A few Orlando responses

There have been a lot of responses to the Orlando shootings, some awesome, some, well, they’re the sort I wouldn’t comment on. But these are a few of the many that caught my eye over the past few days.

Up first, the video up top, which is President Obama’s latest Weekly Address. I think he struck the right tone, but I especially thought his remarks on how important parents are in fostering equality and tolerance, and giving unconditional love. I thought it was good.


Next up, “Dear World, We're Not Afraid”, a video put together by YouTuber Arielle Scarcella, in which she and other YouTubers deliver a simple response together (I subscribe to several of their Channels). These sorts of things can be too serious sometimes—dreary, even—but this one avoids all that, in part by keeping it short. I think it works and is nicely done.


Next, one of the explaining videos from Vox, “The Orlando mass shooting is a reminder of why Pride is so important”. These videos try and explains sometimes complicated current events and issues, and to put them into context. I think this video does all that, and reminds us of how much work is left to do.


Finally, something very different: “The Orlando massacre terrorist will fail. Here's why” by British journalist Owen Jones. He made headlines when he walked off a SkyNews panel discussion [VIDEO] when the pompous host refused to accept that the attacks were against LGBT people, and not some generic, unspecified, amorphous group called “people”. Were I Owen, I’d probably have done the exact same thing.

In the video I’m sharing, he says: “The terrorists who carried out America's worst ever shooting in Orlando will fail just as a neo-Nazi terrorist did 17 years ago in London when he detonated a nail bomb outside the Admiral Duncan pub. The LGBT community will mourn, will cry and will rage but ultimately we will win and the love of LGBT people all over this planet will burn even brighter because of what he did.” Ultimately, he’s right, even if it may not seem like it at the moment. Sadly, the comments on YouTube are filled with endless, vile, spittle-flecked anti-Muslim rage. Sadly, that’s not a surprise.

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These are a representative sample of what I’ve looked at this week. There were a few more, but I didn’t keep the links, as in those early days after the shooting, I was… distracted.

It’s now been one week since the Orlando shootings.