Our hearts are breaking

After having been subjected to watch our LGBT brothers and sisters die on TV week after week, the mass killings in Orlando happened

It's hard not to draw a comparison, since it seems to have been the trope of 2016. "Bury your gays" and "Queer bating" has been in use far more in the first months of this year than the last ten years combined.

 

HeatherHogan has made a list over at Autostraddle, and it is beyond sad to look at this statistic. 

Still, this year just took a reality turn of the truly heartbreaking kind, when 49 LGBT people were brutally murdered at the Pulse night club in Orlando, Florida, on June 12, 2016. 

Right in the middle of our people celebrating Pride month.

Words cannot express the heartbreak and sadness, and yet somehow it feels like we've been experiencing this for months already. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to compare fictional characters with real, flesh and blood human beings.

Still, the fact that we've been watching ourselves get killed on screen has had a real impact on flesh and blood human beings all along. Depression, suicide and overall feelings of being worthless have been the very real and dangerous side effects of showing these LGBT characters dying left and right. Often right after finally finding someone to love.

If that's not a sick and twisted way to tell young LGBT people that our "lifestyle choices" come at a price, then I don't know what is!

While we're coming together as a LGBT family, we're also being subjected to having everyone - including those that have never attempted to hide their contempt and hatred of us - stating how awful this is. And yes, it is truly awful, but every single person who has been preaching hatred of LGBT people is part of this tragedy.

 

This Friday, I'm in love with life for those who no longer have one. 

I will stand with my entire LGBT family as I always have... and we need our allies to do the same. Not just when it's trendy or convenient, but every single time someone makes a joke and talks of hatred or disgust for any LGBT person or issue. And the same goes for gender, race, religion, etc.

 

If you're not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem. 

We cannot be nice or pleasant in a world that is still filled with people, who would rather we didn't exist at all.

 

We must be the light in this time of darkness.

Peace and love,

- GayGirl

 

P.S. There's been talk of the killer, Omar Mateen, being a closeted gay man himself, and while I don't know if this is true, I do think it is a beautiful rumor; If you are willing to die to show you hate us, then in death we will make you one of us!