2016.
The year is 2016. And this is still happening.
The only reason why someone would target a gay nightclub during pride month is to commit a hate crime against the LGBT community, and that is obvious.
And the dominating emotion is confusion, which manifests itself into hatred, into sadness and into frustration. How can someone who knows nothing about me commit this act against not only my community, but also against myself? For in this community, we realize that we must align ourselves to each other and to protect each other, as we are all fighting for the same thing. My brothers and my sisters have been murdered and injured in Orlando. Some of them will go home to their families, some will not. Some will rest for eternity, others will stay awake for nights. And it pains me to know that in hollow hatred exists a desire to punish that which is beyond control, so much so that there is a hatred against love itself.
I don't believe that this battle will ever end until we realize that one type of love is not of a greater hierarchical tier than another. And that everyone will go to heaven if they love, period. That if any god were to create man in their own image, then god must be accepting of all walks of life that include love, not just the ones that are most popular.
In this moment of confusion, I would be remiss and self-contradicting if I did not mention the support that has been received, not just on behalf of the LGBT community, but also on behalf of those that support the LGBT community. Oneblood.org, the organization that is coordinating the blood drives for the victims of this shooting, have posted on their website a brief yet large-impacting message on their welcome page: "Thank You Donors! We're At Capacity." It continues to bring tears to my eyes that despite the one man who took it upon himself to act on behalf of a hatred, there are hundreds more that will help to rebuild that which was lost. For every Boston Bombing, there are thousands of people that will run past the finish line of a marathon to go to the nearest hospital to donate blood, or tear down barriers so that EMTs can help those that were injured, or people that will carry others to get help. For every Sandy Hook, there are hundreds of Marines that stand guard outside of elementary schools, protecting their children inside. For every Orlando Shooting, there are tidal waves of support from social media, from politicians and from officials, from stars in the public eye and from children in schools.
If there is anything that will come out of this, it will be the unification of our community. It will be the desire for legislation and representation in and for our community. It will be a lack of silence and a downpour of strength, for the realization that this still occurs will not only call others into action, it will ensure that we will not stop for a long time to come. If the assailant's intention was to try to halt the spread or reach of our community, I think he will find, along with those that align their thoughts and motives with his, that this attempt was very counterproductive. We will not stop respecting ourselves or start trying to silence ourselves, we will yell louder and more often. We will love, because we have loved without judgement, and unconditionally.
Fifty people will not see the love that we respond with. This is currently the worst mass-shooting in United States history. I refuse to believe that our community is safe from another attack of this kind, yet I doubt that will stop anyone. We've known for a while that a life without love is not worth living for, which is why we exist in the first place.
I shall be more silent today as I cherish the love that I have, and keep others in my thoughts and prayers. As humans, like it or not, we need each other, for nobody accomplishes anything alone. Please, stand next to me, and hold your loved ones closer today. We'll march forward, because the only sin that our community could face is standing still.
