As Republicans offered prayers for the 14 victims of a mass shooting Wednesday in San Bernardino, Calif., members of the press scoffed, criticizing the public displays of piety as a wholly insufficient response to gun violence.
“Other countries must have fewer mass shootings because their conservative politicians offer thoughts and prayers more vigorously,” said Vox.com’s Matt Yglesias.
Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten added, “Dear ‘thoughts and prayers’ people: Please shut up and slink away. You are the problem, and everyone knows it.”
The Huffington Post’s Sam Stein and Arthur Delaney even penned an entire article smirking at both Democratic and GOP officials for offering prayers in the wake of mass shootings.
“Another Mass Shooting, Another Deluge Of Tweeted Prayers,” read their headline. “Seems to have been an ineffective strategy so far.”
“Public officials are the people society trusts to solve society’s ills. Like, say, gun violence. But every time multiple people have been gunned down in a mass shooting, all these officials can seemingly do is rush to offer their useless thoughts and prayers,” they reported, linking to a series of tweets from Republicans who offered to pray for Wednesday’s victims.
Elsewhere, the refrain was the same: Republicans have no business offering prayers for the victims of gun violence so long as they support the Second Amendment and the National Rifle Association.
Mic News’ Scott Bixby tweeted, “Official GOP position: ‘Praying.’ ‘God bless.’ ‘Praying.’ ‘Thoughts and prayers.’ ‘Praying.’ ‘Thoughts and prayers.'”
“How many dead people did those thoughts and prayers bring back to the life?” Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas said in response to Republican National Committee chair Reince Preibus saying he’d pray for the 14 dead.
“A tool that replaces ‘my thoughts and prayers’ with ‘my fond wishes that this blows over,'” said Popular Science’s Kelsey D. Atherton.
Mediaite’s Andrew Husband had a particularly visceral reaction Wednesday to the promised prayers.
“If you’re a political candidate tweeting about all the thoughts and prayers you have for San Bernardino, you can go f–k yourself,” he said on social media. “If you’re on Twitter tweeting about all the thoughts and prayers you have for San Bernardino, you can go f–k yourself.”
“Basically, if all you have to offer San Bernardino are your thoughts and prayers, you can go f–k yourself,” he added. “Just in case that wasn’t clear… YOU CAN GO F—K YOURSELF.”
Not everyone in media felt the same, however, and a few commentators and reporters pushed back on public pooh-poohing of prayers offered.
“Guys. Don’t mock the sincere offering of prayers. Mock legislative inaction or hypocrisy. But offering a prayer is not offering NOTHING,” said columnist Ana Marie Cox.
The Washington Free Beacon’s Bill McMorris followed with, “The only thing more worthless than tweeting ‘thoughts and prayers’ is angrily clucking about people tweeting ‘thoughts and prayers.'”
“Confronted by an enormity where we have nothing to immediately contribute, prayers for the dead and the bereaved are natural, and good work,” said The Week’s Michael B. Dougherty. “Prayers don’t exclude or substitute for any other response we might have. God help us, they focus and humble us into doing it.”
However, despite these dissenting views from apparent proponents of prayer, it appeared Wednesday evening that the “it’s not good enough” sentiment had gone mainstream, as newsrooms and politicians alike echoed the chorus.
“Your ‘thoughts’ should be about steps to take to stop this carnage. Your ‘prayers’ should be for forgiveness if you do nothing – again,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.
The New York Daily News, which has been a longtime proponent of gun control and an outspoken critic of the National Rifle Association, revealed Wednesday evening that it, too, does not think prayer will do anything to address the issue of gun violence.
An early look at tomorrow’s front page…
GOD ISN’T FIXING THIS: https://t.co/eKUg5f03ec pic.twitter.com/j4gEFg9YtJ— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) December 3, 2015
However, as noted by the Atlantic’s Emma Green, the survivors of Wednesday’s shooting rampage in California feel differently about the efficacy of prayer.
“The most powerful evidence against this backlash toward prayer comes not from the Twitterverse, but from San Bernardino. ‘Pray for us,’ a woman texted her father from inside the Inland Regional Center, while she and her colleagues hid from the gunfire,” Green reported.
“Outside the building, evacuated workers bowed their heads and held hands. They prayed,” she added
