THIS IS A LONG READ, BUT EVERY WORD IS WORTH IT.

Matthew Wayne Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming, in October 1998. He was attacked on the night of October 6–7, and died in the cold at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, on October 12 from severe head injuries.

During the trial, witnesses stated that Shepard was targeted because he was homosexual. Shepard’s murder brought national and international attention to the issue of hate crime legislation at the state and federal levels.

During the trial, Chastity Pasley and Kristen Price, girlfriends of McKinney and Henderson (his murderers), testified that Henderson and McKinney both plotted beforehand to rob a gay man. […] After befriending him, they took him to a remote area outside of Laramie where they robbed him, assaulted him severely, and tied him to a fence with a rope from McKinney’s truck while Shepard pleaded for his life. Media reports often contained the graphic account of the pistol whipping and his fractured skull. It was reported that Shepard was beaten so brutally that his face was completely covered in blood, except where it had been partially washed clean by his tears.

The anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, led by Fred Phelps, picketed Shepard’s funeral as well as the trial of his assailants, displaying signs with slogans such as “Matt Shepard rots in Hell”, “AIDS Kills Fags Dead” and “God Hates Fags”, and built a monument with Shephard’s picture with the words “”MATTHEW SHEPARD, Entered Hell October 12, 1998, in Defiance of God’s Warning: ‘Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind; it is abomination.’ Leviticus 18:22.”

His memorial service was attended by friends and family from around the world and garnered immense media attention that brought Matt’s story to the forefront of the fight against bigotry and hate. The life and death of Matthew Shepard changed the way we talk about, and deal with, hate in America. Since his death, Matt’s legacy has challenged and inspired millions of individuals to erase hate in all its forms. Although Matt’s life was short, his story continues to have a great impact on young and old alike.  His legacy lives on in thousands of people like you who actively fight to replace hate with understanding, compassion and acceptance.

Remember, hate exists in all shapes and forms. Just because you don’t beat up a homosexual and kill him doesn’t mean you can label yourself as accepting; intolerance can easily stem from hate in its smallest forms, for example, to think that homosexuality is wrong, or by saying you don’t approve of homosexuality, is still hate. By being intolerant of others, you are indirectly tolerating hatred, no matter how “small” you think it is, because it is THESE small misconceptions of yours that allow for even more dangerous things to happen, either to yourself or to others, and it is these misconceptions that are promoting hatred even further. It is by thinking “being gay is wrong!” that fuels news stories like these.

To ‘em haters: I’m not gonna give up on this, so if you have anything to say about me being annoying, don’t, because that would just prove that your intolerance also constitutes of hatred and fuels wars. Got a problem, leave, don’t send me hate messages when I can clearly post whatever I wish to on my blog. I will NOT stop no matter how disturbing you think my support is; SIMPLY unfollow. I don’t really care if my LGBT-supportive posts are getting in your happy way of viewing my doodles with pleasure. It’s like me telling you “OH I LIKE YOUR POSTS BUT YOUR POSTS THAT PROMOTE RELIGION SHOULD BE ERADICATED FROM YOUR BLOG PLZ??” or forbidding you to post something on your blog just because I enjoy your other posts. If you have a problem, unfollow, it’s the easiest thing to do. Your intolerance is like, if I hated religion for being a source of intolerance for some people, but yet, alas, I do not hate religion at all and accept it because it preaches love and tolerance - what you should preach as well. Because I want to be able to accept all people of different religions, cultures, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or whatever else. No matter what, this is also my blog, take it or leave it. <3 I’d be happier without homophobic followers, to be quite honest. :)

I never explicitly said that you were omfg so wrongg!!!111, but I am saying that your intolerance of love is a very dangerous misconception that hinders the equality of love in this world. But accuse me all you want, flame me all you want, it will make no difference and I will never give up to fight for human rights. :) Don’t throw shit at me for posting whatever I wish to on my blog, because I would NOT do the same if I saw religious things on your blog. Just because I’m not religious doesn’t mean I should yell at you and hate on you for your support of religion, as I am tolerant of religions, so just because you don’t believe in HUMAN Rights doesn’t mean you should yell at me and hate on me for MY support.

Even shorter: If you hate me for this, unfollow and leave, don’t fuel even more hatred by trying argue it out of me, and don’t be quick to judge me or yell at me just for posting about what I support: human rights. Your hatred, intolerance, and hatemails is really quite low; to give someone shit for posting on their blog is very disrespectful.

I’m just asking you to open your minds to the acceptance of love in all forms, because love, no matter what, is wonderful.

To all my WONDERFUL supporters, I can’t think you enough for your support, love, and acceptance; your words of encouragement really overwhelm me with pride and hope for a better world of equality. Don’t give up on hope. You can trust that I will live to make the difference I wish to see in this world.

Thank you.