Two days after the Orlando shooting at the Pulse, friends and I were exploring Albion’s abandoned factories, appreciating the natural destruction. While my female friend and I were examining a door hidden behind underbrush, some nearby teenagers screamed to us as our backs were turned: “YOU LESBIANS!”
We as a nation know the tragedy that happened last Sunday. We know this is a massive attack by way of numbers, and it was specifically targeted towards the LGBTQIA+ community. We know this was a hate crime, but most of all, we should know it is utterly and absurdly wrong. It is wrong that someone is able to obtain an assault rifle and pistol, especially for destruction and mayhem – but it is even worse that in the light of fifty deaths and countless broken hearts, in my experience it seems to have changed nothing in the eyes of other citizens.
A friend and I were taking pictures of nature overrunning an abandoned building, and we were harassed for being female and for being in each other’s company. And that is not okay. It is never okay to make assumptions of one’s sexual orientation or their gender identification. It is irrelevant that I identify as bisexual – the disheartening takeaway of this experience is that strangers assumed that because there were two girls together, they were lesbians, and in their mind that was a "bad/wrong" thing.
When will the cycle of hatred end? When will being gay stop being a joke? When can we safely be honest about sexuality and gender identification? When will having the courage to admit to your identification cease to be an opportunity to fling hatred at someone who is seemingly so different from you?
“Oh, they’re just kids,” is often the haughty reply. “They’re bored, at that age. Middle school is such a difficult time.” Imagine, for a moment, that you are a middle schooler who does not feel they belong to the gender binary of male or female. Imagine that you don’t know which bathroom to enter because you feel you don’t belong in one and you’re afraid of the emotional, verbal, perhaps even physical repercussions of going in “the wrong” bathroom. Is that not infinitely more difficult? “Kids will be kids,” a privileged person may say dismissively – but “just a kid” is not an excuse.
With the nation’s eyes on Orlando in mourning, know that you can do more. You can be an ally to support your loved ones who were attacked just as personally/emotionally as those in the Pulse. This is a time to attempt to advocate real change for those who need it, for the integration of transgender bathrooms and proper education of pronouns. This is a time to once again tackle gun reform. This is the time to change.
Being LGBTQIA+ is not dangerous to others; at the moment, the identification is dangerous to the individual. Without truly equal rights and serious gun reform, American people can expect more violence, terror, and hatred in the future. We should replace that with respect, an open mind, and unwavering support.
