Lumia Statement on Club Q Colorado Springs Shooting

Lumia Statement on Colorado Springs Shooting

By Noelle Cordeaux, Lumia Coaching CEO

Another day, another shooting in the United States of America.  

I am weary of writing. I am weary of shedding tears; of feeling helpless anger. I am weary of comforting friends and colleagues, constantly impacted by the trauma of senseless hate. 

There has been an orchestrated rise in hate speech from public figures, political pundits and lawmakers over the last several years targeting many facets of intersectional and marginalized identity: immigrants, folks of color, folks who are differently abled, and the LGBTQ+ community. This has resulted in a steady and observable pattern of increased violence towards members of these communities that has caused irreparable loss. 

On November 19, 2022, just before midnight, an armed 22-year-old entered an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and opened fire, killing at least five people and injuring 18 others. 

This is a devastating occurrence for the LGBTQ + community. Queer folks must often make choices, day to day, even minute to minute as to whether or not it is safe to live out their identity. People were assembled at the Q nightclub in Colorado Springs on Saturday night to dance, experience joy, and feel the safety that this space and the arms of community offered.  

Not only has life been so cruelly robbed from those who perished and those who love them, but a shudder has rippled through the LGBTQ + community the week before Thanksgiving in the US. This is a holiday that is notoriously difficult for many LGBTQ + folks as they grapple with notions of real and chosen family alongside visibility, safety and now, a grim reminder that it may not be safe to do something as simple as be social, go out to dance, and see friends.

‍As coaches we need to constantly turn our dial to compassionate and empathetic presence, and in this case step into allyship. 

Members of the LGBTQ + community and those who love them need to feel support from those who stand in unity right now. Just because someone is silent does not mean they are not suffering. Reach out to your queer friends, reach out to parents of queer kiddos. Ask how they are doing. Hold space as you have been trained to as a coach - without assumption or suggestion. 

‍According to our code of ethics as coaches we can not remain silent. It is not enough to merely avoid bad; we must push ourselves to a higher level and enact good.  

Here, this comes in the form of raised voices against violence, hate and bigotry. Time is marching on and the voices that call for violence and erasure must be met with firm resistance. Enough is enough.

The future belongs to all of us, and I am afraid of the legacy of fracture and discord that we are leaving behind for the next generation. 

Coaching as a discipline believes in futures where all people can be free of narrow definitions and expectations for existence that are imposed by those who seek to oppress, and control in order to maintain power. Coaching believes that all have the right unfettered flourishing, to live and love and thrive to our fullest through all the days of our lives. 

As we gather this week across the U.S., please hold your LGBTQ+ family in your hearts and speak up and out against hate as you are able.