Coming Together After Tragedy

The greatest horror isn't what we imagine to be, it is the end of someone’s life that we know. The horror that we must live without them in today’s society, alone. We cannot fathom the idea of our loved one, our friend, a person we knew who has such a bold and thriving life, just disappear.

This past week, that occurred.

A fellow Kentuckian, Dino Dizdarević, was suddenly and quickly taken from this world in a senseless way. His death, untimely as it is, reminds all members of the gay community, and even the heterosexual community, the fears and hatred of all kinds still exist.

I had the great pleasure of knowing Dino from our time at the Commonwealth program called Governor’s Scholars Program, a five-week intensive program designed to bring together the greatest minds and diverse people from this Commonwealth and to teach them. Dino was a fellow GSP member of the 2006 class at Centre College.

His death, and the many before it with the many—unfortunately—more to come, only reminds us too well that we are not safe in society.

Yes, we can identify those that would do such a thing and we can also label them a specific kind, and sometimes, we accidentally put good people in that label. No, I’m not saying that we can’t despise their hatred of us, but what I am saying that sometimes, we can look too narrowly.

Death is a terrible thing, especially when we don’t see it coming and when we never expect it. But what does it highlight for us as a community? We know and see the vitriol of hatred that spews from radical right-wing and some more right of center members, but no matter what the issue, we as a community must come together.

We also need to remind ourselves that we can take precautions to protect ourselves and loved ones. We just need to remember that we can make a difference, we can be more than what a small, fringe population believes. And yes, it is a small fringe group that hates and demoralizes us, but as is with history, things fade in to the back. Yet, at what cost.

My friend’s death brought me to a place that I haven’t felt in a very long time, and it scares me. It scared my parents to see me like that. But the one thing that I can take away from this tragedy is that our fight is far from over and it is not a lose-lose scenario. We can make a difference, and we will.

Dino’s death taught me to live life, no matter the cost, because that’s what he did. He lived and even though it was short, he lived those years with purpose, as should we.

Remember, watch your surroundings, trust your instincts, tell someone—even if it’s a text or a quick phone call—of where you’re going and when to expect you again, and always look out for others, even if you don’t know them.

Evil is the product of the ability of humans to make abstract that which is concrete. – Jean-Paul Sartre

Evil exists, but we can extinguish it. We can take every death and make them proud of the accomplishments we make.