To be honest, I always have trouble writing immediately after a tragedy like the one that took place in Orlando this weekend. I find that my natural instinct is to pull away from the 24-hour news cycle, partly because it is rarely reliable and partly because I am consumed with feelings that seem to be out of sync with most of what I read/see reflected both in the news and on social media. This is not a time that I feel compelled to call out Donald Trump for his narcissistic nonsense. And I really don’t want to argue about guns or whether we will vanquish ISIS by merely uttering the words “radical Islam.”
Instead, I want to gaze inward and deal with the overwhelming grief, while looking for messages of healing. I found that in stories about the mile-long line that had formed to donate blood in Orlando. And in the brief words of Lin-Manuel Miranda at the Tony Awards last night.
I was touched by the words of Muslims (both LGBT and straight) on Twitter – something that was reported by the BBC, but I haven’t seen much in U.S. media. Here are a few examples:
As an American Muslim in month of Ramadan, hard to comprehend except to say LGBT community has stood for us, our time to do same. #Orlando
— Rafat Ali, Media Owner & Operator (@rafat) June 12, 2016
There are gay Muslims out here. We’re hurting too. Please stop erasing us, we in the lgbt community must come together and unify right now.
— Noor ☭??????? Nug Bug (@MuslimMissWorld) June 12, 2016
There will be time for arguments and politics. But for some of us, this is a time of grief and healing.
