‘It’s time to grow up and figure this out.”

June 14, 2016

Late night responds to the massacre in Orlando.

Conan O’Brien:

“I have a shred of common sense and I simply do not understand why anybody in this country is allowed to purchase and own a semiautomatic assault rifle. These are weapons of war and they have no place in civilian life. I have tried to understand this issue from every side and it all comes down to this: Nobody I know or have ever met in my entire life should have access to a weapon that can kill so many people so quickly. These mass shootings are happening so often now that lamenting them afterwards is becoming a national ritual. I do not know the answer. But I wanted to take just a moment here tonight to agree with the rapidly growing sentiment in America that it’s time to grow up and figure this out.”

Stephen Colbert:

“We each ask ourselves what can you possibly say in the face of this horror? But then sadly you realize, you know what to say, because it has been said too many times before. You have a pretty good idea of what most people are gonna say. You know what a president, whoever it is, will probably say. You know what both sides of the political aisle will say. You know what gun manufacturers will say. Even me, with a silly show like this, you have some idea what I will say because even I have talked about this when it has happened before. It’s as if there’s a national script that we have learned, and I think by accepting the script, we tacitly accept that the script will end the same way every time, with nothing changing. Except for the loved ones and the families of the victims, for whom nothing will ever be the same. These people in Orlando were apparently targeted because of who they love. And there have been outpourings of love throughout the country and around the world … love allows us to change the script. So love your country, love your family, love the families and the victims and the people of Orlando.”

Jimmy Fallon

“This country was built on the idea that we do not all agree on everything, that we are a tolerant free nation that encourages debate, free thinking, believing, or not, in what you choose. I as a new father am thinking, ‘What do I tell my kids?’ What do I — what do I tell them about this? What can we learn from this? What if my kids are gay? What do I tell them? Maybe there’s a lesson from all this. A lesson in tolerance. We need to support each other’s differences and worry less about our own opinions. Get back to debate and away from believing or supporting the idea that if someone doesn’t live the way you want them to live, you just buy a gun and kill them, just bomb them up. That is not okay. We need to get back to being brave enough to accept that we have different opinions and that’s okay. Because that’s what America is built on. The idea that we can stand up and speak our minds and live our lives and not be punished for that. Or mocked on the Internet. Or killed by someone you don’t know. This was just one bad guy here. Forty nine good people and one bad guy. And there will always be more good than evil.”

Samantha Bee

“Well, here we are. Now, after a massacre, the standard operating procedure is that you stand on stage and deliver some well-meaning words about how we will get through this together, how love wins, how love conquers hate. And that is great. That is beautiful. But you know what? F— it. I am too angry for that. Love does not win, unless we start loving each other enough to fix our f—ing problems.”

Seth Meyers

“This was an attack on LGBT people fueled by bigotry and hatred. And the shooter was apparently inspired by ISIS. But we’re gonna talk about guns. Because whether the shooter was a homophobe, mentally ill, a terrorist inspired by ISIS or all three, what allowed him to kill so many people on Sunday was his gun. And that means we’re likely about to enter yet another contentious national debate about gun control. Later, when given a chance, Congress consistently chooses nothing as a course of action. So while there were some who were busy callously exploiting the tragedy to spread bigotry and misinformation, let’s keep in our hearts the victims and applaud those acts of love and humanity that poured forth in Orlando and across the country. Because at the end of the day, that’s what will endure.”

Energy. Bring it.

‘Today the obligation is on us to make our own magic. To find two sticks and turn them into a game. To organize our own conversations, find our own connections… most of all, to bring generosity and energy to communities that don’t have enough of either one.

Freedom and leverage is great, but it comes with responsibility. We’re all curators/concierges/impresarios now.

If the association or the chat room or the street corner isn’t what you need it to be, why not make it into the thing we’re hoping for?’

-Seth Godin