Plurk paste

Our world today is so screwed up. I wasn't going to say anything, but I think it's time I stopped being quiet. This weekend was horrible in terms of senseless acts of violence. Christina Grimmie's murder and the shootings that were attacks on the LGBTQ community are all just... tragic. I can't find the proper words to convey how terrible I think it all is. No matter what words I find, though, I know nothing will bring all those innocent people back who died this weekend.

Christina Grimmie's murder was horrible because she was in the prime of her life. She was 22. I've been following her on YouTube and other platforms since I watched this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2RA0vsZXf8 So, nearly six years. From what I saw and heard of her, and from the outpouring of love that other celebrities and people have had for her, she was a beautiful person in every sense of the word. It's rare that a celebrity death affects me as much as Christina's has.

Now... on to the more controversial part. Let me start out by saying that, whether we want to admit it or not, we're all part of, know someone who is in, or are affiliated with the LGBTQ community in some way, shape, or form. I do not hate, I do not judge, I do not think ANYBODY deserves to die because of their sexual orientation or how they choose to live their life. The shootings that happened this weekend were hate crimes. People think that LGBTQ people are abominations, but in my mind, anybody who can hate, judge, and hold animosity towards a PERSON or group of people that much, that they think they deserve to die, or can be "cured", need to look in on themselves and rethink some things. Homosexuality and being transgendered are not diseases. Those things can not be changed with mass murder or butchering of people in nightclubs. Come on now. We're supposed to love and accept people. How have we as a society come to hate people so much based on religion, race, sexuality, political persuasions, the kinds of animals they like, the kinds of music they like, their weight, appearance, hair color, whether they wear glasses or not, whether they went to college or not, the kind of car they drive, how much money they have, and a myriad of other things?

How have we stooped so low to think that killing people because of their sexuality is some kind of solution? HOW CAN WE THINK IT'S OKAY? How can anybody possibly think that the shootings this weekend, and the others that have happened in the USA and all over the world in the past, are good things that "had to happen" to "send a message"? I honestly don't understand it, and I don't like it. I don't like how judgmental and hateful people have become. I don't like that it's somehow become acceptable to kill people.

I'm not advocating for gun control, because then I would be one of the masses who have put these tragedies into a neat little box and hidden it away to try to make sense of it. "Oh people need to not have guns! Problem solved!" No, problem NOT SOLVED. You can take away guns, but you can't take away the deep-seeded hatred people have in their minds and hearts. It's not about guns and weapons and terrorists and whatever box people try to put these things in to compartmentalize them and not have to think about them anymore. It's not about taking away one means to kill people, because people will be like "Oh well I'll just find another way to do it!" It won't take a big, world-rocking act to change things. I personally believe that change can start being changed with simple, small acts of love. That seems beyond the capacity of a lot of people, and that makes me sad. I sincerely hope that none of my friends or family fall into the category of hating a person or group of people enough to do something radical about that hate, or think anyone deserves to die, or openly bashes people based on any of the things I listed above.

It saddens me deeply that these crimes happened this weekend. It saddens me that people out there think they had to happen. It saddens me that we can't just love people no matter what. It saddens me that a 22-year-old can be cruelly struck down in the prime of her life. It saddens me that people who were out for a night of fun would never come home again because people think they had to die because of their sexual orientation. My heart, love, and prayers go out to the families and friends of lost loved ones this weekend, and in any and every other senseless, heartless shooting that has happened in past months and years. I won't stay quiet about my love and support for them. I won't stay quiet about my love and support for the LGBTQ community. I'm sick and tired of all the hate crimes. It has to stop. If it can start being changed by one person choosing to let go of their hate and befriend a gay, bisexual, or transgendered person, then do it! Go for it! I'm done being scared and quiet, and I sincerely hope that anyone who actually reads this who has hatred in their heart, can let go of it. It takes one person. One small act. One kind word. One voice. Just do it. Stop the hatred. It's gotten really old.