Sudbury LGBT activist reflects on Orlando shooting
When she saw the news about the Orlando shooting, Rita said, “the bottom fell out of my world. ”
OLink said they were on "quite a high" after the Timmins festival but when she went to pay for her meal, she stood transfixed at the news coming out of Orlando, Florida.
It was then she said, "the bottom fell out of my world."
An active member of Sudbury's LGBT community, OLink said she felt a "curious mixture of shock, emptiness, and loss of hope" at the tragedy.
The price of a kiss
"On the trip home, we talked a lot, and we tried to...what can we do?" OLink said, "we had survivor's' guilt, in a sense."
"And the terrible thing this attack is the price of a kiss," she said, "two men dared to show affection like any other couple would."
"Not only they, but so many others died over a kiss. That shouldn't be."
On the drive back to Sudbury, OLink reflected on how well her own community has treated one another.
"Yes, there are parts that aren't that good, things happen here," she said, "but compared with what our neighbours go through, this is heaven."
Despite its reputation as a hardscrabble northern town, OLink said that visitors from southern Ontario have remarked on how open and accepting Sudbury is.
When friends from Toronto ask where a 'safe' restaurant or a 'safe' hotel is, OLink can proudly reply 'anywhere I choose.'
Although there is still resistance in Sudbury, OLink said there is far more acceptance.
edited/packaged by Casey Stranges