It has been 7 days that we all woke up to the news of the horror of the attack at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando...

It has been 7 days that we all woke up to the news of the horror of the attack at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. The first reports were of 20 dead and dozens injured, later we learned the the real numbers, 49 lives lost, 53 injured and the gunman all dead. That is 103 families that all of sudden were all connected now and for ever.  But it went further then that the hundreds of friends of the victims who never had that chance to say goodbye, and all those at Pulse that somehow managed to escape the bullets, have internal scars tat will never be healed.  I have not given many personal thoughts on what happened that day, as I have worked to deal with my own thoughts, feelings and struggles that were caused by this event.

And there is the rest of the world, we too will never be the same. I will never be the same.  I had one person that I knew, while only from Facebook, yet I still knew them.  I have several friends that lost people close to them and a friend that has spent countless hours since the shooting working with the the Orlando Latino community to deal with this tragedy.  We all will never be the same.

We need to remember that this attack was as against the LGBT community but it also was an attack against the world.  There were gays attacked, there were straights attacked, there were people from all different ethnic backgrounds. They were from different religious backgrounds, men and women attacked, they were, sons and daughters, bothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, grandsons and granddaughters, husbands and wives, aunts and uncles, soul mates, best friends, but most off all they were human beings.  People that had made a difference in peoples lives every day, people that will never be able to forget June 12, 2016.

We still don't know many of the details behind what happened 7 days ago, what was the cause, and hell we cannot even agree on what to call it. We do know that is largest mass shooting in the United States ever and largest attack against in the United States since 9/11.

Was it a hate crime?  Yes it was, 

A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime, often violent, which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her membership (or perceived membership) in a certain social group. 

Was it terrorism? Yes it was, terrorism is the use of violence or threat of violence in order to purport a political, religious, or ideological change.

It can only be committed by non-state actors or undercover personnel serving on behalf of their respective governments.

It reaches more than the immediate target victims and is also directed at targets consisting of a larger spectrum of society.

It is a group that believes that an attack against civilians is an acceptable consequence because it is in order to achieve its greater goal of achieving societal change.

Most of all it was murder, plain and simple.

Yet is the world we live in now, Paris, Brussels, San Berndino, Columbine, Sandy Hook, Kalamazoo and the list goes on and on.  All were people were killed by one or more person that had hate in their hearts. 

Now some of you will think this is crazy, but I want to thank Omar Mateen, because of of all the bad he caused, we have seen so much good, that we may never had seen if he had not walked into Pulse 7days ago and did what he did.

First of all, we have seen that good of humans, we forget that for the most part we are good people and  form all those that  lined up to give blood in the hours after the attack, the millions of dollars given to help those effected by the events, the flowers, notes, candles light and prayers said all across the world.

Second, it has opened the eyes of many of those opposed to the the equality of the LGBT community, that maybe it is now time to realize that LGBT rights are human rights.

Third, it has finally allowed us to have some serious talks and move towards some type of positive change in gun control laws in this country.

Fourth, it may be the biggest thing, It has shown us those that are using this horror as an attempt for their own political gain; Donald  Trump, John McCain, Ted Cruz and all the other politicians (mainly Republicans) that have spent to much time focused on who or what was behind the killing, proposing to single out one ethnic or religious group,  saying more guns are need – not better gun control laws.  Those the who have refused to acknowledge that it was an attack against the LGBT community, and even those who have have said that it was God's will to kill the sinners.  

As for Omar Mateen, we will never know that what the reasons were that mad him walk into that nightclub and do what he did.  It appears he may have  been dealing with struggles with his own sexuality, an internal fear that may have been caused by his own family and religious backgrounds. It appears that he has dealt with hate from his childhood, hate that we may never know why or where it came from.

It, also, appears that Omar Mateen was someone that caught up in the “celebrity” part of his actions.  He was a fan of those that have done similar attacks in the past, tried to tie himself to different groups that may help promote what he had done.  His calls to the media, 911 and postings on social media, all to make sure his name was know to the world.  His name is now one that history will never forget, so I guess he succeeded in that.

I closing, I want to say, I hope that you have realized the need for change in the world.  We need to stand united and fight for change, waving a flag or going to Pride event is not enough. We need to make real changes, we cannot afford for our Donald Trump and others to run this country. We cannot let politicians harm us as humans any longer.  We need to unite as humans, learn to respect others, and agree to disagree on things, we must let those issues the divide us, unite us.  We need to know longer see each other and first look at their sex, race, religion, ethnicity or sexual identity, we need to see each others as humans and that is all.

So today, take some time to remember those lost last week, their families and their friends, all those that were injured, that they continue to heal.  Take 49 seconds of silence to the think, 49 minutes of quiet time to remember, pry or reflect what is good in your life. Give out 49 hugs, send a thinking of you message to 49 people, give out 49 one dollar bills to random people, donate to $49 to a charity and/or political campaign working to make the world  a better place. Most of all do what I am try to heal, never forget what happened in Orlando, but work towards moving on.