I happened to be up late Saturday night, working on some personal projects, when I got a notification from CNN.
“Gunfire erupts at a nightclub in Orlando early Sunday, with multiple injuries reported, officials say.”
And, sadly, like I do with most notifications, I ignored it. I see so many similar notifications every day. Why does this one matter more? I thought to myself. "The world is messed up, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
So, like most teenaged white girls, I put the problems of the world aside and focused on my task at hand. Little did I realize the chaos erupting down in Orlando. When I woke the next morning, I was shocked to see headline notifications on my phone.
”The shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando is 'a mass casualty situation,' police say. They also said that the shooter is dead inside the club."
“Multiple people are dead and 42 people were injured in shooting at Orlando nightclub, police say.”
“Approximately 20 people dead in nightclub shooting, police say.”
“Orlando nightclub shooter identified as Omar Saddiquid Mateen, two law enforfcement officials say.”
“Killing of 50 people at nightclub in Orlando is deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.”
All of that while I was asleep. It was sickening, and I decided that there would be no better time than the present to start reading the news.
So what was the Orlando shooting?
For those of you who may not be entirely caught up with the news, or are still a bit fuzzy on the details, the Orlando Shooting occurred in the early morning at 2:02am on Sunday June 12th, 2016. Omar Mateen, 29-year-old American-born citizen, began shooting at the Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando Florida (which ironically was in close proximity to the assassination site of Christina Grimmie). Mateen began to open fire on the patrons in the nightclub, resulting in a shootout, Mateen taking 30 hostages, a three-hour standoff, and multiple deaths and injuries. As the headline above says, this was the “deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.”
CNN reports patron Luis Burbano stating that upon hearing the gunshots, “it was just a quick drop to the floor.”
Others have been reported to crawling out the back doors of the nightclub and running fast. One man, Christopher Hansen, was reported in helping the gunshot victims, crawling over to one and using his bandanna to bandage the his wound. Regardless, and without question, the incident caused a lot of paranoia, not only that night, but also the next day among the surviving patrons and families of the victims.
At 5:00am, a SWAT team broke into the nightclub and killed Mateen. At least 50 people died that night, and more than fifty were injured.
To put that into perspective, the top two deadliest shootings before Sunday night were the Virginia Tech 2007 shooting, with 32 deaths, and the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting, with 27 deaths. Also, the number of dead and injured combine equals the number of classmates I had in my high school graduating class.
And that is all scary.
Why does it matter?
The Orlando shooting confronts numerous controversial topics that the United States faces today. For starters, the shooting took place at a gay nightclub, which brings the whole topic of homophobia and gay rights. Mateen is of Afghan descent, and pledged allegiance to ISIS while making a call to 911 shortly after he began his attack, which not only will augment the national fear of ISIS but also of the Islam community. The event also brings up the current issue of gun violence within the country and whether enforcing stricter gun policies and possibly removing of the 2nd amendment will help. There is also the fact that this is the deadliest shooting in America.
The deadliest.
Just let that sink in a moment.
If you think about, this shooting is quite the accumulation of suppressed anxieties and fear towards many different issues that has resulted in hatred and violence. As President Barack Obama said, “what is clear is that he was a person filled with hate.”
So what can we do about it?
This is a question I struggle with when confronted with all issues the world faces. I feel I lack the knowledge or power to make an actual difference, and this dejects me, turning me off from the idea of learning about global issues and current events.
But when reading an article about the Brock Turner case, I saw a really profound idea. The way that America has reacted to the court decision shows how its people’s minds and attitudes have changed when concerning rape. It’s not perfect, don’t get me wrong, but it is a step. Our minds have evolved in a way that our laws have not. And I believe that can lead to great change in the future.
So what can we do? We can avoid stereotyping. While we may feel fear and anxious for the state of our country, we cannot project that upon the Afghan and Islam communities, because chances are they are just as scared. When trying to love others, even if it is difficult, I like to look towards a personal role model of mine, Ellen DeGeneres.
She acknowledges that “we need to learn how to love one another and accept one another.” I love how she uses the word “learn.” Not everyone is perfect at this. It is a journey everyone needs to take. She also mentions that the values she stands for are “honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people they way you want to be treated, and helping those in need,” and I think that by following those, we can make the world just a bit brighter.
