.@realdonaldtrump: "Remember this: radical Islam is anti-woman, anti-gay, and anti-American."
Fact check: True.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) June 13, 2016
I’m noting a lot of media coverage is focusing on the LGBT angle of this attack and how we’re going to protect members of the LGBT community from future attacks. (The local station even went down to an area here called “The Grove” to discuss how they planned on acting in response to this.)
In the short term (with tons of gay pride events coming up in many large cities) this might make a certain amount of sense. But in the long term it misses the bigger picture to focus on an identity politics movement.
A stopped clock is right twice a day, and when Obama gave his phoned in speech, he said this “was an attack on all Americans.” That’s very true. Yes, this attacker targeted an LGBT club. The San Bernardino shooter on the other hand targeted coworkers. The next attacker might decide they hate malls, or Jews or something else.
ISIS inspires based on anger. Sometimes they manage to inspire someone like the Boston Bombers who targeted the public at large. Other times they redirect hate that’s already there and turn it into violence.
I’ll say something else too. I don’t know what happened in the club for 3 hours. I can’t (and won’t) criticize those who were there. But if this is the new normal, steel yourself because the world will need more heroes. I don’t want to have to choose, but I hope I’d have the courage to die standing and fighting as opposed to on my knees. Remember the example of those on Flight 93.
