Interview+with+Megan+Anderson

Both with the rougher crowd. Cut class and shoplifted but never harmed people for fun as far as I know.
 * What type of friends both Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson had?**

First thoughts that came to you Shocked because I couldn’t believe that they would do something like that. In small town would never happen, you know? Its hard for everyone because they are very defensive, the town raises the children not just the parents so they were defending themselves by saying ‘well we didn’t raise them to be like that’
 * What was your reaction when you found out?**

Yes, it is very long and narrow, small bar and not where college kids hung out. It was a dark and smoky… almost a dive bar or alternative bar. No dance floor and if any music it was low and not the focus of why you went there. You would go just to sit and chat.
 * Have you ever been to the fireside?**

Not diverse is the first thing that comes to mind. Athletes, mainly being the football players and then pretty much there was everyone else.
 * What was it like at Wyoming University?**

where it is a town with a university but it’s also in Wyoming where everyone knows everyone. City is traditional but more progressive than the rest of the state. Conservative and the only county that votes democrat in Wyoming. But compared to somewhere like Hillsdale, it would be extremely traditional.
 * Is it modern or traditional?**

Not absolutely sure but used to hang with kids who smoked. I know for sure that Aaron did but maybe not Russell. Probably but don’t want to say yes and then be wrong.
 * Did Russ smoke?**

It was pretty small with 220 people in my graduating class and there was only one high school in Laramie so if you lived within a certain radius of the town, I believe it was 50 miles, that’s where you went. And there was none of that private school crap where you had pressure to go to a private high school, you wonder why? Because we didn’t have one!
 * What was the high school like in Laramie?**

College was slightly more diverse. If you went to college, you went to college there just some other outsiders mixed in with the people you’ve known forever. Bigger version of high school.
 * Differences between high school and college?**

As far as I knew there was only one. He was an old guy who had a car and decided one day to put taxi sign and decal letters on it with his cell phone number and we would call for rides if we needed one.
 * How many taxies were there in Laramie?**

Not well known as much as this old guy that was just weird and creepy. Not in scary way but he’s just awkward. People knew him but didn’t like socialize with him until they needed a ride or anything.
 * Are the taxi drivers known personally around town?**

No clue would lie if I said I did know.
 * What was Russ’s family and family situation like?**

I’m almost positive that he had divorced parents. My best friend and him hung out a lot and I’m pretty sure I would have heard if it wasn’t normal otherwise.
 * Did Aaron have a bad family situation?**

A small town that is very homogenous in race religion, financial status beliefs ethnicity. Closed in. if outsider it would take time to fit into community. Have friends, church, and their place, and it takes a while for them to establish with them. But they are nice to them but its hard to get to know you.
 * How would you describe the town if someone asked you about your hometown?**

Shocking. Rocked peoples worlds. Could not believe that two of their kids from their town would do this. Especially Aaron and Russell.
 * How unexpected was it for you personally and for everyone that lived there?**

Prexy Pasture, which is basically a place in middle of the university, like courtyard, to cross to different classes. Many people socialized there and chatted with friends. There were sidewalks running to buildings and people just chilled there and when it was time for class, they’d go and then after class, they’d all meet back at Prexy Pasture.
 * Key location of Wyoming University? When you think of it what place comes to mind?**

Definitely opened people’s minds. Dave O’Malley is good friend of my families, and I know that he took on a lot of gay rights issues and hate crimes after the Matthew Shepherd incident. He was never a supporter or gay people before what happened like you didn’t see him on the street and he would attack you about gay rights or anything but now, now he just… hes more aware. I can’t stress that word enough. AWARENESS. And the other is education. The more you know the more accepting you are toward something. You don’t hate something you know shouldn’t be hated. Changed opinions for the better, going back to the original question. That’s how the town changed.
 * How did the town change after Matthew’s death?**

I would say… that it just made me realize that anything can happen anywhere. I was //always// one of those kids who got upset if someone was bullied or picked on to the point where I would be sick to my stomach about it. But my attitude, it became more like ‘man I cant believe that this could happen her but if it can happen here then it can happen anywhere.’ But something I regret is that I didn’t join political events or become activist and I didn’t know, I didn’t know then that I liked girls, that I was a lesbian so I think that it would have been a bigger deal for me if I had I guess you could say, come out to myself. But since I didn’t… it was effective at the time but not to the point where I was going to do anything.
 * How did your attitude change personally? Did it at all?**

All of my peers felt the same amount of disbelief and sadness that he had had to go through that. We weren’t all like ‘oh my god… men like men? That’s what gay means? I thought it meant happy!’ were not idiots but we did pity him and hated that it was people that we grew up around that did it.
 * Attitude of peers at the time about what was happening?**

The absolute worst part was that a lot of religious people showed up with their signs and they were loud and rude and obnoxious. It was a hard time anyway without them and all of a sudden these assholes decided that being gay was wrong and that it was they’re job to tell us that god was shunning Matthew for his choice and decisions in life no now his life is over. Tons of people videotaping and everyone outside the courthouse. The media… that wasn’t bad. We didn’t hate them. They were just there to spread AWARENESS, there’s that word again. They were on our side for the most part though. No one wanted to leave their home because of the Westboro Baptist Church screaming and shoving their opinions down our throats. And everyone just wanted to keep to themselves. That’s just how we are in Laramie. Mind your own business and don’t get in anyone else’s problems because then it’s your problem and I think that this was really hard for my town because it made them feel descended upon.
 * How did everything change when the media descended in the town?**

I think the only thing that changed was that the community lost its innocence. It was quiet and sleepy before then and everyone just minded their own business and didn’t care about the rest of the world pretty much. They had their own world in the middle of nowhere and they were content with that. They couldn’t mind their own business anymore and that was a big deal to them. But besides that, I don’t think it changed many people’s views about how they saw the incident.
 * How were things changed when the media came opposed to after the beating but before they came?**

I know its like a ghost town, it is an abandoned and no one lives there. I’ve been there once or twice but its not a hot-spot for Laramie residents especially since there is no one there. There is a small population of one- Doc O’Connor. Don’t quote me but it could very well be just him living within the city limits and that’s why its still there. That’s how Wyoming is! There’s towns in the middle of nowhere with 20 people in them and then another hundred miles nothing. Beautiful nothingness and then there’s a city with one person and then nothing for the next hundred miles and then a city with 10 people. And it keeps on going!
 * Know anything about Bosler, Wyoming?**

Definitely, it was like I stepped into a whole other world. A good but also kind of funny example is that I had never eaten anything but American food and some basic Mexican. I never realized that you could eat different foods, watch independent movies, read certain books, and that’s when I realized I liked girls. You’re allowed to be anything you want to be. And that’s what I was. The only problem was I didn’t even know that I was able to be my own person and not just like every other Laramie resident. You could move to India, or eat Japanese food, or date girls! That was never a known thing for me until I left Laramie. The entire population of state is only 500,000 people in the entire state! Literally one person could make up Bosler because that’s just it. It would be normal.
 * What was the change when you moved out of Laramie? Was it surprising to you how diverse life outside the town is?**

No not at all. Especially because Russ was super nice and caring.
 * If someone told you when you were in high school that Russell and Aaron would kill someone would you believe it?**

Yea I saw a production in Texas and the movie; the town is not a load of hillbillies. Everyone has money for the most part. There is almost no one that is poor. Of course there was that western mentality but were not all hillbillies. Not accurate depiction of city and people if I had to choose one thing I would change. Which is why its good that ‘yall are looking into this and doing the research that ought to be done.
 * Did you see //The Laramie Project//** **and did it change your perspective on the way you saw what happened?**

Not at all, I did not feel any more unsafe. For whatever reason, it was an isolated incident of time. No opinion of city at all. Screwed up people could have happened anywhere. Sad hate crime so they raised that they didn’t like gay people but there’s nothing we could have done
 * Incident change your perspective on life there? Did you feel safe? Influence way you thought?**

I hadn’t really ever heard of him before the incident. Did not have a reputation of a flaming homosexual from what I had heard and from what I was told after the incident. I was very social with everyone because I’d lived there my whole like and the years before his death, I had never heard negative things. From what I had heard, he was a nice, quiet, decent guy. Aarons perception of him was different I guess, because no one else I knew thought of him that way.
 * How people saw Matt? Was he, as he is portrayed by Aaron, a //flaming homosexual//****?**

I’ll just list the differences: bigger town, more progressive and liberal but not by much Similarities are homogenous white, upper middle class, educated, have money. Basically, Fort Collins is just a bigger Laramie.
 * Similarities and differences between Laramie and Fort Collins?**

Pretty good representation besides the fact that the residents are portrayed as dumb hillbillies. The other thing from when I saw it is that they made it seem like it was set in the 1800s. We don’t live in a pot or anything. We are normal people that live in houses and work for a living. The town is more sheltered but we are not living in the 1920’s, like we had televisions and the same technology as the rest of the world.
 * Is the show a good representation of what really happened?**

Yes, definitely because the more that gay rights and gay issues are talked about, the more accepted it will be and less hate there will be toward gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and trans genders. Its all about education knowledge and awareness.
 * Do you think it is a good idea to have the show shown?**

Don’t think so. I couldn’t imagine it. They both just went to school and tried not to flunk out.
 * Did Russell and Aaron do any sports or extracurricular activities?**

I honestly feel like it was a little of both. They were probably drinking and intoxicated or whatever, doing drugs maybe? But whatever it was they were not in rite mind frame and then freaked out when they found out that he was gay. Matt was smaller and weaker and they thought he was gay. It wasn’t like they just set out one night and said, ‘lets find a gay guy and kill him tonight’ not like that. It was a stupid decision. I think the major thing that caused them to kill Matthew is that they did not respect him so they did not value his life. They first wanted to rob him and then they decided, why not hit him once or twice and scare the crap out of him. And one thing would lead to another and they ended up beating him so severely that he died.
 * Robbery or hate crime your opinion?**

Poudre hospital is a really good hospital system and you would be transferred there from Laramie. Never heard of Rulon Stacey.
 * Poudre Valley hospital system? Do you know Rulon Stacey?**

I feel like… once the trial was over, then it was done. There were some rumblings and grumblings and then the dust settled and everything was back to normal. Which was kind of disturbing because it was like nothing ever happened.
 * When and how did everything start to settle down?**

Never heard of them. But now that you mention that, I recall that someone was interviewing people.
 * Did you know anything about Tectonic Theatre project being in Laramie? Any of your friends or people you knew interviewed?**

I don’t think so but I didn’t hang with their crowd. I wasn’t really good friends with anyone that was in their crowd. I was kind of scared of most of them. I was, not going to lie, a goody-two-shoes. I don’t know why they became friends after high school to be honest.
 * How close were Aaron and Russell before then? Friends in high school?**

I don’t think homophobic because no one was anyone that was really outright gay! I personally would not live there with Lynn. People would gossip, and although I don’t that that anyone would hate but everyone would be very judgmental. It’s a non-issue here in Denver, but in Laramie, the two of us would be the talk of the town. I personally understand that they are not meaning to be mean but it’s just not the norm there. When I told my parents, they were embarrassed about what their friends would think. It took them a year to tell closest friends. They have told people now, and although the people were surprised, they didn’t love me any less and wanted to meet Lynn! They wanted to meet the woman that I love and want to spend the rest of my life in and be included in all of it. Again, it’s all about awareness and the fact that my parent’s friends know that I’m gay is that they now wont hate gay people and be homophobic because they have known me my whole life and know that I’m a totally normal person! As I tell people I’m a lesbian, there becomes more understanding less hate.
 * Were many people of the town not understanding of gay people and homophobic?**

Not that I knew of. I’m sure there were but they certainly didn’t outwardly exist. There was probably a group of them that just kept to themselves and did not like publicize the fact that they were different.
 * Were there any other openly gay students at the University?**

I don’t know. I’ve heard it but never thought about it. Well actually now that I think about it, its really pretty and cosmetically beautiful. It’s a beautiful valley with mountains surrounding it and you just walk outside and your breath is taken away.
 * Why is Laramie ‘the gem city of the planes’?**

He was definitely a follower and just a quiet nice guy that you liked if you knew him. Like if you had held a conversation with him you did not, hate him or dislike him. He was just quiet and there. Not in trouble not disruptive through high school but he was just there!
 * Is Russell //really//** **shy and a follower like he is quoted as saying in the play?**

The play makes us seem like a bunch of ignorant cowboy hillbillies. The people are not ignorant. They are not diverse but are not stupid. They are educated more so than almost every other state. The state has so much money from oil businesses here.
 * What are stereotypes and FALSE stereotypes of Laramie and Wyoming in general?**

I have personal interest in this but if I had to say something it would be awareness. They can come to understand more about gay issues and hate crimes and ignorance taking over someone. AWARNESS is the only thing I want to stress to ‘yall. Now look who sounds like the hillbilly. Promote that it’s a deep show. Promote that it’s controversial. Promote that it’s not a normal play done by high schools. Be proud of the productions you are putting on and just own it!
 * How would you promote our showing?**

Im really proud of you guys that you want to investigate the facts with also digging into character. Character right. Accurate. Perpetuated as flamboyant gay kid then you can do the opposite of trying to get the point across. Proud of you guys that your being accurate. GREAT QUESTIONS. Taking the time to found out more.

POODER Valley Hospital System not poudre