Laramie Project- defined and ignorance

Events can permanently define a place or person. The Laramie Project is a book containing interview from the people of Laramie about the Matthew Shepard case. "Laramie is a town defined by an accident, a crime." (Kaufman, 9) When people think of Laramie Wyoming, they think of Mathew. The Town of Laramie will forever be seen as the place this horrific hate crime took place. The town will never be seem for what it used to be or what it is not. "Now, when the incident happened with that boy, a lot of press people came here. And one time some of them fallowed me out to the crime scene. And uh, well, it was a beautiful day, absolutely gorgeous day, real clear and crisp and the sky was that blue that-it's just gorgeous. And the mountains in the background and a little snow on em'"(8) None that came to Laramie noticed the beauty of it, all they saw was the crime scene. The incident marked the town and that is all anyone can think of now when they heard Laramie. People bi pass everything else that Laramie is and only focus on the bad things, the things associated with the hate crime. "And they were just-nothing but the story. I didn't feel judged, I felt that they were stupid. they're, they're missing the point- they're just missing the whole point." (9) So many people came to Laramie after hearing about Mathew but none of them noticed anything other than the case. Even today, 16 years after his death, Laramie is defined as the place Matthew Shepard was beaten and killed.

Ignorance is a lack of knowledge and understanding. Many people believe that along with ignorance,
one finds bliss. This is the case for the people of Laramie in 1998 surrounding Mathew Shepard's murder. "they were happy. They were glad the sun was shining" (Kaufman 6).  Rebecca Hilliker describes the people of Laramie as being happy due to the simplest thing, they don't get dragged down by the whats going on elsewhere in the world. When you grow up in a small town around the same people your whole life, everyone tends to have the same opinions and attitudes towards stuff. "I would have told you Laramie is a beautiful town, secluded enough that you can have your own identity" (9) This isn't true, the seclusion makes it so everyone is influenced by the same thing and isn't exposed to different cultures and opinions. Laramie is a unique place. "I
thought it was strange that the sign said: WYOMING-LIKE NO PLACE ON EARTH instead of WYOMING-LIKE NO PLACE ELSE ON EARTH"(13) This shows how Laramie is secluded from the rest of the world, it cannot even be compared to it. Without different influences, people live life with an ignorance. This ignorance might be blissful but one misses out on so much knowledge and  grasp on the world.