I know you’re not supposed to criticize people who’ve suffered a tragedy, that it’s “the decent thing to do” to remain silent while they do or say anything as the grieve. And I would never presume to tell anyone how they should grieve, no matter the nature of their loss or how long ago it was suffered. But I just can’t let fundraising off of the Uvalde massacre slide simply because it’s being done under the name of someone who was shot a nearly killed.
I’m speaking of former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.
You’d think someone who suffered an attack would be hyper-sensitive to the exploitation of a tragedy, but you’d be wrong. That Giffords was attacked by a left-winger with severe mental problems is irrelevant when there’s money to be made.
Progressives are progressives first and foremost, anything else a very distant second. If the agenda requires a complete and total beclowning of one’s self, so be it. The left spends their time today exclusively preaching to their choir, so the lack of any attempt at conversion or convincing an audience is not even a consideration. It’s all about the money.
Giffords, on behalf of her own political action committee and Democratic National Committee, sent out an email with the subject line, “I am asking you to have the courage to act today.” What’s telling and sickening about this collaboration is you know the DNC, after the massacre in Uvalde, brainstormed how best to use this and thought of Giffords. This soon after the tragedy, before there were even any funerals (the email was sent out Friday), you’d think they’d wait. But Democrats know they could use Giffords because of her history, and Giffords was happy to be used.
Cash is one hell of a motivator. Giffords doesn’t have the email list the DNC has, and the DNC can’t simply invoke Uvalde without coming across as opportunistic ghouls. The two together are the chocolate and peanut butter of exploitation.
After a trigger warning (not about exploiting a tragedy to hoover up cash but because it “contains descriptions of gun violence), the email opens, “Earlier this week, a young man walked into an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas and opened fire, killing 19 innocent children and 2 teachers. Enough is enough. Families should not be afraid to send their children to school. Teachers should not fear for their own lives when walking into the classroom. A parent’s worst nightmare became a reality in Texas yesterday, and it’s because we as a nation have failed to take action on gun violence. We can’t continue to live like this. It has to stop. Yet the defenders of the status quo -- the gun manufacturing lobby and Republican politicians -- will tell you that horrific acts of violence like these are beyond our control.”
Throughout the email there is no “description of gun violence,” at least not in any recognizable way. The trigger warning was meant to shock, to stir up emotion to better exploit gullible and easily manipulated readers without getting graphic because they know they’d be rightly attacked for doing so.
“I am telling you today that this could not be further from the truth,” the pitch continues. “Every day we fail to take action, we choose this fate. Every day politicians fail to acknowledge and act on this crisis, they allow our gun violence crisis to take more lives. I am asking you to have the courage to act today, Derek. For every individual whose life has been cut short by the epidemic of gun violence in our country.”
The people who pretend Chicago doesn’t exist will stand on a pile of dead young black people to fundraise. Gross.
Then comes the ask, “Split a donation between my organization dedicated to ending gun violence, Giffords PAC, and the Democratic National Committee today. Together, we have the power to prevent gun violence and save lives.”
Again, it’s a split because one has the donor list to exploit and the other has the personal history to exploit a current tragedy.
The email closes, “My heart is with the families of Robb Elementary School and those who’ve suffered as a result of gun violence. Thank you for standing with me in this fight. With courage, Gabby.”
It’s not her heart that’s with the families, it’s her bank account, paycheck and politics. They didn’t ask the families if they could dance on the graves of their children, Democrats simply struck up the band and started dancing. Absolutely disgusting.
