Sometimes I feel like I’m far away from 2,000 and then there are times I suddenly realize that I should be there by the end of this month, depending upon the rate at which I keep posting.
Today, offering her thoughts, is Snooker in Berlin.
When Adam asked me to comment on one of my favorite posts of his, I was torn. Not over his entire body of work as might be expected, but more so over the idea of choosing just one post on a particular subject which he often revisits.
No, I’m not talking about NSFW content such as the funny and addictive Squirt game Kingdom Cum.
Actually Iím thinking about his awareness and sorrow over the Matthew Shephard incident in Laramie, Wyoming.
Like Adam I was also stricken by the brutality of what happened to a fellow gay person and had significant moments of reflection over the thought of a young man beaten to within an inch of his life and left to die tied to a fence for 18 hours, eventually slipping into a five day coma before dying… all for the idea of who he would choose to love.
Unlike Adam I did not have a personal connection to the college town which ended up under a microscope, with the rest of the United States shaking their heads and saying that it “couldn’t happen here”.
Through the years he’s touched on the subject many times. Each anniversary leads him to reflect on his thoughts and to remember what he went through as he learned the news of what happened to that “scarecrow” tied to a fence to die.
I think my favorite of Adam’s many blog posts on the event is probably this one. The first part of the post was written at an arm’s length from the subject, reflecting on how society responds to shared experiences and transformational events.
However the second part deals more with Adam’s real feelings and the effect the event had on him at a personal level.
As much as I enjoy Adam’s blog, it rarely reaches this level of intimacy including exploration of his true feelings, even admitting his tears and having trouble coping.
What I like about this topic is that for me, Adam is suddenly transformed from a tongue-firmly-in-cheek, smart-assed expatriate (not ex-patriot) into a human being with deep feelings and emotions. More real for me, so to speak… and infinitely refreshing.
Thanks Adam for sharing, and congratulations on your blogging milestone.
More coming…
Adam does have a unique way of presenting what can often times be described as delicate information or subjects.
Like Adam, I also attended the University of Wyoming (that is where I met him), and was also upset at the Matthew Shepard incident.
Sadly, while a large portion of the US would shake their heads at this incident, there are still far too many places here that would say that it *should* be happening there. I find that rather tragic in itself.
Still, the young man who died did not do so for no purpose. While his life was short, he did bring a lot of awareness to the fact that we homosexuals are still people. I would prefer to have Matthew with us today, but if he had to go, at least he went in such a way that raised awareness of just how often our fellow humans can be inhuman.
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