Page 21 - Seattle Gay News
P. 21
Surviving the
unthinkable
by Shaun Knittel
ues to learn what Hell the nightclub-goers
SGN Associate Editor
endured at the whim of a man who is said
to have internalized homophobia, pledged
One can only imagine the horror felt by allegiance to ISIS, and had been investi-
the patrons of Pulse Nightclub when they gated a shocking number of times by the
realized that the “popping” sound they FBI. Although he spent years on the fed-
heard was not part of the music, but was eral government’s “no- y” list he was able
coming from bullets leaving a gun instead. to, just days before the massacre, legally
As survivors left the hospital this week purchase deadly weapons that if turned on
many of them agreed to be interviewed humans, can easily result in the death toll
by the media. The reports of what they we saw come out of Orlando.
saw and lived through are chilling to the There is no doubt these brave young
bone. Some watched as people died right people will need counseling, support, and
in front of them, having been shot multiple understanding as they work to rebuild their
times by a man wielding a semi-automatic lives and bury lost friends and family. Peo- slate.com
assault ri e and a handgun. Others claim ple from around the world have raised over
he had a smile on his face and acted with a $5 million for the victims but we all know
calmness that they can’t understand as he that money alone is not enough. It is time
mowed down some 49 victims. They live for Congress to act and for the NRA and
with the guilt of surviving when so many the moronic gun nuts in our country to un-
of their friends or family did not. Partners derstand that the blood of those victims is
were killed in front of each other, a bounc- on their hands. Sure, Omar Mateen pulled
er and a bartender familiar to everyone the trigger. But the fact that these peo-
didn’t make it out, and the smell of blood ple refuse to take responsibility for being
and the sound of people screaming out for a part of the hate machine that helped to
help will never leave their minds for as push people like Mateen, who obviously
long as the live.
suffered from a number of anger and men-
This is not what the atmosphere inside tal health problems, is shameful.
of Gay nightclubs is supposed to be about. It is LGBTQ Pride Month and yet, for
This is the stuff that war is made of. Only, so many, it doesn’t feel like there is much to
these people, so many of them young and celebrate this year. But Seattle Gay News
LatinX, didn’t have a ghting chance be- would argue that our visibility is our big-
cause the man responsible for this tragedy gest defense. We would also say that you
was armed with weapons of war and they can live well to honor the victims of this newsok.com
were not. The weapons they had were cell- tragedy, because they can’t. And nally, as
phones, and horrifying videos from Snap- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. so eloquently
chat or taken inside of a bathroom stall said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
where the gunman had trapped dozens of only light can do that. Hate cannot drive
people have emerged as the public contin-
out hate; only love can do that.”
reuters.com
reuters.com
newyorkdailynews.com
boltimoresun.com
Visit us online www.sgn.org
June 24, 2016
Seattle Gay News 21
