The Internet economy has taught us that wealth is easy. The gay establishment also found it easier to make Shepard's murder a matter of anti-gay hate. Gay leaders exploited the murder, albeit for a good cause, in pushing for passage of the federal hate-crimes law . The only group of people that dislikes examining economic disparity less than the have-nots is the haves. It's easier for us rich white gayfolk, especially, to cast ourselves as the disenfranchised than as the disenfranchisers.
Guilt is just too messy.
So instead of setting the stage for a frank discussion of the class divisions in that community and around the country, the Shepard murder was co-opted by a nation of activists who'd never set foot in Laramie, and who leapt to conclusions about the motivations behind the crime. The people in Laramie feel robbed. All letters to the editor are for publication and may be edited for length and clarity.