Orlando Tragedy - "Why Does It Bother You So Much?"
Because a nurse I am friends with asked me why it mattered so much to me... I thought I would share this with all of you as well. LGBTQ culture is one of shared experiences. In the same way that nursing culture exists, so does LGBTQ. In the wake of the tragedy in Orlando, I find myself needing an outlet to express the fear and sadness that comes with it. My hope is in doing so, I can help those who do not know or understand the culture, get a small glimpse into it from my perspective.
This past weekend is still something that has struck fear into the core of my community, even though I live on the other side of the country. I'm not going to debate about how it could have been prevented, because hindsight is always 20/20. I'm not going to debate it because there are as many different ideas on how to prevent it as there are people who know about it. What I want to do is expose myself, and explain why something that happened so far away from me could affect me on such a personal level.
No matter what you call it, LGBT(Q,+,A), QUILTBAG, or my personal favorite Alphabet Soup Gang... there is a community out there for those of us who don't quite fit the norm. My favorite comes from the fact that we are all a bit alike, all a little different, and we're all floating in this big huge bowl we call Earth. Also the letters change all the time depending on who you talk to and if I am going to offend someone for using the wrong ones, at least I'm going down in style.
I get a little flack at times from the community, at times, for not getting it, because "you pass... no one knows unless you choose to tell them." See, I'm not what most people think of when they think of the LGBTQ. Mostly because I don't get all twiterpatted when I see someone posed in what someone would consider sexual nature. My response tends more towards "Oh... look at that... "and insert interesting bit of biology about their tattoo, a mole, or the muscle structure. I'm someone who dates for romance and companionship instead of physical attraction. I was married when I was younger. I'm Christian. I can easily come off as heterosexual with no time or too conservative to join the local dating scene. Personally I don't care about someone's gender. I date people for being interesting and kind hearted with similar interests. In the community I'm often referred to as panromantic. I don't usually bother with a label though.
At the same time, I've also been on the receiving end of attacks from people mad at me for not being interested in them. Be it because how dare I not be attracted, or because they think I just haven't met the right person yet, or just because I find comfort being around the others with the same experiences. Many of my first experiences out into the world involved going to the local "gay bar" to sing karaoke with all the other people who just didn't feel like they fit society's expectations for them. Going to a friend's place to support them because someone had threatened them.
Our culture, as a community comes from the places and experiences we have been through. We've had the awkward conversations with medical professionals when they ask if we are sexually active and the follow up is about birth control or pregnancy, and we end up outing ourselves to strangers who are not always understanding. We've been bullied for similar reasons. Been told we don't really exist. That we're going through a phase. Sometimes by the medical community itself. We trade names of providers who are "safe" like most people trade the titles of their favorite books.
It bothers me because... those people who were hurt and died... I have a common thread to them. I cried when I found out what happened. Those people were someone's child, parent, cousin, friend... They remind me of my own monkey sphere of people I know. Even if it hadn't been people I know... I've seen the threats towards LGBTQ and Muslim students at my school. I go to an awesome school in a progressive area. We are great and inclusive and that things like that still happen... is scary. It bothers me that media wants to focus on who did it and how, rather than the bright and brilliant people who are lost to the community.
It's something that should bother everyone. It should bother us all. Today it was the LGBTQ community. It's happening in black communities. It happens in our schools. Even if we have no personal connection to what has happened, it should at the very least bother us, because who is to know what the next target of choice will be. If we can't find a way to be bothered that people died because someone's personally held belief was so strong they felt it was alright to kill someone... even if we disagree with the person's lifestyle, they didn't deserve this. No one does, and that bothers me.
But you didn't answer the question ... which is, in itself, interesting.
really?
When did you stop beating your wife?
It's a loaded question & none of the laws proposed would have "stopped" anything.
They in fact, promote a false sense of security & put more people in danger.
"Run, hide, fight" is the current mantra being taught to people & the mantra needs to be "fight, or die".
If you see something, *do* something.
The fbi had half a dozen or more chances to stop this guy & missed them all.
Its just a job to them, your own personal security should be your highest priority.
The odds are thin that you'll ever have to fight for your own life, but you might have to do it. The cops can't be everywhere & you can't legislate away evil.
And, just so this doesn't get hijacked - I think I understand gun peoples' concerns, to a point. I even agree, to a point, with a lot of points made about self-defense and responsibility for our own safety.
To relate it to my safety as a lesbian citizen and the Orlando crime, though, I don't think a bunch of drunk-ish partiers getting into a gunfight in the dark would have exactly helped that situation. Except for the first responders to the scene, the good guys with guns all seemed to be somewhere else at the time.
So, I'm not exactly sure how relatively untrammeled access to guns helps my personal safety, which is why I never did the firearms thing.
I also have to say that my grandchildren are learning to shoot, and I'm glad of that.
And, just so this doesn't get hijacked - I think I understand gun peoples' concerns, to a point. I even agree, to a point, with a lot of points made about self-defense and responsibility for our own safety.
To relate it to my safety as a lesbian citizen and the Orlando crime, though, I don't think a bunch of drunk-ish partiers getting into a gunfight in the dark would have exactly helped that situation. Except for the first responders to the scene, the good guys with guns all seemed to be somewhere else at the time.
So, I'm not exactly sure how relatively untrammeled access to guns helps my personal safety, which is why I never did the firearms thing.
I also have to say that my grandchildren are learning to shoot, and I'm glad of that.
The "good guys with guns" were legally prevented from going there. And not everyone who goes to a bar drinks - some of us just go there to eat the greasy cheeseburgers. CCW holders have proven statistically to be more "law abiding" than cops - you have to be to keep that license, so we're not talking about 19 drunk bubbas popping off rounds at each other. Anyone who's ever taken a CCW class will tell you that the first thing they tell you is you *really* don't want to pull your gun. even a fully "righteous" shooting endangers my CCW permit, my real-estate license & my nursing license... things I worked kinda hard to get & don't want to lose. CCW holders like myself (and my wife) aren't drunken hooligans, we're your neighbors & the people you work with. My wife usually has her concealed revolver loaded with snake shot - not to protect herself, but to protect our dog from snakes/coyotes on his walks.
As for guns protecting you - they might not, you might get lucky.
I've never used my fire extinguisher to put out a fire, but I have used my handgun to prevent an assault. You didn't see it in the paper, because nobody died, nobody got shot, nobody even had a gun pointed at them, the police didn't get called. Situation diffused simply by the presence of a firearm in the hands of a "good guy".
Which, in a way, is exactly my point: is that ok with you?
It is not okay with me, however I will not trade my liberty in for a false sense of safety. The right to self-defense is not a privilege, it is an inalienable right that cannot be taken away by the government.
As poster rzyzzy said previously, "you cannot legislate evil away". No amount of legislation will keep terrorists in check. It would however create more sitting ducks, ready for the slaughter. Your personal safety is a prerogative and responsibility that is yours alone, so take it seriously.
This shouldn't be a LGBT thing. Its an American thing.
Wrong. This was a direct attack at LGBT people and those refusing to see this are blinded by their own bias. It was also a terroristic attack, but let's not be simple minded. These two are not mutually exclusive. This was, and always will be, an attack on the LGBT community. We can "take possession of" this, and we do claim this. We are attacked, raped, kicked out of the house, put down, passed by on jobs/rent/housing/adoption/everything among many other things on a daily basis. A gay night club is one of the FEW places we go to feel safe and like a community, because the heterosexual world outside unfortunately still does not offer that for us.
This was a terrorist attack and an attack on the LGBT community.
To relate it to my safety as a lesbian citizen and the Orlando crime, though, I don't think a bunch of drunk-ish partiers getting into a gunfight in the dark would have exactly helped that situation. Except for the first responders to the scene, the good guys with guns all seemed to be somewhere else at the time.
So, I'm not exactly sure how relatively untrammeled access to guns helps my personal safety, which is why I never did the firearms thing.
To address your above statement in regards to "my safety as a lesbian citizen and the Orlando crime":
1. The Orlando club was and is a "gun free zone". I read a report that there was one off-duty cop that was shot at the door. Not sure if that was factual info, but there were NO ARMED security personnel on site. Florida statue on concealed carry says that a CCW holder cannot carry firearm in the place that serves alcohol. This means patrons would not be legally allowed to carry concealed even if they wanted to. By the same token, the club did not have any armed personnel to protect patrons. Why? No funds for trained and armed security? This question really begs to be answered.
2. Average response time for LEO's is 10 minutes. A lot of people can die in 10 minutes. The SWAT team that was at the scene had standing orders to not enter for more than an hour. Imagine being there and doing just the stand-by. Sounds like Benhgazi to me.
In reference to your statement about "relatively untrammeled access to guns":
I beg to differ. Did you ever purchase a firearm? There is no such thing as easy access to guns. Every legal purchaser undergoes FBI's NIC background check at the dealer and then undergoes a 3-day wait before they pick up unless they are CCW holder. CCW holders send in fingerprints and other paperwork to obtain carry permit by application. Not all states are "Shall issue", which means in some locales you might have to beg local Sheriff's office for permission to legal self-defense
Once again, it's either armed security personnel or the armed citizen defenders, who would put a stop to it. First responders are always late.
It is not okay with me, however I will not trade my liberty in for a false sense of safety. The right to self-defense is not a privilege, it is an inalienable right that cannot be taken away by the government.
As poster rzyzzy said previously, "you cannot legislate evil away". No amount of legislation will keep terrorists in check. It would however create more sitting ducks, ready for the slaughter. Your personal safety is a prerogative and responsibility that is yours alone, so take it seriously.
Your first point involves a bit of a leap for me, but is not the topic of this thread, I think. We should start another thread if you want to discuss it from that angle.
Your second is more germane to this thread. Would you explain to me how making it easier for a terrorist - or an unhinged lunatic - to obtain lethal technology is being responsible for my own safety?
Someone made the comment "I don't understand why any civilian would need a semi automatic rifle that can shoot 24 bullets in 9 seconds" or something to that effect. Why? Because the overwhelming majority of people who own this type of weapon, myself included, do not and will not commit such a heinous crime. Because this is America, land of the free, where our forefathers thought it important for the people to be able to protect themselves, not only from foreign invaders and malicious individuals, but quite possibly from the overreaching of their own government. Because as long as the definition of a criminal is that they break the law, then criminals will always have the biggest gun they can get and therefore law abiding citizens who wish to be prepared and provide for their own safety(since the govt wont) need to be able to access legal weapons that stand a chance at giving them the opportunity to confront the threat on equal terms if needed. These are just a few reasons why a civilian might need this type of weapon. Don't use "civilian" in such a way as to insinuate that every person who owns anything more powerful than a slingshot or grandpa's single shot rifle is intending to perpetrate somthing malignant in nature.
Your second is more germane to this thread. Would you explain to me how making it easier for a terrorist - or an unhinged lunatic - to obtain lethal technology is being responsible for my own safety?
How about a little "critical math" then?
The latest estimate (and it really is a wild guesstimate) for the number of guns in this country is 310 million. That's divided pretty much equally between rifles, handguns & shotguns. Despite what all the "common sense" people are telling you, banning "assault weapons" means banning about 100 million rifles. yeah, there are bolt-action rifles, but pretty much all "rifles" are "semi auto".
So those guns are out there right now. They can be bought or sold in many states willy-nilly, and the government has no idea where they are. The only possible way to enforce "background checks" is to get them all registered. Take my word for it, not happening. You'll get 15% compliance at best for any registration scheme, that's all Canada could get despite spending big piles of cash setting a scheme up, and they don't have Compton in their jurisdiction). Australia's "buyback" got maybe 30% if you believe the best numbers the government gave out.
So, let's be "optimistic" & assume we do a better job than anyone in the world ever has at getting "rid" of those evil murder-death-kill machines & we get 40% registered/confiscated/right-sized, whatever.
That's still 60 million guns waiting to come out of the closet. If not a single one more is ever sold.
So it's always going to be "easy" for a terrorist to get one.
They aren't "rare", "hard to find", or even particularly hard to make in your garage.
How "hard" is it for a drug addict to get drugs?
It's hard for you & me to get some Oxy's for date-night, because we obey the law. (just kidding, but not really).
What disgusts me most is the Barack HUSSEIN Obama presents this as a gun issue. The issue at hand is radicalized Muslims. I can spot a conflict of interest from miles away.
The fact that this was an attack on LGBT individuals is extraneous to the big issue at hand.
rzyzzy
389 Posts
really?
When did you stop beating your wife?
It's a loaded question & none of the laws proposed would have "stopped" anything.
They in fact, promote a false sense of security & put more people in danger.
"Run, hide, fight" is the current mantra being taught to people & the mantra needs to be "fight, or die".
If you see something, *do* something.
The fbi had half a dozen or more chances to stop this guy & missed them all.
Its just a job to them, your own personal security should be your highest priority.
The odds are thin that you'll ever have to fight for your own life, but you might have to do it. The cops can't be everywhere & you can't legislate away evil.