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RIP Heath Ledger

Over the past ten days, it has quickly become common knowledge that the actor who influenced the archetype of the perfect guy' through his role in A Knight's Tale' and who transformed one of the most controversial films to date into something beautifully complex, died at the mere age of 28.

Heath Ledger was in many ways an underrated actor due to his longing to be away from the camera flashes, tabloid scandals and harsh scrutiny of the public eye and yet, had the rare talent of developing a simple, scripted character into one with depth, charm and enthralling vulnerability; as shown in two of his more prominent roles - A Knight's Tale' and Brokeback Mountain'.

Usually following the death of someone such as Heath who was truly idolised by fellow actors and public alike, the world pauses to pay tribute to the memory of the deceased and to share prayers of sympathy with those who truly loved that person. So, I ask as I'm flicking through the vast media coverage, why is it that Westboro Baptist Church can't find it in themselves to respect the wishes of Heath's family and give them space to grieve?

It seems that almost immediately after the actor's death was announced, members of the radical church group were already writing blogs on their hateful, homophobic website damning not only Heath Ledger himself, but his friends, family and even the surrounding public to hell for his role in Brokeback Mountain' and threatening to boycott his funeral.

I fully understand that the more religious of Christians believe that God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Ethan and therefore in their eyes, being homosexual is considered wrong and unnaturalbut surely it's time for people to realise that with every decade, things will change. Feelings that perhaps were regarded unheard of may actually be expressed, ideas and opinions may be challenged and people may start breaking away from the moulds that have shaped society knowing that they have that right So who are we to put an end to that?

Personally, I believe that love is not a choice, nor is it something you can quash as and when necessary. No person can manipulate their emotions to suit, control who they inevitably fall for or transfer their emotions from one person to another and so to ask a person to live a lie, to hide their sexuality and their true self in order to fit an example laid out a ridiculously long time ago is far beyond unjust. If you don't believe that being gay or bisexual is natural or right then that's okay (everyone is entitled to their own opinions after all) but don't make a statement of it, don't penalise people because of how they choose to live, just be content with the way you live yours.

The thing that confuses me the most is how they can be so against Heath Ledger himself Correct me if I'm wrong, but he was a HETEROSEXUAL father of a two-year-old girl merely playing the ROLE of a homosexual cowboy - is that so morally unjust? Give the guy a break; he was doing his job in order to entertain and inspire the film-viewing public and raise money to provide for his daughter, and as for his family? They were supporting someone they loved to achieve his goals and realise his dreams - something that every single individual wishes from their parents and surrounding family.

Not only that, but for Westboro Church members to travel to Perth in Australia, simply to boycott his funeral, seems highly unnecessary and incredibly cruel. Why waste time and money to travel to an event that you plan to avoid? And why on earth do you feel the need to cause his family further pain by holding placards with slogans such as "Brokeback fag in hell"?

I'm not ashamed to admit that when I first stumbled upon the blog of one of the members of this group, I cried. To think that someone can write such hateful words about a person and his family for doing something that teaches people that it's okay to be who you are, that true love shouldn't be affected by the gender of a person and that may have changed hundreds of lives is disgusting, and I for one would never dream of being so cruel.

The true tragedy of Heath Ledger's story is not that he became a victim of attention-craving, heartless homophobes; it's that his final chapter came so soon. If we cast aside his career, his choice of roles, and the media surrounding him, we're left with a man who died at the early age of 28, leaving his two year old daughter to grow up without a father, and having never really experienced the true beauty of life ; may he rest in peace.

Jessica Jayne Grundy.

7:21pm Thursday 31st January 2008

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