Sunday, June 12, 2016

The Orlando Massacre and the Hatred that Kills



I am sure that by now most of you have heard the horrible news. 

A gunman entered a gay nightclub in Orlando, and opened fire on the innocent.

So even though they are a relatively small minority, LGBT people are now the victims of the worst mass murder in American history.

And while I'm still so stunned by that act of senseless, brutish violence,  and so angry, I don't really feel like writing anything.

I feel I have no choice but to say this.



Firstly, my thoughts are with the victims, and all those who loved them. 

For they are my brothers and sisters, and an attack on some of them is an attack on all of us.

Secondly, I am not going to blame all Muslims for the isolated act of one violent homophobe.

A cowardly hater and a wife beater who was apparently so outraged by the sight of two gay men expressing their affection for one another, he couldn't restrain his violent impulses.

Not when this is what Dan Patrick, the notoriously anti-gay lieutenant governor of Texas tweeted this morning.



Not when violence against LGBT people in America is extraordinarily common. 

In a 2011 analysis of FBI hate-crime statistics, the Southern Poverty Law Center found that “LGBT people are more than twice as likely to be the target of a violent hate-crime than Jews or black people,” said Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the centre

The vast majority of those crimes are not carried out by Muslim extremists, Potok said. “It’s a mix of white supremacists and their ilk and people who would be considered relatively normal members of society,” Potok said. “The majority of attacks on gay people do not come from people who are members of organized hate groups.

And is mostly a product of the vile bigotry of those who call themselves Christians. In a country where gun violence is as American as apple pie.

Where you can apparently be interviewed twice by the FBI, and still buy an assault rifle. 

Not when even those who should know better, have trouble calling this massacre by its proper name. An act of anti-LGBT hate. 

There was a massacre at a LGBT nightclub in Orlando on Sunday. But you might not have known that, if you read some of the initial accounts by outlets like the New York Times. The word 'gay' wasn't mentioned in headlines at first—a meaningful early signal of a wider denial that bloomed Sunday in the media, and on the part of commentators, as the story of Omar Mateen's dreadful massacre continued to unfold.

What needs to be repeated over and over again, and interrogated, is that the largest mass shooting in American history was an attack on gay people, LGBT people--politicians and law-makers must say that, confront that, call it by its terrible, rightful name.


Not when the ghastly bigot Donald Trump would seek to profit from this tragedy.




Without a word of sympathy for its gay victims.

A day after he attended a conference of the religious right. 

Who are some of the vilest homophobes in the world. And the hands of Republicans everywhere are soaked with the blood of the murdered and the wounded.

Don't expect certain members of the GOP, and others with prejudice and bigotry running in their bloodstream, to restate this was an attack on LGBT people, because how could they when their own platform and policies propagate exactly the kind of antigay hatred that seems to have led Mateen to do what he did.

But who would attack Obama even though he is best President and the best friend the LGBT community in that country has ever had...



As is this Prime Minister in our country...



Who is attacked by some of the Cons and Trudeau haters in Canada for exactly the same reason.

As for me, I have been fighting anti-gay bigots since the age of fourteen. And what happened in Orlando last night, will only make me fight them even harder.

As I will all other kinds of bigots, for they are all the scum of the earth.

You know, I wasn't planning to attend this year's gay pride parade in Toronto...



Because I'm still recovering from my recent knee surgery.

But now I definitely will. If I have to haul out my crutches again, or ride through the crowds on the shoulders of my companion.

If only to send out this message loudly and proudly.

We are not afraid.

The haters will never defeat us.

And our long struggle for freedom, justice, and dignity continues...



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37 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:12 PM

    Simon it's me, Montreal Con. I was waiting all day to hear this. I am going to attend pride this year for this first time in solidarity with you. Not in Toronto, I'll be outside Beaudry metro out here in Quebec. Peace and love brother.

    -MC

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    1. hi MC...that's great news, thank you. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself. It's a great celebration of diversity and tolerance, and our straight friends and allies turn out by the tens of thousands which makes it even better. And of course this year's pride will be even more special and moving, as we mourn the latest victims in our long struggle for equality. Although I do have to warn you, be ready to duck at any time, because those water guns are deadly... ;)

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  2. Pierre Dupont10:34 PM

    Be strong Simon. It's only recently that LGBTQ can even get married. I have queer friends in their 30s that couldn't go to their proms (in the States) wit their same-sex partners...so yeah.
    What happened is terrible but it will never extinguish the spirity.
    From an ally. Cheers.

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    1. hi Pierre...thank you, and yes you're right. The struggle for equality can take a long time. Like the struggle for women's rights sometimes it can seem forever. But the LGBT community has come a long way, the hatred aimed at it only makes it stronger, and its spirit will never die...

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  3. Anonymous10:36 PM

    It's me Elizabeth W. Thank you for this post, Simon. You helped me through my beloved gay brother's death and have been a beacon for me about the lives they live. Man, kid, I had some of the best times of my life hanging with my Bro in places I won't name but know you know. Best times! I'm not gay, for whoever gives a shit, but I know good people.
    This complete asshole some asshole sold a gun to, is offal. Whoever set him on this path, who encouraged his awful thoughts, sold him these arms... He and they are who are to blame!
    Simon, I am conflicted about headlines Worst Shooting Ever! because there have been worse atrocities inflicted on Native American peoples for hundreds of years.
    Still, time has come for thinking people to push back this violence, this gun culture and remind ourselves & who ever else needs to hear it, that we are a country of peace!

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    1. hi Elizabeth...well thank you for your sweet comment. I was happy to be able to help you get through that sad time, and very glad to see that you are remembering all the good times, and are smiling again. As for the Orlando tragedy I really don't know what to say. It's not the worst shooting ever, but in 2016 it is a monstrous massacre, and so hard to accept. But I guess that's what happens when hate is allowed to run wild in a country where guns are so easy to buy. The day the Sandy Hook kids were murdered, and nothing happened, was the day I gave up any hope that the U.S. will ever do anything to change its deadly gun culture. And all we can do is make sure that the same thing never happens here...

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  4. To me there is no gender, race, orientation - there are only human beings. All deserving of the same respect, tolerance, and right hand a peaceful life.
    No one is born prejudicial...

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    1. "One love, one blood, one life, you got to do what you should.
      One life with each other: sisters, brothers.
      One life, but we're not the same.
      We get to carry each other, carry each other.
      One." - U2

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    2. Hi Liberta...I share that view, and see all people of all colours and cultures as humans like me. But unfortunately we are targeted by bigots, like women are targeted by misogynists, and must struggle for the right to be treated as humans. Prejudice is taught, and the long term solution is to raise kids to respect and celebrate the rights of others...

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  5. Mass shooting in _________, USA kills ___
    http://www.thebeaverton.com/us/item/2127-mass-shooting-in-usa-kills

    NRA unveils new semi-automatic rifle that shoots thoughts and prayers
    http://www.thebeaverton.com/us/item/2738-nra-unveils-new-semi-automatic-rifle-that-shoots-thoughts-and-prayers


    Gunfighter Nation (song)
    http://normstrauss.com/track/712033/gunfighter-nation

    Kelowna B.C. singer-songwriter Norm Strauss mentions on his website, regarding his song Gunfighter Nation:

    "This is a Canadian’s point of view of the gun laws in USA, (or at least my point of few). Sometimes south of the border it seems like one big theme park ride. What if there was a ride called ‘Gunfighter Nation”? A little sarcastic fun. I grew up with guns. Got my first 22 caliber on my 13th birthday. I like guns. I can shoot pretty good too. There is no scenario I can imagine within the bounds sanity where I would find it helpful to have a rapid fire assault rifle in my closet. Of course, all won’t agree with the sentiments in this song but at least the reverse guitar leads are kind of cool."

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  6. http://realradio.iheart.com/articles/national-news-104668/donald-trump-faces-heat-over-tweets-14805885/

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  7. This senseless tragedy can be looked at from a large number of angles. The US media seems to be basically framing this story around the shooter, not the victims.

    Audio:

    Sunday June 12, 2016
    What are your thoughts on the mass shooting in Orlando?
    http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/podcasts/checkup_20160612_17390.mp3

    Sunday June 12, 2016
    What are your thoughts on the mass shooting in Orlando?
    http://www.cbc.ca/radio/checkup/what-are-your-thoughts-on-the-mass-shooting-in-orlando-1.3631647

    How long will it be until the NRA says that Americans has the "right to bear nuclear arms" because the big bad government has them, so why shouldn't the average law-abiding person?

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    1. hi David...yes they are framing it around the shooter, because they are desperate to find an ISIS link, even though it seems clear to me that the shooter was mentally disturbed, and making it up as he went along. And what's getting lost in the shuffle is the massacre of gay people, who have been reduced to props in a larger story...

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  8. Dan Patrick, lieutenant governor of Texas, tweeted out Galatians 6:7 (above).

    I wonder what these far-right Christian folks think of this other Bible verse from the book of Galatians:

    "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)


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  9. Anonymous7:34 AM

    I was up at 7 a.m. EDT on Sunday morning. At that point CNN was reporting 20 dead, but they already had a banner about "suspected Islamic terrorism" (thankfully CBC and CTV were not rushing to the same judgement), and they were talking about "some kind of device" strapped to the killer, an angle that seems to have vanished. No mention at all, on any of the networks, that it was a gay nightclub. I didn't find that out until around noon.

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    1. hi anon...yes, even the New York Times didn't use the word gay in its headline, which wouldn't have happened to any other group. I like to think it was just bad judgement, because the alternative is too horrible....

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  10. I placed your post on my Facebook page this morning and received this comment from my cousin -- "Tim & I were sitting in a coffee shop yesterday, & we overheard 3 older men talking about the shooting, we knew nothing about it at that point. One of the men said, "Someone shot a bunch of Queers, no big loss!". I was appalled! Unbelievable, unnecessary, loss of human life! Will the attitude of the "men" in the coffee shop ever go away? So sad." -- This would have occurred somewhere near Brockville, Ontario. I really have no words. Solidarity, Simon.

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    1. hi Omar...thank you and the same to you. That is indeed a horrible story, and right up there with the comment John Ibbotson overheard in the Globe and mail's elevator. Where when informed of what happened, some person said "It must have been a lover's quarrel." What over group would elicit such callous and contemptuous comments. That massacre is revealing another kind of horror...

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  11. Anonymous8:12 AM

    "And is mostly a product of the vile bigotry of those who call themselves Christians. In a country where gun violence is as American as apple pie.
    Where you can apparently be interviewed twice by the FBI, and still buy an assault rifle." Pretty well sums it up Simon. Funny how bigots and racists can behave on behalf of the many forms of the fictional guy in the sky!!!!!!! Yesterday's disaster is a hard pill to swallow. But nothing will change in the U.S. when you have Texas and Trump ignorant, racist, bigots flooding social media with their hatred!!!!!!!! Such a loss of innocent lives. FP

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    1. hi FP...yes I'm afraid America is becoming a sewer of hatred, and when you add that to the easy access to guns, it really is a nightmare. One massacre follows the other and nobody it seems can do anything to stop it...

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  12. Anonymous8:38 AM

    Simon, so sorry about this. These violent incidents are always horrific, but when they hit home in your community, they really dig deep. This happened with me with Ecole Polytechnique shootings. As a woman engineer right out of school in Montreal, I was stricken when this happened. I was a few km away. I can only imagine how you are feeling. Know that most are feeling horrible for the victims, their families, friends, and the gay community at large. The ones who feel hate are just going to keep on hating, and they must be pushed back, but they don't deserve our energy except to stop them. I recall years ago a gay man was beaten to death near Angrigon Park in Montreal. It was sickening, but it did capture the heart of Montrealers. Many still remember that poor man.

    I don't know what else to say, but know that many hearts are weeping.

    TS

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    1. hi TS....yes it is particularly shocking for a small community that already has to absorb so much irrational hatred aimed in its general direction. I thought I was hardened to such a violent act, having been exposed to anti-gay violence from an early age. But I can't help but be affected by the reactions of some of my friends, and it is depressing. But still, as I said in my post, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, the gay community is incredibly resilient, and it will recover to fight on...

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  13. One of my earliest songs was an ode to a young man named Joe Rose, murdered in a hate crime on a Montreal bus in 1989.

    The chorus applies still of course:

    I don't why they hate so strong; but it just keeps going on

    Courage, Simon. As the hate goes on, so must we who despise it use all our might to stand united against it and just keep working to drown it out with every ounce we've got.

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    1. hi Scott...I remember reading about that case, and yes the chorus is the story of our lives. I have been struck by how many gay people are saying that they're not surprised, and only wondered why it hadn't happened before. But thank you, I will use this tragedy to motivate me to fight the haters will all the strength I have in my body, and I don't doubt that together we will finally defeat it...

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  14. Anonymous9:27 AM

    I heard "gay nightclub" numerous times and then "nightclub" without the word gay. Here's the thing...so much resides in our own reactions. I first thought, "Oh yeah, a 'gay' nightclub so I suppose it doesn't matter" and then, when 'gay' wasn't in the phrase, I thought "well, at least this attack is being recognized as an attack on "everyone" so to speak.
    It kind of messes up all of the reactions and walls, doesn't it?

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    1. hi anon...yes the reaction has been very interesting, and unfortunately tells me how easy it is to dehumanize marginalized majorities. It's not a nice thought, but at least we know where we stand, and how much more we need to go before we are finally able to live in peace...

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  15. Simon, I really don't know what to say to you at a time like this except to let you know my thoughts are with you and the larger gay community. I get so tired and discouraged whenever i look at all the terrible things we humans are responsible for in this world; acceptance of people should not be hard for any of us. As I wrote briefly on my blog this morning, if there is anything good that can come out of this massacre, let it be the realization that the differences that may set as apart are small indeed to the bonds that unite us.

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    1. hi Lorne...thanks a lot, I appreciate that sentiment. When an already marginalized community is attacked like that it does affect us all. The southern states have been fanning the flames of homophobia with their war on transexuals, so it's not surprising that violence would eventually erupt. It's so irrational, but it is rooted in religion, so it's very hard to fight. But as I said in my post, it comes during the annual celebration of the Stonewall Riots, so it will give us a chance to take strength from one another. And for that I am grateful...

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  16. 6000 people in the USA are murdered with guns every year. This slaughter is a symptom of a real sickness.

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    1. And how many pre-borns in Canada and the U.S. are killed every year?

      In 2014, there were 81,897 abortions in Canada, according to this chart:

      http://www.arcc-cdac.ca/backrounders/statistics-abortion-in-canada.pdf

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_statistics_in_the_United_States

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    2. hi Steve...yes, the figures are astounding, and depressing. I honestly thought that when all those little kids at the Sandy Hook school were murdered something would be done about it. But the gun culture is so embedded in the American psyche I can't even imagine how it is ever going to change...

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  17. Anonymous10:47 AM

    Young lives ended far too soon and loved one left behind with intolerable grief.How many more of these tragedies have to happen before the American public decide that assault rifles designed for the sole purpose of killing people have no place in the day to day lives of modern society? Americans are willing to stand in line for hours at airports, allow total invasion of privacy at the hands of their government but when it comes to assault weapons the answer is no.Hopefully the injustice that was committed against the LGBT community will finally tip the scales.If they cant get this right how are they ever going to stop the external carnage that their foreign policies have supported over the years? Perhaps this will be the turning point domestically and eventually globally.
    RT

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    1. hi RT...as i just told Steve, I think that gun culture is so rooted in American society that uprooting it seems almost impossible. And of course it is a vicious cycle. For the more shootings there are, the more people rush to buy guns, and the violence just goes on and on. I have a friend who is a trauma surgeon in Chicago, and his stories sound like something you might encounter in a war zone. And yes, what happens abroad reflects what happens at home, and vice versa. So that country seems trapped in a cycle of violence. I honestly don't know how people can live like that, because I certainly couldn't. And no, sadly I don't think this latest massacre will have any effect at all. The lives of the marginalized are only too expendable...

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  18. e.a.f.11:56 AM

    Neil Macdonald has a good article up today. People ought not to be able to use "their religious freedom" to crush the human rights of others.

    When we say its O.K. to deny people marriage licenses or services of any kind on the basis of their sexual orientation, we contribute to the problem which led to the shooting in Orlando, as does the many assault type rifles which pass for ordinary weapons in the U.S.A.

    What happened in Orlando is just not an issue of bigotry, but of the availability of weapons which can be used in mass killings. For some people they will always need some one to revile. It makes them feel better.

    For some one to "hate" another group of people so much, they take a revolver and an assault rifle into a night club and start killing, is madness.

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    1. hi e.a.f...yes I read it, and MacDonald is absolutely right. Religious freedom is just an excuse for bigotry, since gay people are no threat to them at all. Only the victims of blind prejudice of others...

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  19. Anonymous2:12 PM

    I have to wonder about Hillary Clinton in all this. I certainly loathe her for all the political corruption she's been involved in. So I admit I'm biased. But the fact of the matter is she stood on the side of bigots for a decade proclaiming marriage should only be between a man and a woman.

    She was basically declaring that the entire LBGTQ community were second-class citizens. She stood on the side of hatred and ignorance enabling, validating and perhaps even fostering this wretched sentiment -- her and countless other on-the-take fake-liberal Democrats.

    Hillary's politically-expedient intolerance didn't cause the massacre. But one has to wonder if she had progressive values and the courage to stand up for what's right that history might have taken a different course.

    One thing's for certain: she is not a leader. The only way she'll stand for progressive values is if progressives crowd source a big enough donation to the Clinton Foundation.

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    1. hi anon...yes it took a while for Clinton to support gay marriage, but I can't blame her, she is just a product of her times. Even in this country anti-gay prejudice was accepted as absolutely normal until relatively recently. And there are many gay people still alive who grew up at a time when gay relationships were illegal. And police would even barge into parties in private homes to harass and arrest them. The gay liberation movement has made some progress, but while laws can be changed, old attitudes linger longer...

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