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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Just Said What We're All Thinking About 'Thoughts and Prayers' After New Zealand's Deadly Mosque Attacks
Well said.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) criticized the National Rifle Association (NRA) after at least 49 people were killed in mass shootings at two mosques full of worshippers in Christchurch, New Zealand.
"What good are your thoughts and prayers when they don't keep the pews safe?" wrote the freshman Congresswoman, directly referencing the deadly shootings at a Charleston, South Carolina church, a Pittsburgh synagogue and a Sutherland Springs, Texas church.
Ocasio-Cortez clarified that “thoughts and prayers” is a reference to the NRA phrase “used to deflect conversation away from policy change during tragedies.” She added that she is an admirer of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
At 1st I thought of saying, “Imagine being told your house of faith isn’t safe anymore.” But I couldn’t say “imagi… https://t.co/uh3vshiN0y— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1552623219.0
(“Thoughts and prayers” is reference to the NRA’s phrase used to deflect conversation away from policy change durin… https://t.co/6N8f9h1u0X— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1552626028.0
The NRA does not operate in New Zealand, which has some of the toughest gun laws on record, but Ocasio-Cortez's statement took direct aim at the organization and those who have vigorously condemned the attack while failing to address a spate of regular gun violence that happens stateside.
And although Ocasio-Cortez's comments received significant criticism from people accusing her of attempting to score political points, many concurred with her assessment that the phrase "thoughts and prayers" is reductive.
@AOC "Thoughts and prayers" is the modern day "duck and cover".— Wendy (@Wendy) 1552657683.0
@AOC Thoughts and prayers = silence. Literally. Silence is not what we need. Go @AOC, you are the only grownup in the room.— Denise Diaz (@Denise Diaz) 1552660997.0
@AOC I understand completely what it is you are saying. I can hold all these people and tragedies close in thought… https://t.co/tCyaInzrTM— Lily White Lillith (@Lily White Lillith) 1552658429.0
@AOC Thoughts and prayers don't do anything unless they are followed by action. Every single time there's a shooti… https://t.co/EpnZDLlFNA— 🎄Padoru Time! Warmammoth (@🎄Padoru Time! Warmammoth) 1552660428.0
@AOC One supporting hand is worth a million 'thoughts and prayers'. If that crap worked, we'd never have any traged… https://t.co/IaTldMH37Y— EnCocytus (@EnCocytus) 1552660479.0
Ocasio-Cortez later called on communities to “come together, fight for each other and stand up for neighbors.”
“Isolation, dehumanizing stereotypes, hysterical conspiracy theories & hatred ultimately lead to the anarchy of violence,” she added. “We cannot stand for it.”
This is a time of great vulnerability for our communities. We must come together, fight for each other, & stand up… https://t.co/l70keXinJh— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1552624234.0
New Zealand officials have charged one man in his late 20s with murder. Police also found two explosive devices attached to a vehicle that they had stopped. The gunman published a 17-minute live video of the shooting as well as 74 pages of what authorities have referred to as a "manifesto" of white nationalist rhetoric in which he referred to immigrants as "invaders."
Two other armed suspects are in custody.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the attacks represented “an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence."
“It is clear that this can now only be described as a terrorist attack,” Ardern said.
Ardern later took to Twitter to remind citizens that "many of those affected" are members of the nation's migrant communities.
"New Zealand is their home – they are us," she said.
What has happened in Christchurch is an extraordinary act of unprecedented violence. It has no place in New Zealand… https://t.co/XOHF9hHe8H— Jacinda Ardern (@Jacinda Ardern) 1552620782.0
The attack took place during Friday prayer, which Moustafa Farouk, a spokesman for the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand, said made the violence especially "shocking." He said he never dreamed such an attack would take place in New Zealand.
"It’s one of the most peaceful countries in the world,” he said, adding that “this kind of random act of violence will affect that image.”