Queer & Unafraid

It's hard to find the appropriate words to express all the grief and hurt that is running through my veins right now. I think much of what has happened around Orlando has already been said more eloquently by others. 

There is so much hate in the world. We are doing ourselves a disservice if we are returning hate with more hate. Islamophobia is doing nothing to bring about healing for the victims of this massacre nor is it bringing about change for the rest of our queer family. An excuse that it's just another "self-hating gay" acting out violently also distracts from the truth. Whether hate is directed towards others or is manifested towards oneself hate is still a tool used by those in power to control the narrative. 

People grapple every day to find a place where they can just be unmasked, and at peace. This is true too for perpetuators of violence.  Anger is just another form of intense passion. Yet, we have in our power also the choice to forgive, and the choice to be kind towards one another. There can be no movement, and there can be no liberation if we can not even practice daily kindness amongst ourselves. In many ways by not allowing ourselves to become filled with the same bitter rage we are conquering our oppressors. We are surviving because we are not allowing ourselves to be defeated by the narrative of hate. We are surviving and will continue to survive because we will embrace a narrative of love. 

I often grapple with thoughts about what it means to be radical. But, I've come to realize that being radical can be just choosing to get out from bed every morning and engaging in the world. Choosing to get up and labor towards a more humane world, even when it feels too weighty, too overwhelming, but we have that choice to not be beaten down by all the hopelessness. A daily choice, a daily renewal to keep on because we must be part of the story. Our story. 

It is time for us to control the narrative of our own lives. It is time for us to be louder, and more vibrant. It is time for us to not forget that silence = death.