Last week’s tragic attacks on the Boston Marathon, which left a young child and two others dead and scores with injuries that will haunt them the rest of their lives, also left the rest of the country trying to wrap their minds around the evil that spurned the bombings, and the horror that became of them.
Amid the bloody scenes, however, came stories of heroism and hope, which mirrored the spirit that arose from the rubble at Ground Zero on 9/11. It is on days like this, and on the seemingly countless other occasions of mass tragedies the country has experienced, that walls of prejudice and boundaries of discrimination melt — and these are the times that there is real hope for an America based in equality.
Police, fire and rescue officials, as well as civilian runners and supporters, rushed to assist the injured, carrying out victim after victim with gruesome wounds. Instead of focusing on their own safety and getting away from the site for fear of further attacks, an untold number of people helped stem bleeding, transport the wounded and hold the hands of those suffering.
Those people did not question each victim as to whether he or she was gay or straight. They did not leave people who were a different color than themselves to fend for themselves. The doctors and nurses who were called in to help the injured didn’t operate only on those who shared similar beliefs. Tragedy has a way of showing us that, when it really counts, we’re all the same.
In the days and weeks to come, just as it was in the aftermath of 9/11, it is incumbent upon the American public that we remember the Boston Marathon tragedy — not just by paying tribute to the victims. If anything positive were to come out of this incident, it would be if Americans start treating our differences, on a day-to-day basis, with the same irrelevance that was exhibited by the first responders. Maybe someone who watched the footage of the Boston Police Department’s LGBT Liaison risking his life to save others will stop friends from ridiculing a gay coworker. Or a teacher will go the extra mile to teach his or her children to treat all their classmates with respect and dignity. Or a parent will welcome his or her gay son or daughter with open arms, realizing that tomorrow is not promised.
The Boston attack has shown Americans that we are all vulnerable, regardless of our race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation or gender identity. But, we are also all capable of confronting that vulnerability with courage, grace and unity.