Yara Sabri's Laramie Project Reflection

Question: How did The Laramie Project Make You Feel?

The world is an unpredictable place where unthinkable things happen. The Laramie Project, a story that takes you to a place like no other, is an insightful piece, which brings our deepest emotions to the surface and offers a hopeful message. When I read the play, I was completely caught off guard, interested, and hopeful for Matthew Sheppard. The drama is extremely revealing and leaves out no details. It is expected to feel sympathy for Matthew or feel hatred towards the killers. However, I was didn’t solely feel grief, but rather, I was inspired and elated. I was able to see the potential this story had to offer. The events that occurred were tragic and the testimonies were difficult to read. Ultimately, I was able to look past the negative and focus on the great potential Matthew’s death had to offer to society.

Montages of images were gathering in my mind as I was reading Matthew Sheppard’s crime scene.  I was picturing the killers in the midst of their heinous crime, and the parents’ reaction when they found out that their son was killed simply because of who he was. The scene where Matthew’s father, Dennis, spoke face to face to one of Matthew’s killers, Aaron McKinney, was by far the most difficult scene for me to read. McKinney offered rationales to justify his actions, but in such a situation, no amount of explanation could justify what they did. This is the scene we were all waiting for. We pictured it in our mind and imagined what the parents would say or do the to killer of their child. It is hard not to put yourself in the father’s shoes and experience his feelings. Imagine losing your son because someone hated him for freely expressing his sexuality.  Dennis’s words are hard to forget. He put McKinney in his place by bluntly telling him his actions were unforgiveable. Dennis told McKinney that he couldn’t discriminate against someone simply because of the lifestyle they had chosen. Mr. Sheppard was visibly shaken by the whole ordeal, but declared that even though he could never bring Matthew back, he would never allow what happened to his son happen to any innocent person ever again. In addition, intolerance was a powerful word Dennis used to describe the boys’ actions. Tolerance was a strong theme in the play and it clearly explains the boys’ naïve behavior. It is amazing to read that in a time of such tragedy, the people that were hurt the most were still filled with love and good judgment.

It comes as a harsh reality check that something so vile and heinous could occur in a supposedly ‘perfect’ city such as Laramie. The Laramie Project provided a wide array of perspectives allowing us to make many powerful emotional connections, which culminated in a poignant and memorable play. My first impression was completely wrong. I had no idea how explicit and eye opening it was going to be. I expected a typical crime story that had its good and bad parts. However, the details are what made the story exceptional, especially the testimonies. The openness of the story allowed for connection and sympathy from the audience. We were required to read this drama in class, and I was not interested in reading it whatsoever. But, as I write now, I realize how much I learned from this play as a whole. I came to the conclusion that it is extremely important to respect people’s beliefs and lifestyles. Having tolerance and respecting others is extremely important in bettering our society. This helps prevent tragic events like Matthew’s from reoccurring.