A Defense of Mr. Jefferson and His University

As a student at the University of Virginia, I have been given a healthy/heavy dose of the teachings and beliefs of Thomas Jefferson, the founder of the University.  I have also been introduced into a community of diversity and a great deal of acceptance, things that were long absent in the once all-white, all-male Southern school.  The University has come a long way, something to rejoice about on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, such novel ideas are coming under fire tonight at the University Chapel.  Our Queer and Allied Activism Student Group is putting on a performance of the famed "Laramie Project," a play about the murder of Matthew Sheppard.  Like Clockwork, the controversial Westboro Baptist Church has promised to send a group of protesters to threaten the performance.  They will bring hate to our grounds.  They will be violent (continue on, dear reader...)
Such acts by the WBC are nothing new.  Not only have they been known to protest funerals of Homosexuals, they have also been known to protest other performances of the "Laramie Project."  In Virginia, we are especially aware of their actions, remembering vividly their plans to protest the funerals of those killed in the Virginia Tech shootings. The schedule of protests is on their website, so members can pick and choose when hatred is most convenient for them (sidenote: take my word for it: please don't give them hits on their website).

The WBC, in advertising this particular protest, has provided a direct attack on Mr. Jefferson, his University, and our community: Here's a sample straight from their website (www.godhatesfags.com) (again, try not to give them the website hits):

"University of VA in the Chapel - Matt Is STILL In hell! McCormick Road and University Avenue Oh my, oh my - now we hear from the students at the University of Virginia. They think they are soooo special because they go to this pig farm started by that old heretic Thomas Jefferson. Is there any wonder that they are perverts from their core? That filthy whore-monger (rapist really) who did not really like the King James Bible, so he took him a knife (literally) and cut out all and only those parts which pleased him (what with being a filthy libidinous rapist and all) and put those parts in his own book. That's right! Here is the intellectual off-spring of that perverse PIG! They believe they too can change these plain simple words, and perhaps by that remove Matthew Sheperd from HELL! That is NOT going to happen! Read the words, fear God and obey God. Le 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination. Le 20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. AMEN!"

Such an attack hurts me on so many counts.  First of all, an attack on Mr. Jefferson is an attack on the principles which founded this country, principles espoused by those who faithfully follow Raising Kaine.  It is an attack on all who call UVa their alma mater, those who humbly try to make the world a better place with the knowledge they gain here.  Mr. Jefferson, a "filthy whore-monger?"  UVa, a "pig farm?"  You've never been here, you haven't gone here: you have no idea.

But perhaps more urgently, the attack hurts me because I have many friends at UVa who are open members of the LGBT community. One of my friends is actually playing WBC founder Fred Phelps in the play.  I fear for his safety.  A group of UVa students have planned a mass "protest of the protest."  I fear for their safety.  I plan to attend the protest.  I fear for my safety.

And yet, I also find hope in this situation.  The protest from the UVa students looks like it will be very large, and for that we can rejoice.  It appears as though, while we may not always do so, we can finally say that UVa is doing a better job of living up to the words of Mr. Jefferson (if not always his actions).  In addition, we can also point to last Tuesday as proof that Hope and Change are possible, and that such hatred is so-last century (I will be wearing my Obama shirt tonight).  We can also rejoice that there is almost universal disdain for the actions of such hateful groups-Conservatives and Liberals alike reject their actions, and try to undermine them in so many ways.

For now, dear reader, I ask you only to pray for those involved in the protest and the production of "The Laramie Project" tonight.  It will be important for us to keep the peace: we must respect their rights, we must take the high ground.

I leave with a famous quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.  The Reverend King's words almost always inspire hope and optimism, and these are particularly poignant for the protest that will take place tonight, and for the LGBT community in general (you can find the speech this is taken from here: http://www.stanford.edu/group/...

You know my friends, there comes a time when people get tired of being trampled by the iron feet of oppression ... If we are wrong, the Supreme Court of this nation is wrong. If we are wrong, the Constitution of the United States is wrong. And if we are wrong, God Almighty is wrong. If we are wrong, Jesus of Nazareth was merely a utopian dreamer that never came down to Earth. If we are wrong, justice is a lie, love has no meaning. And we are determined here in Montgomery to work and fight until justice runs down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

Ponies and rainbows to come later (congrats, Tom Perriello)...

Comments