Shepard Vandalized
Online
NewsPlanet Staff
Wednesday, December 16, 1998 / 07:31 PM
SUMMARY: It wasn't enough for fans of a pro wrestler to stuff "TIME's" ballot box against Matthew Shepard, they had to disrupt the anti-hate website bearing his name as well.
Online memorials to murdered gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard have taken some rude hits this week from rabid fans of a professional wrestler. They've used repeated messages not only to shove Mick Foley's name past Shepard's on "TIME" magazine's 1998 Man of the Year electronic poll, but also to crush an important Shepard bulletin board.
Shepard had actually been leading the online poll "TIME" mounted for netizens to help with its Man of the Year selection. But in just the last two to three days, more than 60,000 votes have been logged for Mick Foley, a name which is listed three times among the nominees. One of our readers first discovered that at least one gaming Web site was directing players to go to the "TIME" site and vote for Foley, and then in further research of Usenet found numerous messages with the same direction, urging multiple votes. (The "TIME" poll site is not equipped to prevent multiple votes by the same visitor.) "TIME" never suggested that the online poll would be in any way binding on its actual selection of the Man of the Year, so don't look for Mick Foley (aka Cactus Jack and Dude Love) on the upcoming cover. But the prank would seem to dilute the impact of the strong online sentiment for recognizing Shepard, whose tragic death unquestionably created a new level of consciousness about gay-bashing across the U.S. and beyond.
The Matthew Shepard Online Resources Web site, created and maintained by John Aravosis of Wired Strategies, was one of the first sites created in connection with Shepard -- originally providing updates on his health while he was hospitalized before his death -- and has been maintained as perhaps the most complete resource on the subject. What Aravosis describes as a "continuous onslaught of anti-Shepard and anti-gay messages," many specifically stating the sentiment that Foley was more deserving of Man of the Year than "the fag," forced a temporary shut down of the site's bulletin board on December 14. He said, "The messages were so hateful and numerous [about 13,000] that my regular visitors begged me to take the board down. Instead I opted to erase all the messages -- good and bad -- until this blows over." He added, "It's really sad. It took a bunch of homophobes one day to nearly destroy an online community we spent two months building. I only hope the damage is temporary and people come back." At the time of the e-attack, an anti-hate group was using the website in its organizing.
December 14 was also the day that Shepard's mother announced the
goals of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, which the family hopes will through public
education "help people abandon ignorance, prejudice and hate" to "move
beyond tolerance to embrace and rejoice in diversity." She said that, "We hope
that many will share their efforts and their resources so that many may share Matt's
vision: Life is precious; we can work together to help each life have meaning and
dignity." Donations to the foundation can be made through the First National Bank of
Wyoming, 2020 Grand Ave., Laramie, WY 82070.
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