Gwen Araujo

Thursday, June 22, 2006

On Tuesday, June 20, I watched the Lifetime special "A Girl Like Me"...the story of Gwen Araujo. By the end of the film, I was cryng hysterically. It is difficult to determine which part of the portryal of Gwen's life was jardest to bear. There was the disdain, intolerance and ostracization by both her classmates AND teachers. The atrocity of her brutal murder and careless burial in a ditch was nothing short of gruesome. The visual impact of demonstrators at the funeral and outside the Guerrero home, informing Gwen's family that she was a sinner, that God hated her, that there was no worth to her life, was appalling. And, how can we forget the TWO trials...4 convictions...2 manslaughter, 2 2nd degree murder...NO hate crime charges!!

In this age of war and brutality...it seems a bit hypocritical that we do not hold Americans to the same ethical standards as we do for so called terrorists. Are not all brutal murders atrocities and should not all such heinous actd be held up as an example of the kind of behavior we do not tolerate?

I am against the death penalty. Nonetheless, I am of the opinion that these four perpetrators should have had to spend the remainder of their lives incarcerated, if only to serve as examples to the community that hate crimes will not, under any circumstance, be tolerated.

Have we really been unable, as a society, to move past the immorality of intolerance? What strides have we actually made? Have they been illusory at best?

We still see bigotry against all minorities. We still see hatred on account of skin color, race, religion, gender, sexual preference, tribal affinities and gender presentation.

IT HAS TO END if we ever want to become a civilized society. Until that day...we are savages who have not evolved past Neanderthol mindsets and barbaric world views.

trickster108