Jump to content

Thoughts and prayers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by EagleStrong (talk | contribs) at 21:00, 15 February 2018. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Template:Globalize/US "Thoughts and prayers" is a phrase often used when offering condolences, particularly after any publicly notable event such as a deadly natural disaster.[1] The phrase has received criticism for its repeated usage in the context of gun violence or terrorism,[2][3][4][5][6] with critics claiming "thoughts and prayers" are offered as substitutes for corrective actions like gun control or counterterrorism.[7][8]

Usage history

White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders using the term "thoughts and prayers" in reference to the 2017 Las Vegas shooting and the victims of Hurricane Maria.
President Obama using the term in reference to the 2012 Aurora shooting
Nancy Pelosi sends "thoughts and prayers" for Steve Scalise

The phrase "thoughts and prayers" has been deployed in the wake of numerous mass shootings, including the Columbine High School massacre (1999),[9] the November 2015 Paris attacks,[10] the Orlando nightclub shooting,[11] the 2017 Las Vegas shooting,[12] and the 2018 Douglas High School shooting.[13] In addition, "thoughts and prayers" are also offered to victims of natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina (2005),[14][15] the 2017 Central Mexico earthquake, and Hurricane Maria (2017).[1]

Views

After a natural or man-made disaster, people may be urged to "go beyond thoughts and prayers," by donating blood or sending aid or money to help the victims. After the Las Vegas shooting, authorities said that although thoughts and prayers are appreciated, the most effective way to help is to give blood.[16]

Criticism

Some critics of the phrase "thoughts and prayers" point to the Epistle of James in the Christian New Testament to argue that action is needed in addition to expressions of faith. Verses commonly cited to back up this argument include:[17][18]

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?

— James 2:14–2:16

After the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation, called on politicians to "move beyond thoughts and prayers".[19] In her post, vanden Heuvel referred to a press release by Paul Helmke, then-president of the Brady Campaign, who offered his thoughts and prayers and stated "it is long overdue for us to take some common-sense actions to prevent tragedies like this from continuing to occur."[20]

On 2 December 2015, in the wake of the San Bernardino mass shooting, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) tweeted his frustration with the phrase "thoughts and prayers", a sentiment echoed by the cover of the New York Daily News, which included tweets from senators and representatives the newspaper characterized as "meaningless platitudes".[21]

Following the Orlando nightclub shooting, Phil Plait wrote that while it was "natural and very human" to "send their thoughts and express their grief ... it's cynically hypocritical when politicians do it and nothing else", later noting it was "particularly galling" to see "all the NRA-funded lawmakers tweeting their 'thoughts and prayers'".[22] An accompanying Slate post provided a selected list of members of Congress who had tweeted "thoughts and prayers" along with the amount of campaign contributions they had received from gun rights groups, based on research provided by Igor Volsky of the Center for American Progress. The listed members included Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR, cited as accepting $2.5 million), Ron Johnson (R-WI, $1.3 million), Mitch McConnell (R-KY, $920,000), Roy Blunt (R-MO, $755,000), and Pat Roberts (R-KS, $320,000); and Representatives Pete Sessions (R-TX, $80,000), Vern Buchanan (R-FL, $16,000), and Steve Scalise (R-LA, $13,000).[23] Scalise, the House Majority Whip, was shot on June 14, 2017, while practicing for a charity baseball game, and President Donald Trump tweeted his "thoughts and prayers" in response.[24]

Defense

One advocate of "thoughts and prayers" acknowledges the inadequacy of not taking actions, but argues that prayer "jolts us and disrupts us, removing us from our comfort zones [... it] takes us to uncomfortable places – spiritually, physically and emotionally – and asks us to do the hard work of accepting more than one perspective."[25] Another advocate asks that victims should "not [be] used as pawns in another political debate about guns" since "[w]e shouldn’t blame anyone but the perpetrator for crimes committed, [...] that means we can do nothing on our own – in that moment – apart from submitting thoughts and prayers."[26]

In media

In 2016, a web-based video game was published to demonstrate the effect that thoughts and prayers have had on saving lives in the context of mass shootings.[27] The fifth episode of the fourth season of animated series BoJack Horseman, titled "Thoughts and Prayers", presents a real-life shooting that delays the opening of a new movie featuring gun violence.[5] In June 2017, the air date for an episode of The Carmichael Show entitled "Shoot-up-able", which showed the main character surviving a mass shooting, was postponed by two weeks so that it did not air 14 June, the same night as the shooting at which Representative Scalise and three others were shot, or the UPS shooting in San Francisco, where three were killed by a shooter who later committed suicide.[28][29]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Scribner, Herb (21 September 2017). "Celebrities share thoughts and prayers for Mexico and Puerto Rico victims". Deseret News. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  2. ^ "Mark Kelly: 'Thoughts and prayers' from politicians 'aren't going to stop the next shooting'". Washington Post. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  3. ^ Carter, Brandon (2 October 2017). "Dem rips colleagues for offering 'thoughts and prayers': 'Your cowardice to act cannot be whitewashed'". TheHill. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  4. ^ Telnaes, Ann (2 October 2017). "Opinion | Thoughts and prayers, again". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  5. ^ a b Martinelli, Marissa (2 October 2017). "BoJack Horseman's Mass Shooting Episode Reminds Us That "Thoughts and Prayers" Won't Stop Gun Violence". Browbeat (blog). Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  6. ^ Murray, Douglas (23 March 2017). "Pray for London, for Antwerp, for Nice: this is Europe's new normal". The Spectator. The Spectator. Retrieved 5 November 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  7. ^ Brigham, Bob (2 October 2017). "'Enough BS': Ex-Bush ethics lawyer derides politicians offering 'thoughts and prayers' after Las Vegas massacre". RawStory. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  8. ^ Bort, Ryan (2 October 2017). "Thoughts and prayers and not much more: Politicians react to Las Vegas shooting". Newsweek. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  9. ^ Robinson, Marilyn; Obmascik, Mark; Lowe, Peggy (24 April 1999). "Official: Bombs planted during prom party?". Denver Post. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  10. ^ S.Res. 313 at Congress.gov
  11. ^ Chan, Melissa (12 June 2016). "U.S. Political Leaders React to Pulse Nightclub Shooting in Orlando". Time. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  12. ^ Levitz, Eric (2 October 2017). "Trump Sticks to Thoughts and Prayers in Speech on Las Vegas Shooting". New York. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  13. ^ Trump, Donald J. (14 February 2018). "My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terrible Florida shooting. No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school". @realDonaldTrump. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  14. ^ "A Message to Individuals Impacted by Hurricane Katrina" (Press release). Walmart. 2 September 2005. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  15. ^ Clinton, Bill (2 September 2005). "Statement: Hurricane Katrina Relief" (Press release). Clinton Foundation. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  16. ^ Rigby, Sam (2 October 2017). "Beyond thoughts and prayers: People line up at blood banks to help the victims of the Las Vegas shooting". Quartz. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  17. ^ Powers, Kirsten (3 October 2017). "Acts of Faith: Why 'thoughts and prayers' is starting to sound so profane". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  18. ^ DeBerry, Jarvis (2 October 2017). "Opinion: Your thoughts and prayers haven't stopped mass shootings". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans, Louisiana. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  19. ^ vanden Heuvel, Katrina (16 April 2007). "Beyond Thoughts and Prayers". Editor's Cut (blog). The Nation. Archived from the original on 28 April 2007. Retrieved 3 October 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ Helmke, Paul (16 April 2007). "Nation Again Grieves Over A Tragedy "Of Monumental Proportions" (Press release). Brady Campaign. Archived from the original on 2 May 2007. Retrieved 3 October 2017. {{cite press release}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ Diamond, Jeremy (3 December 2015). "Connecticut senator has had enough of 'thoughts' and 'prayers'". CNN politics. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  22. ^ Plait, Phil (13 June 2016). "Orlando: What can you do in the Face of Another Senseless Gun Tragedy". Bad Astronomy (blog). Slate. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  23. ^ Wickman, Forrest (12 June 2016). "GOP Congressmen Offer "Thoughts and Prayers." Here's How Much the NRA Gave Them to Offer Nothing More". The Slatest (blog). Slate. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  24. ^ "President Trump: Rep. Steve Scalise 'badly injured but will fully recover. Our thoughts and prayers are with him'". Los Angeles Times. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  25. ^ Coward, Laura (9 July 2016). "In Defense Of Offering Our 'Thoughts and Prayers'". Huffpost. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  26. ^ Ross, Kimberly (13 June 2016). ""Thoughts And Prayers" Are Always Needed After Terror Strikes". RedState. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  27. ^ Kircher, Madison Malone (17 June 2016). "This Is Not Your Average Shooting Game". select/all. NY Mag. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  28. ^ Adams, Sam (15 June 2017). "NBC Decides It's Too Soon for a Carmichael Show Episode About Mass Shootings". browbeat (blog). Slate. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  29. ^ Stanhope, Kate (26 June 2017). "NBC Reschedules 'Carmichael Show' Mass Shooting Episode". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thoughts and prayers.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thoughts_and_prayers&oldid=825859131"