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Speak Out : #WeAreOrlando

Ryan Jason Collett, 34

That is my name up there with my age. Imagine that name or your name being in a list of 48 others being read by several people all over the country and world, much like has been done in the past few days for the Orlando Shooting Victims.

Imagine if one of those names was you and your friends. It shouldn’t be that hard because this could have happened to anyone, anywhere. That thought has hit close to home for me these past few days. Several of my friends on Facebook have expressed the same feeling…fear of leaving their house since there is no where that we can go and be safe.

The fabulous Candis Cox, a trans woman working with EqualityNC recently spoke at a candlelight vigil I attended the other night and she said something that I never considered before. She referred to our local clubs as our home, and she was right. The clubs that we go to are our homes, somewhere we go to feel safe, be who we are with our friends, partners, straight allies and more. This is one place we can let our guards down and not worry about the bad things in the world.

Not anymore.

June 12, 2016 has changed that for everyone. Now we live in fear again and all the progress with marriage equality and acceptance has been affected. When I was at the vigil the other evening, the place was packed and almost no room to move. The thought crossed my mind that if a madman shooter had decided to come in there, there would have been no where to run or hide. No one should be scared or live in fear like this, but at the moment, we are.

I hope that everyone reading this can take a few moments of their day and remember the 49 innocent lives that were sadly taken from us this past weekend. I hope that everyone is more aware of their surroundings from now on. And please, if you see anything that is suspect, please call the police, much like that one person in LA did that saved us from another similar tragedy. If they hadn’t have called, so many more people at LA Pride could have a been killed.

Lastly, if you can, please donate to the Go Fund Me account dedicated for the victims in assisting with funeral arrangements, transportation and may other needed expenses.

Thanks for reading and remember that love conquers hate and #WeAreOrlando.

Jason


There are 12 comments

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  1. Ian

    I am not Orlando. Why are you living in fear? Stop being a pussy. And donate to go fund me, fuck that. I know where the money going, in their pocket and not to the families. Go fund me can go fuck themselves. Changing profile pics to we are Orlando or the Paris flag and whatever else throughout the years does not show anyone care. Just show that people just wanna copy others

  2. random

    To respond simply: The political and social climate is too unstable to allow yourself to feel that you can be “free to express yourself” without fear of repercussions. Too many hate and biased feelings are triggered by so called socially unacceptable behavior namely things that are normally reserved for heterosexual people: hugging, kissing, hand holding, etc. that we see every day in public places. So far from my observations, I have noticed a marked increase in “discrete bashing”. To be blunt, while it is unfortunate that as a member of the LGBT we have to endure such “hate” fueled behavior, one might point out that we need to make each other aware that certain areas still exist where bashing “hot spots” are common in the United States. This topic is endlessly debated and discussed, and until the LGBT community has more protection from our system of Gov’t. It is unlikely to improve anytime soon. I pray for for a time when all people regardless of any background can unite for a common cause: survival of the human race. Pray for those who suffer due to a “label”. Thank you.

  3. Paul

    “The thought crossed my mind that if a madman shooter had decided to come in there, there would have been no where to run or hide. No one should be scared or live in fear like this, but at the moment, we are.”

    Exactly why I carry a gun. I dont live in fear.

  4. B

    It’s terrible this happened. But, upon going to happy hour tonight for the first tine since the shooting, I realized I’m still dead to every gay man under the age of 30.

  5. Parker

    I will not live in fear! I live, I work and I love and I regret that hate is taught in religion, politics and by our neighbors. It is true that places we frequent seem like home. I still remember going to bars and random acts of people driving by and shooting into the bars. The writer mentions no place to hide….that is when you stand up with pride and fight back. Remember this event for what it is. HATE and to kill hate use LOVE, and perhaps carry a gun.
    My heart goes out to the victims and their family’s. They are hero’s in my heart.

  6. EJ

    I was extremely scared to leave my house this week, so much so I had a panic attack while grocery shopping. I was going to skip pride this year at St pete florida, where I live, until a group of friends and the entire community said screw that, this is our day, it’s our duty to show up. I think I was going through the stages of grief because now I’m not scared, I’m pissed. One good thing came out of this is gay men are not afraid now to come out or kiss THIER partners or hold THIER hand in public. You would think we would cower and hide…no we are strong people and we have endured way more than this.

  7. chris

    May almighty God stretch His arms to those families and friends that are left behind to mourn this traffic losd of life. I’m also a gun carrier and I’m always observing my surroundings. We can’t stop loving and living or else the haters win.

  8. jon

    yes paul we need to carry protection with us. evil people who wish to harm us need to know we will not back down. gay people have rights and one of them is not to be murdered.

  9. Scarpien

    LOL @ B. It’s business as usual, per usual with gay men isn’t it?

    Paul: You hit the nail on the head. Not that you carry a gun but that you don’t live in fear, even though it may be attributed to the fact that you carry a gun.

    Sunday morning immediately upon learning of the events that occurred in Orlando, I browsed the online articles on the subject, namely the comments section to get a sense of how the general populace felt about this news. And one comment from a straight guy really made me think. He said something along the lines of ‘a club filled with 320+ gay men, yet one man was able to just walk in and cause such destruction. Did all the gay men scream and run into the bathroom?’ In essence what he was asking is why no one within arms’ reach of Omar try to subdue him.

    I’ve always maintained that gay-bashing is such a problem today mainly because of gay men–who are viewed as easy targets/sitting ducks by would-be homophobes because they can’t or won’t defend themselves. For the life of me I can’t grasp why more gay men don’t take a course in self-defense, etc. knowing how they’re viewed/despised by a growing section of the general populace. Instead they’re waiting for the govt. to protect them. I recall in the 80s during the AIDS scare the gay community waiting for the govt. (mostly straight men) to protect them. It was years before ‘protection’ came. Now they’re calling for the govt. to protect them yet again. When will gays start protecting themselves? It really makes no sense to me.


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