Andrea Caruana
Our society advances in leaps and bounds towards a future of equality and coexistence with all humankind. It is championed by the idea that all people, in all their different ways, shapes and forms are undeniably and equally human. This is the crux of the march to a brighter future. We must realise that this surging progress can only be hindered by an equally powerful obstacle, in this case the homophobic Orlando attack.
At times, the humanity of a person may be overshadowed by a trait that is non-conventional to that of common society, be it race, sexuality or creed. Ironically, it is tragedy that brings out, in the clearest way, the humanity of the minority targeted. On seeing the conversation between mother and son, in the last moments of his life, how cannot one be struck by the bond between mother and child? Despite his homosexuality, he was above all her baby. She fed him, washed him, played with him; watched him take his first steps, lose his first teeth. She dreamt of a bright future for her boy, one in which he would continue making her proud. The dream ended before her eyes in real time through a text, “He has us. He’s in here with us.”
We now know that one of the youngest victims of the attack was 19 years old. It is impossible for those in the same age group not to wonder what they had in common. In this globalised world, it is very probable that they were fans of the same series, were partial to the same internet trends and enjoyed the same music; so many layers of personality engulfed by the fact that this person was attracted to people of the same sex. This tiny detail in the rich histories of most of the patrons of the bar, not to mention the heterosexual patrons, was enough to render them lower than beasts, unworthy of living in the eyes of a sick man. This doesn’t even take into consideration the consequences on the social web of which they formed a part, the tragedy that affected friends and romantic partners apart from their families.
Pulse employees embrace at a memorial in front of the club in Orlando last Thursday. Employees went inside the club Thursday for the first time since the shooting. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Orlando police ended their control of the property on Wednesday and turned it back over to the club's owners. A gunman killed 49 and wounded others on 12 June during a Latin night at the gay venue. (Loren Elliott/The Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Another tragic element of the attack is the widespread fear it has caused throughout the LGBT+ Community due to the site of the attack. Gay bars are traditionally places of leisure that enjoy a lack of judgement in their atmosphere, a relief to most patrons who can truly be themselves in that atmosphere. Hence gay bars were a sort of safe haven for the Community. Not anymore. With the attack, the Community saw their shelter become a war zone. As a sentiment it is shared by all, with terrorist attacks occurring anywhere and everywhere these days, no place is truly safe. However, as worshippers in Charleston lost the feeling of sanctuary in their church, so did the Community in their bars.
The fact of the matter remains that 50 good people had their bright futures gunned to bits. How was a mentally unstable man allowed to own a pistol, let alone a fully automatic weapon? The reproach of the United States and their slack gun laws while necessary is essentially useless. Like a doctor telling a diabetic to stop eating chocolate cake following a number of amputations. The matter doesn’t even warrant a discussion anymore. The solution is common sense; even a child can figure it out. But of course, with cue cards at the ready, those capable of change regurgitate the same old excuses. Death sentences wrapped in rhetoric. The murders will continue.
It is reported that, at one point in the attack, the gunman phoned the authorities to pledge allegiance to ISIS and with that, ignoring the rehashed foolishness of fundamentalism, the tragedy takes a religious spin. It is just to say that most of the mainstream religions are the source of much of the homophobia that dominates our societies today. The irony of this is that, despite this, many of the victims of the attack are reported to have shown faith during the ordeal. The fact is, despite the majority of the LGBT+ Community being atheist, the Community consists wholly of spiritual beings whether they have faith in a deity, karma or universal love. The source of religious homophobia can be found in apocryphal sections of sacred scripture, for example in Judaism and Christianity, in Leviticus in a single phrase following a few verses, of which one instructs the proper treatment of domestic mildew. As the treatment of mildew has advanced for the better in the last few thousand years, should not their views on homosexuality also? That phrase alone compromises the sacred text that follows which in general is rather beautiful and instructs how to live good lives in harmony with those around you.
What strikes me most about the tragedy is the general futility of the attack. Homophobic violence has existed forever; from its illegality in the past and all the cruel penalties it imposed, to the assassination of Harvey Milk and the recent organised gang violence against the Community in Russia. All this has not terminated the LGBT+ community in the slightest, rather showed off their virtues of bravery, kindness and resilience, most especially in the Orlando attack. It has made the Community even closer and stronger as a whole, after all it is during a storm that we embrace the tightest. It has also made the community appreciate the sunshine more. I daresay this is the cause of their fantastic flamboyance: an expression of love for life. The Community is struck again but doesn’t fall, the common heart beats on, and the pulse cannot stop. It is a peaceful army leading to a better future paved by the sacrifices of the past. Fifty more stars now guide the way.