Victims In A Hate Crime Analysis

Who are the victims in a hate crime? Victimization does not end with the primary person that was attacked. The Laramie Project demonstrated how the entire community, and eventually the nation, of a little town in Wyoming was affected by the death of 22 year old Matthew Shepard in October, 1998. Secondary victims, who do not bear the physical pain, but endure the after effects and emotional pain, included Matthew’s parents, Deputy Sheriff Reggie Fluty (who was called to the crime scene and tended to Matthew), and Doctor Cantway (who treated both Matthew and one of his attackers, Aaron McKinney) (Karmen, 2013). The effects of this hate crime saturated a society and called more than morals into question. Incidents like these force humanity to look at itself and criticize its core beliefs. Laramie’s motto of “Live and Let Live” applied to most
Cantway was faced with the difficult task of treating the victim and the attacker. Unbeknownst to him at the time, the two men were only a few hospital beds apart. Doctors take the Hippocratic Oath which states in part, “Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty” (“Hippocratic Oath”, 2016). Dr. Cantway knew that although one man was responsible for the other one being there, he had an obligation to treat both to the best of his ability. He may have been tempted to “let” Aaron McKinney die in his care, but his professionalism allowed him to separate his personal feelings from the situation. Karmen (2013) attributes this attitude to avoid burnout. This “protective coating of emotional detachment” (p. 173) that professionals wear, allow them to remain objective and treat many patients without becoming emotionally overwhelmed. Dr. Cantway unselfishly tended to the victims while he, himself was