I sit here with my mind in a blur. It’s been a hell of a week in Atlanta. I am going to assume the reader by now has heard of the tragic and hateful events that transpired earlier this week.
(However, in case you’ve been living under a rock, go get up to speed.)

I echo what a lot of other people have said, hate has no home in ATL. None whatsoever.

What I do want to talk about is how I personally feel about all of this and how it relates to me.

As a gay man, I have had my fair share of hate, scorn, epithets and what have you thrown at me. It’s not fun. In my travels here, I have driven past the places where this all happened lots of times. I never though anything of them. They are legitimate businesses ran by good people. To have so many lives cut short by a terrorist claiming he was trying to remove sources of his sex addiction is just the most ridiculous thing I have heard in quite a while.

How can a person live with themselves after that.

Gah. I don’t know.

There is lots more to digest out of this, but I don’t want to ramble on. A lot of other people have already said what I am thinking.

Let my good friend Ron educate you a bit:

If you’re having to explain your use of creed or nationality-specific terminology in place of globally-accepted vernacular (“China virus” or “Wuhan flu” v COVID-19, for example), you needn’t bother. You’re, at minimum, a “tad” racist. #StopAsianHate #StopAAPIHate

— Ron Roberts (@ImRonRoberts) March 17, 2021

Atlanta is strong. We won’t let hate win. I know this place is a good one. I still love it here and we will go forward stronger. Say their names.