(This has nothing to do with the song I believe in a thing called love, sorry for misleading you!)
I wrote a similar speech for class, and it went so well and my message was so powerful that I wanted to share it here.
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I believe that love is love.
I believe that God loves everyone &
I believe that no one should ever die because of who they love.
I want to tell you a story.
About a young man named Matthew Shepherd.
He was not much older than you or me, he was 21.
He had traveled abroad with his family.
He was extremely smart, and was studying political science/foreign relations/and languages.
One night 2 men offered him a ride and brutally beat him.
They proceeded to tie him up to a fence post,
where he remained for 18 hours alone in freezing temperatures.
The next morning, a cyclist spotted him, at first mistaking him for a scarecrow.
When help arrived on the scene, they noticed a small deer had nested beside him for what appeared to have been the whole night.
So maybe Matthew was not truly alone during this time.
An eye witness reported that, “Shepherd was beaten so brutally that his face was completely covered in blood, except where it had been partially washed clean by his tears.”
He remained in critical conditions for 5 days, before passing away.
This crime was against everything that Matthew ever was or believed in.
Matthew’s Parents started the Matthew Shephard Foundation to persuade people to think differently, behave differently, and inform others of the importance and value of diversity.
No matter how familiar I am with this story, each time I hear it my heart breaks, and anger builds up inside me.
Our God-My God- loves everyone.
My God does not condone murderers.
My God does not condone hate.
So why, do my God’s followers hate on homosexuals?
Why do my God’s followers judge?
You may not agree with Gay Rights, Gay Marriage, or homosexuality in general, but I bet that you do not believe in murder either.
I bet you believe this is wrong as much as I do.
I grew up with a lesbian mother.
And a gay father.
What does it matter to you, if she loves a girl or a boy?
It’s all love.
It’s all hers, not yours
You can love whoever you want, and I promise you, I will never judge you. So please give me, my mom, and the rest of humanity,that respect as well.
An extremely popular Lesbian singer, Melissa Ethridge, wrote a song about Matthew called Scarecrow. In her song, she tells you the same story I told you. The songs ends hauntingly with this,
“Scarecrow crying
Waiting to die wondering why
Scarecrow trying
Rising above all in the name of love”
Sometimes I wish to change my mom, but most of the time, I just wish to change society.
Change in the mind of bigots.
Change in the mind of our youth, our ancestors, in everyone around us.
Change in the mind of our politicians.
Change in you, and change in me.
So open your mind and heart to the thought of change, do this for Matthew.
Change is what will stop this.
You are who you are.
You love who you love.
And that’s just how it is.
It is NOT a choice.
-Judy Shepherd
If you are interested in more information on this topic, his mother wrote a book called, The Meaning Of Matthew.
xoxo Meghan
3 comments:
i just read this post and it really was something i wasn't expecting when i started but so beautifully written. makes me so sad that this happened and that people can do this to innocent individuals. i just found your blog, and i'm happy i did so i could read this. you are a wonderful writer, thanks for sharing! xo
Just, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for writing this. I'm Christian, too, and I hate that when people hear that, they think I will be judgmental. It drives me insane that there are so many "Christians" out there who are making a name for my faith, my God by hating and judging. It is... awful. I honestly feel like these people are completely missing the point. And I love, LOVE the fact that I'm not the only one out there who thinks and feels differently. :) Amazing post, totally amazing.
This is so touching. I remember hearing about Matthew in highschool, and it was/is so sad. People are terrible. And I too don't understand why people can be so homophobic. Why does it matter to them? They're not the ones in the relationship so why does it matter?
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