Why Tyler Clementi is not Matthew Shepard

Why Tyler Clementi is not Matthew Shepard
By Kevin McCullough
10/10/2010

From nearly the moment it was known that Tyler Clementi posted on facebook that he was going to jump off the George Washington bridge, American media, leftist politicians, and those who have reason to advance a non-traditional value system have attempted to "posterize" him into something that he was not.

This attempt to do so from the likes of U.S. Senator Robert Menendez to Dr. Phil has greater heartache to the Clementi family, and is likely to do far greater damage to legions of children yet to wrestle with the fluid issue of one's sexual practices, before settling into traditional sexual orthodoxy by about 98% of them. Even People magazine attempted to make a buck off of the story of the quiet violin player from Bergen County New Jersey.

Certainly groups of people who advocate for special considerations in public policy because they choose to engage in certain types of sexual behaviors have also taken up Tyler's image, name, and "narrative" as something to be used to slander God-fearing people with false accusations of bigotry, and because of the lack of moral backbone people from the church to the public square of cowed to the voices taking up the "cause."

Even when a group like "Love is Louder" attempted to designate its efforts to the issue of bullying and depression in children, others (many of them adults) who wished to make a statement about their sexual practices co-opted the facebook page to leave 9 minute videos to reminisce about how they found true "love at first innuendo."

The assumptions made on many of these broadcast, print, and web based reports follow the idea that Tyler felt so bullied by the roommate and girlfriend who evilly and immorally taped him, that he had no option but to turn to suicide. This has been quickly adopted as the authoritative version of what happened and the need for psychologically profiling both the bullies who did it and other youths who engage in homosexual behavior.

Of course there are other issues that could be examined. Perhaps Tyler had a genuinely sensitive conscience, perhaps he had great respect for both his family and his God, perhaps he felt ashamed of actions because he knew they were immoral. Hence a completely different narrative could be told, one that encourages young people towards moral choices.

Unfortunately the media and the radical activists feel otherwise and are now attempting to "Matthew Shepard" Clementi's story and reputation.

The truth is Tyler was doing something he did feel shame and embarrassment for. Just like the thirteen year old who gets caught with a stash of pornography in his bedroom, or the college student that gets his girlfriend pregnant, Tyler was seeking sexual satisfaction in secretive ways that he hoped certainly would never come to light.

The truth is many teens find themselves making decisions to engage sexually when they know it's dangerous to do so.

Yet deciding to do so anyway doesn't make the decision any less dangerous to do.

The activists would like laws to be passed so that condoms are handed out for free, that actions and behaviors are not just allowed but strongly encouraged, and that any and all objections to said behaviors be able to be silenced under some false charge of bigotry or hate-mongering.

Yet the truth is, loving parents, loving friends, and a compassionate society would focus their efforts on helping that student save sexual activity until they had reached a place in life where the responsibilities that would accompany that decision were well within reach.

From every public sign the Clementi family are just that. A family who loved Tyler, wanted him to know the best of life, and that started with knowing God and what His purposes were for him.

The tastelessness of programs like Ellen Degeneres and Dr. Phil, the disrespect of publications like People magazine and others who rushed to state a definitive narrative about Tyler Clementi betrays they wanton desire of an activist underbelly in the media to pass laws more akin to sexual anarchy, than that of genuine love for fellow man.

They should be ashamed of themselves.

Tyler Clementi was not Matthew Shepard, their lives had little resemblance to one another's - with the one exception of the radical anti-God activists who wish to use both their deaths to offer more destructive choices to future generations of young people, and to silence those who love them from ever speaking truth to them.

That truth being that they are made in the image of God, and while they sin--as do we all--that sin need not be what separates them from Him for eternity.

God's love is louder... and longer... and far more real, than activists, media, and lawmakers who pimp a child's death to force their agenda and accusations of false bigotry upon the world mourning the extinguished lamp of one of God's children.
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