Statement from Matthew Shepard Foundation regarding PEREZHILTON.COM

[meegbear]

The Matthew Shepard Foundation was surprised to learn this morning via media reports that blogger Perez Hilton (Mario Lavandeira) has announced he plans to donate, to our organization, the proceeds of a lawsuit he is contesting over an altercation which has been widely reported in recent days.

We had no advance notice or contact from Mr. Hilton or his representatives regarding this proposal, nor any communication since he posted this plan to his website.

We do not know the details of the lawsuit, whether it has been filed, the nature of his claims or the likely outcome. But because the lawsuit presumably involves the physical attack prompted by Mr. Hilton's admitted use of an anti-gay slur, the Foundation will be unable to accept any funds obtained in such a manner.

We very much appreciate the generosity of the offer to support our continuing work to memorialize Matthew through activism in defense of sexual minorities and in favor of understanding, compassion, and acceptance. But because so much of our work involves education to reduce the use of hateful language against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons, or those so perceived, it would be inappropriate for us to benefit financially from circumstances in which such a verbal attack was involved.

While we applaud Mr. Hilton's apology to the LGBT community and their loved ones for his use of such a slur, we also feel compelled to point out that use of epithets can often lead to physical violence, as it appears it may have in this case, and that the Matthew Shepard Foundation has worked for more than 10 years to bring to people's attention the consequences of hateful or inolerant language.

Judy Shepard
Chair, MSF Governing Board

http://www.matthewshepard.org/site/PageServer

:thumbsup:

[WillParkinson]

1. I love this woman...

Money is good, denying hate is better.

[joeybee12]

6. I do, too...very nice letter...

I personally would have told Perez to STFU...that's why they don't let me write letters!

[glowing]

2. What happened? Perhaps, Perez should just donate annonymously without

the hyped-drama he normally goes for.

[meegbear]

3. You can read about it here ...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31531807/ns/entertainment-celebrities

[jeremyfive]

4. Ban words?

When will we stop this idiotic approach to try to ban words to end discrimination? It's a dead end. It will never happen. It curtails freedom. Many other reasons. Thought police are just as unwelcome as dictatorial rule.

The goal should be to rid words of their destructive and effective power, while promoting mutual understanding.

The idea of banning words is idiotic.

(Absolutely no offense meant to Judy Shepherd or the Matthew Shephard Foundation, one of my preferred charities.)

[WillParkinson]

5. Banning words?

Who said anything about banning words? Did I miss something here?

[joeybee12]

7. Certain words are always going to have a hateful connotation..

...and BTW, if they've been released, ie, spoken, they're no longer "thoughts"

[Toasterlad]

8. I Think You're Missing the Point.

No one is more of a "fierce advocate" of non-censorship than I am. I abhor the idea of making any language off-limits. However, I don't believe that the objection here is to the words, it's to the way they were used. Perez Hilton, as a gay man, should have a better understanding than most how inflammatory gay slurs can be, and he chose to use the word anyway (my personal belief is that he was DELIBERATELY trying to provoke a confrontation). In this case, his use of the word is no better than the use of the word by a group of skinheads preying on one or two helpless gay boys or girls. It's the CONTEXT, the way the word was used that makes it harmful, and THAT is what Judy Shephard is (rightfully) campaigning against.

You should be able to use whatever words you like, whenever you like. However, if you are going to use words to debase and terrorize a group of people, there should be consequences to your actions.

Choose your words with care.