06-16-2016, 03:58 AM
Jim's thoughts on the Orlando mass shooting that took the lives of 49 LGBT people:
therealjimparsons: The above is an excerpt from a NY Times editorial (link in profile) re: Orlando. // I, too, hope lawmakers who insist on introducing discriminatory LGBT legislation will look at the photos of these 49 victims; I hope they will get the chance to listen to the harrowing recounting of the evening by the survivors and I hope they will see these people for who they are: human beings who live(d) their lives and love(d) their families and friends - just like everyone else does. // I wish they could see what I, as a gay man, see when I look at these victims and survivors: people I “know,” even though we’ve never met. These are the same, accepting faces that surrounded me the first time I stepped foot in a gay club/bar in Houston, TX. When I, as a young man, slowly relaxed as I realized I had entered - for the first time in my life - a space filled with people with no inclination to judge me for my sexual orientation. // These are the faces of the people in the New York gay clubs/bars I socialized in when I first began dating my partner, Todd. When, in the throws of an exciting new relationship, when all you want to do is hold hands, kiss and dance, I realized we could do exactly that in these safe spaces: behave like people in love - just like everyone else does - and that none of these faces surrounding us judged us for that expression of love. // These are the faces of my community. And, whether one shares my particular history or not, they are the faces of OUR community - all of us. // This post is in no way advice from me as to who anyone should vote for in any particular race. None of our elected officials are in any way directly responsible for the actions of one very disturbed, pathetic man. This particular piece focuses on just one area of a shit-storm of areas that led to the events in Orlando. // But I do agree with the message I take away from it: lawmakers who introduce legislation that in any way marginalizes a segment of our populace - ANY segment - and tries to paint them, even vaguely, as “other,” most certainly feeds an anger, a fear that resides in all of us to varying degrees. And in some cases, it can play a part in leading to tragic events like this.
therealjimparsons: The above is an excerpt from a NY Times editorial (link in profile) re: Orlando. // I, too, hope lawmakers who insist on introducing discriminatory LGBT legislation will look at the photos of these 49 victims; I hope they will get the chance to listen to the harrowing recounting of the evening by the survivors and I hope they will see these people for who they are: human beings who live(d) their lives and love(d) their families and friends - just like everyone else does. // I wish they could see what I, as a gay man, see when I look at these victims and survivors: people I “know,” even though we’ve never met. These are the same, accepting faces that surrounded me the first time I stepped foot in a gay club/bar in Houston, TX. When I, as a young man, slowly relaxed as I realized I had entered - for the first time in my life - a space filled with people with no inclination to judge me for my sexual orientation. // These are the faces of the people in the New York gay clubs/bars I socialized in when I first began dating my partner, Todd. When, in the throws of an exciting new relationship, when all you want to do is hold hands, kiss and dance, I realized we could do exactly that in these safe spaces: behave like people in love - just like everyone else does - and that none of these faces surrounding us judged us for that expression of love. // These are the faces of my community. And, whether one shares my particular history or not, they are the faces of OUR community - all of us. // This post is in no way advice from me as to who anyone should vote for in any particular race. None of our elected officials are in any way directly responsible for the actions of one very disturbed, pathetic man. This particular piece focuses on just one area of a shit-storm of areas that led to the events in Orlando. // But I do agree with the message I take away from it: lawmakers who introduce legislation that in any way marginalizes a segment of our populace - ANY segment - and tries to paint them, even vaguely, as “other,” most certainly feeds an anger, a fear that resides in all of us to varying degrees. And in some cases, it can play a part in leading to tragic events like this.
Bitches be crazy.