On The Media #1

On The Media 

Never Again, Again

             This episode caught my attention because I have a soft spot for this subject. Can you imagine living in fear and being targeted/hated just because of the person you love? The episode is on the subject of the horrific Orlando shooting. They talk with a gay Muslim writer.

             There was talk of the killer being gay himself. So how could this malicious killer do this? Could self hate push him to kill? In the Muslim community, being gay is considered "impossible." Associate editor of The Village Voice wrote about himself being in a position of "double jeopardy," a gay Muslim. He spoke out in a tweet to defend himself and immediately got some backlash. Whether it was other Muslims saying there's no way he could be gay or some saying he should "go home and be be-headed." He talks about how he feels uncomfortable being Muslim after 9/11 tragedy took place. When he came out on Twitter, he wanted to make himself visible and get people to stop and think that it's awful this happened but now homosexual Muslims are finding one another and they are talking and figuring out how to go forward.

                 Saying this was just another terrorist attack on Americans infuriated me. The LGBT community have been the biggest target for hate crimes. LGBT are the number one murdered minority in the country. The sole fact that the LGBT community and gay history aren't taught in schools in my opinion is a huge contribution to these hate crimes. Another enormous contribution is religion. Most religions condemn homosexuality of any type, learning this at a young age will only mold your mind that this IS a sin. To me, that is absolutely disheartening. 
                The media shows us these killings for the first time recently and it forces the viewers to assume this is the first time these homophobia attacks are happening. UpStairs Lounge, New Orleans in 1973, Backstreet Cafe Roanoke, Virginia in 2000, Central Station in Moscow, 2014 to just name a few of LGBT targeted killings. This extreme terrorism needs to be recognized as a threat to individual freedom.