Text About the Angels

Angel Action

April 5, 1999, Laramie, Wyoming

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Romaine Patterson. I am from Denver Colorado. And I am the bearer of a message:

Before you stands a band of angels. They come from a number of backgrounds: they don't represent any one group; they don't represent any one religion, sex, race, age, or sexual orientation. They are merely a group of people who joined with me because they believe in honesty and truth. So often we find that people are willing to make a lot of noise about what they believe to be true. We don't believe that we have to say anything at all. Aside from this brief explanatory statement, our actions will speak for themselves. Just one look and the truth is plainly clear. Our focus is to bring forth a message of peace and love. Hatred is running rampant through our everyday lives. But as a group, we choose to lift ourselves above that hatred. We feel as so many others do, that love and compassion for our community and our humanity are the answers that so many people are desperately searching for. And so we bring forth a message- from God, if you will:

Love, respect, and compassion, for everyone is why we are here today.

I could no longer sit idly by and watch others bring forth messages that were nothing more than vindictive and hate-filled. As a young person, I feel it necessary to show the great nation that we live in that there doesn't need to be this kind of violence and hatred in our world. And that loving one another doesn't mean tat we have to compromise our beliefs; it simply means that we choose to be compassionate and respectful of others.

With that said, I would like to now rejoin my angels silently, bringing forth our gift to you. If you have any questions, I will be available later today. Thank you for your time, and God bless.

I attended the Hate Crimes conference held at UNC--Chapel Hill on Feb. 5
and wanted to tell you how impressed I was by your film. I commend you
for such an excellent job with such a difficult subject -- one that is
too often used to titillate rather than educate. The part that really
touched me was the segment where the "angels" showed up at the protest
during Matthew Shephard's funeral. When you compare the look on the
faces of the "angels" with the look on the faces of the protesters, how
can anyone even question which group was God sent? There was such peace
on the "angels'" faces; they were so beautiful. I've seen the same
angelic look on the faces of other "angels" at some of the most
Spiritually inspired Christian events I've attended. It is in that look
that we come as close to seeing the face of God as we can in this life.
On the other hand, the faces of the protesters were ugly, not from
outward ugliness, but inward.
I also want you to know that I am currently attending Duke Divinity
School studying to be a United Methodist minister. Our denomination is
far from perfect, and I hope to be part of the process of bringing it
more into line with God's will over the coming years. But my greatest
fear as I contemplate moving into that work is the prospect of
encountering persons filled with hatred for others who are different
from themselves. My second greatest fear is that, like the one lady
said at the conference, I'll be tempted to respond in-kind rather than
in love. It is so easy to lash back at those with whom I disagree, but
I know deep inside that God's way is to reach out in love instead. How
else can someone experience love within themselves unless they see it
expressed in another, particularly another from whom they had expected
retaliation. Your film has helped me to believe that I can achieve the
goal of love in the face of hate.
Thank you for your continuing work with this project. May God bless you
and protect you in that work and in all that you do.
Peace,
Joyce Day
Raleigh, NC

From: "James D. Osborn"
To: 'Romaine Patterson'
Subject: Letters
Date: Wed, Apr 7, 1999, 8:43 AM

Here are two letters to the editor in today's Branding Iron, the campus
paper. I am dutifully collecting articles from across the net and the
state.

JIM

Angels on campus
It is with the greatest admiration and the utmost respect that I write this
letter of thanks to the angels that blocked the message of hate delivered by
the Westboro Baptist Church. Their courage, calm, and grace revived my
spirit after witnessing the horrific display of hate, ignorance and
perversion by the members of that congregation. The angels diffused the rage
that I felt into pity. And it was truly pitiful to see children of that
congregation watch their parents spew the most vile, graphic and perverse
language that I have heard.
Hold your heads up high, citizens of Laramie. You were well represented
today by the most beautiful sight I have seen: angels in white with wings so
large that hate could not get through.
Samantha M. Wisley
zoology and physiology

Hero angels
Laramie has heroes. They encircled our Union in graceful silence on Monday
morning, intervening between this community and those who would bring us
hate. Clothed in symbolic white, these students preserved our campus as a
place of possibility and even of joy.
When they could have responded to a vicious crime with fear, bitterness and
that ever-renewable resource, hate, our LGBTA and their friends have given
this community the gift of compassion. From their pain at Matthew Shepard's
death and its brutal perpetuation in the acts of the Westboro Baptist
Church, they have wrought understanding and hope. They have fulfilled this
campus, turning it again toward education and the tolerance that is the
glory of a humane society. We learn from our students. And we thank them.
Dr. Caroline McCracken-Flesher, English
Dr. Paul V.M. Flesher, religious studies

________________________
James Dale Osborn
________________________

Romaine:
When we dressed up like angels, we tried to make a difference by shielding Laramie, Wyoming, from the hate that so often goes unchallenged. My friend Matthew believed we all have a role in making our community a better place. When he died he made more of a difference in the world than he ever could have imagined.

So many stories come to mind.

After his death the University of Wyoming football team wore decals on their helmets symbolizing nonviolence. The gay student group had to keep reordering buttons that said "Straight but not Narrow" because they kept selling out.

We are all trying to do our parts. I wish Matthew were here to see it, and I truly wish that he was here tonight. It seems like yesterday when he and several of our friends crammed into my apartment to watch Ellen's coming out episode. That was a big night for us. And Whoopi Goldberg was one of his favorite stars. But take it from this 21-year-old, you're angels to. Keep up all the incredible work you're doing. It's so important for so many people my age. If we both keep doing our part, I know that we can change the world.

Thank you very much.

Delivered April 17th, 1999, GLADD Media Awards, Los Angeles, CA