MTV aired a documentary about Pulse survivors. Since I don’t have a TV, I put out a call on Facebook, to see if anyone wanted a guest to watch the show. Melissa Marie let me know that they would air the show at Falcon Bar in Thornton Park. I arrived early and got a high top table with a view of the bar and The TVs.
The documentary was hard to watch in the beginning since it is all so close to home. Survivors got to meet people who helped them that night live on camera. Others visited memorials to honor friends they had lost. Two young women from Philadelphia had been visiting Orlando on the night of June 12th. They were both shot on their only experience of Orlando nightlife. Each woman was recovering in their own way. One seemed able to block the memories to feel secure day to day while the other relives the experience daily and is seeking on going counseling. Both are far from a full recovery.
Although the subject was raw and visceral, the show tended to feel a bit like a reality TV show in which incidents are manufactured for the sake of the drama. I’m glad I go to see the documentary however, which offered insights in to the emotional impact of surviving such a horrific public mass shooting. Only yesterday a gunman opened fire in a Fort Lauderdale airport. The gun was in his checked in baggage, which is legal as it turns out. I’ve always been afraid to even pack a shaving razor in my luggage since 9-11. This insane gun violence is out of control and any attempts at gun reform are always shot down.