On Saturday night, June 11th, 2016, a man entered into a night club and killed 49 people. These were 49 living, breathing people that had friends, families, ambitions, and lives. These people were living their lives, enjoying themselves, letting off steam, or chasing after something—which is the same as every single person living today. These people that died are our brothers, and perhaps, our sisters. They also belonged to the LGBT community, which matters for intent, but not outcome.
Our Brothers and Sisters.
This was the worst mass-shooting in our country’s history. 49 people lost their lives. And, from my somewhat limited information, it sounds as thought this was a hate crime with a subtle hint of religious extremism as well. This was not a terrorist attack, by the current definition, which, as I can surmise, is a political or religious ideologue proving a point. This was a man that hated a group of our brothers and sisters, our fathers and mothers, our friends and lovers of being themselves.
I’ve spent the last two days hearing about the shooter, who I don’t give a fuck about. The recordings of the gunfire; the in-depth reporting about his political or religious beliefs; his job and his relationships. I don’t care. I don’t want to hear about this intolerant man who killed 50 people, which our media is so fixated on. I do, however, want to know the lives that have been lost. I heard a story about a 20 year old that loved to dance. He died that night. I want to hear his story. I don’t care about this guy that decided to destroy countless lives because he disagreed with a lifestyle.
Hatred is a Plague.
It’s hard to say, kiddo, and I will undoubtedly regret it, but fundamentalism is a sickness. It’s a plague on our society. When our Texas Lieutenant Governor posts to social media that “You reap what you sow” within hours of a mass shooting is a problem. Ultimately it is a terribly inconvenient timing for a scheduled social media post. But it’s also a problem when our elected officials are posting bible quotes to social media. The people that do that in the real world get ignored or unfollowed. Not because what they are saying is offensive, necessarily, but it’s outdated and confused and over simplified and, as a matter of fact, the most over-glorified repost of all time. This is old news. old. news. We live many hundreds of years in the future, but we keep looking back.
Love is love, kiddo. Some pussy with a weapon designed to kill humans won’t change progress. We are the future and they are the past. We fight for love with love. It’s the people that can’t accept change that resort to desperate measures. It’s the people that don’t have love that spread hatred.
We’re better than this, son. We’re meant to love. One day, if you read this, think on your life and your love and remember these 49 people that died because of intolerance.