"Thoughts and prayers": For those who don't care enough to actually DO something

While it’s customary for social media users to express sympathy for the victims in any given tragedy, the tag #thoughtsandprayers quickly took on another meaning following Wednesday’s shooting attack against a San Bernardino social services facility, with Twitter users turning into a way to rip Republicans for not taking more action against gun violence. The New York Daily News directly mocked Republican presidential candidates on the cover of its Thursday edition, which reads “GOD ISN’T FIXING THIS” alongside tweets from several contenders[.] Think Progress Contributing Editor Igor Volsky used the tag to link lawmakers expressing “thoughts” or “prayers” following the shooting to their campaign contributions from the National Rifle Association, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)[.]

I’m not normally a fan of Twitter in the aftermath of a tragedy. Too often, it’s the forum of choice for those completely devoid of sensitivity, humanity, decency, and- most notably- discernible brainwave activity. In some cases, though, it serves as an appropriate forum for well-placed outrage, especially in the face of inaction, neglect, and/or hypocrisy.

Kudos to Igor Volsky from the Center for American Progress for deciding that he was sick and tired of hearing Republican politicians issuing vague, meaningless statements about how their “thoughts and prayers” are with [insert aggrieved parties here]. As Volsky told Chris Hayes, “The NRA pays [lawmakers] to only think and pray about gun violence & not do anything else about it.” Lawmakers, primarily (but not exclusively) Republican, defer to the NRA because they’re beholden to them. In essence, the NRA has purchased Congress’ silence and inaction on an issue that’s literally killing Americans. It’s as cynical and inhuman as it proof that the NRA and its wholly-owned Subsidiary- Congress- value guns far more than human life.

As long as it’s someone else burying their loved ones, where’s the fire??

The Internet, while not always a place where reasoned, rational discourse can be anticipated or counted on, does on occasion present its more reasonable and rational side. In this case, the hashtag #thoughtsandprayer has become a form of protest for many who are sick and tired of Congress offering meaningless words and gestures- “thoughts and prayers”- instead of doing their jobs and taking action that just might save the lives of innocent Americans. What follows is but a sampling of tweets on the subject. I’ll let their collective outrage and anger serve as a serviceable substitute for my own.