In golf, they call it a Mulligan. My tennis buddy used to call it a do-over. It is a chance to make things right, to admit that we can do something better than we did the first time. A tragic event has given me that chance.

On June 12, 2016, James Corden hosted the 70th Tony Awards ceremony. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton had a magnificent evening, winning 11 awards, including Best Musical. As many of you know, Barb and I are big Broadway fans, and I posted a rap blog celebrating the evening. It was fun, well-read, and well-received.

But…Two nights earlier there had been a horrific mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The tragedy was referred to multiple times during the Tony telecast, but I did not mention it in my blog.

A day later a comment appeared on my blog, calling me homophobic. I denied the accusation, but what I could not deny is that I unthinkingly ignored something that was as much a part of the awards ceremony as the awards themselves. I turned a blind eye.

This weekend there was a mass shooting at Club Q, an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs. Five people are dead. As of this writing, no motive has been attributed to the gunman, though CNN quotes Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser saying “I think it’s fair to say — based on the facts — it’s very hard to conceive of a situation where the motive wasn’t generated by hate.”

Last week I wrote of anti-semitism. Today I know it is not enough to speak out about hatred against “my own.” Victimization of any group must be highlighted and defeated. It’s not always easy to do, and not always easy to write about. But no more blind eyes from me. I have used my “ignore it” Mulligan. I pledge to do better in the future.