MTV aired its much-advertised "Anatomy of a Hate Crime" on January 10th as part of its Fight for Your Rights campaign against hate in the United States. The made-for-television film purported to tell the story of the final months of Matthew Shepard's life. More than that, however, the movie's producer, Lawrence Bender, sought to advance the fantasies of martyrdom that have become the hallmark of left-wing gay political activists.

Matthew Shepard was murdered at age 21 by two savage thugs who singled him out because he was gay. The crime was horrendous and the criminals were rightfully sentenced to life in prison. But does this make Matthew Shepard a hero? Simpsons fans will recall an episode several years ago in which Timmy O'Toole, a fictional boy invented by Bart, was believed to have fallen down a well. While watching a news report, Lisa and Homer had a memorable exchange.

Homer: That boy is a hero.

Lisa: How is he a hero?

Homer: He fell down a well.

Lisa: How does that make him a hero?

Homer: Well... it's more than you did.

The tragic death of Matthew Shepard has been exploited and distorted for political purposes, namely the criminalization of speech and thought deemed politically unpopular. To this end, facts and reality have been cast aside in favor of the emotional tugging of heartstrings. Gay advocates have attempted to paint a picture of an America in which thousands of gays are battered and murdered each day, but the statistics tell a far different story.

Andrew Sullivan, a well-known gay libertarian, reported that in 1997, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) documented three hate-motivated murders of gays in the entire country. The FBI compiled this number through documentation from over 10,000 reporting agencies around the United States. Underreporting is highly unlikely due to the simple fact that corpses must be counted. Sullivan offered:

"…Let's assume that the FBI understates gay hate-crime murders by a factor of five. That makes 15 anti-gay murders a year. Further assume that around five percent of the population is gay. That means that the chance of a gay American meeting the same fate as Matthew Shepard is about one in a million. Or about the same as being hit by a railroad train."

Shepard's murder is regrettable, but it is hardly indicative of a national crisis of gays being butchered. Gay political activists have every incentive to distort this fact. To gain power, these agents of intolerance must create a sense of urgency, chaos, and oppression. Shepard's death has been turned into a slick marketing campaign designed to bring money and power to the gay lobby.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and other liberal gay rights groups have used Shepard's image and story as the centerpiece of their fund-raising efforts. Recently, the HRC raised over $500,000 in a black-tie dinner with Shepard's memory as the main attraction. Organizations like the HRC, The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) use their power and influence to silence critics.

GLSEN leaders have tied themselves closely with MTV's Fight for Your Rights campaign. Jim Anderson, a spokesman for GLSEN, appeared on MTV on the night of the Shepard film and announced GLSEN's position that "hate speech equals hate crime." While in complete violation of the First Amendment, Anderson's proclamation was met with warm applause from the MTV audience who is largely ignorant of the Constitution's protections of civil liberties. Such consciousness is only aroused when Tipper Gore attempts to label sexually explicit music.

In addition to his proposed criminalization of speech, Anderson cited a 2000 national school climate survey from GLSEN that found that "69% of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered young people had experienced some type of harassment or violence in school." GLSEN's definition of "harassment" would include a gay student reading this article and being offended by its content.

GLAAD and the HRC gained national media attention in 2000 by attacking Dr. Laura Schlessinger, an Orthodox Jew, because she opposes homosexuality on religious grounds. Schlessinger has been an outspoken supporter of traditional family values, including her belief that a child is best served by being raised by a married two-parent heterosexual couple. Citing her words as "hate speech", GLAAD, the HRC, and other extremist organizations have tried to get her radio and television programs taken off the air.

In 1994-1995, Cornell University's own Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered Coalition (LGBTC) and its subsidiary, Direct Action to Stop Homophobia (DASH), terrorized Professor James Aist, Plant Pathology, because Dr. Aist put up posters around campus offering assistance to gay Christians who wanted to change their sexual orientation.

On February 8, 1995, radicals representing the LGBTC and DASH stormed the Plant Pathology Department and took over its offices for over six hours. The standoff ended after university officials agreed to students' demands that Aist be investigated for sexual harassment. In total, gay leftists attempted to convict Aist of sexual harassment nearly a dozen times. Following pressure from The Cornell American, The First Amendment Coalition, and even the liberal Cornell Daily Sun, all charges against Aist were dropped, much to the LGBTC's dismay.

Why more gay young people are not offended by organizations like GLSEN, GLAAD, the HRC, and the Cornell LGBTC is a mystery. Like most leftist gay activist organizations, each treats young gays as if they were sniveling, whining, emotional wrecks, unable to handle differing opinions without bursting into tears and jumping off a bridge. This is the essence of the politics of victimization. One brave young girl in the audience of an MTV town meeting on Matthew Shepard had the guts to say so. She stood up to John Norris and asked the assembled panel:

"I'm Celia and me being a lesbian I don't feel that I should be subjected to any type of special treatment so would hate crime legislation really be justifiable?"

The panel of gay rights activists looked shocked and was silent for a moment. No doubt that they were horrified that "one of their own" had an independent thought. Celia was clearly not a victim, was proud of who she was, and did not want the government treating her any differently than it would treat anyone else who was the victim of a crime.

Conservatives often cite the special rights argument offered by Celia to oppose the gay rights agenda and rightfully so. First, hate crime legislation would treat the murderer of an 80-year-old white grandmother differently from the murderer of a 20-year-old gay college student if in the latter case, the murderer uttered the word 'fag' while he stabbed the victim. Why are these crimes different? Is the latter crime more heinous than the former?

Why does it matter whether the murderer is homophobic or not? If he kills someone, he is a murderer, regardless of the motivation. Certainly, whether the murder is premeditated and whether the deathblow was intentional will determine the precise criminal charge, but why should the degree of hate in the killer's heart matter? As then-Governor Bush said in the second presidential debate, murder is a hate crime. A gay victim is not more valuable than a straight victim and therefore is not entitled to special rights.

Second, proponents of hate crimes go further and adopt the position that hateful speech is a crime in and of itself. They seek to limit the freedom of speech of political and philosophical opponents. The Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths all teach that engaging in homosexuality is morally wrong. Because this teaching interferes with the agenda of gay rights activists, they proclaim that it constitutes "hate speech" and attempt to squelch it, as in the cases of Dr. Laura, Professor Aist, and the Pope.

Trampling on the First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion are of little consequence to these activists in their acquisition of political clout. The leaders of GLAAD, GLSEN, and the HRC want gays to have the special right not to be offended by dissenters and are willing to take constitutional rights away from others to get it.

Gay activists' framing of the political debate is also troubling and quite typical of liberal emotionalism. Rather than focusing on the facts and law of hate crimes, these activists accuse opponents of hate crime laws of being evil monsters. Andrew Sullivan crystallizes this point:

"Any qualms, for example, about hate-crime laws, and you are deemed a heartless hater. When the Hate Crimes Prevention Act failed in a House-Senate conference…, HRC's executive director, Elizabeth Birch, declared that the decision 'showed a callous disregard for hate-crime victims and their families.' As simple as that. Are you a bad person or a good one?"

"Anatomy of a Hate Crime" reflects that the politics of emotionalism, victimization, and martyrdom is alive and well. Matthew Shepard has become a messianic figure, complete with Princess Diana and JFK Jr.-style tears. Gay supporters take meccas to the fence where Shepard was beaten and left for dead. Cy Carter, the actor who portrayed Shepard in the MTV movie, ended the film by saying "Don't forget me," bringing to mind Jesus' words "Do this in memory of me" at the Last Supper.

Matthew Shepard's death was senseless and it is clear that the perpetrators were motivated by pure evil. But Matthew Shepard is not a hero. He was simply a young man who had his life cut short by uncivilized savages. Young gay Americans are not oppressed victims and should not be treated as poor, pathetic, fragile puppies by their political leaders. It is long past time that liberty-loving gays, including the nearly 25% who voted for George W. Bush in the last election, demand an end to the demeaning politics of false martyrdom and symbolism. The current political regime should be overturned and replaced by leaders who adopt positions consistent with the preservation of individual liberty, reverence for the First Amendment, and support for true equal protection under the law.