Orlando Tragedy: A Message of Queer Love from Kevin Nadal

Dr. Kevin L. Nadal, author of "That’s So Gay! Microaggressions and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community" and Executive Director of CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies, has released a statement of love and solidarity in the wake of the tragedy in Orlando.

On behalf of CLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies, I want to send my condolences to the partners, families, friends, and chosen families of those lost in Orlando this past weekend. As a community, this senseless act has left many of us feeling sad, angry, confused, afraid, and an array of many other emotions. Please know that each of these reactions is normal and part of our healing processes. Please also know that you are not alone in experiencing this vicarious trauma. When something horrific happens to any aspect of our community, we all feel it in some way. The most helpful way to cope with all of our reactions is to cope together.

As the oldest university-based LGBTQ research center in the country, CLAGS is committed to promoting the study of queer and trans people, with the intention of advocating for LGBTQ-affirmative education, visibility, equity, and the opportunity to live our truthful lives. Perhaps the one way that we can heal from this tragedy is to make sure that this education and advocacy perseveres. Please talk to your loved ones and acquaintances about this tragedy, while also informing them about the everyday acts of violence that LGBTQ people face in their daily lives. LGBTQ people, especially trans people, are targeted by violence every single day. LGBTQ people are harassed in their workplaces; ridiculed when they walk down the street; bullied as they walk down their school hallways; and excluded or stereotyped in both hostile and subtle ways.

We must also recognize the ways that heterosexism/homophobia, genderism/transphobia, and sexism/misogyny has contributed to this tragedy. When we teach each other to hate, instead of love, we communicate that discrimination and violence toward certain groups is acceptable. I hope that parents, educators, and other influencers in children's lives talk to their kids about this incident in open and honest ways. Make sure they realize the importance of accepting (and celebrating) those who are different. Do whatever you can to ensure that the next generation learn from the mistakes of our generation.

Further, we cannot condone Islamophobia and blame a religious group for the acts of one man- as this type of blame is what perpetuates systemic racism and false stereotypes. When historically marginalized groups turn against each other, we lose the opportunity to build coalitions and understanding. We also fail to recognize the many people with intersectional identities (in this case our LGBTQ Muslim siblings) who are made to feel like they don't belong in our communities when we allow these dynamics to occur.

In a similar regard, as the names of the victims start to be released and memorialized, let us remember how race, ethnicity, immigration status, and other multiple identities play a role in this tragedy. It appears that most of the victims named are Latina/o/x - which can be attributed to the "Latin Night" theme at Pulse that night. Given this, I send my love to the LGBTQ Latina/o/x community, who may be grieving in a way that I can relate to, but can never fully comprehend.

Finally, as you all know, this horrific event happened during June - a month that is traditionally reserved for us to proclaim our Pride as LGBTQ people. While many of us may be scared to celebrate in this way, I encourage us to celebrate even harder, more visibly, and more loudly, this year. We will be celebrating the lives and memories of the 49 LGBTQIA family members that we lost. We will be celebrating our LGBTQ ancestors who were killed for being who they were, as well as those that had to live their lives quietly in order to avoid persecution. We will be celebrating the LGBTQ trailblazers who fought for us at Stonewall, the Castro, and in every communty around the world. We will be celebrating the people from all over the US and across the world who still don't feel safe to live in their truths. We will be celebrating the fact that our community can grow in solidarity and resilience. Together, we will get through this tragedy - just like we do the multiple of obstacles we encounter everyday.

So with this, I hope you all find the healing that you need during this time. And I hope that we will all be able to support each other however we can. Whether it is a simple text message to check on an LGBTQ friend, or the tightest hug you can possibly give someone, show people you love them and care for them. And we will get through this together.

With all my queer love,
Kevin

Kevin L. Nadal, Ph.D.
Executive Director, CLAGS: Center for LGBTQ Studies
The Graduate Center- City University of New York (CUNY)
www.clags.org