No room for mass shootings

I started to write a status about the white gunman in Florida who targeted the LGBTQa parade. I was confused about why he wasn't labeled. And then I stopped. I had already shared a status about how the first gunman didn't represent Islam. I mean, the guy doesn't pray and he doesn't fast. Does that mean he isn't Muslim? Well, no. Okay, that means that he represents Islam. Well, again, no. Okay, so now we're confused. You have to defend your religion, which is followed by 2 billion people, to condemn the action of a few. Well, no, I don't. Want to know why? Because as we've heard time and time again. The action of the few does NOT define the whole.

Here we go again. 

Let's step back a moment and think about why we are so quick to associate an entire religion because one guy, who doesn't even practice, based on what his parents said, did something atrocious. Want to know what our religion teaches? Ask your Muslim neighbor, coworker, friend. They'll happily tell you. Take a look at their actions. REALIZE THAT WE ARE ALL THE SAME. How? Simple. We are trying to make it to tomorrow by getting through today. Is there a rotten apple in the bunch? Yep. Are there other rotten apples out there? Yep. Should we give these rotten apples lots of fan for the horrible things they've done? Nope.

How about instead of sharing the names of these gunmen and their pictures, how about not giving them fame and letting others know that if they do the same, they too will get their 5 minutes. Maybe we should share the names of those whose lives have been taken. Maybe we should celebrate them by showing their faces instead of their body count. Maybe we should learn about their life stories instead of those who took it. 

What a horrible thing to take from someone. Their life. The lives of those left behind. The lives of those they could have helped. We don't know where good is hiding. How dare someone think that it's okay for them to take away that opportunity. 

My prayers are with all of those who have lost their lives because someone else's was filled with hate. My prayers are with those who have lost someone they love because someone else thought that a human life was theirs to take. 

May God have mercy on us all. Amen.