OT: Thinking of Orlando
Novica
Posts: 23,924
in The Commons
Thinking about all of the families in Orlando, and the friends, of the victims in Orlando. People in Orlando are lining around the block to donate blood for the victims of the hateful shooting spree at the nightclub. Hugs to everyone of every culture and belief that supports peaceful co-existance and acceptance.
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I am sickened by the tragedy in Orlando and the hate crime that occured there and the tragic senseless loss of life. My heart goes out to the families of the victims.
That situation is unbelievably tragic, as is the senseless death of Christina Grimmie. I didn't know who the singer was until I remembered the Humane Society commerical that always makes me tear up. The one where she sang "I Need a Hero." My sympathies go out to her family and fans, also.
I heard about Orlando over on Instagram, and I couldn't remember where Christina was when she was shot, so I first wondered if the person was talking about her when they said they were praying for Orlando. Then I thought it wouldn't be all of Orlando so it had to be much bigger. CNN just showed the World Trade Center spire lit up in rainbow colors. Very touching.
Someone pointed us to an international story about it last night right after it happened. It was a couple of hours before the US press caught up. It is just so heart breaking.
This is so very sad, so many innocent people lost and others so badly wounded, heartbroken families and friends...I'm so very tired of all the hate and violence in the world:(
...received several emails about it from a couple organisations I am involved with, just after I left for my Sunday gaming session. Senseless, totally senseless. I cannot say much more right now without overstepping the political line.
That's why I've been hesitating to make a comment. Platitudes of grief, shock and moral disdain do no good. The only discussions that have any hope of resolving the issue are political. But that is verbotten here.
Pray for those families, or meditate, or just think of them. The vast majority of people in this world are good and they can make a change.
Yes. Authorities are passing along tips on the newscasts -- things individuals can do to possibly avert future catastrophes. Or to survive one.
I'm exhausted to my core of being shocked and appalled by modern events.
I know the parts of town where both shootings occurred. They are both cultural areas thought to be mostly safe. Both shooters came from other parts of Florida, and they attacked gun free zones where there was little-to-no security checking, mostly-unarmed security, and therefore no expected defensive response. But there were responses; first the victim's brother at The Plaza Live responded by tackling the shooter there and there was a police officer who engaged early on at The Pulse. Without these responses, the tragedies probably would have been worse with many more injured or dead.
The Plaza Live is in a section of town where there are a lot of old Orlando homes, not far from historical neighborhoods. Some of these homes were built when Orlando was basically a citrus growing town..maybe not even a town yet. These are neighborhoods with a lot of history, having seen ups and downs over the generations, and have made a(nother) big turnaround over the last 20 years or so. I remember The Plaza Live spent time being closed and under renovation, and I think it's a long-time Orlando fixture (plays, concerts, and art performances), though I haven't been in there. Yes, I work too much. I remember being happy to see it open again some years ago because I think it's good to have places of art and culture where people young and old can go, especially if they aren't big-box stores, fattening chain restaurants, or (ugh) another boring bank branch.
The Pulse is in the SODO (South Of Downtown Orlando) district which has been called "up and coming". This part of town is still "downtown" in my mind. Really, you might even be able to walk there from downtown, but that's not a bad thing. The Pulse is near the Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC), where there's a huge complex consisting of a hospital, cancer center, women's health center, and many satellite medical service and equipment companies. If you have a Sobik's Subs restaurant in your town, you might be interested to know that the HQ is right near there, and Disney World is about 15 miles south along the I-4 freeway.
The Plaza and The Pulse are only a few (maybe 2?) miles apart. You can see both neighborhoods from the 23rd floor of the Orange County courthouse downtown. Well, you can see the treetops of the Bumby neighborhood to the East where The Plaza is, and you can see the big ORMC towers to the South, which look like giant stacks of Vegas casino chips.
I have a lot of friends and co-workers. The press is calling The Pulse a "gay nightclub", but it is a lot more than that. A lot of straight people would go to The Pulse too. The point is, much of Orlando, The Pulse included, is a place of community and with very few exceptions around town, people are not excluded or made to feel like they don't belong. I've been to concerts, sporting events, cultural events, art events, and even gone dancing at salsa dances around town. I'm as "gringo" as they come, but nobody has ever made me (or my gringo dance partners) feel unwelcome. The Pulse sounds like a place like every other place here. Friendly and welcoming.
Thankfully for me, I haven't lost any friends or family to these tragic events. But the ripple-effect from both horrible incidents is not just local. We're learning now that it extends to all four corners of the US, the US Territories and internationally too, because Orlando is very much an international city. This is so very sad, and it will take many years for healing to happen. If it even could, that is. After all, has New York City healed from 9/11? Most definitely not.
My thoughts and prayers (yes, I do pray) for the victims and their families.
This is a heinous event and my thoughts go out to the victims and families of the victims. What hits me the most about all of this is the new saying so much more about the terrorist that committed all of these murders instead of talking abou tthe victims. Do they not realize that by seemingly glorifying the perpitrator of this event, all they are doing is setting up the next event? You can bet that there is someone out there that is watching all of this attention he is getting and they are having their own delusions of having their name spoken in the news.
I firmly believe that in incidents such as this the name of the person committing these acts should be kept out of the news not only to prevent the posibility of someone else getting the idea they want that kind of notoriety, but to also concentrate on the victims of such an act.
shadowhawk1, keeping the names of these killers out of the news as much as possible is something I strongly agree with, unless they're actually on the run and being sought in connection with the crime. I'm reminded of the murder in the streets of British soldier Lee Rigby and of how his killers urged bystanders to get out their phones and film what was happening in the hope that it would be widely circulated online. The next night I went to see one of my favourite bands in concert and the guitarist briefly acknowledged the mood and said that our best response to these [expletives deleted] would be to bury their names and never mention them again. My thoughts entirely.
I hope the victims of the Orlando atrocities rest in peace, as well as all the other victims of someone else's warped pursuit of glory.
My thoughts exactly!! Their names should never be mentioned unless they are being sought by law enforcement. If the media refuses to give them any press and makes them essentially an unperson it would stop a lot of copycat crimes and might prevent others from trying it to get a moment of fame..
Regarding name of killers:
http://nonadventures.com/2015/06/20/the-some-of-all-fears/
One doesn't have to be gay to be sad when something like this happens. Orlando is a beautiful town. It's been awhile since I visited, but I have nice memories.
I hope you all start healing soon.
You are correct, of course. My intent was only to highlight that what the venue was called is less important than its place in the community.
Healing will be a long time coming, if it can happen at all within the generations of people currently living. I've heard that some of the injured are speaking now that they are out of the hospital. It's hard to imagine what they had to go through.
Oops, I miscommunicated, as usual.
I'm sorry. I was agreeing with your original post. I just didn't make that clear.
Yes, I had to quit watching the survivor stories. So many of them are heroes, but they surely can speak vividly.
I'm glad my kids are just young enough not to notice the news, so I don't have to try to explain it.
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I saw Christina Grimmie in concert, she was an opening act for Selena Gomez in Las Vegas, she's a very talented singer.
Her rendition of the "Need a Hero" song sends chills down the spine. I love critters anyway, so hearing that song played as a backdrop for the Humane Society ad would get me every time.
OMG -- I write that I love critters then hear about the gator thing. I didn't know about the gator incident before I posted. Orlando, I am so sorry.
This was supposed to be an edit, not a re-bump of the topic.
http://www.upworthy.com/watch-broadway-stars-record-a-song-for-the-victims-of-the-orlando-shooting?c=reccon3
MUST WATCH THIS. OMG.... Such gorgeous voices... What the World Needs Now, Is Love, Sweet Love!
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