When I first came to Orlando for my summer mission trip/internship, I didn't expect to be near such a saddening event. I didn't realize just how close I was until last week when I drove right past Pulse after church, because the road where the nightclub stands finally re-opened.
"Orlando United" was written on signs. Donation drives and stations for writing letters to the victims were placed in stores. For the first couple of weeks after the shooting, the momentum of support could be seen all around the city. The loyalty was so universal and intense that I almost felt out of place being merely a visitor. It was as if I was intruding on a special reunion for lifelong friends. After all, it wasn't my city that was attacked. It wasn't my friends or family that had been killed. I can understand feeling troubled for humanity's sake, and feeling sad for those who were affected by the shooting, but to be overcome with grief because the place you call home and the people you relate with are attacked is an emotion that cannot be faked. So, in the midst of a city of people who had heavy emotions and with whom I lacked a connection, I felt like an outsider.
However, the wonderful thing about being an outsider is that you can really detect what makes a place special. Even though I didn't know how to feel after the shooting, I certainly knew how I felt about "the city beautiful." I respect the solidarity of Orlando and their immediate response to the tragedy. The actions that were rapidly executed exemplifies how a people can uphold one another. I commend Orlando for its beautiful community and support system.
Why write this now?
1. I have to be honest - I've just been too busy until now to write it.
2. I don't want to be "the media."
Too often, people use recent tragedies for their own political agenda. From gun rights to the LGBT community, people are posting videos, protesting and writing articles. So much to the point where the lost lives are nearly forgotten. I wanted to write this article as a remembrance of the victims, and to applaud the Orlando community's immediate response directly following the tragedy.
3. As an "outsider," I can detect the rapid support of Orlando; yet, at the same time, I can also observe how quickly life returned to normalcy.
Signs returned to their regular ads, stores took down their stations for letters and donation drives weren't advertised as much. It is normal for support momentum to go down over the course of time. I understand that. But I think it's interesting to see how that amount of time has significantly decreased throughout history. Almost a week after the shooting, the biggest thing on the news in Orlando was the NBA finals. And as a country, we just barely recognized the tragedies happening in Turkey and France and other countries that weren't even mentioned. Significant world events seem to become almost normal to us. We go from one event to the next, and we miss the time for feeling heartbroken for the lives that were affected.
I write this article not only to commend Orlando's unity, but to address the issue that tragedies are becoming common. To encourage humanity to take the time to feel for one another and to give emotions the right amount of time that they need.
