Orlando: Where’s the empathy?
Image: Photo: Twitter via @CNNMoney
COLLECTIVELY, many LGBTI people and communities across the globe have experienced acutely the聽emotions associated with grief in response to the horrific massacre in Orlando. Unhelpfully, these聽have been exacerbated by the subsequent media positioning and political rhetoric.
A salve to this grief has been many overwhelmingly positive displays of support from allies,聽particularly played out through social media, as well as attendance at vigils and rainbow reflections聽lighting global monuments.
However, what has increasingly frustrated and shocked me, to the point of despair, is the obvious聽lack of empathy, not just from opponents, but from some leaders and media outlets who have long聽claimed to be allies and who understand our struggle.
This experience provides a key learning for us as a community. It exemplifies the ongoing need to be聽visible and vigilant. It tells us we cannot count on progress, we need to create it.
There has been much written and broadcast over the last few days on the attempts to leave LGBTI聽people and places, out of Orlando. In effect, this serves to 鈥榞loss over鈥� our experiences, lessen our聽historical contexts, and render us invisible.
We have had to walk out, shout loud and 鈥渨rite angry鈥� to make sure our identities, our cultures and聽our human condition was in the frame. It has been, at times, like a slap in the face that we have even聽had to go there.
While, on some levels, I understand that these attempts to erase us may be due to a strong desire to聽focus on issues like American gun control and attacks on the societal freedom for all, they are deeply聽offensive and dehumanising.
They do, however, speak to my growing realisation that despite how far we have come in terms of聽recognition, many people still 鈥榙o not get it鈥�. They have appeared incapable of an appreciation and聽empathy for what it feels like to live with, or have lived with, a deep sense of exclusion, invisibility,聽and fear of being subjected to hatred.
Have these people, while they are in positions of civic authority and privilege, taken the time to聽reflect and ask themselves some important questions: What does it feels like to grow up with an聽overwhelming secret? What does it mean to keep the truth hidden from those who you love most聽dearly, out of fear for your own safety or for not wanting those you love to be subjected to societal聽scorn?
Furthermore, have they reflected on what it might be like to be hyper-sensitive to your physicality,聽your voice tone, the full breadth of your emotional responses, at every point of your external聽engagement?
Indeed, have they considered what it means to have to adapt or hide all of those very things that聽make you human, out of a very deep, and very rational, fear?
Safety and freedom of expression around who you are, and who you love, are taken for granted by聽most. So it makes sense that some have not asked themselves these questions. If they had, LGBTI聽people would not continue to face the extraordinary struggles that we continue to face around the聽world, including here in Australia.
Strength, visibility, vigilance and striving for empathy remains as important as ever, no matter how聽far we think we have come.
Nicolas Parkhill is the CEO of ACON.
Religion.
That’s it, in a nutshell.
:(
We are not with conscious raising which has been the most effective tool in our movement.
It is so powerful that the Christians who believe the bible is the literal word of a god refuse to sit down at a table . In fact the response from a baptist preacher was angry-at the suggestion. saying “that would never happen”He clearly was afraid that his faith would be affected. Without his faith he would feeling nothingness.
We are to many “those People” A phrase used by my mother in reference to gays and people of color. Of course it used by many others. When I hear it a chill runs down my back. It means we are less than, they and have no ability to believe or know otherwise.. Yes, it is all about empathy and fear and loathing That it exist in abundance in a political party. How can that be.
On Wednesday 15th there was a Memorial Service in St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney for the victims of Orlando. I was very sceptical about this because Sydney Anglicans (with some exceptions of course) are no friends of the LGBTI Community.
During his Address the Archbishop of Sydney – Most Rev. Dr. Glenn Davies gave an “apology” to our Community. I was astonished and outraged at his words. He said, “…for any contribution that has led-however indirectly-towards violence and prejudice towards LGBTI friends”.
This is the same man and same Church who is actively and vigorously campaigning against Marriage Equality.
This is the same man and the same Church who has banned LGBTI people from holding any position of responsibility within one of his Congregations.
This is a Diocese which has refused to even attend the Lambeth Conference (worldwide meeting of Anglican Bishops) because it is so opposed to the Ordination of people in same-sex relationships that it refuses to even discuss the matter.
To offer such an “apology” was the most meaningless, hollow and hypocritical thing I have ever heard.
Dr. Davies has done no good thing in his relationship with our Community. An apology for his hypocrisy is now needed on top of everything else.