Seattle’s Entre Hermanos is a place for grieving and support following the Pulse nightclub attack in Orlando
On June 26, thousands took to the streets to celebrate Pride, a protest movement that became a rainbow-hued symbol that love is valid, in all its expressions. There was music, dancing and more glitter than many people would find theoretically possible, but despite the carnival atmosphere, the day had a somber weight to it.
Two weeks earlier, a man walked into the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon. The details of the attack in Orlando have been aired, but they are still not clear. The shooter’s legal identity is known, as is the Islamic faith that he claimed, but who he was and why he committed the brutal act of violence isn’t.
What is certain, however, is the aftermath.
Forty-nine people died, and many more were injured. Because it was the club’s weekly Latin night, the victims were predominately Latinx, a minority within a minority community that sought solidarity on the dance floor. It was a few hours of every week in which their LGBTQ identity and their ethnicity were a source of celebration rather than conflict.
That joy was stolen. LGBTQ and Latinx people shared the grief coast to coast.
Interim Executive Director Luis Fernando Ramirez and the staff of Entre Hermanos, an LGBTQ group focused on the Latinx community, set up an altar at its headquarters in the Central District and invited people to be in the space and grieve less than a week after the news broke.
At the Pride Parade, members of the Latinx LGBTQ community marched with members of the Islamic LGBTQ community to show that love will always rise above hate. Ramirez sat down with Real Change to reflect on Orlando and talk about how the community is coping.
Where were you when you heard about Orlando?
Every year, we host a Pride picnic in South Park. We were there when we heard about it. What happened was very related to us, not just because it affected the LGBTQ Latino community, but also because we host Noches Latinos every Sunday at Neighbors, which is not a Latino bar, it is a gay bar. We’ve been doing this for over 20 years. We decided to not host that night.
How were you feeling that night?
Vulnerable. In a way that even though I was not afraid, it was subconscious. What if something happened here? I was unconsciously thinking something might happen. And feeling vulnerable means that you have no control, so that is horrible. It was sudden, and we were attacked, and I did not feel safe at that moment.
As time has passed and the community has had a chance to come together, has that feeling changed?
Yes. It has changed, knowing that we’re here and we have support from other communities. And not only that, but that we exist and we’re here.
When we ask for acceptance, we also ask for respect. When you accept someone, that’s respect and that’s very, very important. Who you are is the way that you were born. It shouldn’t be the reason for someone to attack you.
This month should be the happiest, because this is when we celebrate. But because of [Orlando], it’s not that way. Our community, specifically our Latino community, because we were attacked and hurt, we feel vulnerable. After the day, we’re getting back to where we’re supposed to be, but still it’s not easy.
This community has been thrust into the spotlight in a way that it hasn’t been before. What do you do with this attention?
Now we know that this is a moment of showing everyone that here we are and everything that we do is for the Latino community. What we do with our space is that everyone is welcome here. If someone needs some help, if someone needs some information, if someone needs some services, we provide them what we can provide. If there is something we cannot provide, we can refer them.
Now being in the spotlight, it’s a moment that we have to, in a certain way, take advantage of the situation. It sounds horrible, but in one hand, there is this message that marriage equality shouldn’t exist because there is something against society. Then other people say, and politicians say, you are pedophiles and you’re not allowed to have children or adoption, specifically. With this tragic event that happened, it’s kind of related. Here you are, the bad ones and you need protection. That’s what you’re denying here. We are vulnerable. It’s why they’re not saying who we are. Being killed because of who you are, that’s horrible. In that bar, people were killed because who they were, not because of what they choose to do or because they were in the wrong place. It wasn’t bad luck. It was who you are.
How do you view the reactions of politicians and the general public after Orlando?
It was very clear. Every day that was passing and everyone was getting more information about what happened. Still they’re not saying anything about that. Politicians are posting on Twitter, ‘Oh this was not a gay bar, this was Latin night.’
On top of this tragedy and what happened, it’s sad to know that we are still denied, that they want us to be erased. That we’re not accepted.
Denying that we exist is something that they’ve been doing for years. It’s not just what happened in Orlando, but so we’re here and they not only deny but erased us. On one hand, they said they did not want us to get married, they did not want us to adopt children, and on the other hand we’re a vulnerable community. These are totally different ideas. They cannot accept that. So how are they going to say that we are to be protected and that we are also vulnerable?
How do you talk to members of your community about what happened?
June being the busiest month for this organization and other organizations, we wrote … an email to people that we’re here. If they’re scared or frightened because of what happened, we show them we’re here for them, that’s enough. They know we’ve always done not just HIV education. They know anything they need they can call us. Maybe there is stuff we cannot provide, but we know where to send them. When they have a problem, they know we can help. We still want to send the same message, not only about this tragedy, but every situation.
The Orlando massacre happened in a nightclub. What do nightclubs represent in LGBTQ culture?
We have hosted Noches Latinos for over 20 years. We have said that this is a place you can be yourself. Even though there is going to be people who are not LGBTQ, they are there because they accept us. And also we say that it is important because most of the community that we serve, they are immigrant and they come from a place that it is difficult to come out.
I’ve heard many, many times that now more than ever we have to come out and say we’re here and we exist, and that’s true. But on the other hand, what’s going to happen with my family, with my parents when I tell them I’m gay? Maybe this is going to be something that isn’t for me. That’s the importance of bars, LGBTQ bars, or an organization like us. We’re not discriminating.
So that’s why it is a safe place. And when we say a safe place, we’re not talking about security. We’re saying that it is a place that we can be and no one is going to judge us. That’s what we say that this is a safe place. No one is going to judge you, no one is going to make fun of you.
Has there been a difference in the way the Orlando shooting was covered in English and Spanish-speaking media?
Yes, I had two or three radio interviews and one on TV in Univision, which is the Spanish [news] we have here. They’re asking the same questions. It is the same feeling about what happened, but it is that feeling that it’s against our community, the Latino community. All of the radio programs are focusing on the Latino community. There’s still a lot of stigma.
How can allies support the LGBTQ and Latinx community?
People post ‘I’m not gay but I do accept gay people’ because everyone has a brother or a sister who belongs to the LGBTQ community. Knowing that people are not keeping to themselves, but can say it out loud, that’s important to us.
We at Entre Hermanos want to say that we need to come together for our community. We can come together for other reasons, we can support each other.