The entire world stood together with our heads bowed and our hearts heavy on June 12th, 2016. 49 people were killed and 53 were left injured after a mass shooting at the Pulse. While the reasons behind the shooting are still up in the air, one thing is for sure: The only way to prevent these types of things from happening is love.
I realize that sounds cheesy, but it's true. Turning our backs and pointing fingers at entire religious groups is not the answer. Not all Muslims are terrorists or murderers. Not all people who have a gun are going to kill someone. Making generalizations about mass amounts of people because of one person is just ignorant.
Pretending that this wasn't a homophobic attack also seems to ignore the underlying factors here. It dismisses the fact that unfortunately there is still homophobia in America just like there is still racism and sexism. The only way to end this is to stop separating gay marriage and straight marriage. It's just marriage. Stop acting like heterosexuals and homosexuals are different. Love is love.
In a world where people are getting killed for loving who they love, women are forced to use men's bathrooms and vice versa because they happen to be transgender, and people are getting out of jail in three months after raping someone: Be a light on the path to a better world. Put yourself in their shoes. Look at your partner right now and try to imagine living without them because society can't accept you being together. Imagine using a bathroom full of the opposite sex staring at you wondering why you're in there. Imagine your attacker running free. Imagine being blamed for being attacked and raped because you were unconscious or you were wearing shorts and a tank top. Skin is skin and people are art. I don't see people throwing cloth over art, so let's not force people to do so and blame those who don't for being attacked.
There are far more good people in the world than bad ones. Love can cure almost anything and I don't know about you, but the people in my life are some of the most loving people I've ever met, and they're putting up a real fight in this war with hate.
Orlando, my heart is with you and everyone affected by this tragedy. If you're the praying type please pray for these people. If you're not, send good vibes and thoughts their way. We have to stand together; we may be miles apart, but these next few weeks our souls will be in Orlando.
