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New York, 6:14 PM
Tue Nov 10
74 posts in the last 24 hours
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09/03/09
Matt's funeral took place in my home town of Casper. The Westboro Baptist church flocked to the small episcopal church where the service was held, wielding their "God hates fags" signs. Anticipating this, many Casper residents also went to the churchyard. They stood side by side, and turned their backs on the Westboro demonstrators. It was something that moves me still to this day when I think about it.
In May of this year, nearly 11 years after Matt's death, our state's lone representative voted against the Matthew Shepard Act. While this only reaffirmed my poor opinion of Cynthia Lummis, it also draws into question what this will mean for Wyoming. And what it will say about us if she is reelected in 2010.
09/03/09
09/03/09
09/03/09
I also like the working "actual or perceived sexual orientation". While it's nowhere near the same, I have several friends who have been assaulted/discriminated against to different degrees for their perceived homosexuality. Usually men who don't conform to rigid gender roles by having long hair, or dressing androgynously. Their sexuality is, of course, irrelevant...but the perception of it has made them targets.
09/03/09
09/03/09
09/03/09
And the more I heard about the details of the case, the more horrified I was, and I realized that stuff like this should never, ever happen to anyone. I just hope his story can continue to change people's minds like it did mine.
09/03/09
That really does need to change immediately.
09/03/09
There are no words for this type of hatred.
09/03/09
That detail made me cry.
08/25/09
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08/25/09
No idea if you're the only person who hated it-- I found it a very interesting story (but can't say I was blown away by the writing quality or style), and rather eye-opening.
ETA: Hopefully that didn't come off as judgy or anything-- usually it's me who is the only person who hates something, so I was just genuinely curious!
08/25/09
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08/25/09
I'm sure there was some exaggeration, as there is in any memoir or biography, but I think the majority of it was truthful
It's not like A Million Little Pieces, which I never understood how anyone didn't notice was full of glaring medical impossibilities
08/25/09
Yeah, I read that for my book club before it all came out about it being made up, and was the only one who A) hated it, and B) was confused at some of the inconsistencies and "science" in it.
08/25/09
08/25/09
08/25/09
Then you have something like "What is the What" where David Eggers claims everything couldn't be verified so they are calling it a novel, but you can't help but think about how other Sudanese refugees have flat-out memoirs. Are the other memoirs wrong? Or did Eggers just have too much trouble with the form's restrictions so he decided to fictionalize the protagonist's story to make it more interesting and read better?
If you're still claiming everything is true, you shouldn't be able to classify it as fiction. I think.
08/01/09
So I can really see how Bauer would have trouble fitting into the New York literary/artistic scene, when I've seen firsthand how judgmental people can be found on both sides of the aisle. And she hardly sounds like she's a fire-and-brimstone type; she just has strong beliefs and doesn't want to change them to fit in.
07/30/09
However, I do have to wonder about the narrative of the book. Usually what attracts people to memoirs is the promise of redemption or of some sort of transformation on a personal level. Good writing is necessary, of course, but there has to be something else to make it compelling.
The NYT ran an article about a similar memoir, which seems to be one about contentment. I just have to wonder, what possible story arc is there when your narrative is focused around trying to stay exactly the way you are.
07/29/09