Socialist Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded to those offering condolences to the victims of the mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, by mocking their ‘thoughts and prayers.’
The New York congresswoman’s ill-advised message on social media was a clear attempt to mock the religious by saying prayer can’t stop bullets.
Making it exponentially worse is the fact that the New Zealand terrorist attack targeted worshippers at two separate mosques, killing 49 people. Ocasio-Cortez felt that religion was worthy of jest within hours of word getting out about the situation.
She posted a video clip of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying, “For now, my thoughts, and I’m sure the thoughts of all New Zealanders, are with those who have been affected, and also with their families.”
Ocasio-Cortez then listed several other shootings that took place in churches and responded, “What good are your thoughts & prayers when they don’t even keep the pews safe?”
At 1st I thought of saying, “Imagine being told your house of faith isn’t safe anymore.”
But I couldn’t say “imagine.”
Because of Charleston.
Pittsburgh.
Sutherland Springs.What good are your thoughts & prayers when they don’t even keep the pews safe?pic.twitter.com/2mSw0azDN8
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 15, 2019
Insensitive to Say the Least
The backlash to Ocasio-Cortez insensitive comments was swift on social media.
Siraj Hashmi, a writer for the Washington Examiner, accused the Democrat of being “incredibly insensitive to my [M]uslim brothers and sisters who were slain in cold blood while they were literally praying because they want to be closer to their creator and they want to become better people.”
If one of your first 1000 thoughts after a horrific mass shooting is to go dunk on a person, a religious belief or an organization on Twitter, you should delete your account.
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) March 15, 2019
imagine thinking it’d be a good idea to attack prayer after a terrorist attack on a place that only exists because people pray
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) March 15, 2019
Dems Always Attack ‘Thoughts and Prayers’
Democrats have a long history of pushing their anti-gun platforms by mocking people who offer thoughts and prayers to victims of tragic shootings.
Ocasio-Cortez isn’t the first to act like a raging jacka** just to make a political point.
In February of last year, a Democrat candidate for Senate in the state of Tennessee facetiously reported that “thoughts and prayers stopped the shooting in Parkland, FL.”
Good news! Thoughts and prayers stopped the shooting in Parkland, FL. https://t.co/HWVDDIpt5M
— Shane Morris (@IamShaneMorris) February 14, 2018
Liberals have looked at prayer with disgust for some time.
Renowned astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, a leftist, mocked worshippers by making a pseudo-scientific assessment: “Evidence collected over many years, obtained from many locations, indicates that the power of Prayer is insufficient to stop bullets from killing school children.”
Here’s Senator Chris Murphy’s response to the deadly terrorist attack in California in 2015 …
Your “thoughts” should be about steps to take to stop this carnage. Your “prayers” should be for forgiveness if you do nothing – again.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) December 2, 2015
Several others, including Barack Obama and former Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz have stated “thoughts and prayers” are not sufficient, only gun control legislation will do.
We can’t chalk up Ocasio-Cortez’s callous remarks to inexperience either. Democrats have, on numerous occasions, have dismissed religion as fantasy.
This is a party that once removed ‘God’ from their platform. A party that mocks people that choose to pray during moments of tragedy. A party that kneels during moments of silence for fallen police officers.
