Speech at the vigil for Jeffrey Medis
by Chantel Guidry
genre:
Biographies & Memoirs
description:
On Friday, December 6, 2002 Jeffrey Medis, a gay man, was beaten at the corner of 10th and Massachusetts in downtown Lawrence, Kansas. Many people believe this was a hate crime. I spoke the following words at a vigil on Friday, December 13, 2002. The vigil was held at the site of the brutal beating as a show of support for Jeffrey and as a statement against such violence ever again happening in our town.
chapters
chapter 1:
vigil speech
vigil speech
chapter 1
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updated 07/21/08
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2077 characters
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1 person liked it
I come from New Orleans, where violence is not just a daily occurrence, but nearly an hourly one. I lived there for 8½ years, and I was scared all the time. When I moved to Lawrence, I thought it was some kind of paradise. I walked the streets at all hours of the day and night, and I wasn’t afraid.
I still walk the streets, knowing I could just as easily be hurt in my own home as outside in the dark, but lately I’ve been afraid in Lawrence. Several rapes have been reported here in the last few months; there have been incidents of armed robbery in my neighborhood, and then a horrific beating right here one week ago. Lawrence doesn’t seem like a paradise anymore, and it’s not. Lawrence is like any other community: some people have power, and they use it to oppress others.
When people are oppressed, they have reason to be afraid. When people are oppressed, our society says it’s OK for those with power to use violence against them.
So many of us are the potential victims of violence.
Any of us who are queer—gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered people
Any of us who are people of color—Native American, African American, Latino, or of Asian descent
Any of us who have mental or physical disabilities
Any of us who are poor or working class
Any or us who are women
Any of us who aren’t socially or financially privileged
We all live daily with the knowledge that brutal violence could happen to us.
The violence that happened here one week ago is not just a gay issue or a women’s issue or an issue for people of color or the poor and working class. The violence that happened her a week ago is an issue for all of us.
What we need to do starting tonight is send a message that we in Lawrence, Kansas are not going to stand for physical, mental, emotional, or financial violence. We need to begin working together to end the oppression that causes suffering for all of us. We must realize that
If ANY of us are oppressed, we are ALL oppressed
And that NONE of us are free until ALL of us are free.
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I still walk the streets, knowing I could just as easily be hurt in my own home as outside in the dark, but lately I’ve been afraid in Lawrence. Several rapes have been reported here in the last few months; there have been incidents of armed robbery in my neighborhood, and then a horrific beating right here one week ago. Lawrence doesn’t seem like a paradise anymore, and it’s not. Lawrence is like any other community: some people have power, and they use it to oppress others.
When people are oppressed, they have reason to be afraid. When people are oppressed, our society says it’s OK for those with power to use violence against them.
So many of us are the potential victims of violence.
Any of us who are queer—gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered people
Any of us who are people of color—Native American, African American, Latino, or of Asian descent
Any of us who have mental or physical disabilities
Any of us who are poor or working class
Any or us who are women
Any of us who aren’t socially or financially privileged
We all live daily with the knowledge that brutal violence could happen to us.
The violence that happened here one week ago is not just a gay issue or a women’s issue or an issue for people of color or the poor and working class. The violence that happened her a week ago is an issue for all of us.
What we need to do starting tonight is send a message that we in Lawrence, Kansas are not going to stand for physical, mental, emotional, or financial violence. We need to begin working together to end the oppression that causes suffering for all of us. We must realize that
If ANY of us are oppressed, we are ALL oppressed
And that NONE of us are free until ALL of us are free.
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