There are well-heeled foundations created around the untimely death of Matthew Shepard.
There is a line of commemorative jewelry named for the alleged “hate-crime” murder victim.
There is a movie mythologizing his death at the hands of anti-homosexual bigots.
What will become of all of them now that the truth is coming out?
I don’t know the answer to that question, but I can guess that I will be labeled a homophobic Neanderthal for even raising the question.
A new book, “The Book of Matt,” written by a sympathetic “gay” man, Stephen Jiminez, finds that virtually everything that has been reported about Matthew Shepard’s death is wrong.
To recap the story, Shepard was a homosexual in Laramie, Wyo., who was unquestionably tortured and murdered in 1998 and left hanging on a fence. It was not until a day later that his body was discovered.
Police found a bloody gun linked to the crime along with Shepard’s shoes and wallet in the trunk of two men – Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson.
On those facts, there is little question.
But, according to the new book, the story told by the murderers that they killed Shepard because he was a homosexual who came on to them is flat wrong. Shepard was not a martyr in the battle with homophobia. He was simply the victim of consensual homosexual relationship gone bad – as too many do.
Nevertheless, over 15 years, Shepard has achieved a degree of sainthood in the homosexual movement. He became the poster boy for hate-crimes laws, movies, songs, books, scholarships and disinformation galore. He’s been an icon of the phony war on homophobia that has chilled free speech and free association.
It turns out the hero was a meth dealer. He and the lead attacker were also friends and lovers. His death was the result of a squabble over a large amount of meth he had in his possession.
The question arises: Now that the truth has finally been told, will it make any difference? Will those who wrongly politicized his death with falsehoods and mischaracterizations apologize? Will the foundations that mythologized his murder give up their assets and close their doors? Will the politicians who turned the rule of law upside-down under false pretenses repeal their hideous acts that defraud the First Amendment and impose thought crimes on the public?
I won’t hold my breath.
But there’s a lesson to be learned here for those who prefer the truth to actions based on lies: Some unscrupulous people will twist and distort reality to achieve their objectives. In fact, some will do anything to get their way politically. They will use any means necessary – including, but not limited to, total fabrication.
Does it matter?
Yes, it matters.
Once truth is no longer important, people are incapable of governing themselves effectively. They become irrational. They make decisions based purely on emotional reactions unconnected with reality.
That’s what happened in the case of Matthew Shepard, rest his tortured soul.
That’s what happened in the case of Trayvon Martin, rest his tortured soul.
And that’s what will continue to happen to American politics and culture when the “facts” are dictated by the emotions of those who want to justify their own hedonism in a false flag of heroism, victimhood, virtue and innocence.
This is why we need a free and independent press.
This is why we need a popular culture that is redemptive and doesn’t wear glasses that blind them to the truth.
This is why we need politicians who are honest and upright and virtuous.
But I guess that’s all just asking too much.
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