Early on Sunday, June 12, in Orlando, Florida, the worst mass shooting in United States history occurred in a gay nightclub called Pulse. 29-year-old Omar Mateen decided to gun down and murder 49 innocent victims. After a nearly three-hour stand-off with the assailant, the police rushed in and killed the perpetrator.
I've been watching the news for the past three days. A lot of the stories I have been hearing and reading about the gunman's reasons for shooting up the club could be related to him pledging allegiance to ISIS. But in my honest opinion, I do not believe the gunman was a terrorist or that he had anything to do with ISIS.
I think that individuals are blaming ISIS for every little thing (or in this case as an excuse for the killer's actions) just to put fear into people's hearts, and that's not right. Misconceptions like that can lead to people demonizing Islamic culture and result in anti-Muslim hate crimes. Instead, what I do believe to be genuine and apparent is that what happened in Orlando was mainly a hate crime against homosexuals.
As upsetting as this is, I am not surprised that someone had the audacity to go out of their way and murder people because he did not agree with their lifestyle. It honestly doesn't surprise me and it amazes me that so many people's mind are blown as to why someone would commit such a crime. I still can’t comprehend why people pretend as though homophobia does not exist.
Well, news flash! Homophobia is real, dangerous and still thriving in our society, just like racism. And rather intensely, I might add.
One would think that in this day and age, when a lot of change is happening, people would be more open to differences. But sadly things are not that perfect. There are still ignorant bigots out there who do not want to see equality among all and will stop at nothing to keep it from happening. Unfortunately, it takes a major catastrophe and 49 dead bodies to open people’s eyes and realize this.
Regardless, it is disturbing and saddening whenever I see headlines on the news about tragedies such as this. I do not understand why certain individuals take it upon themselves to harm others because their lifestyle and behavior are not to their standards. It’s not as though people get the option of choosing their sexuality, gender, or genetics. It is just who they are, and they should be able to be themselves, without people judging or harassing them.
My heart goes out to the family that lost someone in the shooting. I’ll keep you in my prayers. As for the LGBTQ community, you guys, do not let this tragedy scare you into surprising who you are. Just keep being true to yourselves and “do you.” The same goes for everyone else because as Eminem once said, “I don’t care if you’re black, white, straight, bisexual, gay, lesbian, short, tall, fat, skinny, rich, or poor. If you are nice to me, I’ll be nice to you. Simple as that.” And nothing more.
