Today, I woke up early, turned on the computer and opened Facebook.
There, I learned about the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida. I know people who in Orlando. Many people think of Disney properties, Sea World and Universal Orlando, but Orlando is an actual place where real people live.
And now, where real people died, in a terrorist attack.
Facebook activated its "emergency situation check in". A cousin hasn't checked in yet, but I know she doesn't use Facebook a lot. Still....
I spent about 40 minutes this afternoon, just scrolling through post after post by politicians (one of whom, Alan Grayson, went to the same high school as I did), celebrities, and just ordinary people.
We in the Binghamton, New York area know what it is like to have a mass shooting. But what happened in Orlando eclipses what happened in Binghamton on April 3, 2009, in another world that seems so far away now. We of Binghamton know it is going to take Orlando a long time to recover.
I know that, too, as someone who grew up in New York City and worked, one summer, just steps away from the World Trade Center.
In a type of irony, it was said that the parents of the Binghamton shooter moved to Florida. I wonder if they moved to Orlando.
There aren't words. We in the United States ran out of words long ago. But we all know that our world changed years ago, and the world our adult children will inhabit is not the one we knew.
Sometimes, I wonder if our country will survive.
Sunday, June 12, 2016
7 comments:
Thank you for visiting! Your comments mean a lot to me. Due to a temporary situation, your comments may not post for a day or more-I appreciate your patience.I reserve the right to delete comments if they express hate or profanity, are spam, or contain content not suitable to a family blog.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
We living in rough times. Those people don't realize that there is space for everyone and my heart goes to the victims. My wishes to the people of Orlando. Such hate crime breaks the heart.
ReplyDeleteThank you for thinking of us.
DeleteYou have articulated our anguish and fear very well. I wonder how many such attacks will we have to endure before people decide to act and pass legislation to end/control it.
ReplyDeleteIt is scary what is happening around the world... These radicals are making this world a dangerous place and the leaders aren't doing enough...my heart goes out to everyone affected by terrorism all over the world...
ReplyDeleteScary world we live in.
ReplyDeleteIt's a such a terrible and sad happening. I wonder what world we are living in where taking lives is so easy. I pray for Orlando.
ReplyDeleteI was at the farmers market when I opened Facebook on my phone and learned of the horror. I'm done talking about these things. Talking isn't making them stop.
ReplyDelete