The full horror of events in Orlando, Florida, in the early hours of one Sunday morning (June 12th, 2016) when a lone gunman opened fire in a gay nightclub, killing 49 people and injuring many others, some seriously, is only now starting to hit home among gay communities worldwide.
If, as it would appear, the perpetrator was inspired by so-called Islamic State, it begs the question how many others are being similarly radicalised and groomed to commit other outrages just about anywhere in the world?
Gay or straight, we cannot be intimidated by the threat of terrorism even if, as many have discovered to their cost, it is no empty threat. All we can do is remain vigilant, report any suspicions to the appropriate authorities, and get on with our lives.
Yes, I have said much the same thing on other posts and in other poems, but as my mother (and my English teacher) used to say some 50+ years ago, if something is worth saying, it is always worth repeating. Moreover, I do try to vary how I express much the same thing in poems, blog posts, and everyday conversation. (If I fail, I can only agree that I must be one of the most boring people on the planet.)
Tragically, crimes against humanity are nothing new and have been repeated, in one form or another around the world, through the ages; more often than not, they are politically motivated. Rubens’ painting, ‘Massacre of the Innocents’ relates to Herod the Great’s ordering the killing of every male child in Bethlehem in a desperate attempt to kill baby Jesus whom he saw as a potential threat after a visit by the Magi; according to the Gospel of Matthew. [Photo copied from the Internet.]
This poem is a villanelle.
This poem is a villanelle.
(ANOTHER) CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY or G-A-Y, NO STRANGERS TO HATE CRIME
A sickness of the human condition,
A sickness of the human condition,
spread by terrorist propaganda
strikes at the heart of civilisation
Gay folks, out and about, having fun,
ever trolled by social trauma,
a sickness of the human condition
In a Land of the Free, Constitution
promotes a gun-toting agenda,
strikes at the heart of civilisation
Many oppose tighter gun legislation
in the light of the War on Terror,
a sickness of the human condition
Few voice concerns for a generation
where a biased, foxy, media
strikes at the heart of civilisation
Wherever discrimination and division
fuelling a socio-cultural burner,
a sickness of the human condition
strikes at the heart of civilisation
Copyright R. N. Taber, 2016
(London, June 14, 2016)
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