It should simply be outside the norms of decency to exploit someone else’s pain and suffering.
It’s inevitable that as soon as a tragedy takes place, certain people will try to exploit the situation to their advantage. It should simply be considered bad form to use these events to divide instead of unify based on the raw emotions present after a horrific event. These are people who go by the infamous words of Rahm Emanuel:
“You never let a serious crisis go to waste.”
This is not to say people cannot express their opinions, but basic societal decency should be the standard instead of that kind of cynicism. The people who engage in this sort of activity know that they using the raw emotion to further their cause at the expense of others, those who are rational should shun these tactics.
The hierarchy of exploitation.
Many times there is a hierarchy of exploitation endemic to the use of tragedy, with several of a myriad of possibilities thrown into the mix such as:
Liberty Control
Climate Change
Transgenderism
Racism
Wealth disparity
Anti-Semitism
Collectivism
Political correctness
The problem for the exploiters is they can’t do all of them at once, so a priority has to be set-up depending on the issues involved. Then there the rankings in some multifaceted hierarchies such as in Liberty control realm. These range from control of free speech to the right of self-defense.
In many cases, certain issues will take precedent over others for the spotlight. Sometimes it’s just a matter of which issue will gain the most traction at the moment. In the case of Liberty Control, the denigration of the right of self-defense seems to be on the wane, so other forms will be pushed forward. For example, control of free speech by those who pretend to champion Liberty will pay dividends down the road for the self-defense opponents.
Examples of how tragedies are exploited in the case of Liberty Control.
Those who dwell in such tactics have even produced a booklet on the practice: A Gun Violence Messaging Guide.
In the section entitled: HIGH-PROFILE GUN VIOLENCE INCIDENTS
They have set of ‘rules’ to follow in exploiting these situations
- Don’t Hesitate To Speak Out
“The truth is, the most powerful time to communicate is when concern and emotions are running at their peak.” - Don’t Assume The Facts – And Don’t Wait For Them
- Never Apologize.
- Don’t Let Policyspeak Drain The Emotion From The Moment.
An emotionally-driven conversation about what can be done to prevent incidents such as the one at hand is engaging. A dry conversation about legislative process and policy is far less engaging.
Choice of language, constantly connecting the policy to how it impacts people’s lives, and avoiding being dragged into the nuances of specific policy prescriptions are all critical here.
The exploitation begins soon after a tragedy.
In the case of the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, it was only a few hours before the Liberty grabbers to chimed in with the tired ‘Easy access to guns’ propaganda:
If only Republicans made it as hard to buy a gun as they've made it to vote.
— Nate Lerner (@NathanLerner) October 27, 2018
Then the Democrats chimed in calling for people to vote for them a day later.
Followed by Howard Dean called for http://Gab.com to ‘be tried for being an accomplice to murder’:
You are a facilitator of neo nazis and other haters. You should be tried for being an accomplice to murder. You’re lucky shutting you down is all you get. A lot luckier than the 11 Jews in Pittsburgh were or the two African Americans murdered in Kentucky were. https://t.co/BjJyTbP4dC
— Howard Dean (@GovHowardDean) October 29, 2018
Finally, there is this quip from Piers Morgan that those one the Pro-liberty side compromise once again and give up some more of our Liberty:
Dear America,
I know this is a crazy idea from an ignorant foreigner – but why don't you just TRY giving up some of your guns, to see what happens?
Start with the AR-15, which is now used in almost every mass shooting. Make it more difficult, not easier, for lunatics to murder. pic.twitter.com/m49n7s8f2U— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 28, 2018
The fact is, in this particular case those conserving Liberty have compromised over the decades time and time again, but it is never enough. Each time a little bit of Liberty is given up, only to see more demands later on with the onset of yet another ‘serious crisis’. ‘Giving up’ one type of firearm will just see the demand for the same for other types later on since there have been over 70 instances where the demand has been made for gun confiscation.
The Takeaway
Those who dwell in the rational world know that making changes in the heat of an emotional moment never ends well. Since it only encourages similar demands with another crisis later on.
If something is a bad idea, it shouldn’t be considered rational during a tragedy with emotions running high. These should be rejected along with those who would use the suffering of others to gain political power.
