This is NOT a ‘tragedy’
People gather around a memorial Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022, for the victims of Saturday’s fatal shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Christian Murdock/The Gazette via AP) Merchants of death-speech continue to egg on crimes against humanity such as the Club Q shooting The murderous attack on the patrons of Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado over the weekend is far more ominous and deadly than mainstream media can acknowledge in their coverage.
Let’s be clear about this: The majority community speaks of this attack as a “tragedy” and attaches all sorts of modifiers to it — ”sad,” “terrible,” “uncalled for.” But the reality of anti-LGBTQIA+ hate crimes like this is far more horrible than any mere “tragedy.” The truth is, this is an outrage against all Americans, a crime against humanity with the gravity of a war crime — a full blown expression of egged-on hatred that must be denounced!
It is NOT a “tragedy.” Tragedies exist in literature and on the stage. A tragedy leads to a “catharsis,” a purging of emotion that salves the conscience and lifts the burden of guilt and shame from an audience.
This is bloody-minded hatred and an outrage against justice targeting real, flesh-and-blood people. Instead of causing the merchants of death-speech to reflect on the effects of their reckless language — calling drag performers “groomers,” and the LGBTQIA+ community “pedophiles,” — and then reining in their incitement to violence, the entrepreneurs of bigotry are doubling down on their nonsense, threatening escalating attacks on our communities and allies.
