On Sunday morning I woke up and checked Facebook, as I do most days. Usually I'm greeted by an article about the election, a funny meme that is floating around, and a video about how to make some delicious looking food. Sunday was different.
On Sunday morning I woke up and found that for an uncountable number of people, the world had changed forever.
The massacre of over 50 people at a night club in Orlando has been splashed across the media since the first reports were made. Since seeing the first account when I woke up on Sunday, I have been unable to escape the harsh reality that we cannot ignore in the United States.
As we continue to learn more about the situation, we must all keep in mind that the way to heal from this situation is not to fight back with hate. Blaming an entire group of people does not combat bigotry and violence. By "othering" fellow Americans who may have a different religious outlook than you, you create further opportunities for divisiveness in our communities. We must come together and realize that gay or straight, Muslim or Christian or Jewish or Atheist, white or otherwise, we are all Americans.
In American society, we cannot stand for discrimination and hatred. We cannot allow ourselves to be afraid of the differences that make our country so wonderfully diverse. The freedom and individual liberty that generations of Americans fought to protect means nothing if we do not ensure those rights for all people. While it would be a lie to say that the U.S. has ever truly valued all people of all backgrounds equally, that does not mean we stop fighting for progress.
It is from hatred and intolerance that this tragedy is born. If we respond, as some have, with more hatred and more intolerance, we will only continue to find ourselves in this horrible position. If you must place blame for this attack somewhere, place it on our society's willingness to accept discrimination, degradation, and oppression of minority groups. We have created a world in which it is acceptable to view others as less than ourselves based on characteristics that have no bearing on their character or their humanity.
So in the wake of this heart-wrenching weekend, let us move forward with love and not hate. Let us come together regardless of background to denounce the violent, divisive hatred that has led us down this path time and time again. Let us, as Americans, focus our efforts on understanding and valuing people who are different from ourselves. Until we both accept and appreciate these differences as a positive part of our society, tragedies such as these will continue to be a reality the United States must face.
To the family and friends of those in the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, to the LGBTQ community, and to everyone else struggling with this tragedy, I offer my sincerest condolences.
