If it’s really 2016, why does it feel like we are moving backwards? A big WHY about Orlando

The shock was huge. I never expected in the year 2016 to turn on my TV and watch all this senseless terror. I personally don’t know whether it was just an act of hate or it was related to ISIS. What frightens me is that innocent people were targeted by this attack. Utterly innocent people who were just having fun at a gay club in Orlando USA, at a time when the pride festivals start all over the world.

Is it really that dangerous to be something completely different, something other than those political  and religious fanatics? The witch-hunt has to stop right here. We have come a long way as human beings and it is now a given that people should be free to be who they want to be. People should be free to look how they wanna look, to have the sexual orientation they have and to be the person they want to be.

It is preposterous that after all these years of progress, it looks like we are moving backwards. We have lost our humanism. Our values and our convictions are in crisis. Hate and bigotry have taken center stage in everyday life. There is not enough culture and education to counteract the ignorance and misanthropy. Are we letting our hate drive us to unspeakable acts? And when will this end? What was the message these fanatics tried to give us? The only message I got out of all this tragedy is that religions are not helping a modern society prosper. A society that is open enough to embrace all people but is being betrayed by religion extremism. It’s a shame!

Panagiotis Giouvanas

(Translation: Nikos Koulousios)