#30DaysofPride Day 13
I am participating in a 30 Days of Pride Challenge and thought that these stories might be an inspiration to you whether you fall somewhere on the rainbow, or just want to live your life more authentically.
Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of the Pulse shooting in Orlando reminding us again for the whole idea behind PRIDE celebrations to begin with – overcoming adversary so that you can be you! For those who don’t know about the Pulse shooting, an Islamic terrorist walked in and shot up the LGPTQ+ club killing 49 people and wounding 50 others.
I can remember reports as they came out of the voicemails and texts left from people in the club and the reports from those on the scene of the eerie sound of the cell phones ringing inside the club – parents and friends never to get through.
Stories such as this, Mathew Shepard, and many others aren’t new. I just watched a movie on Netflix called the Dance of the 41 which tells the story of an incident that revolved around an illegal police raid carried out in 17 November 1901 in a private home in Mexico City. The scandal involved the group of men who attended, 19 of whom were dressed in women’s clothing. Despite the government’s efforts to hush the incident up, the press was keen to report the incident, since the participants belonged to the upper echelons of society (including the son-in-law of the incumbent President of Mexico). This scandal was unique in that it was the first-time homosexuality was openly spoken about in the Mexican media and had a lasting impact on Mexican culture.
Think it can’t happen in the US this article talks about some of the most famous raids including one in Atlanta, GA in 2009.
I will have a different conversation about Mathew Shepard, but Pulse hit me especially hard. I had worked for clubs, was a frequent patron, and it could have just as easily been my mother calling me and never getting a call back.
I had actually worked at a club right before my brain surgery called Club Ultimate. It was owned by a friend of my brother’s, and I use to go sling shots. On one of the straight nights, we had someone put an M-80 in a wall. I was only 10 feet away and had bits of wall hit me in my leg.
My brain surgery (not related) happened a week later, and the club closed by the time I was allowed out of my house again because of a shooting that happened in the parking lot. Thankfully, no one was hurt in either situation.
May we all come to know that we are one.
You are loved!
Jeff
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