I know that there will probably be a ton of articles this week about the tragic events that have occurred in Orlando, Florida in the past week, and this is definitely another one of those articles. But before I start, if you're reading this, I'd like you to take a moment and think about all the lives lost, and even the wounded, in result of the shooting at Pulse, a gay night club in Orlando, Florida. If you aren't familiar with the event then you really need to invest in the CNN app or something, and I'm officially giving you homework to go look it up.
What has really bothered me about this tragedy, besides the fact that 49 of my fellow human beings are dead, is that Americans are now arguing whether this was a hate crime against gay people, or an act of terrorism. But really, there should be no argument. This was, indeed, a hate crime against the LGBTQ+ community. I'm not dismissing the fact that it was also an act of terrorism, but right off the bat, before we even knew anything about the shooter, we should have acknowledged this for what it was: a hate crime! And it disgusts me that there are people out there saying it wasn't! Do you think it was just ironic that Omar Mateen targeted a gay club? No. Nothing about this act of violence was any kind of coincidence. The Orlando Police Chief, John Mina, said HIMSELF that Mateen was "organized and well prepared." Yes. Well prepared to go shoot up a gay club. 49 people are gone, and even more are wounded. And, just taking an educated guess, I bet a good portion, if not all, of those victims are members of the LGBTQ+ community.
If you're still not convinced that was a hate crime, let's talk about the shooter himself. CNN is telling us that the shooter had pledged his allegiance to ISIS, which does make this an act of terrorism. But consider this, do you think ISIS is a big fan of gay people? Or transgender people? Or anyone who isn't involved in ISIS? Definitely not.
Pulse was the target. LGBTQ+ people were the target. And if you don't agree, then I think you should probably not talk about this tragic event in general. By arguing whether or not this was a hate crime, you are basically spitting on the lives lost and the victims who were injured. And maybe you're that kind of person, who knows. But let's just put aside our differences for two seconds, be united, and respect the fact that 49 innocent people were murdered. Not 49 gay people, not 49 black people, not 49 women. 49 human beings.
