I moved to the area recently and had a random news station on when I drove to the grocery store this morning. At the time, my usual NPR wasn't saying anything about the shooting, so I scanned and stopped at the first station that was. The reporting was more or less fair, some people calling in who were nearby, knew someone who witnessed something, etc. Then, as could be expected, someone called in and mused about potential motivations. Paraphrasing: "... could be hate, could be a messed up person, could be Islamic terrorism..."

The next caller followed up, also paraphrasing: "I think it's more important now than ever for the Muslim community to stand up and condemn these acts."

This sparked what would be at least a 45-60 minute rant from the panel about the evils of Islam, you know the drill. All over a flippant comment with absolutely ZERO evidence. Well, I guess the guy had a Muslim-sounding name, didn't he? Fuck if his own father went on the record saying that his son reacted loudly and negatively in his presence to two men kissing nearby. Nope, definitely no evidence this was a hate crime based in homophobia. His name sounds Muslim, so it must be Islamic terrorism. ISIS. etc.

I'm so crushed over this and have no words to express how I'm feeling other than that. Homophobia is alive and well in the US. Hate is alive and well in the US. IT'S WHOLLY FUCKING UNNECESSARY to drag people of a certain culture/religion into it as well. The 50+ people who were murdered in this night club were in a place, perhaps one of few, where they felt they could be themselves and open with who they are without all the judgmental bullshit that often comes with it. What will this say about other safe spaces?

I want to say my heart aches for those affected by this, but we are all affected by this.

Thanks for offering the space to rant.