Wheaton Tweet Starts Online Firestorm.
2 min read
A tweet from Wil Wheaton regarding the recent Texas church shooting was taken the wrong way by some online readers.
Wheaton was reacting to a tweet from Paul Ryan, who said that “reports out of Texas are devastating. The people of Sutherland Springs need our prayers right now.”
“The murdered victims were in a church,” replied Wheaton. “If prayers did anything, they’d still be alive, you worthless sack of shit.”
Online reaction was swift and heated, to the point that Wheaton decided to address his tweet on his website, explaining what he had meant.
“I am angry at people like Paul Ryan who are quick to offer their thoughts and prayers after mass murder, but who refuse to do anything to even attempt to slow or stop the epidemic of gun violence that plagues America,” he said. “He and people like him are hoping that you will give him a pass and let him exploit your Faith so he can continue to shrug his shoulders, take money from the NRA, and do absolutely nothing else.
“People like Paul Ryan can write and pass laws that can address this epidemic of gun violence, which should be considered a public health crisis, but instead, Paul Ryan and people like him offer ‘thoughts and prayers’ as a shield for their inaction.
“I am so sick and angry that this keeps happening. America is the only first world country where we do nothing while our fellow humans are slaughtered by entirely preventable gun violence every day.”
But then Wheaton heard from people close to him, who were dismayed at his seeming attack on Christians. “I heard privately from some close friends who are people of sincere Faith, and they were concerned that my anger at Paul Ryan would be misread as an attack on people of Faith,” Wheaton explained. “I want and need to apologize to anyone who felt like I was attacking them, or their faith (unless that person is Paul Ryan). I respect your Faith, even if I do not share it. I respect that prayer brings comfort and strength and guidance for a lot of people, and if you are one of those people, praying for God to bring comfort and strength to the families and friends of the victims and survivors is a deeply meaningful act.
“I am not attacking you or your Faith, and I see that in my anger, I didn’t write my thoughts as clearly as I could have. For that I sincerely apologize to anyone who I offended or hurt. I can’t take it back, but I can tell you that it was never my intention, nor is it my belief.
“So just to be crystal clear: I apologize to those of you who are sincere people of Faith, who felt attacked by me. That was not my intention.”
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