New book claims Matthew Shepard was a meth addict? WTF?

[Zach]

Matthew Wayne Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was an American student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming in October 1998. He was attacked on the night of October 6–7, and died at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, on October 12 from severe head injuries.

During the trial, it was widely reported that Shepard was targeted because he was gay; a Laramie police officer testified at a pretrial hearing that the violence against Shepard was due to how the attacker "[felt] about gays", per an interview of the attacker's girlfriend who said she received that explanation.[1] Shepard's murder brought national and international attention to hate crime legislation at the state and federal levels.[2]

In 2009, his mother Judy Shepard authored a book The Meaning of Matthew: My Son's Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed. In October 2009, the United States Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (commonly the "Matthew Shepard Act" or "Shepard/Byrd Act" for short), and on October 28, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law.[3]

Source = Wikipedia

(Sorry, I am still a newbie so cannot do links. But I felt it was important to get the word out ASAP).

So now we have this new (dubious) book: THE BOOK of MATT (by Stephen Jimenez). Not only is Matthew Shepard accused of being a major meth addict, but he's also accused of having sex with (more than once) one of the dudes that tied him to a fence, and left him for dead. Very sad.

I don't believe a word of it. And for a gay man (yes, Stephen Jimenez is gay) to write such a totally trashy book for money alone - is despicable in the extreme. Internalized homophobia. Period. I actually pity the author.

What are your thoughts on the subject?

RIP Matthew

[Pix]

It will be exposed soon enough. There are "wikileaks" groups out there that put books like this under a magnifying glass. Unfortunately, people who actually support violence against gays will be citing this book decades after it has been thoroughly discredited.

[Bowyn Aerrow]

Unknown.

Perhaps Matthew was a user. Perhaps not. Truth in these sorts of situations is at best slippery.

Considering immediately after the incident its highly likely people would raise Matt to martyrdom. A martyr with a history is less sell able than one that has been sanitized for our protection.

Would people have garnered as much attention if the media reported a Meth Addict had been hung on a fence to die? Would the media have been able to sell as much ad space on that then 'Gay kid killed'?

Go read the obituaries, according to them no selfish, evil person ever dies - nothing but good is said about everyone. It is human nature to gloss over the 'bad' and put a spin on the good right after a person dies.

I think the only people who really know would be the closest to Matthew. His mother most definitely wouldn't want the whole world to know he was using meth. So could she have made the lie of omission? Possible - pretty reasonable given that a mother's greif is not one to be soiled by 'minor facts' when it comes to the purity of their child.

I don't find it too hard to believe that Matthew could have been a Meth Addict (which makes his story even sadder) and I don't find it at all hard to believe one of his attackers has sex with him before - which may actually explain why Matthew was willing to get in the truck in the first place - previous history with the guy may have lead to a lot more trust.

It makes the 'crime' worse in my opinion, even potentially more premeditated, more malicious and vile.

I wasn't there, never met Matthew.

I have no idea where this claim is coming from, where it is based. I didn't read the book (and won't) so maybe there is a case here to consider?

It was 1998 - A world before this one. I my self was heavy into the drug and alcohol scene - a lot of gays were back in the middle 90's, drugs were very popular in the community. Perhaps this is still the case - I don't know, I'm no longer in the scene.

It is possible for Mathew to have been a tweaker - speed was the number one choice of sex drug back in the day.

Just because you don't like the idea doesn't mean it is any more or any less true than what a grieving mother would reveal (or would not reveal) about her sainted son.

I would want to have more evidence than someone spinning a theory. so what evidence does the author bring to the table? Eye witness accounts, a drug test, a clear documented history of troubles with drugs?

[Woollyhats]

The book will certainly have its credibility examined. If the claims turn out to be true, it doesn't change that he was murdered or make it right --- so clearly, justice will still have been served. If they are shown to be unlikely to be true, or even discredited totally, it's nothing to be concerned about.

Today, Matthew's tragedy is being used to create good in the world, and to help LGBT persons, and nothing this author says is going to change that.

I

[megumidesu]

if he was , who cares ?
being a drug addict while he was alive doesn't change the fact that his death was completely awful and tragic . and if he had sex with any of the guys who killed him ? well , that just means they knew him before they killed him . and everyone knows you're more likely to be killed by someone you know than someone you don't .

either way it doesn't matter .

[Zach]

... Unfortunately, people who actually support violence against gays will be citing this book decades after it has been thoroughly discredited.

It's already happening. Several folks are already writing book reviews which claim Matt's death was conveniently used by the LGBT community to justify the reasons why we need to be accepted as normal people, and not be damned to hell by the Religious Right. Seemingly, Matt got what he deserved (according to these nutcases). He was a promiscuous drug addict, and we all know what happens to such "bad" people.

Sorry, I'm not buying it. The author's sources of this twisted book are rarely named, and the folks he does name seem eager to turn this tragedy into a LGBT conspiracy. The fact remains that a gay young man was severely bashed and left to die. Period.

But then there are still folks out there that claim Anne Frank's diary is a fraud. And that the holocaust never happened...

[Counselor]

"Hate crime aside..."

Jiminez seems to be ignoring the fact that, one, Shepard was a person, and two, murder is wrong.

[Zach]

@ Counselor

Bravo. This book is about blaming the victim. And making money. Matthew was murdered. Airing out dirty laundry (if it's true) does not make it okay. I hope the author makes the most of his blood money. Matthew is no longer here to defend himself.

[Pix]

I wonder how long this has been going on?

http://www.queerty.com/westboro-chickens...-20131023/

The Westboro Baptist Church has a long history of protesting Judy Shepard’s appearances. So when the College of Charleston in South Carolina revealed that Shepard — whose son Matthew was tortured and murdered in 1998 — would be a guest lecturer this month, WBC announced its plans to demonstrate outside of the event.

WBC has claimed repeatedly that Matthew Shepard was killed because he was a drug dealer, not because he was gay.

[ceez]

It's way to many disgusting people in the world, the author needs to kill himself.