An Incredible Lack of Empathy

I was reading the USAToday.com this morning, and the headline was that Marion Barry had died.  He was 78, and not in good health, but all the same, it was unexpected, and I am sure that his loved ones and family are feeling pretty sad right now. So imagine my surprise when I scrolled down to the comments, expecting condolences, and saw the following:

“Good riddance! Now come back and take some more undesirables with you, like Obama, Biden, Reid, Pelosi, Sharpton.”

“Thank goodness he’s gone.  He surely won’t be missed.”

“The world is now a little bit better without that crook.”

“I hope this is a good start.  Next up: the Clintons.”

And on and on and on.  Now, I know that I have bemoaned the utter assholery of USAToday comment posters before, but sadly, this merely echoes what I see on Facebook, Twitter, read in the news, and hear in conversation.  And it’s ugly, and it’s heartless, and it is a blatant rejection of empathy. 

Here is another example: you know those poor parents who lost their child in Ferguson?  The Browns?  Well, the mayor of St. Louis invited them to take part in a tradition of handing out Thanksgiving turkeys to those who can’t afford it.  Mr. Brown said that it was healing for him to help others, especially since so many others had supported him in his grieving.  Here were some of the comments:

“His biggest turkey is pushing up daisies.”

“How about they give back to the store owner the college bound baby robbed?”

“FREE food for future RIOTERS???”

(This next one from a poster who purports to be from Columbia University) “He should do something to give back. UM, robbery with a gun or a dead son who robbed. Son robbed the store and the turkey got plucked. the father used his turkey son and robbed us and we got F*********”

And on and on.  Now, just a reminder, these are PARENTS who lost their SON, and who are HANDING OUT TURKEYS.  TURKEYS!!!!  The absolute lack of empathy is deafening. 

And I guess this is what I don’t understand: what is the benefit of being so obtuse, so small, so hateful?  Who is it helping?  What feeling do people have in their soul that can only be satisfied by this kind of callousness?  If I only saw this shit from strangers, then I would figure it was just a fringe segment of the human race, using to full advantage their ability to speak to a broader public.  But I see this shit from people I know:  Women who get raped should know better than to dress like that.  Deport all the illegals.  Arm yourself against the Ferguson protesters, because, God knows, black people are dangerous.  Fuck the poor who dare to want healthcare.  Bomb the Middle East back to the Stone Age, because it’s not like they have children or non-terrorists there.

This lack of empathy is a sickness.  But it’s a sickness with a cure.  Anyone can learn empathy.  It just takes imagining how other people might feel.  Give it a try.    

And rest in peace, Mr. Barry.