The despicable and utterly Neanderthal comments made today on the floor of the United States House of representatives during the floor debate over the extension of federal hate crime protections to include the categories of sexual orientation and gender identification were not - as some seem to think - the ravings of a completely deluded and utterly uninformed woman. They are, in fact, based on a 'news story' from none other than 20/20 - the ABC 'news' network.
More after the break......
Several years AFTER the completion of the trials of the 2 murderers of Matthew Shepherd, a 'witness' came forward claiming that one of the killers told her that Matt's sexual orientation was not a factor in the crime - that it was a robbery/drug deal gone wrong:
Information on Matthew Shepherd Killing and Aftermath
In late 2004, ABC's Elizabeth Vargas reported on an investigation into the murder for the television program 20/20. Though Vargas primarily relied on personal interviews with people involved with the matter, the report was billed as exploring "New Details Emerging in the Matthew Shepard Murder."[3] At the forefront was the possibility that the murder had in fact been motivated by drugs rather than Shepard's sexual orientation. McKinney, Henderson and Kristen Price (McKinney's girlfriend) claimed in these interviews that the attack was a result of heavy drug use, a robbery and a beating gone awry.[3] Price, in her interview with Vargas, ultimately openly remarked: "I do not think it was a hate crime at all. I never did."[3] This statement contradicted Price's first interview with 20/20 in 1998, in which she said (of McKinney and Henderson's attack): "They just wanted to beat him bad enough to teach him a lesson, not to come on to straight people, and don’t be aggressive about it anymore."[16] In the report, Price and McKinney's long-time friend Tom O'Connor, on whose property McKinney and Price once lived, both stated their belief that McKinney was bisexual. O'Connor stated that he and McKinney had sex in the past. However, when Vargas asked McKinney whether he had ever had a sexual experience with another male, he said that he had not.[3]
The 20/20 report also mentioned a statement by O'Connor that Shepard told him he was HIV-positive.[3]
Retired Police Chief of Laramie, Commander Dave O'Malley — who was also interviewed by ABC and criticized the 20/20 report — pointed out that the drug motive does not necessarily disqualify the anti-gay motive: "My feelings have been that the initial contact was probably motivated by robbery because they needed money. What they got was $20 and a pair of shoes ... then something changed and changed profoundly... But, we will never, ever know because Matt’s dead and I don’t trust what [McKinney and Henderson] said."[17]
Now - any adult with an IQ in more than 2 digits knows that testimony and stories garnered from friends of the perpetrators after their convictions and sentencing are - by definition - not to be taken seriously. Apparently Ms. Vargas is not a member of that vaunted club - her job as an ABC 'journalist' perhaps confirming that evaluation.
But Representative Foxx was apparently trying to draw on this ridiculous, yet apparently 'serious' information in trying to craft her remarks on the floor.
Of course, the remarks remain insensitive, callous, and uninformed - a deliberate cherry-picking of ONE piece of evidence amid a mountain of evidence to the contrary - and therefore marking Ms. Foxx as a spiteful and partisan bigot and homophobe - but it remains true that her comments were not pulled out of the air nor based on a lack of any evidence. She was merely repeating a right-wing talking point that had its basis in supposedly respectable mainstream media 'reporting'
And Keith Olbermann erred tonight in claiming Ms. Foxx was labeling the murder a 'hoax'. She was categorizing the killing as a hate crime as a hoax - a different thing altogether.
While I share Keith's outrage and his call for an abject apology or her resignation, it is important that we be honest and diligent in our reporting of events. there is no excuse for Ms. Foxx's remarks - but there is also no excuse for those of us who excoriate her to know the facts - and to report them honestly.