(6/17/16) Not about sheep...

June 17th, 2016

I've tried to write a sheep-related post several times this week, but nothing will come out. I know that folks who read this blog aren't looking for sadness or anger, so I've tried to avoid topics that are upsetting in the past, but this time, I can't seem to move beyond my own sadness and anger - so I beg leave of you all to let me get this out. Please be assured that the theme of my blog isn't changing - I'll be back to my regularly scheduled programming next week. But I have to get this out. If I sound angry, it's probably because I am - not at the dear people who read a blog about sheep and crafting, but at...well, you'll get the drift if you continue reading. Thank you for bearing with me.

The massacre of 49 people on June 12th has left many without words - and some with too many words. Before the list of victims was even confirmed, various politicians, religious leaders, and your average Joes seem to have decided to use this horrific crime as an example for why THEIR platform/beliefs/whatever are right, and everyone else is wrong. Rather than pausing to allow authorities to do their jobs - to investigate this crime and give the families answers - these people to whom I refer decided to shout THEIR theories from the rooftops. Because, you know...it's all about them. In their minds.

Guess what - it's NOT.  It's NOT about you and your political campaign.  It's NOT about you and your hatred of Muslims, OR your hatred of Christians. It's NOT about your right to keep and bear arms,  OR your insistence that all guns must somehow be made to disappear - yesterday.  It's NOT about you and your barely concealed distaste for the LGBTQIA community, or your mock sorrow that all of those "unfortunate people died while in pursuit of a sinful lifestyle" (I kid you not...a local asshat wrote that).

Unless YOU had some kind of magical connection to the shooter's brain, you don't know why he did this. Let me repeat this - you do NOT know. Yes, you can speculate - experts on human behavior and psychology can give insight. But using him and his vile actions as fodder for your political and ideological cannons is, quite frankly, bullshit. So stop it.

I listed above what this crime is not about - here is what it IS about - it's about these people and their families (thank you to the City of Orlando website):

Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old
Amanda Alvear, 25 years old
Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old
Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old
Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old
Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old
Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 years old
Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25 years old
Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old
Cory James Connell, 21 years old
Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old
Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old
Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old
Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old
Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old
Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old
Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old
Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old
Frank Hernandez, 27 years old
Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old
Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old
Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old
Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old
Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25 years old
Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old
Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old
Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old
Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old
Kimberly Morris, 37 years old
Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old
Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 years old
Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25 years old
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old
Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old
Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old
Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old
Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27 years old
Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old
Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old
Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24 years old
Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old
Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old
Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old
Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old
Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old
Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old
Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old
Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old
Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old

Please...take a few minutes and read these names, out loud or to yourself. Remember these people. They were just like you and me - they laughed, they cried, they celebrated, they mourned, they rejoiced, they struggled, and they loved.

Earlier I wrote, "I'll be back to my regularly scheduled programming next week." And it's true, I will. I will continue to feed and care for my sheep - I'll keep knitting, crocheting, and spinning - I'll write about these things and share my progress and my life with you all. It will be a hell of a lot more difficult for the victims' families to get back to their regular lives - in fact, their lives will never be the same. Please...remember them. Remember the survivors who will carry physical and emotional scars from that night for the rest of their lives. Remember the police, EMTs, nurses, and doctors who worked tirelessly to save lives. Remember the families, and remember the Pulse victims who were there to dance.

Pulse Victims Fund
How Orlando is Helping the Pulse Shooting Victims
How to Help Orlando Shooting Victims
On Ravelry? Check out this group - Knitters for MCCNY