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These were the only articles that I was able to obtain for free. More articles may be found, and purchased at, http://www.theday.com/archives/?spltext=laramie .
-Laramie Project Articles-
-Counter-protest Articles-
| 'Bravo' To Students And Staff At Waterford High | | To The Editor Of The Day: |
As an alumnus of Waterford High School and its drama club (class of 1984), it was with extreme pride that I read the article titled “Students, bikers, others shield memorial from Kansas protest group,” published Dec. 17.
| Waterford Drama Club Inspires Love, Tolerance | | To The Editor Of The Day: |
I attended the memorial this past Saturday for Army Capt. Jason Hamill and I was moved to the brink of tears several times by the surrounding events. This young man's sacrifice for our country was made tangible by the Purple Heart, Silver Star and other honors displayed in the back of the church. I applaud the actions of the Waterford High School students and the bikers who sent a strong message on Saturday that hatred, intimidation and bigotry will not be tolerated in our community. (“Students, bikers, others shield memorial from Kansas group,” Dec. 17.) The Waterford High School drama club had already caught my attention with its production of “The Laramie Project,” but its members' willingness to stand shoulder-to-shoulder against extremism at the funeral of a local soldier has led me to speak out publicly. As a member of the leadership team of an urban public high school, I have worked hard to help build a school that not only tolerates, but celebrates, diversity, and where, in the recent words of one prominent state education official, “no student is anonymous.” In my arrogance, I sometimes allow myself to believe that my school is unique in this regard or, at least, that we are way better than “those suburban schools,” with their homogeneity and suspicion of difference. What a treat to be proved wrong in such a powerful and public way — and by my own alma mater, no less. It is wonderful to know that after more than 20 years, Waterford High School still has things to teach me — in this case: humility. Congratulations to the faculty, staff and administration of Waterford High School, and especially to the drama staff. They have achieved the most important mission of any public school: To grow educated, enlightened and engaged citizens. To the students I say, “Bravo.” And, of course, “Encore.” Editor's note: The writer is assistant principal of the Sound School Regional Vocational Aquaculture Center in New Haven. On the street in front of the church, I came across a friend holding an American flag. Veterans and motorcyclists stood in a sea of red, white and blue providing a peaceful human buffer of respect for the grieving family. A bagpipe honor guard filed past each supporter, shook their hands and thanked them. Across the street, a small but vile group assembled trying to take advantage of this memorial service to sell their homophobia. They taunted that God is killing our soldiers because the United States is tolerant of homosexuals. The ridiculous behavior of these traveling “church” members will hopefully have just the opposite effect on the communities they target. I don't know how hatred and intolerance grows, but seeing this hatred face-to-face only inspired me toward more tolerance and love for the 10 percent of humanity who are gay. A group of students from the Waterford High School drama club, who recently presented “The Laramie Project,” also stood there. In their misty eyes, I could see the same confusion I felt. Their innocent faces seemed to be silently pleading: “Why hate? Why not love?” From what I read about the play, an encore production of “The Laramie Project” would be a service to our community. I missed it the first time. I'd like to be in the front row next time.
| Students' Message One Of Courage And Respect | | To The Editor Of The Day: |
It takes a great deal of true courage and personal conviction to stand up in a situation like that. Groups such as the Waterford High School drama club, which also presented “The Laramie Project,” and the East Lyme High School Gay/Straight Alliance are truly making a positive difference in the community and in the lives of these young, future leaders.
Willingness to get involved and participate in shaping the community should be an example for us all to follow. I'm encouraged that people such as these will one day teach another generation and will inherit the future leadership of our country.
| The Harshness Of Free Speech | | Hamill funeral a grave reminder that freedom of speech sometimes imposes a harsh burden. |
The memorial service Saturday in East Lyme for Army Capt. Jason Hamill was remarkable in many ways, not the least of which was the love and respect shown the fallen soldier and his family by drama students from Waterford High School and from a parade of motorcyclists. Both groups were there to shield the Hamill family and friends from the vituperative and sick attitude expressed by a protest group from Westboro Baptist Church of Kansas. Its message was full of hate for human beings. God, they said, is killing American soldiers as a punishment for the tolerance of homosexuals in the United States.
There were at least three remarkable parts to this sad, solemn day. First was the respect demonstrated by many people who did not know Capt. Hamill. Among them were the high school drama students who just a week earlier had performed “The Laramie Project.” This play depicts the murder in 1998 of Matthew Shepard, a gay man. One character in the play is Fred Phelps, leader of the Westboro Church.
The second remarkable event was the fact that Westboro church members would be so mean-spirited as to travel across the country to a funeral for a soldier and spread their hostile theories about gay people. We ask ourselves: How could people be so unkind as to invade the family's privacy and to speak with no understanding or sympathy?
The difficult part in the face of such outrageous action is to acknowledge vulgarity and rancor are as much protected in our laws as the right to assemble to praise others for their goodness. The defense of liberty is not simple in nature. It requires great patience. It even makes necessary the suffering of indignities that may cut deeply into the human spirit.
The third and most striking part about this extraordinary day was the affirmation of the right to free speech. Americans have a remarkable tolerance for allowing others to speak their beliefs, no matter how distorted, hateful and distasteful their ideas may be. It was this respect for free speech, terrible though the words were, that created this dramatic scene in East Lyme.
Yet on noting this painful occasion, Americans can feel good about the values that protect this form of freedom. It's easy to listen to arguments with which one agrees. Permitting others to speak with most venomous statements requires great character. Such discipline and dedication to constitutional freedom in all its forms has made the United States a respected nation among the countries of the world. In a dramatic way, the character of Americans showed in the funeral on Saturday.
Democracy and freedom get tested every day in this country. The memorial Saturday gave a graphic and even grim display of how this nation endures even the most vile of individuals in order to defend the liberties of all. Capt. Hamill died trying to help give access to freedom for the Iraqis. His memorial service, with protesters and supporters on hand, reminded this region of the many kinds of sacrifices required to keep a nation free.
Students, Bikers, Others Shield Memorial From Kansas Protest Group
East Lyme — The drama club students stood silently.
Dressed in black and holding signs, they stood on a corner at the entrance to St. Matthias Church, face to face with a hatred they had only studied in school.
Across the street, members of the Westboro Baptist Church stood on a patch of grass, in town to protest at the memorial Mass Saturday for fallen Army Capt. Jason Hamill.
The buzz of traffic on Route 161 sliced between the groups.
For about 20 minutes before other counterprotesters arrived, it was only the students and the church group.
About a dozen members of the Waterford High School Drama Club faced about seven members of the vociferous church members from Topeka, Kan., here to condemn America's tolerance of homosexuals, claiming that God is killing U.S. soldiers in retaliation.
One week earlier, the curtain had closed on the students' performance of “The Laramie Project,” a play about the 1998 murder of Matthew Shephard, a gay man. One of the characters in the play is Fred Phelps, leader of the Westboro church.
The play includes a scene depicting protesters and a counter-protest.
“You knew the play was based on real things that happen, but (then) ... it's in your community, and it is happening here,” said Mandy Weiss, 17, a Waterford senior. “We've seen it portrayed, but when it's 10 feet in front of you, it's so much different than having actors doing it.”
Weiss added: “It's just overwhelming ... that there's only seven of them that are there and so powerful in all their hate. ... A lot of us, including myself, started to cry. You can't believe there are people right here in our community doing this.”
The members of the church carried signs and sang songs meant to provoke: “God killed your kids,” “Thank God for dead soldiers,” and a sign reading, “Fag xmas” that included stick figures intended to portray two gay men having sex.
The drama club students stood silently.
The protesters sang “God Hates America” and twisted a John Denver song into a version of a song about the movie “Brokeback Mountain.” A man paced the lawn with a video camera pointed at the students and then, a little later, at the approximately 125 motorcycles that roared in.
Members of more than seven motorcycle groups came to the church to counter the protest, including the New London Motorcycle Club and the national Patriot Guard Riders, which formed to shield grieving families from the church group. Extra state and local police were on hand Saturday to direct traffic and for crowd control, but they reported no problems.
The Hamill family arrived at St. Matthias well in advance of the protesters.
The church members heckled the students, telling them they had been fed lies, calling them “awkward,” and shouted that there is no honor in memorializing a soldier.
“It's not a blessing when your sons and daughters come home in bits and pieces,” shouted a man across the street.
The drama club students stood silently.
This is what they do, Shane Valle, director of the drama club, said about the church group. They provoke people into responding or assaulting them, and then they sue.
Besides, said Valle, “We know that no matter what we say to these people, it wouldn't affect them in any way. Let them spew their hate.”
While the hatred brought Weiss and several others in the drama club to tears, Gabe Luxton, a senior, was bewildered — and disgusted.
“I found that in real life they just were ridiculous,” Luxton said afterwards. “It was just totally — (things) I wouldn't even expect. ... Everything they said was so far-fetched, it didn't really make much sense.”
About an hour later, after the Mass was under way, the drama club students broke their silence.
As the protesters got into their SUV and drove away, someone started singing, “Amazing Grace.” And the rest of the group joined in.
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