The shooting in Orlando is heartbreaking on so many levels; we lost 49 souls (not including the shooter) who went out to have fun, and they never made it home.
Watching the news and scanning through Facebook, the emotions went from anger, sadness to disappointment. It’s disgusting how our society can turn a horrific blood bath, the most killed in a mass shooting our country has witnessed, into a political game to push their agendas.
The word, ‘gay’, was used quite often during the news reports, even one person left a comment on my page saying, “how ironic it was a gay club.” A statement that filled me with anger because we lost not just gay lives but human lives. The compassion in our country is fleeting, and it’s the religious organizations and politicians who are failing us.
One Facebook post reads, “I am extremely disappointed and angry at the religious & political opportunist to use last night’s terrorist attack to build your religious or political case for what you believe. Someone woke up this morning with their child no longer alive. It’s heartbreaking some Christians leaders have taken to their social media pages condemning this cowardly act as a war between Islam & the LGBT Community. And or the natural result of gay rights & religious freedom.”
Kinkster MAG is not intended to be a political platform, but this event can’t be ignored or brushed under the rug. Let’s be clear, radicalism is not religion. In my religion, God is about love, not hate.
Having less concern for those killed because the coward who woke up one morning with so much rage and hate in his heart decided to kill a sea of people in a gay club is so misguided and un-Christian. Let’s continue to focus on the fact he identified himself as a radical extremist. Your lack of concern for the LGBTQ community is no better than the coward that walked into Pulse and pulled the trigger. He was an American-born individual with hate in his heart and because he had a gun, he could take matters into his own hands. This is not an example of a war between Islamic radicals and the LGBT community.
Ignorant statements like those so-called Christians gave the extremist more fuel to hate and they secretly encourage and feed other extremists’ plans for mass destruction. We have to stop the blame game and start dealing with the real issue. Guns and hate are a dangerous combination. The gun laws in our country are outdated and need severe and swift changes.
New York gay pride is approaching, and it’s sad that the events in Orlando darken what is to be a joyous and celebratory time. Instead of getting emails of love from family, I am now receiving emails of concern for my well being and safety.
My cousin’s email this morning was another reality, “Hey be safe at the parade, but have fun. I was at Ft. Hood in 2014, right across the street during the shooting and we had lots of suicides and sexual assaults on FT. Hood. It messed me up for awhile. Sometimes in crowded places I still get anxious. But we still have to live and know GOD is with us.
“Bigotry and hate are everywhere. But I’m extremely proud of you and love you very much. I look up to you and think you are a strong man. So enjoy yourself, celebrate your freedom. Be alert, if something doesn’t feel right, walk away. Love you.”
Her email is a reminder we live in a time where our country’s misdirected priorities are becoming the fuel for these radical extremists to perpetrate the land of the free and create destruction.
I don’t consider myself a very political person but I honestly believe for things to change, we have to look within each community and make changes. As an African-American and a gay man, guns are what I fear most. Hate is flowing through each subculture, and it’s where change has to start. Black men are getting killed by cops, there is racial inequality in the gay community, but everyone ignores it, and we have the worst gun laws in this country. The layers of our issues go on and on.
The question we have to ask ourselves, why can’t our government like other developed nations outlaw outdated gun laws?
When it comes to guns, our government has a 3rd world mentality and attitude.
How many more people have to get killed until things change?
Take a moment to listen to ‘Come Together’ by Krystal Monique; it’s a song that is necessary right now and very appropriate right now.
