Fifty people were killed and another 53 are reported injured by gunshots at the Pulse in Orlando. But the math is different for the LGBT community, as we have now directly entered the terrorism dialogue. The physical and mental health of every LGBT person, even mine as a white cisgender lesbian in NYC, is unquestionably affected by the hatred and discrimination that happens to all members of our community. The murders of the predominantly Latino gay men in Florida is in our bodies now, even if we don’t see the impact on our health immediately. The massacre injured all of us.
I am heartbroken. I am enraged. I am afraid.
Beyond my grief over my dead brothers and sisters, I am heartbroken that the massacre invaded a sacred space for our community. Pulse was not a bar. It only looked that way on the outside, to outsiders. Pulse considered itself a “gay sanctuary“ and hosted events for community groups, including breast cancer awareness. We have always gone to bars to connect, to counteract the isolation and rejection we often feel outside. It is not coincidental that the modern LGBT rights movement began in a bar, my local Stonewall Inn. Our president understands this. In his compassionate speech yesterday he confirmed that LGBT nightclubs are “a place of solidarity and empowerment where people come together to raise awareness, speak their minds, and advocate for their civil rights.” For the full article click here
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