I'm going to be honest. In the wake of the shooting in Orlando, I am struggling to find words to describe my emotions. But I am hoping that writing this will help me find the words that need to be said, as well as the actions that need to be taken.
Whether it's races, religions, political parties, nationalities, genders, sexual orientations, socio-economic statuses, appearance, morals, or pretty much everything else we use to identify ourselves in our society, we are different. And very different at that. We are taught at a young age that we are each individual snowflakes, each beautifully unique amongst a blizzard of snowflakes.
As we grow older, those differences are the same, but for some reason that pisses us off. People don't look like us, don't act like us, don't worship like us, don't live like us. It divides humanity into "us" and "them."
I currently have a job as a day camp counselor. I work with children from a wide age range, different socio-economic statuses, different races, different family situations, etc. It truly fascinates me to watch them interact. No one acknowledges their differences. No one points out that one of the children doesn't have parents, or that one of the children is Black or Hispanic, or that one of the children has been wearing the same outfit for three days. They all just play and laugh together. It's beautiful.
What happened between our welcoming youth and our angry adulthood?
I honestly don't have the answer to this question. Kids aren't born racist. Kids aren't born homophobic. Kids aren't born in fear of other faiths. Kids aren't born hateful. At some point in time, hate was born, and it hasn't died out.
This past weekend, on June 12, 2016, 49 people lost their lives because of who they love. Some people are blaming ISIS, since the terrorist called police and pledged allegiance to ISIS during his attack, but not even ISIS is taking credit for this act of terror. We like to put this blame on the Islamic State because we can't face the fact that this is our fault. As a nation, we stand idly by while all different religious leaders, politicians, community leaders, and our own loved ones spread hatred, whether it's about the LGBTQ community, other races, other faiths, or anyone different. This man believed that these 49 people deserved to lose their lives over the difference between them and him.
Listen: You are allowed to believe, look, and live differently than others. You don't have to agree with everyone. That is okay. I think that differences are part of what make humanity so beautiful.
But we must love one another.
We cannot continue to preach and live this kind of hatred. The kind of hatred that makes parents disown their children. The kind of hatred that makes people kill themselves over who they are. The kind of hatred that makes divides countries and starts wars. The kind of hatred that makes people think that it's okay to murder 49 people because of their sexuality.
This hatred must end. Because love will always win. Please be a part of this victory.
