"Faaaaagot! Faaaaagot!"

The words came as an unholy chant from a group of teenagers. Over and over, the sinister sound filled the gymnasium last Tuesday night. Our high school basketball team and their opponent played on, apparently oblivious to the derisive cry that grew increasingly oppressive to me.

It has been less than two months since Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered by two young men. The depth of hatred that allowed the murderers to do their horrific deed is unfathomable for most of us but I couldn't help but wonder last Tuesday night if some of their sick justification couldn't be found in that shameful taunt from those kids in the bleachers.

Perhaps it was nothing more than youthful exuberance but the fact that such behavior is still viewed as merely irritating rather than outrageously offensive only serves as a painful reminder of how far our society still needs to travel.

Shortly before Matthew's death, a particularly virulent campaign against homosexuals was being waged by a certain Christian coalition. TV and magazine ads were produced that were nothing more than cleverly developed propaganda for hate. Was there a connection between the death of an innocent man and those advertisements? The hate-mongers were quick to deny it but soon afterwards the ads disappeared and the virulent rhetoric seems to have softened.

The very weekend of Matt's death, a fraternity at Colorado State University sponsored a float in a parade that depicted a shocking imitation of Matthew as he was found tied to a fence. The accompanying words were repugnant as well. It is hard to imagine what could have possessed seemingly intelligent young men and women to engage in such a hate-filled activity. Could they actually have thought it was just a cute college prank? To the college's credit, the perpetrators were rightfully punished. Ignorance is no excuse.

Listening to the boys in the bleachers, I wondered how we would have reacted if the chant was directed at some other group in our society. Would we have sat idly by if the kids, just having their little fun, started chanting "Niiiiigger! Niiiiigger!" or "Jewwwwww! Jewwwwww!"

It was difficult to concentrate on the game. I was ashamed not just for our school but because I lacked the courage to go over and try to convince them to stop. For a few minutes I pondered the parallel to other moments in history. Is this how other "good people" have felt? Was this what it was like in Germany during the late 1930's when Nazi thugs menaced the Jews and others? Did it start at high school basketball games with kids just having a little fun?

Surely others were thinking what I was..."If we just ignore them, they will stop."

Eventually they did, of course. More than six million dead later.

I am not interested here in defending homosexuality. Although I, for one, cannot ever remember "choosing" to be a heterosexual, whether we are gay or straight is not the issue here. Humanity is the issue. If we dare claim to wish to live in a humane society, then we just honor diversity and respect all humankind and emphatically teach our children to do the same.

Most of us have heard Edmund Burke's dire warning: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

It was a good and brave woman, a teacher, who finally marched over and let the kids know of their inappropriate behavior. I watched as she rightly scolded them for their action.

The only thing else she should have done is turned around and scolded me as well.