Politico tweeted that Trump had failed to meet the moment after Orlando and thinking about it so did I. This post is an apology for not addressing the tragedy in Orlando sooner. There is no simple response. It is a tragedy.
While reading about the tragedy, I found myself wanting to be there with those mourning. And I think that is a good and proper response when something like this happens. Not necessarily trying to do anything, but just being there.
50 people died and 53 people were injured in a place that many of them considered to be a sanctuary or their safe place. Away from people who will judge them from holding their beloved's hand, away from people who jeer at them for giving their partner a quick kiss, and, except for this day, away from people who threaten violence. I want these people to feel safe in this world and this terrorist took one of the few safe places away from them.
But this response is inadequate. This response does at least take into consideration their particular community; however, it still fails to take in all of the political aspects of this tragedy. Perhaps you think this should not be politicized, but these people's lives have been politicized.
Grace's comment is in response to the observation that many members of the GOP failed to mention the location or that the people dead and injured were LGBTQ or allies. This trend is not limited to senators and members of congress though.
The popular apologist Lee Strobel saw no difference between this mass shooting and the mass shooting in Aurora that took place in a movie theatre:
My call to readers, friends, and colleagues who read this post is simply to allow all of the issues from this event to wash over you and to think about our place in the world. This event has several political aspects. Islamic terrorism, mental health, gun control, and homophobia. Simply saying this is a tragedy, even if you talk about the fact that the target was a Florida LGBTQ community is not adequate.
We need to be there for these people and we need to discuss the conditions led to the largest single person mass shooting in American history.
