Nature V.S. Nurture, Who’s to Blame for Acts of Violence?
ENGL – 118
Mr. Thomas, J.
09 December 2014
Nature V.S. Nurture, Who’s to Blame for Acts of Violence?
Since the beginning of the Neolithic Revolution violence has been used as a means to obtain land and resources; as well as to exert dominance and control over others. Some would say that violence is a part of human nature, that it’s imbedded in our DNA; while others would say that human beings aren’t inherently violent; that our environment and our culture shapes us into who we become as adults. That debate poses this question: When a crime is committed who bares the responsibility? Is it the perpetrators who committed the offense or the environment that shaped them into being? While Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson were physically responsible for the death of Matthew Shepard, the town of Laramie, and the U.S. by extension, was also to blame because of the subtle heteronormativity ingrained in American culture.
Influential Religious Institutions, especially in small towns, enforces the concept of heteronormativity and emphasizes the dislike for difference. In, “The Laramie Project,” Director, Moisés Kaufman shows the spectrum of religious standpoints against those who practice same-sex relationships. Ranging from a conservative like the Baptist Minister who, when asked to comment on Matthew Shepard’s murder said:
I know that that lifestyle is legal, but I will tell you one thing: I hope that Matthew Shepard as he was tied to that fence that he had time to reflect on a moment when someone had spoken the word of the Lord to him – and that before he slipped into a coma he had a chance to reflect on his lifestyle. (Laramie Project Act II 67)
Another end ranges to an extremist standpoint like Fred Phelps, a Reverend from Kansas, who used this tragedy as a means to spread his bigoted views, he stated:
[…] The state deals with hundreds of murders every single day. But this murder is different, because the fags are bringing us out here trying to make Matthew
Mr. Thomas, J.
09 December 2014
Nature V.S. Nurture, Who’s to Blame for Acts of Violence?
Since the beginning of the Neolithic Revolution violence has been used as a means to obtain land and resources; as well as to exert dominance and control over others. Some would say that violence is a part of human nature, that it’s imbedded in our DNA; while others would say that human beings aren’t inherently violent; that our environment and our culture shapes us into who we become as adults. That debate poses this question: When a crime is committed who bares the responsibility? Is it the perpetrators who committed the offense or the environment that shaped them into being? While Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson were physically responsible for the death of Matthew Shepard, the town of Laramie, and the U.S. by extension, was also to blame because of the subtle heteronormativity ingrained in American culture.
Influential Religious Institutions, especially in small towns, enforces the concept of heteronormativity and emphasizes the dislike for difference. In, “The Laramie Project,” Director, Moisés Kaufman shows the spectrum of religious standpoints against those who practice same-sex relationships. Ranging from a conservative like the Baptist Minister who, when asked to comment on Matthew Shepard’s murder said:
I know that that lifestyle is legal, but I will tell you one thing: I hope that Matthew Shepard as he was tied to that fence that he had time to reflect on a moment when someone had spoken the word of the Lord to him – and that before he slipped into a coma he had a chance to reflect on his lifestyle. (Laramie Project Act II 67)
Another end ranges to an extremist standpoint like Fred Phelps, a Reverend from Kansas, who used this tragedy as a means to spread his bigoted views, he stated:
[…] The state deals with hundreds of murders every single day. But this murder is different, because the fags are bringing us out here trying to make Matthew
Cited: Kaufman, Moisés. The Laramie Project. New York: Vintage, 2001. Print.