Selection From Losing Matt Shepard Analysis

All individuals have the right to express themselves in whatever ways they desire, as long as it is done in a sane, humane, and harmless way. All individuals have their own unique identity; people have their own likes, dislikes, and preferences which set them apart from others. Using these different preferences and uniqueness can allow governments, universities, and other institutions to become successful by creating diverse environments with people who all have different talents and identities. Protecting individuals’ identities allows them to express who they are, which is when their individual involvements are revealed. In “Selections from Losing Matt Shepard”, by Beth Loffreda, certain groups of individuals were not allowed to represent …show more content…
It is the role of governments or other institutions to ensure that others are protected and not subject to hate or other possible forms of violence. Institutions and governments must be responsible for ensuring safety to all individuals, no matter how different their identity may be. When Matt Shepard was killed, his friends placed some of the blame on “the Wyoming legislature’s failure to pass a hate crimes bill”, Matt’s friend, Walt Boulden, also claimed that he knew “someone would have to get killed or beaten before they finally listened,” (Loffreda 239). In this situation, the government failed to have legislation that would protect individuals from hate. Had the state government had laws enact, it may have deterred the perpetrators from beating Shepard to death. At the Citadel, upperclassmen governed over those younger to them. Discipline at The Citadel was a concept that many believed the cadets needed in order to adhere to their ideal character. However, with the school giving power to the students, it got out of control. Acts of hazing were common and were unreported to officials. “[Michael Lake] had undergone weeks of bruising encounters with upperclassmen encounters that included being knocked down with a rifle butt and beaten in the dark by a pack of cadets,” (Faludi 80). The school gave too much power to the older cadets, and because of that, they abused their power. Ultimately …show more content…
Everyone has a talent or hobby they excel in and when given the opportunity to express these hobbies it can allow for progress and ingenuity. Diverse communities allow for many individuals showcasing their creative identity and helping the community move forward. However, The Citadel did not allow for cadets to show any signs of creativeness. Instead, their identities were “’strip[ped]’” as the school intended to “remold [each cadet] into the ‘Whole Man’” (Faludi 25). In a school where all identities were the same, it created an environment where all of the cadets had the same beliefs and ideas. The lack of diverse identities made the school stay stagnant, with no real progress or anything to separate it from others. Similarly, America’s education system has created a standard curriculum for all students to follow. Once again, with this standard it limits the ability of the individuals. These standards create individuals who are the same, “in ways large and small, the [public school] process mimicked the forms of specialized labor on the assembly line” (Davidson 57). Assembly line workers all had common tasks to do, with nothing to truly separate one worker from the next. The fact that America’s school system is being compared to one shows that these standards limit individuals’ identities and restrict their possibilities and opportunities