I had never been to Pulse. Bars and clubs are just not my thing in general. I’d feel so uncomfortable in any location. However, i had driven past it many times, and remember its iconic sign, all of course before going blind myself. I knew people who went to pulse all the time, as well as other gay bars in Orlando. It seemed to certainly be a staple in the rotation. And while it really isn’t talked about much, straight people go to gay bars. From what I can tell, it seems to be more of my female friends who are comfortable, but if a whole crew is going, I’ve seen straight guys go because they are comfortable. June 12th, 2016 changed all of that. the day before Orlando had just mourned another tragic shooting, an artist named Christina Grimme was murdered by a psychotic fan, who then turned the gun on himself. And I did know someone who was there for that. I did seem to luck out and not directly know anyone who was at Pulse, though many of my friends seemed to know and have lost more than a few friends. I saw them go from memorial to memorial. i attended a few, including From Broadway With love. it’s not my story, not my experience, but I was so close to it. A friend of mine had their birthday that day, and was planning to go to Pulse, but got sidelined by food poisoning. I wonder how many others thought they were inconvenienced at the time by a delay, only to realize later how close they came. 49 people who showed up to dance died. They just wanted to have fun with friends in a safe and welcoming environment, and that safety was ripped away when yet another psycho with a gun found it necessary to spread his hate by bringing fear to a place of joy. People’s lives are forever changed. Since then, I’ve met a few people who were there, and I can’t even begin to imagine. And, this happens, all the time, all over this country. it isn’t always a gay bar, sometimes it is a classroom of elementary school kids. terror, and we do nothing to stop it. that’s why Jeannette is so important as a documentary, for the same reason in 2002, Michael Moore made bowling For Columbine.

These are just regular people thrown into these tragedies. Those that die are mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, but also really normal jobs, from theme park employees, bartenders, real estate agents, teachers, and nurses. That means the survivors are just as regular.

I mean this in the nicest way possible, but the only thing that makes Jeannette maybe more interesting is that she survived a tragedy. but, that’s the point. the point is that she’s just trying to live, and trying to figure out how to move forward. these people never asked to become activists, or figureheads for campaigns against gun violence in America. not every LGBTQ individual wants to become the face of a “No Hate” campaign. Some people just have kids to raise, bills to pay, and family to help. And as Jeannette tries to piece her life together, we see all of that, but there’s a constant cloud that looms in terms of a dark cloud that now identifies her. she is now part of an every growing population of survivors of mass shootings, and as they become more a part of society, it is still so important to remind everyone how they are just trying to live a life. They had a life before, and they were able to go back to what remains of it. Somehow, Jeannette picks up the pieces, even as more tragedy looms in the forms of hurricanes, and a shooting at Marjorie Stoneman-Douglas High School. She becomes witness to the eventuality that another psycho with a gun will find another random target, and these senseless crimes seem to never stop.

Yesterday was the 9th anniversary of the Pulse shooting, and where I work in real life honored those lost, and had signs with the names of the 49 victims, so to remind all they will not be forgotten. This community stops and honors their memory every year, and as we close the door on the building that was Pulse, after letting survivors and victims families inside for closure, Orlando hopes to build something that represents 49 people. In the wake of the shooting, we saw #KeepDancing, #OnePulse, and #OrlandoStrong. Yesterday, our Governor issued a statement, but removed references to the fact that this was a hate crime against the LGBTQ community. Hate is still out there, and while love is love is love, it still takes people like Jeannette to allow a camera to track their recovery process, and show those who are lucky enough to have avoided a tragedy like this, what it is like to be branded a survivor. In every room, Jeannette will always be a mother, a lesbian, Puerto Rican, and everything she was before. But, she now has one other identifying characteristic, and the only way things will ever change, is if we keep reminding people that these are not crisis actors. These people are real, and they deserved to live. They all deserved to live. June 12th, 2016 should have ended in a last call, with everyone heading home safely.

We have to do better.

Fresh: final Grade: 9.1/10