Three divisive words intertwined to stitch together the deadliest mass shooting in United States history: Guns, gays and terrorism.
A perfect storm for radicalism and hate that left its tragic, bloody paw prints on Orlando this weekend.
A gunman went into an Orlando nightclub late Saturday night with bad intentions. He killed at least 50 people and injured 53 others before he was killed. Wish fulfilled.
No doubt that we have already figured out where the blame lies, based on our social and political prisms. We escalate quickly when tragedy strikes, becoming judge, jury and executioner:
Guns, guns, guns!
Another Islamic terrorist!
God is sick of gays, and there will be a price to pay for your sins!
Taking an aerial view, you will see this madness for what it is: a terrorist attack on gays and lesbians. Cultural warriors come in all shapes and sizes. We start with the obvious.
The suspect, Omar Mateen of Port St. Lucie, Florida, became incensed after seeing two men kissing each other in Miami, his father told NBC News. Was that the trigger point, or maybe his allegiance to ISIS, based on a 911 call moments before the shooting spree began?
Hopefully, law enforcement officials will cobble together answers as the investigation unfolds. Where it will lead is uncertain. The only certainty is that the polarization of this country will escalate.
Our ongoing culture wars will demand nothing less.
We will see it in the food fight between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, the two presumptive nominees to become the next president of the United States of America, as they use the issue for political leverage.
We will see it as the National Rifle Association no doubt doubles-down on its attempt to drown out cries for gun control.
We will see it in the news every day. Other culture warriors who are in the fight, telling us who is right and who is wrong, using a power-squeeze on others because of their lifestyles.
Isn’t it ironic that Gov. Rick Scott and State Attorney Pam Bondi showed up in Orlando on Sunday to stand before a microphone and support the very same people they’ve chosen to marginalize through policies and court fights?
“Anyone who attacks the LGBT community … will be gone after to the fullest extent of the law,” Bondi said Sunday afternoon, after she was introduced by Scott.
So she is prosecuting herself? Yay!
John Stemberger, president of the Florida Family Policy Council, released a statement calling the victims “precious souls.” That’s a strange sentiment considering Stemberger is a gay basher who has railed against “the pathology of homosexuality.”
Sorry, everybody. I am fairly certain that the LGBT community doesn’t want a drop of your crocodile tears.
They see what you do as hate crimes. Killing certainly rises to a despicable level, full of blood. But tears are shed, too, when people are cast as lepers in society because of their lifestyle.
There will be plenty to say about gun control over the next few days, especially because the shooter used an AR-15 assault rifle. You know, the one the NRA demands that all those “law-abiding citizens” need to protect themselves. Same one used in Newtown, Connecticut, to kill 20 children.
There will be plenty of conversations about the Islamic faith, and why certain members continue to declare holy wars on Americans. We can have a reasoned conversation without calling it profiling or staying silent because it’s the PC thing to do.
But what about mustering understanding, sympathy and compassion for the LGBT members of our community?
Better yet, why don’t we put down our weapons of choice and have a moment of silence for the victims?
Christina Grimmie, a beautiful young singer with so much promise gets gunned down in Orlando on Friday night. And then 49 more innocents killed in cold blood.
“This could have been any one of our communities,” President Barack Obama said Sunday.
Sadly, this unspeakable tragedy is ours to keep. We’ve seen too much hate and blood already this weekend. My heart aches at the thought of any more.
George Diaz is a columnist for the Orlando Sentinel. Readers can email him at gdiaz@orlandosentinel.com.
