Goodbye Ryan...
How do you begin a post like this?
Most anyone locally has heard something of this story (http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070319/NEWS/703190338/1134 ) which is probably most accurate in this updated story though not wholly correct in my opinion.
I know this isn't the first mention of this in my LJ, but it is the first since I've really had a chance to sit and think about it and know more about what happened. It makes me ill thinking of the horror that Ryan went through. Despite everything that has happened in the past, I know he was a good, kind person at heart. He was a good friend and just a generally nice person to everyone. I know that even though I had my own assumptions about what happened at first (due to some things that had happened in the past) , nothing he did could have made it right for that to have been done to him, despite what Sheriff Judd may want to insinuate. Being gay isn't a crime, and that was why they killed him. I think all the talk about him cruising Wanheta, looking for a hook-up and copying checks with the murderers is garbage. He was the type of person to go out of his way to give someone a ride or give someone the benefit of the doubt. Though it has been a while since we saw each other, I know that the things they said he was doing were uncharacteristic of him. And the more the story comes out, the more obvious this is.
Ryan, though I had been out of touch with him for a while, was someone I cared about and wished only the best for. Though life and circumstance came in the way of me seeing him again before this tragedy, I remember what a kind, loving, wonderful person he was. Coincidentally, I was thinking of him a few days before this happened and all the antics we shared in the past. He is someone I'll miss forever now.
I worry though, in the end, only the family and friends he left behind will remember this violent and inexcusable hate crime and the life that was taken away because of it. Not surprisingly, the media, the small amount that bothered to cover this story, left out important information, exaggerated, and reported lies in place of the truth. And even though the men who are responsible for this have been arrested and it sounds like there is more than enough physical evidence to convict them, I worry that they will be shown much more compassion than they showed for Ryan and will see the light of day again, free of prison. How sick and cruel to kill a man for being gay and then use his bloody car to impress their friends. What sort of monsters can drive around in a car they killed someone in, laughing at the blood on their hands? Death would be too kind for these two. I know that is a cold thing to say, but I feel pretty cold inside right now.
**EDIT**
The funeral pictures were removed, so if you were worried about seeing those, it is safe to look at the memorial site (below) again.
Please go here to read the real story:
http://www.myspace.com/inmemoryofryan07
Goodbye Ryan... you will be missed. I'll try to remember you most when you were happy and life was full of dancing, laughing, friends, and long nights. I wish I could find some of the pictures we took on the many occasions you made me smile; whether at the club, chilling together on lonely-ish nights while we waited for our husbands to get out of work, sharing girly-type secrets or pretty much any other time we were together. Instead though, I do have one from one of those nights when life was good.
Ryan is in the blue T-shirt that says "Sweet," which he was; he's sitting next to his sweetie, Michael (Starr Michaels) on his right, after a show at the "Dirty Bird." L-R: some guy (David I think), Ryan, Starr, "Natalie Brooks" (Nathan), some other guy, Jesse (Ryan's other sweetie)
Ryan Keith SkipperApril 28, 1981 - March 14, 2007I will never forget.
Most anyone locally has heard something of this story (http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070319/NEWS/703190338/1134 ) which is probably most accurate in this updated story though not wholly correct in my opinion.
I know this isn't the first mention of this in my LJ, but it is the first since I've really had a chance to sit and think about it and know more about what happened. It makes me ill thinking of the horror that Ryan went through. Despite everything that has happened in the past, I know he was a good, kind person at heart. He was a good friend and just a generally nice person to everyone. I know that even though I had my own assumptions about what happened at first (due to some things that had happened in the past) , nothing he did could have made it right for that to have been done to him, despite what Sheriff Judd may want to insinuate. Being gay isn't a crime, and that was why they killed him. I think all the talk about him cruising Wanheta, looking for a hook-up and copying checks with the murderers is garbage. He was the type of person to go out of his way to give someone a ride or give someone the benefit of the doubt. Though it has been a while since we saw each other, I know that the things they said he was doing were uncharacteristic of him. And the more the story comes out, the more obvious this is.
Ryan, though I had been out of touch with him for a while, was someone I cared about and wished only the best for. Though life and circumstance came in the way of me seeing him again before this tragedy, I remember what a kind, loving, wonderful person he was. Coincidentally, I was thinking of him a few days before this happened and all the antics we shared in the past. He is someone I'll miss forever now.
I worry though, in the end, only the family and friends he left behind will remember this violent and inexcusable hate crime and the life that was taken away because of it. Not surprisingly, the media, the small amount that bothered to cover this story, left out important information, exaggerated, and reported lies in place of the truth. And even though the men who are responsible for this have been arrested and it sounds like there is more than enough physical evidence to convict them, I worry that they will be shown much more compassion than they showed for Ryan and will see the light of day again, free of prison. How sick and cruel to kill a man for being gay and then use his bloody car to impress their friends. What sort of monsters can drive around in a car they killed someone in, laughing at the blood on their hands? Death would be too kind for these two. I know that is a cold thing to say, but I feel pretty cold inside right now.
**EDIT**
The funeral pictures were removed, so if you were worried about seeing those, it is safe to look at the memorial site (below) again.
Please go here to read the real story:
http://www.myspace.com/inmemoryofryan07
Goodbye Ryan... you will be missed. I'll try to remember you most when you were happy and life was full of dancing, laughing, friends, and long nights. I wish I could find some of the pictures we took on the many occasions you made me smile; whether at the club, chilling together on lonely-ish nights while we waited for our husbands to get out of work, sharing girly-type secrets or pretty much any other time we were together. Instead though, I do have one from one of those nights when life was good.
Ryan is in the blue T-shirt that says "Sweet," which he was; he's sitting next to his sweetie, Michael (Starr Michaels) on his right, after a show at the "Dirty Bird." L-R: some guy (David I think), Ryan, Starr, "Natalie Brooks" (Nathan), some other guy, Jesse (Ryan's other sweetie)
Ryan Keith SkipperApril 28, 1981 - March 14, 2007I will never forget.