When bartender Michael Anderson started his Saturday shift at Club Q, he didn't expect to become another witness to America's mass shooting epidemic.
by Meredith Bennett-Smith
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When bartender Michael Anderson started his Saturday shift at Club Q in Colorado Springs, he didn't anticipate becoming yet one more witness to America's agonizing, infuriating mass shooting epidemic. But as a man with a long gun started shooting into the crowd, Anderson's life, and those of dozens of others in the town's queer community, instantly changed. He ducked behind the bar as glass went flying, and eventually became trapped with two others in a small patio room off the main bar. "We were all just huddled together, praying that it would end," Anderson told MSNBC. "I felt like a fish trapped in a barrel." By the time the shooting — stopped prematurely by the heroic actions of clubgoers — was over, at least five people had been killed and at least 25 others wounded. On June 12, 2016, a man walked into Pulse, a gay club in Orlando, Fla., and killed 49 people. This weekend, once again, LGBTQ Americans woke up to the feeling that their safe spaces aren't very safe. Once again, LGBTQ Americans must reckon with the fact that their identity, and the people they love, marks them for violence. And once again, LGBTQ Americans are ready to rebuild. "This community is strong, this community is resilient," Anderson concluded. "I will not let this incident put me back into a closet." Watch Anderson's full interview with MSNBC's "American Voices" here. |
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