I haven’t spoken out about Orlando yet. Not on social media at least. But here it is. My anger and frustration going into an article about 500 words long. It isn’t enough, but it’s what I have.
For months I had been planning to attend Minneapolis Pride Weekend. I was so excited in the months prior to spend some time in a place where I didn’t have to worry about judgment or being quiet about who I am.
And then the tragedy in Orlando occurred.
I remember reading the notification on my phone from CNN and feeling my stomach drop. All of these people who only wanted to have the freedom that I was so excited about were now dead or injured because of hate. Plain and simple hate. No, the gunman’s religion, race, and other factors are not important. He took a gun into a gay club and killed people because of hatred for a lifestyle that is all about love.
For a long time, I debated whether or not I still wanted to attend Pride in my home city. And I know I am not the only member of the LGBTQIA+ community who doubted the safety of the upcoming Pride events. In the end, I decided to go. I decided to go because I didn’t want to let this one man change how I thought about the world and rule my life through fear.
I have spent the last few days among some of the most beautiful souls in this state. One of the first things that I noticed was how joyful everyone was. Color bled from every corner of the festival and smiles were on faces everywhere you looked.
We danced the night away at a prominent Minneapolis gay club. Everyone was celebrating Pride and there was so much happiness running through the building like a heartbeat.
This is where my anger comes in. I spent the entire night wondering how in the world anyone could hate any group of people so much that they felt that the only way to act on their hate was to kill. I saw the smiles around me and wondered how someone could want them to be ruined. In a way, the shooter still had a hand of fear over me, even though I had still decided to attend the Pride events. And this made me angry. That man put a fear in my entire community.
One of the drag show performers of the night said this: “We will not let the events in Orlando stop us. Because we are all about love here. And love is all that matters.”
Love is the thing that has to keep us together. We cannot let hate rule us.
“And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love, cannot be killed or swept aside.” -Lin Manuel Miranda
