BehindZionCurtain.com was started in 2001 to address the many suicides and hardships that I have personally dealt with in my life growing up in Utah “Behind the Zion Curtain”. After losing more than a dozen classmates to suicide growing up, and starting Behind Zion Curtain to discuss this terrible problem, in 2002 I faced one of the hardest trials I had ever faced in my 24 years of life. I lost my youngest brother Justin Thompson who was 16 years old. Justin had attempted many times to commit suicide. Finally he succeeded in ending his life just after his 16th birthday.
Justin and Ryan in Washington
Justin was a musician, a writer, and a very deeply emotional and caring person. Some think of emotional as a weakness, and it can be. But it can also be a strength for discover empathy for others, and the world around you. Justin was very conscious of these things. I think this is what gave him inspiration to be the musician that he was.
After losing Justin I became more interested in fighting the system that so many that I know felt oppressed by. The Utah culture is highly religious and very judgmental based on their doctrines and principles in their church. The LDS are know for religious doctrines against drinking tea and coffee. They are also responsible for funding political campaigns aimed and denying rights to groups that do not meet up to their lifestyle. One example of this, would be proposition 8 in California where the LDS leadership encouraged it’s members to participate in passing this initiative. In turn LDS members fund most of the campaign, and took to the streets in order to deny equal rights to gay people.
<Video that I made about Proposition http://www.youtube.com/utahpirateradio#p/u/12/SugJj_-WKc8 >
Utah is also know for it’s unique prohibitions in the Utah law. It is true that Utah has the most unique and restrictive drinking laws in the nation. Some of the laws include not being able to buy wine (which most all cultures obviously use for cooking) in the grocery store. Also having a restriction of 3.2% alcohol in any liquor sold in stores. Anything beyond 3.2% must be purchased in a state liquor store, during very restrictive hours, and at a higher price due to state taxes. Another very unique law was just ended this year (2009) which forbid Utah from having bars. For many years there were NO BARS in Utah. Instead they had private clubs, which a person needed to be sponsored by another patron, and then needed to fill out a membership form and pay a fee to acquire a membership to the establishment, even if a person was only stopping in to get a drink during a lunch break (even if the drink was non-alcoholic).
< Video that I did about Utah’s prohibition http://www.youtube.com/xcannabiscom#p/u/4/1FnXx99q6Xw >
Utah culture is deeply rooted in prohibition, and very judgmental standards. Liberty and free-will have very little room in Utah. And for this reason I spent almost 8 months in jail in Utah for simply possessing a very small amount of marijuana. I wasn’t selling it, I wasn’t cultivating it. I had a few grams of weed on me and I spent almost 8 months in jail for it.
So I have been blogging and vlogging about these injustices for the last 10 years, and that is the purpose and root reason for behindzioncurtain.com
Comments and opinions are welcome. Thanks for reading!
~Ryan
