Hate can be a very powerful emotion. It can show through a person’s actions or their words. Throughout this year’s Presidential campaign, many things have been said by Republican nominee Donald Trump that have been controversial for many Americans. One voice, who knows all too well how powerful hate can really be, is publicly speaking out against Trump and the statements he has made during his campaign.
Judy Shepard has joined up with PAC Priorities USA Action to support Hillary Clinton and to denounce the things that Donald Trump has said during his campaign. Judy has filmed a 60-second video telling her story and why she is denouncing Trump. This year is the 18th anniversary of her son Matthew’s death. In 1998, Matthew Shepard was lured from a gay-friendly hangout by two men, beaten, and left for dead. By the time he was found, he was barely hanging on to life. He did not survive.
In Judy’s video message she talks about how after her son’s death she saw the best of America in the support and love that her family received from all over the country. Now, when she watches Trump’s campaign, all she can see is hate and it is terrifying. Examples of his hateful behavior are included in her video, such as the time Trump mocked a disabled reporter, bragged that he could shoot someone in the middle of 5th Avenue and get away with it, and the times he has provoked others to commit violence.
Judy closes her video with powerful yet cautionary words, “Words have an influence. Violence causes pain, hate can rip us apart. I know what can happen as the result of hate, and Donald Trump should never be our president.”