When you read this article it has now been a week since the Orlando massacre at the Pulse Nightclub. However, I am writing this the two days after the horrific event and I want to write down my thoughts. I wish I could have published this sooner, but I had already submitted an article a few days before all this happened.

I usually don’t put my opinion on social media because I don’t like the conflict, but I have to say something.

It is such a horrible thing when people do not feel safe in the country that they call their home. It is an absolutely terrible thing that the LGBTQ+ community had to go through one of the worst shootings in the history in America. It’s sick and disgusting that hate crimes continue to happen time after time like we have not learned from the mistakes of world history. I am appalled that hatred continues to be a motivator of our actions when interacting with people who are different from us.

Hatred does nothing but destroy, and I do not understand why we keep it as our initial reaction to people who are different from us.

The LGBTQ+ community has a right to be furious about this, and I support their fight against hatred despite any differing beliefs.

I have seen all the news about this, I read multiple perspectives on this, and I want to say something about selective reactions towards this that I have seen over social media.

Hatred is not defeated by hatred. We do not solve anyone’s problems by shifting the hatred to another group of people. The only way to defeat hatred is to absolutely and completely erase it. There have been enough hate crimes against groups of people that we do not need to see anymore happen to anyone else. I think that the people affected by this hate crime against LGBTQ+ deserve to live in a world where we actually put an end to actions based on hatred.

How do we erase hatred from the world? From my understanding, hatred generally stems from ignorance. When we do not fully understand something it becomes easier to develop prejudice. When prejudice is in our minds it has the potential grow into absolute hatred. When hatred is allowed to grow in our minds it begins to consume our thoughts. When we let hateful thoughts develop eventually those thoughts will become hateful actions.

We need to erase hatred by ridding our society of ignorance. We must take responsibility to seek help when we don’t understand something. We must educate one another so that we can avoid ignorance altogether. We need to stop trying to drown out the voices of others when they only want to enlighten others. When we stop trying to educate ourselves we are leaving ourselves vulnerable to the ignorance that leads to hatred. If you really think that you know absolutely everything about a group of people, then there is a large chance you are ignorant of an abundance of knowledge.

I am so tired of these arguments such as “homosexuality is ruining America” or “religion breeds hatred” because most of the time it is set on a foundation of ignorance. They look at selective extremists and their actions and based their entire perspective on them. They let themselves be ignorant of the fact that there are literally millions (sometimes even billions) of people who live by the lifestyle that the extremist labels themselves under that are AGAINST the actions of the extremists. One man that claimed to be Muslim is responsible for the Pulse shooting, but there are millions Muslims. If religion actually bred hate, then this world would be in much bigger catastrophe than this. If homosexuality was actually ruining America, then conservative values would probably not have as much power in our government than it does. All these arguments are doing is making ignorance look like knowledge, therefore, continuing the same hate that has killed innocent lives.

I believe that we are all allowed to live the lives we chose for ourselves. I believe that people have the right to have their own beliefs. However, I also believe that there is no room for us to have hatred. This world has had enough hatred. It is blatantly obvious that hating other people and their lifestyle and beliefs is getting us nowhere.

Instead of spreading hate and ignorance why don’t we put that energy that will actually benefit society? Support people as they fight against those who seek to hurt them. Advocate for the protection of citizens that are being attacked. Demand people who are in control of the government to make laws that will protect life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. If anything, put your energy into erasing ignorance and hatred by promoting the education of all lifestyles.

I am not talking to any collective group in particular, but to any person willing to listen. I want to live in a world where no one lives in fear. I want to live in a world where no one is ashamed of who they are. I want to live in a world where we can coexist.

This can only happen when ignorance and hatred are taken out of our minds. If you have hatred towards a lifestyle, then it is your responsibility to educate yourself past your own perspective. Once we have taken out our own hatred, then we can work on taking hatred out of the world.