(Oregon)High school cancels play but spurs debate

Some say it's a shame that Southridge won't perform the work about a gay man

BEAVERTON -- Southridge High School's principal has stopped production of a controversial play due to profanities and sexual content.

But members of the theater community say "The Laramie Project" is under attack because it features a character who is gay.

"Southridge has prided itself on being diverse," said Jason Kniss, a 2005 Southridge graduate. "And if the school district and principal were to take this out, it would conflict with the founding principles there."

The play chronicles the true story of 21-year-old gay college student Matthew Shepard, who was killed seven years ago in Laramie, Wyo. The production, which has been performed at schools across the country, including Hillsboro's Century High School, pieces together the events surrounding the killing through the reactions of dozens of Laramie residents.

Southridge theater arts director Wade Willis says he selected the play for its educational value and the challenge it would present student actors.

"Everything I hear about presenting something 'controversial' is that you have to put forth all sides," Willis said Friday. "You can't be more complete than this in presenting multiple points of view."

Willis is holding a community meeting 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Southridge High auditorium to hear reaction from parents, students and community members.

Maureen Wheeler, Beaverton School District spokeswoman, said the play is considered controversial because it contains profanities and sexual content. Willis also failed to have the selection reviewed by Principal Amy Gordon under the district's controversial materials policies, Wheeler said.

Bill Johnson, Century High theater instructor, said "The Laramie Project" met initial resistance from Hillsboro school officials but eventually ran after profanities and one sensitive scene were removed.

"We looked at it from a discrimination standpoint," Johnson said. "It's a murder story and the victim happened to be gay, and that's why he was killed. Why is this any different from Anne Frank, who was killed for her religion, or 'Romeo and Juliet'?"

Homosexual Agenda Ping.

Bad news/good news in Beaverton. The Laramie Project is based on lies, since Shepard's killers admitted after sentencing they had been ordered to keep silent on the real motive for killing. It had nothing to do with Shepard's being homosexual. Drug culture, intoxication, and theft were, IIRC, the actual reasons.

And it is just another straw on the camel's back of "let's indoctrinate every school kid in the entire country that Gay is Good - in fact, Gay is Better than what used to be called Normal".

Freepmail me and DirtyHarryY2K if you want on/off this pinglist.

Note: See the disgusting comparison between Anne Frank, being murdered because of her religion, and homosexuals, in particular one homosexual, who was killed because of the drug subculture in which he apparently dwelled.

"We looked at it from a discrimination standpoint," Johnson said. "It's a murder story and the victim happened to be gay, and that's why he was killed.

And as we all know now Mathew Shepard was methamphetamine HIV ridden addict who wasn't killed because he was "gay" but because the two guys he picked up were in a "meth rage" committing a robbery. It's well known the murderers often hung around homosexuals and one was a closet bisexual.

Does "The Laramie Project" address this? No, they just keep putting forward the lies and mistruths built into the homosexual agenda.

(spits on ground)

[q]"We looked at it from a discrimination standpoint," Johnson said. "It's a murder story and the victim happened to be gay, and that's why he was killed. And as we all know now Mathew Shepard was methamphetamine HIV ridden addict who wasn't killed because he was "gay" but because the two guys he picked up were in a "meth rage" committing a robbery. It's well known the murderers often hung around homosexuals and one was a closet bisexual. Does "The Laramie Project" address this? No, they just keep putting forward the lies and mistruths built into the homosexual agenda. (spits on ground)[/q]

Okay. Mathew Shepard was not killed because he was a drug addict. He was killed because he was gay. He was in a bar and was APPROACHED (he wasn't the approacher) by the men. They led him under false pretenses (Saying they were gay and picked him up... which is in no different then a man picking up a woman at a bar.) into their car. They pistol whipped and violently beat him to the point that his head was so swollen that it was almost unrecognizable as human and the size of a pumpkin. Then Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney tied him to a fence post and left him for dead. He was found 18 HOURS later and died days later in intensive care.
When pressed by Vargas as to why he continued beating Shepard after he had already taken his wallet, McKinney said, 'Sometimes when you have that kind of rage going through you, there's no stopping it.'
McKinney says he directed Henderson to drive the truck to a secluded spot on the outskirts of Laramie so they could leave Shepard and have time to get away. They stopped at a wooden buck fence and took Shepard from the truck.
On McKinney's instructions, Henderson got a rope from the truck and tied Shepard to a fence post. Henderson claims at some point he tried, but failed, to stop McKinney from beating Shepard further.
In a statement to the court, Henderson said McKinney struck him across the face with the gun when he tried to stop the continued beating of Shepard. Henderson retreated to the truck, leaving McKinney alone with Shepard at the fence. McKinney tells "20/20" he fears these last blows he dealt Shepard at the fence were the fatal blows.[/q]

And that isn't even the point. The issue, the one real issue that isnt being addressed, except of course by Bill Johnson, is that the play is not about Matthew being gay! The play is about tolerance and giving the picture of society and letting you make your OWN decision based simply on the facts you are given.
Suhks, you say that "they just keep putting forward the lies and mistruths built into the homosexual agenda." when all that the play is, EVERY SINGLE WORD of it, is simply a compilation of interviews of the towns people of Laramie. Both sides of the issue are shown in this play and it is written in a way that is supposed to provoke thought and debate, but not impose a specific view. Matthew's mother even stated that she didn't want this play to be used for any political reasons, but instead simply to tell Matthew's story so that this wouldn't happen again.

The sad part of this whole thing is that those people who would benefit most from the message in The Laramie Project are those who are so very much against it - even though they don't know what it is - they wont even open their minds enough to sit down and watch this play and then make their judgments.

Okay. Mathew Shepard was not killed because he was a drug addict. He was killed because he was gay...blah, blah, blah w/some obscure "quote".

Only if you believe the homosexual propaganda. That ultraconservative media group "ABC 20/20" did an exposee, just to name a few, that addresses your pro-sodomy propaganda.

New Details Emerge in Matthew Shepard Murder

But maybe you can answer one question...why would McKinney murder a fellow sodomite?

Or are you just here to justify your own perversion or someone else's?

"Okay. Mathew Shepard was not killed because he was a drug addict. He was killed because he was gay."

He was killed because he lived in an underworld of methamphetamine, petty (AFAIK) crime, sexual perversion, and hung out with similar human scum. His death was a miserable affair, but he was not killed "because he was gay". He was killed by fellow drug addict human scum.

It's too bad they all didn't get help to leave their drug habits and/or sexual perverion/dysfunction behind and become normal productive human beings.

P.S. His killers should get the death penalty, as should all murderers, whether they murder homosexual drug addicts or grandmas.

The sad part of this whole thing is that those people who would benefit most from the message in The Laramie Project are those who are so very much against it - even though they don't know what it is - they wont even open their minds enough to sit down and watch this play and then make their judgments.

The sad part? The sad part is that homosexual activists attempt to adopt any excuse that might support thier push for societal acceptance of the unacceptable --more of the same homosexualization of society...

Kindly explain what the 'message' is that you apparently would promote and defend yet do not elaborate upon...

The only message I see in this story is one of homosexual activism among children -children who should rightly have parents rather than public school theater departments champion and convey any messages regarding sexuality and morality...

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