Reflections in Anger, Part 2

I want to talk about love. But “Love is love is love is…” not what I’m feeling right now. I cannot talk about love until I take the time to talk about all the Anger.

I am continuing to flesh out my frustration with the response in the wake of the Pulse Orlando shooting. Yes, it's been two weeks. But I'm still angry. And I have a lot to say on this matter. See my first post about this here. Next up:

I'm angry because too many people are telling me not to be.

Lots of people (mostly the straight cisgender folk) on my Facebook and Twitter feeds are calling for love right now: All-you-need-is-love, can’t-we-all-just-get-along, we’re-all-pink-on-the-inside sorta stuff.I hear that people want to get to the lovey-dovey hugs and kisses part. Sadness doesn’t feel good. Neither does anger. People want to wrap themselves in peace and equality like a giant, fuzzy rainbow blanket and close out the harsh reality of disparity and oppression.And because they experience privilege, cisgender straight people can do this. To ignore the consistent violence—both at the macro and micro levels—against queer folk is easy. Taking notice is hard. Staying focused on it is hard. And taking action is hard. It takes effort and commitment.It’s not fun being angry. Trust me. I’m a love guy. But right now we gotta use that anger to fuel change. And if you want to placate me with false notions of love, then you are part of the problem.