We all have strong opinions on different matters. We like to share those thoughts with others because we swear we’re right about whatever these matters are. As I mentioned in my previous post, people love doing this through social media such as Facebook. It’s great, right? People who agree with you will probably like your post, you will feel validated, and your self esteem goes up. Some may challenge your thoughts by commenting, maybe a debate starts, some people like your comments and some people like the comments of whomever you’re debating with, etc. The truth of the matter is, however, if you post an article with some heartfelt, passionate comment to go along with it, most people will read just enough to get the gist of what happened and what your opinion on it is. Those who are smart enough to know how petty it is to debate publicly on Facebook will abstain from sharing their thoughts and commenting on your post and will most probably do one of the following:
- Dismiss whatever you said and/or think (because, newsflash, most people don’t give a rat’s ass about your opinion—they have their own!)
- Write directly to you
- Bring it up in person
Or, most likely,
- Form either a better or, most likely, lesser opinion of you and carry on with their lives like adults.
For this reason, I’ve tried my best to abstain from ranting about my opinions on Facebook. Earlier this week, I debated whether or not to create my own space where I can freely write about whatever the hell I want and invite whomever cares to read up on it and share their thoughts. No one is bothered, and if they are, they only have themselves to blame. Yay me! However, I felt like sharing my thoughts didn’t really have much to offer to society other than providing people with material to agree with or get pissed off at, which kept me at bay from making this blog a reality.
What finally pushed me to open up Pray for Nothing is the news I read up on this morning about the shooting in Orlando. To those who don’t fully know what happened, here’s a quick recap:
- 50 people were killed and 53 were wounded in a mass shooting at a gay nightclub around 2am today (Sunday, June 12) in Orlando, FL.
- The gunman was a 29-year-old man named Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, born in New York to Afghani parents
- Mateen pledged allegiance to ISIS on a 911 phone call
- Mateen was killed by the authorities, who arrived around 5am.
This is the worst mass shooting in US history.
After reading up as much as I could up to this point and as I currently watch the news with my roommates I can only feel anger and restlessness. All I truly want to do is help, but what tangible change can be done when I’m miles away, in another state? This is what lead me to open up my computer and start investigating on what can be done. Here’s what I found-
On a more immediate level, you can
- Donate blood.
If you’re in the Florida area, the OneBlood center is urgently looking for donations, especially if you’re O-negative.
- Donate money.
Equality Florida has created a GoFundMe page to help the victims of the attack. As of now, they have raised an impressive $288,501 with a goal of reaching $500k.
To donate, go to: https://www.gofundme.com/2942a444
On an everyday level, regardless of your beliefs and opinions on gay rights and Islam, you can practice human decency and realize that we are all human beings. In light of this event, hate is undoubtedly gonna rain on Muslims from people who choose to be ignorant and are just plain assholes. There is no one to blame here but inhuman extremists that lack a sense of morality and humanity, not faith. On the other hand, although the LGBT community is getting a lot of compassion because of this, it is important to actively shut down those who have no respect for the LGBT community. No one gives a shit about your opinions, they don’t make you a better human being. What makes you a better human being is treating everyone as such regardless of your opinions towards them.
Remember, bigotry is a thing of little people!*
*by that, I mean bigotry is a thing of little bitches!
So, in conclusion,
Don’t be a little bitch.
[picture taken from time.com]
pray for nothing 