I want to talk about jeering, more commonly referred to now as trolling.
Because this is something both sides love to do. But today, I’m hearing it loud and clear from my own side, and I think it’s important to address.
Oh, you think people voted for their children to be swept away in the middle of the night in a flash flood…
What? In what ways?
Because the National Weather Service funding was cut by their administration, so they deserve the worst imaginable suffering?
Do you hear yourself?
You can’t say, in one breath, that children deserve to eat, and in the next that those same children deserve to die if they live in Texas or another red state.
What if these children were Ukrainian? Iranian? Palestinian?
I don’t want you on my team if we can’t at least agree on humanity. This is just cruelty in a different jersey.
I know the extremists on both sides will use this as propaganda to fuel more division. I am begging you, please don’t let them.
The reasonable people in the middle are watching in horror.
If you truly believe in liberty and justice for all, you should be standing up and calling this out. To make sure that when someone says, “See, Democrats don’t care about you,” they can think of at least one Democrat who does.
You might think it doesn’t matter, but it does. Because I can already see myself arguing with far right Republicans in six months, with this very moment used as a talking point to justify their own jeering on some other issue.
It’s important for those propaganda caricatures to be easy to melt.
Ask yourself honestly: Do you really believe in compassion? Or, do you just enjoy feeling morally superior in an argument?
When you say, “They voted for this,” “they deserve this,” “FAFO,” and the direct result of a 4 a.m. flash flood is dead adults and children, that’s when you’ve lost the plot.
We are human.
You don’t mock people when they’re hurting. It doesn’t bring them closer to your side. It pushes them deeper into their beliefs.
And you know why? Because now they can see clearly you were being disingenuous about caring the whole time.
That doesn’t help. It hurts our cause.
We can’t keep trolling each other just because it feels easier than being compassionate.
We can’t keep trolling each other just because it feels easier than being kind.
We can’t keep trolling each other just because it feels easier than being understanding.
I know some of you have faced immense hate from the far right. I am asking you, please don’t stoop to that level.
You can say, “I’m so sorry this happened.”
You can say, “I’m at a loss for words for the grief you must be feeling.”
You can say, “I hope those children are found safe.”
In case you are having trouble finding the kind thing to say, here it is.
Choosing to be kind in the face of tragedy shows morals, ethics, and character. Something we all need to be practicing now more than ever.
If you want to note that this is happening because funding was cut by the party they supported, that is fine. But you can save that detail for at the end “by the party they support“. It doesn’t make it any less true, and it softens the impact of your words.
But truthfully, people in the middle of a tragedy don’t care if you want to score a political point. They are literally looking for their child. Their mom. Their dad. Their sibling. Their camp counselor.
They aren’t looking for your hot take, gotcha, dunk on social media. But eventually, they will see it.
And you better make sure that when they do, what they hear is in good taste.
If you have funds available, please consider partnering with a local fundraiser to help the families affected by this disaster.
You can donate directly to the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund to help support first responders.
You can also give through HEB’s Spirit of Giving Fund, which is one of the fastest ways Texans will see relief in these communities.
If you don’t have funds available, please consider sharing this to help get the word out. Kindness counts. Be the humans you hope to see in the face of a tragedy.
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Little Blue Texans 
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