The Laramie Project Play by Kaufman - Essay Example

First The Laramie Project Play by Moisés Kaufman Introduction The Laramie Project is a playthat analyzes the October 1998 demise of Matthew Shepard, a college student in University of Wyoming, Laramie who was viciously murdered due to his openly gay sexual identity (Kaufman 19). His last moment is depicted as him leaving a bar with two people, specifically men, who are said to have beaten him and abandoned him in a countryside area. He was later discovered comatose the following morning by a cyclist who at first confused him with a scarecrow. Shepard succumbed to his wounds and died five days later after being beaten badly. His story touched the entire nation and saw celebrities, such as Ellen DeGeneres speaking against anti-gay violence. The violent crime against Shepard has become a symbol of violence that bisexual, lesbians, transgender and gay people experience. However, in The Laramie Project, two themes, “hate the sin, but love the sinner” and “live and let live” are repeated by some residents of Laramie, Wyoming in relation to their attitudes directed to gay residents. In this paper, both of these themes will be explored by examining their history and meaning with the current debate concerning the lifestyle of gay individuals in the United States. Let us begin with the theme, “hate the sin, but love the sinner”. Hate the Sin, but Love the Sinner This theme has always been mistaken as Jesus Christ saying it, but the fact is Mahatma Gandhi mentioned it several times. This phrase is what now people famously refer to “hate the sin, but love the sinner” and has been quoted many times from Mahatma Gandhi autobiography. Some individuals point out to this theme to provide themselves unlimited permission, or even an obligation, to hate sin in other individuals. In The Laramie Project play, the Reverend’s comment was saying indirectly that Matthew in his lifestyle “sinned” (Kaufman 27) by becoming a gay, and he hoped that when he was falling into a state of comatose, he was thinking about how he would change his gay sexual preference or attitude after being beaten as a result of it (Kaufman 65-66). In saying this, he wanted people in Laramie to understand that he loved Matthew Shepard as a person, but his sin of being gay was what caused his death. Religion has played a significant role in Laramie and is considered to be a major contributing factor in what happened to Matthew. It is obvious that religion is a significant part to numerous individual’s lives in Laramie as a way to enhance moral and general identity. Throughout the entire town, there are many religious events and churches that highlight the significance of the Christian religion. This town was defined by its focus on religion and importance of family values. Before the death of Matthew, the town it seems was preaching that being gay was a sin, where individuals mostly keep away and quiet from those who sin, while later, religion advice to hate the sin an individual commit, but not the individual. In the Bible, being gay is a sin, in which Laramie Reverend and some residents of the town devise to hate discriminatory on those who are gays. This is the reason that resulted in Matthew’s death because he was regarded to have committed a sin that is hated. Even though religion plays a huge role in discriminating against gays because of the Bible regarding gay as a sin, other individuals in the Christian faith that adhere to the Bible have learnt to accept and tolerate those who are gays. Fred Phelps is one individual in the Christian faith in Laramie that had the view that words should not be misinterpreted and taken to someone’s idea (Kaufman 45). What this means is that Fred does not want people in the Christian faith to interpret “hate the sin” word as a means to murder gay people, rather understand them. Live and Let Live This theme normally implies that an individual should tolerate the behavior and opinion of other individuals even though they may have a different view of life. This way of saying let me live in peace and I will also let your live in peace seems perfect in theory, however in The Laramie Project play, this theme is what has produced heartless people like Henderson and McKinney in Laramie environment. When we read Marge Murray quotation (Kaufman 29-30), we get a feeling that in Wyoming the theme “live and let live” is what people are, but in reality this means that people should not interact if they have different sexual orientation, such as being gay or lesbian. If people in Wyoming, especially religious people know that an individual is gay, they will completely change their view of that individual. This is one reason why Matthew was murdered because of his open individual life of being a gay person. Furthermore, it is through the use of this theme “live and let live” that people are divided, and this leads to a community where gays are seen as totally different people, when in truth they are just people. One reason for the divide arises because many people, especially religious people, do not want gays to openly declare their sexual orientation, because it will make them uncomfortable. This is because in knowing their gay sexual orientation, they may totally change their views of those gay people, but at the same time they do not realize those gay people are the same people they knew before they realized they were gay. It is this change of view towards Matthew Shepard that changed Henderson and McKinney attitude and led to his murder. So, the idea of letting individuals be is welcomed, but when it comes to shunning the gay people who are majority in Laramie, it is extreme (Kaufman 45). The theme “live and let live” has also been refuted as being true in Laramie although some people in the play claimed that people would investigate a person then leave them after knowing everything about them. This means that a person who is gay is likely to be known and that person could be a target for persecution. For instance, the gay farmer who talked about “live and let live” being a lie, said that he had to watch out for being called a fag or getting beaten (Kaufman 79). Hence, Matthew openly revealing that he was gay is what contributed to Henderson and McKinney killing him. Recommendations Concerning Gay People Laramie is not greatly different from the main American towns. Ellen DeGeneres says that everywhere a person goes, monsters will always be around. However, what allowed Matthew’s crime to take place in Laramie was absence of acceptance and tolerance towards gays. In the play, we see individuals like the gay farmer and the lesbian teacher living in Laramie keeping their sexual orientation a secret. Whereas the people in Laramie explain that they do not care about people’s sexual orientation, the fact is people have to live hiding who they really are. This means that Laramie is a perfect environment to raise murders like Henderson and McKinney where there is no acceptance or tolerance of other people who have different sexual orientation. The first recommendation that can be made is that Laramie should be referred to as a place that is not a “live and let live” place, because in the play it is clearly not depicted in that manner. Even though majority of the people are not killing other people for being different, there is an encouragement especially from the religious group that promotes feelings of hostility directed towards gay people. The “hate the sin, but love the sinner” theme mainly comes from religion and this encourages hostility to gays who are regarded to be committing a sin because of their gay sexual orientation. Therefore, the second recommendation is to implement policies that will put religious leaders like the Reverend in check so that they do not entice hatred and hostility towards gay people. Finally, the third recommendation is to have those people who are being oppressed, in particular the gays, leave Laramie to a state in the United States that allows for gay people to be free in openly telling people about their sexual orientation without fear of being killed. Conclusion Gay people will continue to have problems with religious groups and the society that do not consent to the idea that people with different sexual orientation can live in the same town together without problems. In fact, the Bible in the discussion has been seen as labeling gay as being a sin, which implies that a person who is gay may be seen as committing a sin against God. This has the consequences of resulting in hostility that may lead to death, like the case of Matthew Shepard, who was murdered because of his sexual orientation. Hence, the idea of “live and let live” should not be taken at face value, because the moment people realize that a specific person is different, that person will be subjected to hostility as we have seen in the discussion. Gays will continue to have problems until majority of people accept and tolerate them as part of the community. Work Cited Kaufman, Moisés. The Laramie Project. New York: Vintage Books, 2001. Print. Read More