I’m sorry for posting this so late, but I was out most of the day and am just catching up with my blog now. It’s hard to believe that five years ago today the deadliest attack against the LGBTQ community occurred. As people were joyously celebrating Latin Night at the Pulse Nightclub, a hate-filled person entered the building and killed 49 innocents and injured 53 others.
In a rare instance of bipartisanship, both the House and the Senate have passed a bill designating the site as a national memorial, and President Biden will be signing it in the coming days. This is welcome news, but so much more needs to be done to protect those in the LGBTQ community. Hate crimes are up nationwide and according to the FBI, 17% of them are against LGBTQs. I realize I’m preaching to the choir here, but until we stop judging people on the basis of skin color, religion, sexuality, and any other cockamamie reason those with infantile minds can come up with to denigrate “others,” atrocities such as what happened at Pulse will keep occurring.
By Hook Or By Book 
A nice gesture but a better one would be to see that this sort of murder would not be so easy……chuq
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I agree chuq.
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Seems like nary a week goes by without some new shooting atrocity. Maybe not as successful as Pulse from the point of view of the perpetrators, but they continue to get their point across. HATE. Tolerance seems to have gone out the windows for certain groups, certain churches even who hate what they don’ t understand. Sometimes the news coverage of these atrocities is very low because they’re so commonplace now., but you mustn’t think they’ve gone away or that someone hasn’t found a new thing to hate. We must learn to cherish those that are different than us and adopt an acceptance where something doesn’t hurt others. But we must never allow ourselves to be taken in by the hate so that we learn to accept the violence.
Hugs
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I always flash back to that song from South Pacific, “You’ve Got To Be Taught,” because it’s so on point. I believe if we’re going to ever overcome this suspicion and hate toward anyone “different” than our small little group, it has to start with making sure children are taught that people’s race, religion, and sexuality not only don’t matter, but should be welcomed. And as far as the gun violence is concerned, now that pandemic restrictions have lifted, it will continue to grow.
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Those five years have passed so quickly. Frank Scarangello wrote a good piece about this on his blog. https://toritto.wordpress.com/2021/06/12/pulse-five-tears/
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes I saw that. It was a great piece.
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It was a bad one, though so are they all.
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They are Fraggle. And so it goes on.
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Gee, 5 years!
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Unbelievable.
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I can’t believe it has been five years. Designating it a memorial site is great, but lets pass some gun control laws and help educate people. Promoting hate was too virulent over the last few years, not how do we promote acceptance with the same fanaticism.
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On June 2nd, Florida Governor Ron Desantis cut $900,000 in funding for programs that serve LGBTQs in Central Florida. That includes mental health services for the Pulse Nightclub survivors. So yes, the memorial is nice but not enough. As far as gun control laws go, thanks to Trump and McConnell packing the courts with conservative judges, I don’t see that happening for a very long time…if ever.
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So sad. 😥😥
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Kim, thanks for sharing this terrible memory, that we must not ever forget. Keith
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With hate crimes continuing to rise against LGBTQs, we definitely can’t forget Keith.
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Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
So very well said… I remember!! I’m a proud member of the Latin LGBTQ community and this nightclub was in my negihborhood!! … “It’s hard to believe that five years ago today the deadliest attack against the LGBTQ community occurred. As people were joyously celebrating Latin Night at the Pulse Nightclub, a hate-filled person entered the building and killed 49 innocents and injured 53 others.”
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A painful memory Kim, we need this reminder, it’s only gotten worse! Thanks for your kind tribute to such a painful loss. C
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As sad as days like this are to remember, they are important to recognize for the insanity of it all. Hating someone for who they choose to love is nuts.
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I agree Pete.
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Still remember this, and cannot believe it’s been five years already…and so, so many shootings since then
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It’s endless.
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