It is extremely heartbreaking when a mother loses her child. Imagine discovering that your son or daughter was piston-whipped and tied to a fence for 18 hours. Well that is what Judy Shepard had gone through. Judy Shepard and her husband recieved a phone call two years ago with the news that there son, Mathew Shepard, was in the hospital in serious condition. Mathew Shepard, a gay student from the University of Wyoming, was kidnapped and brutally beaten by two men who posed as homosexuals. The two men, Russel Henderson and Aaron McKinney, were sentenced to death without a chance of parole.

Though the two men have recieved a deserved punishment, it still will not justify the anguish that Judy Shepard faces. This incident is another example of how intolerance for gays and lesbians is still in existence. A young man, just shy of his 22nd birthday, lost his life because of homophobic views. It is an outrage that this still exist. And as Judy Shepard explained, hate is a learned behavior. Those who are ignorant were not born ignorant. Those who are intolerant to others were not born that way. Hate and detestation are an aquired comportment. Somewhere down the line, they were taught to not talk to that girl simply because her skin is too dark. Or they were ordered not to hang out with that boy because he seems a little fruity.

Hate is an unwelcomed emotion and it is a pity that it still exist. Matthew Shepard's murder is a tragedy that should not have occured. Though we live in a new millenium, we still face these things. Hate will never go away unless we make it. We need those like Judy Shepard to teach others to abandon their prejudice towards others. And as I said before hate will never go away unless we make it.