt extremely sad about the murder, and even sadder about the way some people handled it after. Some people had such little respect for Matthew’s death, and it was shocking and depressing that people could be so rude about someone who had died for simply being gay.

Thirdly, upon reading a story that had gotten nationwide attention, I became very frustrated. It is extremely appalling that after such a hate crime, there are people who still hate on gays. While the crime did raise people’s awareness, there are still thousands of people who do not respect gay people like they should. This made me very frustrated that someone could be murdered, and that people still would be so rude. I hope that in the future this can change, and that people become more accepting of one another, despite the differences they may have.

My opinion while reading did not really change much, however I was able to get a much understanding of the murder of Matthew Shepard and the town of Laramie. The play created a fluctuation of emotion while reading, but overall it made me have a better grasp on the situation gays face in our world. From anger to sadness to pure frustration, the emotions the case spurred led to have a deep reverence for the people in our society that face such injustice.