Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ignited another online outrage for a tweet she published Thursday night that took aim at those sending “thoughts and prayers” to the tragic victims of the Friday mass shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in which 49 people were killed and more than 20 others were seriously injured.
In her tweet, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez reacted to the comments made by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern by taking shots at everyone sending “thoughts and prayers” to the victims of the tragedy.
“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.” she posted on Twitter.
In the tweet, Ocasio-Cortez was referring to the mass shootings that took place at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina back in 2015, the 2017 shooting at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas and the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue shooting in Squirrel Hill.
She went on to ask in the tweet, “What good are your thoughts & prayers when they don’t even keep the pews safe?”
Ocasio-Cortez followed up her tweet with posting another, saying that “this is a time of great vulnerability for our communities”
This is a time of great vulnerability for our communities.
We must come together, fight for each other, & stand up for neighbors.
Isolation, dehumanizing stereotypes, hysterical conspiracy theories, & hatred ultimately lead to the anarchy of violence.
We cannot stand for it.— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 15, 2019
“[w]e must come together, fight for each other, & stand up for neighbors.” she added.
In less than no time, The New York Democrat’s original tweet accumulated a lot of negative attention online, with many Twitter users slamming Rep. Ocasio-Cortez for her remarks.
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
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. – Posted another user.
Im saddened you make such incredibly divisive comments in a time of pain for us here in Christchurch, New Zealand. 😢— Andre Linton (@andre_linton) March 15, 2019
These poor, innocent people were murdered by a despicable terrorist in their house of prayer, and you choose to denigrate prayer in the aftermath? What is wrong with you? said a Twitter post.
Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez quickly responded to her own tweet claiming, “‘Thoughts and prayers’ is reference to the NRA’s phrase used to deflect conversation away from policy change during tragedies.”
(“Thoughts and prayers” is reference to the NRA’s phrase used to deflect conversation away from policy change during tragedies. Not directed to PM Ardern, who I greatly admire.)— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 15, 2019
49 people lost their lives in a pair of coordinated mass shootings at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. 3 individuals were arrested in connection with the shootings. One of the individuals is expected in court on Saturday.
