Moving Forward After Orlando

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The only thing more powerful than hate is the outpouring of love. By now, we've all heard of the tragic events that took place in Orlando. Whether it be homophobia, extremism, or just sheer insanity that pulled the trigger, the end result is the same. Forty nine of our brothers and sisters are dead. They were sons, they were daughters, they loved, they lived, and they had names. This shooter may have succeeded in taking their lives, but he could never succeed in taking their humanity. Whereas he sought to relegate them to numbers on a page, they'll live on forever as martyrs in the fight against bigotry. Ever since I heard about the news, it's been weighing heavily on my mind. LA Pride yesterday was a beautiful celebration to the resolve of the human spirit, and yet, I'm sure that people stayed home out of fear. Fear that some lunatic would seek to destroy that spirit. To my friends that share in the compassion, yet still seek to marginalize members of the LGBT community, please, look around you. You probably feel safe. You can walk down the street without having to be afraid that that street could become your final resting place. There are folks who live that fear every single day. Why? For just living. For just being who they are. It's unacceptable. It's unjust. And it should make us as a country, mad as hell. It takes an unfathomable amount of courage to embrace who you are, but it shouldn't take courage to support those that already have done so. It should be a given. "Tolerance" is a foolish word. Tolerance implies that we "allow the existence of" something. How is it our right to allow the LGBT community to exist? We don't own them. They are human beings with the same rights and the same hearts; and they deserve the same dignity that straight people would afford to each other. It's not enough to tolerate. We have to unite. I hardly know what the underlying theme of this soap box message is. My thoughts are scattered, and I've spent hours trying to convince myself to remain silent. I don't want this to turn into a policy debate, nor do I want it to seem like a desperate grab for attention. But how could I be silent? How could I be silent when our people are being massacred? How could I be silent when beautiful men and women are now afraid of their ever shrinking list of safe spaces? And more, importantly I thought, what have I done about it? Besides posting a status, what have I done? Have I raised my voice or written a letter? Have I petitioned or even created a dialogue? What have I done? The answer is nothing. But I know that there is always a place to start. To my LGBT friends: I love you, and I'm with you.