Before Orlando June 13, 2016
Posted by WorldbyStorm in Uncategorized.trackback
What happened in Orlando yesterday is beyond awful. Yet, as this piece in Slate notes, it is far from unique. The history of violence committed against LGBTQ bars and Clubs in the US (and elsewhere) is shameful and appalling. Perhaps the fact that the response this time is so different to that which in this very month, 43 years ago, 1973 was evident from media, politicians and the churches, in the aftermath of a murderous arson attack on the Upstairs Lounge in New Orleans is a sign of how much has changed. But the fact that someone went and murdered 50 women and men and injured more again having a simple night out points to how some things haven’t changed.
The Cedar Lounge Revolution 
Without being any way flippant on this, William DJ Gorman, an unsuccessful candidate in GE2016 in DC had in his manifesto this exact scenario, down to the date ( during gay pride week), he only got the city wrong, he said Dublin.
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Just read about Owen Jones on Sky News last night. I think he was absolutely right to call them out for trying to ignore the fact this was an attack on lgbt people.
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They agreed it was homophobic but did not agree it was only that. They linked it to Bataclan and other attacks. It was homophobic, it was an assault on everyday people, it was an assault on living life freely. The shooter scouted Disney. Homophobia is only one aspect of it. Scouting Disney shows that intersection. Jones didn’t seem to be able to link it to Bataclan. The shooter could just have easily gone to Disney. Homophobia and whatever motivated Bataclan, but the Bataclan shooters were known homophobics as well.
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Actually they didn’t agree that it was homophobic. That was precisely the point. At every point they were refusing to use the ‘G’ word and attempting to say it was an attack on ‘people’, trying to generalise it etc, etc. Of course it is both but the fact that it was an attack on an lgbtq club gives it a specific resonance. Check out the video.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/owen-jones-walks-off-sky-news-after-presenters-deflect-homophobia-behind-orlando-shooting-a7078891.html
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And if you don’t believe me check out the transcript here.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/sky-news-host-regrets-prompting-8180465
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“We are trying to have a civil conversation…” and the tone.
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+1
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Might have stopped another shooting in Santa Monica.
There have been a couple of near misses. A few years back some nut hopped up on Glenn Beck was intercepted heading to the Waves foundation in San Francisco for a bloodbath.
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A useful article from Glen Greenwald: Stop Exploiting LGBT Issues to Demonize Islam and Justify Anti-Muslim Policies.
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We won’t know about the motivation of the killer for some time, if ever, but I am extremely doubtful of an ISIS connection (agree with Obama here). His ex-wife said he beat her and there are claims he was gay. Some comments after that Independet article claim that means Owen Jones is wrong and homophobia cannot be the motive, that the killer was indeed a jihadist. His ex-wife claims he was full of anger. Sounds like it is possible that the killer was conflicted about his sexuality and full of rage – not that I am an expert. Just because he may have made a claim of being part of ISIS doesn’t make it true and ISIS will be happy to claim him even if they had never heard of him before.
Apparently there are 3 million of the automatic rifle he used in the US, I presume in private hands. Incredible!
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The stories appearing on Reddit state that he had frequented the Pulse nightclub to the shooting, that he had made advanced on a male friend/work colleague and that he had claimed membership/allegiance to Hezbollah, Al Qaeda and, more recently, Da’esh. Given that these groups exhibit a mutual scorn for one another, it may be that his claims are to be treated with some suspicion.
Of course, the bloke I met down the pub who had been in the SAS in Vietnam (but had also done some stuff for the Provisionals sub rosa) is pretty sure this is all made up by the liberal media to deflect criticism from Islam.
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The ex-SAS person has the inside track, defo.
I kept meeting him in London and as well as being extraordinarily well informed he was a master of disguise to boot – always a different face for a different pub.
Seriously it seems like a very sick man was able to inflict a lot of damage because of the easily availability of guns.
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Not sure I am following your logic correctly – why is it that it cannot not be a homophobic attack?
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