Nobody had even heard of Matthew shepard in the world at large before he was attacked, now we can't forget his name. The fear and hate we feel could be from the feeling it could have been anyone of us, so we fear the next attack, the next life lost. This fear boils and ferments into hate, we no longer trust the world outside. Peace is a practice, it is not easy, and it is certainly not without its difficult. If you offer the olive branch and revonciliation to someone and it slapped away don't pick it up and hit them with it. Instead find other ways around their intolerance.
The phelps clan has become unwittingly an ally for us, they help us remind people that is still bigotry in the world. I had read an article (
www.365gay.com) about how the phelps clan went to maine to protest marriage equality there and some local kids had set up fund raiser there and raised over $3,000 for GLAAD. I have another question is satire a form of non-violent resistance, by getting people to laugh at something it takes away all the seriousness of the otherside's arguement. Mel Brooks thought the same thing when he wrote the Producers.
Those are just some my thoughts.
Lee
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The first step toward change is awareness.
The second step is acceptance.
-- A fortune cookie that I once ate.
