Why I don’t think the Orlando massacre was a terror attack

The purpose of a terror attack is to terrorize people. No one, except the politicians — and they don’t really count, do they? — felt any terror after the attack. Anger, yes. We all felt that. Sympathy and compassion for the victims, hell yes! But terror? No.

If you don’t believe me, just look at the number of people that stood in long lines in the sun to donate their blood for the victims. Look at all the vigils being held all around the country and the world to express our courage. Look at all the monuments bathed in the colorful lights of acceptance of and unity with the gay community. If terror was the objective the attacker failed spectacularly.

Let’s call it what it really was — a hate crime. If terror has been the only motivation, the attacker would have gone to any number of soft targets available to him. But he chose a gay club. Why? There are speculations. I won’t go into them. But, you say, he claimed affinity with middle eastern terror groups. Maybe. Maybe because he thought it would give his acts more exposure. I don’t know. Maybe he even wanted to be a terrorist… but, again, if he did, he failed. Spectacularly!

There will be people — politicians and media pundits mainly — trying to manipulate people’s emotions for their personal gain. Don’t fall for it. Don’t go for the easy emotional stunts. Think. Think how we may reduce the chance of this happening again. There is no such thing as a perfect world. There is such a thing as a GOOD world. Let’s strive for it.