It would have been like any other Sunday morning on June 12 — one where I wake up knowing that life is good and that everything is exactly how it should be. Only, it wasn’t.
Because that morning, evil took over and life will never be the same again.
I say this with a broken and grieving heart, and I say it thinking about the bereaved families of victims of the worst mass shooting in American history. This pain will be in my heart forever.
That Saturday night at the Pulse nightclub was supposed to be a special night for Latinos in Orlando, Florida. It was their Latino-themed night. I heard Puerto Rican drag queen Kenya Michaels was set to be one of the guests (former Ru Paul’s Drag Race contestant Yara Sofia later reported that Michaels made it out safely).
I’ve never been to this club but I know how exciting a themed night is, especially the ones dedicated to Latinos, whose culture resembles mine. I am sure there were a lot of dancing and fun times. Surrounded by families and friends in a place where they ‘believed’ they are free of judging eyes and hatred. I bet they felt safe just being themselves, but they didn’t know.
They didn’t know that was their last dance.
Officials confirmed that 49 people were dead and 53 wounded after gunman wielding an assault-type rifle and a handgun opened fire inside Pulse. I was shocked beyond belief. How could this happen? How can such evil exist?
Days passed and it became evident that I am just one out of thousands of people asking the same questions. Then there were stories of survivors painfully recalling that fateful night. They describe every horrifying detail that, I can just assume, would haunt them for eternity.
“I look over, and he shoots the girl next to me. And I’m just there laying down and I’m thinking ‘I’m next, I’m dead.’ So I don’t know how, but by the glory of God, he shoots toward my head but it hits my hand, and then he shoots me again and it hits the side of my hip. I had no reaction. I was just prepared to just stay there laying down so he won’t know that I’m alive,” Angel Colon, one of the survivors told the press.
Officials and public figures from across the world have expressed condemnation and shock over the tragedy. The outpouring of sympathies from all over the world was reassuring. Outside Los Angeles’ City Hall on Monday evening, June 13, Lady Gaga stood in solidarity alongside the grieving LGBT community she has long supported, delivering a tearful speech:
“We mourn the tragic loss of these innocent, beautiful people. Let’s all today pledge an allegiance of love to them and to their families who are suffering so deeply. They are sons and daughters. They were fathers and mothers. They are all our brothers and our sisters. But tonight I will not allow my anger and outrage over this attack to overshadow our need to honor those who are grieving truly for their lost ones; lost members of the LGBT community,” Gaga said, then read aloud the names of each victim.
Nick Jonas was also one of the thousands to pay his respects to the Orlando, Florida shooting at a vigil in NYC on Monday, June 13. The singer opened up about attending and speaking at the tribute during a radio interview with Elvis Duran.
He said, “I am so humbled, and I think more than anything I just want to speak from the heart and say that I woke up yesterday to the news and like all of you, my heart broke.”
The vigil was held at the historic Stonewall Inn, a bar that helped launch the gay civil rights movement in 1969. Supporters flooded the streets and held rainbow flags in solidarity with the LGBT community.
Numerous reports and speculations kept pouring in regarding the motive of the suspect but I have but one thing to say: whether it is a terrorist attack or a hate crime against the LGBT community, I hope that we all remember that countless lives have been lost and ruined. This is not the time to categorize people. They are humans just like everybody else and they deserve justice and respect that they have long been fighting for. I hope the government will do everything in their power to do the right thing. I feel sorry for their families and friends. I can only wish that they will find peace through all of this.
To the families and friends of the victims, I sincerely send my deepest sympathies.
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Monet Lu is a Marikina-born, award-winning celebrity beauty stylist with his own chain of Monet Salon salons across Southern California and Las Vegas, Nevada. Ultimately, Monet is known as an all-around artiste who produces sold-out fashion and awards shows as well as unforgettable marketing campaigns. Monet is also the founder of the revolutionary all-natural beauty products such as Enlighten, your solution to discoloration. To contact Monet, please visit www.monetsalon.com or email him at [email protected]
