Laramie Project

'Live and let live' is, at best, a load of crap. It basically boils down to: 'If I don't tell you I'm a fag, you won't beat the crap out of me'. What kind of philosophy is that? This quote by Stephen Belber highlights what I believe to be an important word in the book, “fag”. This word illustrates the hypocrisy of the “live and let live” philosophy that the people of Laramie continually highlight as their philosophy on life. This word also connects to the theme of prejudice. There are many forms of prejudice in this book including; class, religion and sexual orientation. The word “fag” specifically emphasizes the prejudice of sexual orientation. In addition to relating to the theme of prejudice, the word “fag” also plays a large part in the reoccurring theme of hate crimes. We can see this idea of hate in the character of Reverend Fred Phelps, who makes a statement that even God has hate. And the Reverend believes it is his job to preach God's hate.The Reverend says: "If God doesn't hate fags, why does he put 'em in hell?"

The theme of prejudice is an ever present theme in this text. The theme is established by the issues of homosexuality, religion, class, economics and education that were key factors in the hate crime against Matthew Shepard. The parents of Jedadiah Schultz disapprove Jedadiah’s tryout for a scholarship at the University of Wyoming theater program because it is a scene from “Angels in America” in which he plays the role of a homosexual character. This illustrates the theme of prejudice, specifically on the prejudice of homosexuality. However, when Jedadiah played the role of MacBeth, who was a murder, his parents had no problem watching him perform that role. I found this very interesting and I believe it connects to the theme of hates crimes and the theme of hypocrisy in the text. It’s not surprising with the attitude of “murder” okay, and “fag” not, that such a hate crime that occurred to Matthew Shepard would happen. This also connects to...