There are so many questions and not enough answers. Orlando is in pain.
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On the morning of June 12, 2016, my wife and I were on our way to church. I was stopped at a light and for the first time that morning, I glanced at the notifications on my phone to see that there was an urgent need for blood throughout the city. I live in the Orlando area.
My God, how the families, the victims, and those that escaped must feel!
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The light changed and I thought the unthinkable. There had been an accident at one of the theme parks and there had been multiple injuries. At the next light, I checked. A mass shooting? Approximately 50 people killed and another 53 wounded. In Orlando? Wait, this cannot be happening. People from all over the world come here to get away from reality and now the second time in as many days, violence was putting this city in the news. First, it was the shooting death of a performer at a concert and now 50 people were killed at a night club? This cannot be happening! I live near the Happiest Place on Earth, the Home of Shamu and Harry Potter. This is Orlando! Mass murder doesn’t happen in Orlando!
It is happening. It continues to happen. The news Monday is all about releasing the names of victims. Personally, I am still processing emotions and I am not remotely involved. My God, how the families, the victims, and those that escaped must feel! First and foremost, the emotion I am processing is grief. Grief for those I will never have an opportunity to meet and for their families, friends, and loved ones. Grief for my adopted city and the scrutiny it will come under for “letting this happen.” Grief for the nightclub owners and their employees, their lives will never be the same. The business will most likely be forced to close and lawsuits, I am sure, will follow. The living hell beings for all involved.
Anger is the next emotion. Anger that one person can do this to over 100 innocent people. What would prompt one person to believe the world would be a better place if he walked into a nightclub and shot over 100 people? What would make one person think they were capable of sentencing these people to die? The thought that an ideology is dedicated to killing innocents because of who they sleep with is so foreign to my being as to not even be fathomable. I am faced, again, with stark reality.
The aftermath of this horror will be played out on televisions, talk shows, blogs and the internet for the foreseeable future.
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Oklahoma City, Columbine, and Wounded Knee and all the others were terrible. The impact was lessened, in my case, by distance. I would read the stories, shake my head, feel sadness and grief and go about my business. Today, I read the stories, shake my head and keep looking at the lists to see if there is a name that is remotely familiar. The sadness and the grief are increased by proximity.
I find myself railing against injustices that upon further review make no sense, even to me. Since the shooting has happened, the Pulse nightclub is constantly referred to as a gay nightclub or the largest gay nightclub in Orlando. I want to scream WHO CARES! What difference does that make? Then, I read articles where a person who was called in to be an expert on a television talk show walked off the set because the others did not refer to the LGBTQ aspect enough. This was hate crime. According to this person, not acknowledging that is apparently taking away from the magnitude of the event. I understand, I really, really do, but, to my eyes, first and foremost, we need to recognize this a crime against humanity, against all people. Maybe because I am not a member of the gay community? I cannot say. To me, while the crime targeted the gay community, it affects us all.
The aftermath of this horror will be played out on televisions, talk shows, blogs and the internet for the foreseeable future. Orlando is again in the spotlight, and again, not in a positive way. The City Beautiful has had its warts exposed.
What does the future hold? Certainly, there will be more calls for gun control. I am not a gun owner. I have never owned a gun. While I certainly see the correlation between free access to guns and gun violence, I do not see gun control changing in the United States. In my exploration of topics on the internet this morning, I came across one on the lack of gun violence in Europe. The point was made that Europe did not allow free access to guns. Someone said that France used to have free access to guns, and lost it during the Nazi occupation. That is not a convincing argument for the American citizenry, no matter how much impact it had on gun violence.
As you can see, I have no answers. I am not even sure of the questions..
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People are talking about new and more stringent gun laws. While logically I can see the legislative approach, realistically, I just do not see it working. Suppose the laws are changed and possession of an automatic weapon carries a mandatory life prison sentence. How is that going to impact someone who is prepared to die for their cause? Simply put, they do not care. They are planning a suicide mission.
You can legislate all you want. Can it make a difference? I keep thinking back to the thousands that were killed on 9/11. The weapon of choice to take over airplanes was a completely legal box cutter, available in any hardware store, Walmart or even a drug store for under $5.00. If someone is determined to harm large numbers of people, they will find a way. Is my cynicism getting in the way of progress?
As you can see, I have no answers. I am not even sure of the questions. I am still trying to come to grips with what happened.
Is this strange? I live in fear of the impact on tourism. After 9/11 people stopped coming to Orlando for months. The devastation that would cause to the Orlando economy is beyond belief. Most people who visit or have visited this area are not aware of the thousands of families living on the razor edge of poverty. Most of the theme park workers or service industry workers are making barely more than minimum wage. Losing a paycheck has serious ramifications. Having 10 hours cut from your work week may not sound like much, but for some, that income is the difference between making a rent payment or putting groceries on the table, or even living on the streets.
I have no answers. I have only questions. They all seem to start with why.
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Photo: GettyImages