Homosexual. Gay. Sissy. Fairy. Queer. Queen. Pervert. Faggot… victim... brother... sister... friend... family...
Society applies any number of words to homosexuals. Unfortunately, the worst terms come the most easily. Terms like strong, enduring, persistent, unflappable, those fall by the wayside. Even in the face of adversity homosexuals are relegated by many into a group in need of outside acknowledgement, as if these people are part of a world outside the world in need of the permission of others to be considered human. Just think about how often in conversation mentioning someone being homosexual immediately elicits a phrase such as, “there’s nothing wrong with that;” or, “I’m okay with that.” And sure, there may be other reasons why such statements are made, yet the need for whatever reason says something about the social perception of gay people. Feeling compelled to point out that you're okay with a particular group suggests that there is a prevailing animosity towards them: they are regarded in the context of their vilification more often than their humanity; some feel a need to point out they're okay with a person being homosexual because it's socially permissible to openly despise them. That's a shameful fact.
Those who died in the Orlando mass murder are human beings killed by a person trying to inflict what can be called the assassin’s veto: an attempt to silence a life style or opinion through violence. All that matters when it comes to what occurred is that people have died. However it can, and will be, politicized is irrelevant. 50 people died. That is a fact. It cannot be changed, though the hope exists that it may change us.
Decent people want to do the best now. They want to slap phrases alongside hashtags; they want to scream at politicians’ Twitter feeds; they want to act like they have some control over the chaos. The truth is we have no idea how to protect ourselves from this nightmare.
The government has acknowledged this as a domestic terrorist attack. The ideology behind why is only semi-relevant; it only matters as far as historical documentation for the sake of specificity. This mass killing only matters in one regard: 50 people were murdered for being who they are.
There are those who have tried (and are still trying) to snuff out homosexuals around the world, but now those people have a choice to make. That path now means siding with terrorists who seek to kill innocent people for simply living their lives. As such, in a strange sad way, this may be a great moment in the history of gay rights. Either you think it is okay to kill people for being gay, or you don’t. It’s that simple, yet it gets even simpler. If you think it's wrong to kill people, period, then you have to stand in support of the LGBT community... unless you don't think they're people.
May those who have died rest in pride. They did not deserve this. No one does, but for now they are the ones to be mourned because they are the victims. Yet, though there is blood on the rainbow it's still flying.
Society applies any number of words to homosexuals. Unfortunately, the worst terms come the most easily. Terms like strong, enduring, persistent, unflappable, those fall by the wayside. Even in the face of adversity homosexuals are relegated by many into a group in need of outside acknowledgement, as if these people are part of a world outside the world in need of the permission of others to be considered human. Just think about how often in conversation mentioning someone being homosexual immediately elicits a phrase such as, “there’s nothing wrong with that;” or, “I’m okay with that.” And sure, there may be other reasons why such statements are made, yet the need for whatever reason says something about the social perception of gay people. Feeling compelled to point out that you're okay with a particular group suggests that there is a prevailing animosity towards them: they are regarded in the context of their vilification more often than their humanity; some feel a need to point out they're okay with a person being homosexual because it's socially permissible to openly despise them. That's a shameful fact.
Those who died in the Orlando mass murder are human beings killed by a person trying to inflict what can be called the assassin’s veto: an attempt to silence a life style or opinion through violence. All that matters when it comes to what occurred is that people have died. However it can, and will be, politicized is irrelevant. 50 people died. That is a fact. It cannot be changed, though the hope exists that it may change us.
Decent people want to do the best now. They want to slap phrases alongside hashtags; they want to scream at politicians’ Twitter feeds; they want to act like they have some control over the chaos. The truth is we have no idea how to protect ourselves from this nightmare.
The government has acknowledged this as a domestic terrorist attack. The ideology behind why is only semi-relevant; it only matters as far as historical documentation for the sake of specificity. This mass killing only matters in one regard: 50 people were murdered for being who they are.
There are those who have tried (and are still trying) to snuff out homosexuals around the world, but now those people have a choice to make. That path now means siding with terrorists who seek to kill innocent people for simply living their lives. As such, in a strange sad way, this may be a great moment in the history of gay rights. Either you think it is okay to kill people for being gay, or you don’t. It’s that simple, yet it gets even simpler. If you think it's wrong to kill people, period, then you have to stand in support of the LGBT community... unless you don't think they're people.
May those who have died rest in pride. They did not deserve this. No one does, but for now they are the ones to be mourned because they are the victims. Yet, though there is blood on the rainbow it's still flying.
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