:: OrL(-OVE-)ando Strong

Not diving too deeply into the events that occurred the weekend of the 11th of June (2016) in PULSE nightclub in downtown Orlando, Florida, I will first preface this with the fact that no matter what happens to a country full of "not-so-united-people," in times of need, we somehow manage to "unite," to a degree, in times of tragedy. Though our unison is quite superficial on the surface of the grim reality ― as soon as we unite we are easily divided on the over-abundance of bigotry, misogyny, racism and the like ― we do, come to realize that enough of us believe in the value of human life. No one man should have the power to decide who should and who shouldn't live. And on that night, one man gave himself the power to determine the fate of far too many innocent and unsuspecting club goers. Though the series of circumstances leading up to the events that ensued that night are still being pieced together, it is clear that despite the reasons why this crime happened, hate is hate. One doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to realize that an underlying seed of HATE was the foundation for this senseless act. What makes matters even worse was that this devastating act followed the death of a young woman, Christina Grimmie, performing at a concert in yet another venue in Orlando. Killed by the hands of yet another man who gave himself the power to decide that that young woman didn't deserve to live, leaves us safe to assume that the world is full of too much unfounded hate. Hate, we cannot explain. Hate, that many of us, wish didn't exist. And as mentioned before, it is a grim reality that which we are subject to live in. A reality that is seemingly beyond our control.

However, in the wake of such HATE, LOVE managed to prevail. Immediately following the tragedy, or rather, tragedies in Orlando, a Blood Drive was initiated to help the overwhelming amount of victims, endless vigils were given, go-fund-me pages were created for the PULSE victims as well as for Christina Grimmie (who was shot and killed the night before), ceaseless media support, and the like flooded the city of Orlando and just about every social media platform. Like the wake of the numerous tragedies before these recent senseless acts, the people of Orlando alongside the people of America, united to grieve for the unnecessary loss of life and many injured. Pulling together to remember the lives lost, America, like the "mother" she tries but usually fails to be, provided people with just enough faith in the human spirit to accept that despite what theories or circumstances founded these acts of HATE that LOVE is stronger. LOVE is LOVE. And human LIVES, no matter, gender, race, sexuality, MATTER. Human LIVES have value. And for the briefest of moments we accepted that we are indeed the same: we are all HUMAN. Flawed and imperfect. Burdened by the free will to do and be. Ill-fated by the hands of others who do not see value in others different from them. Error-ed. Glitches in the matrix. We are HUMAN and therefore subject to forces of good and evil. Hate and Love. And in the end, however, though the DEVIL tries, and mighty is his try, LOVE, seems to provide a silver lining. A glimmer of hope. A balance in an unstable world. An escape to an invisible utopia that doesn't exist beyond our minds. LOVE, like faith, is un-see-able but strongly felt. And that is what the people of Orlando and America displayed, to the best of their abilities, in the wake of the tragic weekend.

What more can we ask for during such tough times? Avoiding the serious issues of gun control, hate crimes, and the such, what more can we ask for but some LOVE to get us through the bleakest moments in our lives? What more? So, on that note, united we shall stand, to the best of our abilities, strong and loving.

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:: Post Rationalizing(s)

“We are each other's harvest; we are each other's business; we are each other's magnitude and bond.” ― Gwendolyn Brooks —