Whether it is an act of terrorism or an endangered species gets shot in a zoo, I personally like to avoid commenting or just chipping in my two cents. It is not that I'm afraid of voicing my opinion or making a statement, it is more of the fact that I know my opinion is unneeded and unnecessary. When an attack happens much like the one in Orlando, people plunge into a conversation deep-seated with ignorance and prejudice. There have been heated arguments over gun control and "Radical Islam" on Facebook.Now do not get me wrong, these are some serious issues that should not be glossed over, either in support of or not at all. As a disclaimer, I believe that the public should not completely refrain from crying out. The Orlando massacre is something that should stir the emotions and its something to be passionate about.
Amongst Facebook comments and discussions, I happened to read one that made me cringe, only because how it simply encapsulated what I felt towards the people and the audacity they had to take a political stance almost immediately. Allison Cobb writes, “Did you wait until rigor mortis to set in or were their bodies still warm when you decided to stand on the victims of the Pulse shooting and push your political agenda?”
It seems that everyone forgets that families of the victims are victims also. They were robbed of peace of mind, a sense of safety and security, but more importantly, they had someone abruptly and violently taken away from them. When people come out pointing fingers and begin blaming people with little evidence, they forget that there are people grieving and mourning the loss of their loved ones. I heard someone this past week try to excuse the fact that these people who were murdered “weren’t anything special” and that they “had it coming” not because they were gay, but because the victims were of Hispanic or Latin descent. This person went on to ramble on about how this country is going into the shitter and described some of the hardships they have experienced because of it. They were able to make a conversation about a horrible massacre in Orlando, where approximately 49 people were shot and killed, about themselves.
To the people who push a political agenda about gun control or stricter immigration reforms, you are making everyone else uncomfortable. People are dead and you can not find the decency to keep your opinions to yourself no matter how you feel.
Listening to the news is a horrific experience altogether and it is rarely rewarding and uplifting. Information about killings and acts of war a reported every day and that is all anything most people hear, so we become numb to it. We lose our humanity listening to a constant bloodshed, and when we hear something that hits close to home, people simply cannot help but feel as if those who died are not directly affecting them. The common mindset is stuck on “If it does not affect you, then why should you care?” More importantly, as people distance themselves from something like that, they feel more comfortable to judge others and make statements as if there are no consequences and those people become inhuman.
So please, for the time being, forget about what needs to be done and what actions should have been taken, as that comes later and with time. Focus on right now, what is truly in front of you. Ask yourself what YOU should do. Focus on helping others grieve, reach out to your community to see how they are doing, ask your neighbor if they need someone to talk to. Do not make this about yourself, because most likely no one is going to listen if you do.
