SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIFTY

June 13, 2016 at 08:45 (Cover Up, DesertPeace Editorial, Homophobia, Intolerance, Islamophobia)

Our hearts go out to the families and friends of those slaughtered in Orlando, Florida yesterday. May they find comfort knowing that they are not alone in this sorrow.

X Fifty Plus

When a crazed Jew attacked and killed a participant in last year’s Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem, it was called murder.

When Timothy McVeigh, Christian White guy, killed 168 w/truck bomb in Oklahoma, nobody blamed Christianity or the Bible. he was called a mass-murderer.

BUT, when a crazed, homophobic Muslim kills 50 people in a Gay Club in Orlando, it is called an act of terrorism.

Both the Democrats and the Republicans were quick to condemn the attack yesterday as an act of terrorism. Both are blind to the reality of hatred.

Let’s look at the murderer in question ….

A man who called 911 to proclaim allegiance to the Islamic State terrorist group, and who had been investigated in the past for possible terrorist ties, stormed a gay nightclub here Sunday morning, wielding an assault rifle and a pistol, and carried out the worst mass shooting in United States history, leaving 50 people dead and 53 wounded.

The attacker, identified by law enforcement officials as Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old who was born in New York, turned what had been a celebratory night of dancing to salsa and merengue music at the crowded Pulse nightclub into a panicked scene of unimaginable slaughter, the floors slicked with blood, the dead and the injured piled atop one another. Terrified people poured onto the darkened streets of the surrounding neighborhood, some carried wounded victims to safety, and police vehicles were pressed into service as makeshift ambulances to rush people to hospitals.

• FROM

Homophobia isn’t prerogative of a single religion.

ISIS isn’t REALLY Islamic but it doesn’t matter since after Orlando Shooting the name of game is “blame Muslims”

From our Associates and friends …

From Carlos Latuff

This cartoonist does not condone homophobia AND Islamophobia, since both are rotten fruits of ignorance.

From Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD

Condolences to the families of the mass shooting in Florida and to the victims of the bombings in Damascus and Iraq. Innocent civilians continue to pay a price for the greed of the few who see mayhem and murder as good for their political agenda. My friend’s car has a sticker “Who profits?” 

From CAIR National

CAIR National calls Orlando shooting hate crime. “We stand together against transphobia, homophobia, Islamophobia.”
Click HERE to see their statements in full

The Jewish Voice for Peace issued the following statement …. it reflects the thinking of many of us, regardless of our religious connections.

JVP’S NETWORK AGAINST ISLAMOPHOBIA STATEMENT ON HORRIFYING ATTACK IN ORLANDO

JVP’s Network Against Islamophobia issues the following statement in response to the horrific attack at “Latin Night” at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando on June 12, 2016:

We are grieving today with and for the Orlando LGTBQ community, and, in particular, the queer and trans Latinx communities that were the targets of this horrifying attack. Our hearts break for all those lost and their loved ones, for all those injured and traumatized.

We cannot ignore that this murderous attack takes place in the context of a political climate in this country where homophobic, transphobic, racist, and Islamophobic laws are commonplace, and where the same politicians promoting those laws adamantly oppose any restrictions on guns and assault weapons.

We are outraged that some of those same politicians–as well as the media, police, and others– are using this tragedy to demonize the Muslim community. It is appalling to instrumentalize the horror of these murders in order to spread dangerous Islamophobic messages, including characterizing Islam as uniquely threatening and homophobic. We know that such anti-Muslim narratives contribute to increased harassment and violence against Muslims or those perceived as Muslim, including LGBTQ members of those communities.

As LGBTQ people and allies, let us respond in ways that reflect a proud queer history of fighting back against all hatred and oppression. As we mourn all those who were murdered and reflect on this  tragedy, we must continue to put all our energies into standing strong against homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, racism, and all forms of hatred, and to build for justice within and among our communities.

Bottom line is: don’t let hatred become the cause of your blindness to reality!