Are we going back to medieval times?

Last Sunday morning when I turned on the TV, the news was frightening, saddening and grim. The past few days have seemed like we are in an altered state of reality. Unfortunately, tragedies like this are part of a new reality in the 21st century.

This morning, I awoke to a news feed littered with fear, loathing, mistrust and prejudice. It’s disheartening how so many folks will try to appropriate a tragedy and spin it for their own benefit, to bolster an argument, or reinforce their already prevalent hatred.

Daesh is definitely a cancer that has to be eradicated, but the massacre in Orlando was not a part of that cancer. To try and use that to bolster hatred against Muslims is wrong and misdirected. The events in Orlando were clearly hatred against the gay community. Should it surprise us? Absolutely not. It’s interesting how so many have the misguided notion that society is so accepting, but sadly for some that is a myth. As a gay man, I have endured harassment, discrimination, violence, you name it. Being part of an inter-racial couple sometimes adds fuel to the fire for those whose level of acceptance is, shall we say, “challenged.”

Discrimination and hatred is alive and well, and sometimes comes from sources closer than many would think. There are those who will be stiflingly nice to your face, yet call you faggot the minute your back is turned. However, we now live in a world where mere words are not the only violence hurled at us. Some of us endure beatings. Some are stoned and some are hurled from buildings. All because of the kind of love they have within their hearts.

How is this right? It’s like we’ve regressed as a society back to medieval times? What frightens me most is that our world seems to be descending into a madness that hasn’t even peaked yet. It leaves me in tears contemplating it. Our society is now saturated with hatred and loathing, and because of the Internet it’s not just from afar but from within our own midst as well.

When will we learn that life is not infinite, and it is a precious gift that we are only granted but once? Sadly, that realization will not happen in my lifetime.