Hey people,
It's been over a month since I posted anything on the blog.. so sorry about that. Too much has been going that did not allow me to have any free time to update it. Right now I'm struggling as it is writing even this post.
The month of depression has reached yet again for another consecutive year. The effects seem to have kicked in earlier than expected, as I'm having those old feelings yet again. I can already see that I'm starting to distance myself from people, and I can see that I've been staying away from my family again.
I've been trying to focus my mind on the things I need to do instead of dwelling upon the past, but the effort seems wasted as I'm still enveloped by it. Especially on the month filled with mixed feelings.. Mostly bringing up painful memories..
Bitterness, sorrow, anger, all of them are swirling and being stirred inside of me frequently as I think of the past even more. The feel of joy, happiness, and love seem so distant now. I'm not even sure if I can hold up a smile in front of others for this coming month. For anyone I may hurt this coming month be it physically or mentally, I apologize for it now. This won't be an easy month for me...
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Enough is Enough, Eternity must End
This is the english essay I wrote for my assignment on hate crimes. Unfortunately word limit was 600 so I had to cut out a lot and this is the end product hahaha! The title of the essay is the post title.
Brian was your everyday average 17 year-old student. He was active in sports, scored above average in his academic studies, and was liked by many of his peers. But, that all changed when he admitted himself publicly to be homosexual, and for that reason alone, he was outcast by a majority of his peers. People started to treat him differently from before. It started off with teasing, and then it progressed into bullying, gossiping, physical abuse, and eventually, death. Brian was killed by a group of students not older than he was, just because he was gay. This is only one of the few hate crime cases towards homosexuality out there. The world said that it has changed from before. Homosexuality cases do not happen as often as it used to. But does that fact hold true?
One of the most controversial hate crimes cases towards gays is the Matthew Shepard case. This took place in the town Laramie, Wyoming back in 1998. Matthew Shepard was a local boy of age 21 who was murdered in an inhuman manner. On October 7th, he was lured out of the bar by his assailants, and was taken into the outskirts of town where he was not only robbed, beaten, and pistol-whipped, but was also tied up to a fence and was left to die there alone. He was found 18 hours later and was airlifted into the nearest hospital but unfortunately, died officially on October 12th due to severe injuries caused by the attack. The court ruled one of his killers, Arthur Henderson, to two consecutive life sentences in jail, after he agreed to testify against his accomplice, Aaron McKinney. The court was considering sentencing McKinney the death penalty, but Shepard’s parents had stopped the court from doing so. Shepard’s family believe that enough blood had been spilled over this issue. “Mr. McKinney, I give you life in the memory of one who no longer lives. May you have a long life, and may you thank Matthew every day for it.” said Denise Shepard, in his closing statement during McKinney’s trial.
10 Years later, another case had risen just a few days before Valentine’s Day. The name of the victim was Lawrence King, a 15 year-old boy from Oxnard. A few weeks before his death, Larry (as known by his peers) had announced publicly that he was gay. A few days before Valentine’s Day, Larry had asked his classmate 14 year-old Brandon McInerney to be his Valentine’s. Brandon refused him and 2 days before Valentine’s, he had shot Larry on the head with a gun. Larry was announced as brain dead the day after the shooting, and was taken off life support on February 14th. Brandon was charged with first degree murder, and is currently in a juvenile facility in Ventura.
A year after Lawrence King’s, another case had emerged from Corona del Mar High School, California where a young lesbian student was threatened by three football players of the same school who had said that they would murder her. The parents of the student had expressed their concerns for her safety to the school officials, but no precautions were taken to insure the safety of the student. It was only until the American Civil Liberties Union sued the school for fostering a “homophobic” and “sexist” atmosphere did the school officials took the necessary precautions for the lesbian student as well as insure that they were not fostering any of the mentioned atmospheres.
As seen, even though people have said that the world has changed its attitude, it is still happening over and over again. The highlighted cases mentioned are only a few of thousands of other hate crime cases towards homosexuals. According to FBI reports, hate crimes due to sexual orientation have been on the rise from the year 2005 up to date despite what the media have said. Enough blood has been spilled, the eternity of hate crimes must be removed for real change.
Brian was your everyday average 17 year-old student. He was active in sports, scored above average in his academic studies, and was liked by many of his peers. But, that all changed when he admitted himself publicly to be homosexual, and for that reason alone, he was outcast by a majority of his peers. People started to treat him differently from before. It started off with teasing, and then it progressed into bullying, gossiping, physical abuse, and eventually, death. Brian was killed by a group of students not older than he was, just because he was gay. This is only one of the few hate crime cases towards homosexuality out there. The world said that it has changed from before. Homosexuality cases do not happen as often as it used to. But does that fact hold true?
One of the most controversial hate crimes cases towards gays is the Matthew Shepard case. This took place in the town Laramie, Wyoming back in 1998. Matthew Shepard was a local boy of age 21 who was murdered in an inhuman manner. On October 7th, he was lured out of the bar by his assailants, and was taken into the outskirts of town where he was not only robbed, beaten, and pistol-whipped, but was also tied up to a fence and was left to die there alone. He was found 18 hours later and was airlifted into the nearest hospital but unfortunately, died officially on October 12th due to severe injuries caused by the attack. The court ruled one of his killers, Arthur Henderson, to two consecutive life sentences in jail, after he agreed to testify against his accomplice, Aaron McKinney. The court was considering sentencing McKinney the death penalty, but Shepard’s parents had stopped the court from doing so. Shepard’s family believe that enough blood had been spilled over this issue. “Mr. McKinney, I give you life in the memory of one who no longer lives. May you have a long life, and may you thank Matthew every day for it.” said Denise Shepard, in his closing statement during McKinney’s trial.
10 Years later, another case had risen just a few days before Valentine’s Day. The name of the victim was Lawrence King, a 15 year-old boy from Oxnard. A few weeks before his death, Larry (as known by his peers) had announced publicly that he was gay. A few days before Valentine’s Day, Larry had asked his classmate 14 year-old Brandon McInerney to be his Valentine’s. Brandon refused him and 2 days before Valentine’s, he had shot Larry on the head with a gun. Larry was announced as brain dead the day after the shooting, and was taken off life support on February 14th. Brandon was charged with first degree murder, and is currently in a juvenile facility in Ventura.
A year after Lawrence King’s, another case had emerged from Corona del Mar High School, California where a young lesbian student was threatened by three football players of the same school who had said that they would murder her. The parents of the student had expressed their concerns for her safety to the school officials, but no precautions were taken to insure the safety of the student. It was only until the American Civil Liberties Union sued the school for fostering a “homophobic” and “sexist” atmosphere did the school officials took the necessary precautions for the lesbian student as well as insure that they were not fostering any of the mentioned atmospheres.
As seen, even though people have said that the world has changed its attitude, it is still happening over and over again. The highlighted cases mentioned are only a few of thousands of other hate crime cases towards homosexuals. According to FBI reports, hate crimes due to sexual orientation have been on the rise from the year 2005 up to date despite what the media have said. Enough blood has been spilled, the eternity of hate crimes must be removed for real change.
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