Searchlight Logo
special_image

    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
Editorial
June 17, 2016

The Orlando massacre – Bigotry Squared

On Monday, June 13, 2016 in Orlando, Florida, hundreds of revelers attending a club that catered to Orlando’s gay and lesbian community met the incontestable evil: a man who, harnessing the twin bigotries of religious and homophobic intolerance, assigned to himself the role of Angel of Death and armed with a battlefield weapon murdered 49 souls, grievously wounded fifty more, and finally left this earth guided by a police bullet to his head.

How one wishes that bullet had come sooner! A lot more innocent lives would have been saved that night. How one wishes the police never had to fire that shot! And everyone who died that night would still have been alive today.{{more}}

The conflict between these two wishes points to the moral paralysis within which we often find ourselves when we are confronted with evil beyond measure. On the one hand, we hope even though all the evidence points to the contrary that just a different choice made by one of the victims or the police would have reduced the savagery that has been unleashed against us. On the other hand, we hope vainly that the killer had never entered that endless midnight of despair where he rationalized and celebrated his decision to launch his murderous rage against unsuspecting party goers.

Grief is the common denominator that links both responses. We grieve the loss of lives; we grieve for shattered families; we grieve for communities whose collective memories are forever scarred. And time is the only balm that can heal the wounded. That healing process would be long. More immediate however is the necessity of understanding the motivations of the killer and what we in the Caribbean can and must learn from the barbarism visited upon gays and lesbians partying at a private club.

The killer declared that he gave his allegiance to ISIS, a terror organization waging war across much of the Middle East, but in particular Iraq, Syria, and Libya, who have also demonstrated the capacity to actively organize terror strikes in Europe or inspire attacks in the USA. It is crucial to understand that ISIS justifies their violence as a fulfillment of what their faith, Islam demands of them. It is also crucial to understand that the vast majority of the world’s Muslims reject ISIS’ interpretations of the demands of their faith. Hence, despite the carnage that ISIS inspired attacks sometimes generate in the West, ISIS has killed and continues to kill far more Muslims than non-Muslims in their battle to make their interpretation of Islam ascendant among Muslims. So while it is true that ISIS finds Christians, Jews, Hindus, Rastas, and any believer in something other than Islam to be in grave error, it is equally true that they do not tolerate interpretations of Islam that differ from theirs.

Broadly speaking, this kind of religious intolerance is alien to St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) and the broader Caribbean. Our Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists, Evangelicals, Seventh Day Adventists, Rastafarians, Spiritual Baptists, and of course Muslims practice their faith without fear. Of course, deep religious differences exist. But no one is under illusion that they can or should impose their views on anyone else at the pain of death.

One should be equally clear eyed however that the killer chose a gay and lesbian club as his target. That choice was not random. It reflects instead the deep hostility that many Muslims have towards gays and lesbians. In this respect, the killer’s views that homosexuality is an abomination that must be erased from the earth has deep resonance within the Caribbean. Every Caribbean society criminalizes homosexuality. Our rejection of homosexuality is written into our laws. Today this bigotry stands alone with the laws more often ignored than enforced. With the Islamic State however, it is bigotry squared with religious extremism and homophobia woven together in a single expression of hate. It is our hope that in SVG and the wider Caribbean we never knit them together. For as we have seen in Florida, in that way lies evil.

  • FacebookComments
  • ALSO IN THE NEWS
    Villa woman in  hospital after being stabbed over 20 times
    Front Page
    Villa woman in hospital after being stabbed over 20 times
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    Police are said to be carrying out investigations into the stabbing of Rafia Sardine, a 20-year-old female of Villa. Reports are that Sardine, a FLOW ...
    RSVGPF most hacked of gov’t agencies
    Front Page
    RSVGPF most hacked of gov’t agencies
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    In St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), an analysis has found that the most hacked government entity was the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Polic...
    Event staged locally to mark Africa/ Caricom Day
    Front Page
    Event staged locally to mark Africa/ Caricom Day
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    Leaders of Governments and institutions from countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and the continent of Africa, gathered at the weekend for ...
    PM, proud of his constituents
    Front Page
    PM, proud of his constituents
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, is proud of the persons in his constituency who continue to aim for higher education. Dr Gonsalves is the parliame...
    Van conductor to be sentenced for beating pregnant ex-girlfriend
    Front Page
    Van conductor to be sentenced for beating pregnant ex-girlfriend
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    A van conductor, who beat his five- months pregnant ex-girlfriend after she refused to get back with him, has been remanded pending sentencing. Onez J...
    King selected again for the ULP in West St George
    News
    King selected again for the ULP in West St George
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    To the haunting timeless reggae melody of Jimmy Cliff’s classic ‘Journey’, Curtis King, who was selected as the candidate for the Unity Labour Party (...
    News
    King selected again for the ULP in West St George
    News
    King selected again for the ULP in West St George
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    To the haunting timeless reggae melody of Jimmy Cliff’s classic ‘Journey’, Curtis King, who was selected as the candidate for the Unity Labour Party (...
    Steel wielding Lowman’s Hill man to be sentenced tomorrow
    From the Courts, News
    Steel wielding Lowman’s Hill man to be sentenced tomorrow
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    A Lowman’s Hill man who struck another villager in his head with a piece of steel will know his fate tomorrow, September 10, 2025. Kevin Roberts, 25, ...
    Minister of Information Technology  emphasises the importance of Cybersecurity
    News
    Minister of Information Technology emphasises the importance of Cybersecurity
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    Robust cybersecurity must be at the heart of the digital transformation that is currently taking place in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) says Min...
    Entities team up to boost disaster communication capacity
    News
    Entities team up to boost disaster communication capacity
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    The Climate Change Resilience Network (CCRN) in collaboration with the Youlou Radio Movement (YRM) recently embarked on a disaster preparedness initia...
    Ministry of Health to get more dialysis machines
    News
    Ministry of Health to get more dialysis machines
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment, is to obtain three more Heamodialysis machines as part of the revolution in the healthcare secto...

    E-EDITION
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Subscribe Now
    • Interactive Media Ltd. • P.O. Box 152 • Kingstown • St. Vincent and the Grenadines • Phone: 784-456-1558 © Copyright Interactive Media Ltd.. All rights reserved.
    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok