USA TODAY International Edition
Terror and hate converge at a nightclub in Orlando
Amid all the progress gay Americans have made in recent years, from the Supreme Court’s legalization of same- sex marriage last June to the celebration this June of LGBT Pride Month in cities across the country, it can be easy to forget that some people, particularly Muslim extremists, still harbor murderous hatred toward gays.
That brutal reality erupted early Sunday in central Florida, when a man stormed Pulse, an Orlando nightclub known to cater to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patrons, and let loose gunfire that killed 50 people, making it the worst mass shooting in U. S. history. ( In Southern California, authorities broke up what they described as an unrelated plot against a gay pride event.)
And so America awakened to learn once more of the deaths of innocent people, of 53 more wounded, of a night of terror for those trapped and hiding to save their lives. Of heart- rending text messages one woman got from her son: “Mommy I love you,” and later, “I’m gonna die.” And of loved ones waiting to learn whether the next news they hear would inspire relief or incalculable grief.
Perhaps because mass killings have come with such dizzying regularity in America in recent years, the country has begun to try to instantly categorize them: Was this a terrorist plot? Or terror- inspired? Or workplace violence? Or another mentally ill young man? Which box did it fit?
President Obama, who has been forced to comfort the country at least 13 other times during his presidency after such moments, attempted to do so once again, describing the massacre as “an act of terror and an act of hate.”
Of that there can be no doubt. Terror: The dead shooter, identified as Omar Mateen, was a U. S. citizen who made a 911 call saying he had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, the terrorist group also known as ISIL or ISIS. Hate: According to an NBC News interview with the shooter’s father, Mateen grew angry two months ago when he witnessed two men kissing in Miami.
Now, as the investigation begins, comes the inevitable politicization of tragedy and the familiar flood of questions. Mateen, 29, was a licensed security officer and had been on the FBI’s radar. Shouldn’t those two things be mutually exclusive? And how does a man on FBI radar purchase killing machines — an assault rifle and a handgun — legally?
Once again, some Americans will join Obama in lamenting, rightly, how it is too easy in the USA for people to get their hands on assault weapons that let them inflict mass casualties.
Other Americans will wrongly lash out at all Muslims, holding them collectively responsible for the heinous acts of a fanatical few. While there is no place for guilt by association, Muslims do have a duty to cooperate with authorities, denounce the extremists, and work to eliminate this cancer on their religion.
For now, it is most important for Americans of all faiths and sexual orientations to stand together, honor the victims, condemn the violence and weigh the steps, both at home and abroad, to prevent future Orlandos.