On June 12, 2016, around two A.M., the deadliest mass shooting in American history happened in Orlando, Florida. It was also the nation’s worst terror attack since September 11, 2001. Forty-nine innocent people were murdered while enjoying a night out in a popular Orlando night club.
The horror and devastation of this attack was felt across America. Every news channel was constantly giving updates as more information was discovered and released by the police, doctors from the Orlando hospitals, and government officials. By the afternoon of June 12th, the identity of the coward, who murdered forty-nine innocent human beings and injured fifty-three others, was released.
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Soon many politicians, celebrities, journalists, and average Americans began speaking out about the horrific mass shooting. However, I found that nearly everyone who was speaking out was missing the point.
Forty-nine innocent people were murdered.
Although the details of this attack should not and cannot be ignored, they are less important than the loss of life. However, politicians and nearly everyone else used these people’s deaths as a way to promote their political or personal agenda.
Both sides of the political spectra are guilty of this shameful act, as well as social activists. Although everyone has their opinions on why this hateful crime was committed and how to prevent another one, the focus should have been on honoring the victims, the families, and the men and women who saved so many lives that night.
The most influential people in America were the ones who took the most advantage of this terrible situation. It was almost as if they had been waiting for something like this to happen so that they could finally convince people to agree with them on certain political issues.
The main topics that so many Americans believed to be more important than the loss of forty-nine human lives were gun control and banning Muslims from entering the US because they might be radicalized by Isis.
While all of these issues are rightfully important to be considered based on the details of the terror attack in Orlando, it is baffling that the nation could not come together for just a short amount of time to honor the victims of the deadliest mass shooting in United States history.
The most influential people were among the worst at putting politics before respect of human life. Many liberal politicians, including President Obama and Hilary Clinton, spoke, tweeted, and campaigned about gun control laws. On the other side, Presidential nominee Donald Trump and supporters became even more vocal about banning Muslims from entering the US and attacking Isis.
These political issues were brought up because of the details of the attack. The murderer used a gun to kill the forty-nine people, and he pledged his allegiance to Isis before the shooting.
While no one should ignore either of these issues, the victims should have been given the respect of not being pawns in Washington’s political games at least on the day they were killed. While forty-nine families are mourning and several injured victims are trying to heal physically and emotionally, I hope they know that most Americans see them as the human beings they are and do not approve of using their pain for political or social gain.
The people in that Orlando nightclub lived a horrific nightmare that was caused by hate. Any other details that may have contributed or fueled this terror attack are just that, details. The tragedy was the forty-nine human lives lost, not who the terrorist was or his weapon. Respecting those lives should have been the main topic discussed in the hours following the deadliest mass shooting in United States history. But American leaders could not stop trying to help themselves long enough to give the victims the honor they deserved.
