TV Star Has Sick Response to Christians Killed in Sri Lanka Attacks - 'Don't Send Your Prayers'
British reality TV stars are somehow more vulgar and tactless than ours, which is surprising since I’ve seen a few episodes of “Jersey Shore” and I know how insipid ours can be.
However, Andy West may have set some sort of new low bar for this sort of thing, all thanks to a vile series of messages on Twitter in which he wrote that the Christian victims of Sunday’s Sri Lankan terror attacks oughtn’t be prayed for because he once saw missionaries try to convert people in the wake of another disaster, or something.
West, according to the New York Post, is a 34-year-old famous for being on the U.K.’s version of “Big Brother.” This is the TV show where you essentially live in a house, get recorded 24 hours a day, complete tasks and win by being the last person not voted out of the domicile by viewers. In other words, this guy is basically famous for, in some sense, being at least somewhat likable (he came in fourth in the competition, according to the Irish Examiner.)
Just keep that in mind for the remainder of this article, difficult though it may be.
So thus it began shortly after the attacks, which have claimed over 300 lives thus far:
“There is no excuse for terror attacks against innocent people but as a journalist I saw Western Christian missionaries unscrupulpusly [sic] converting Buddhist orphans for food and shelter after the Asian tsunami,” he wrote. “Don’t send your prayers.”
There is no excuse for terror attacks against innocent people but as a journalist I saw Western Christian missionaries unscrupulpusly converting Buddhist orphans for food and shelter after the Asian tsunami. Don’t send your prayers. #SriLankaBlasts https://t.co/rFNMShqfW1
— Andy West (@AndyWestTV) April 21, 2019
This has to be one of the least self-aware tweets I’ve ever seen. Basically, West said, “Christians got killed. But I allegedly saw other Christians do something bad. So don’t pray for the Christians who got killed. They deserved it because of what the other Christians did.”
The rest of the thread devolved into what a monologue by a lead-poisoned Sam Harris must sound like:
Most – though not all – of those “good Christian soldiers” thought they were doing God’s good work. Perhaps we should forgive people their delusions but trying to press one religion onto another by brainwashing desperate children is a Western tradition that only leads to misery.
— Andy West (@AndyWestTV) April 21, 2019
QUOTE: “Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion” – Weinberg
— Andy West (@AndyWestTV) April 21, 2019
So prayers aren’t needed. In fact prayers are proven beyond doubt to have no effect. What might help, however, is ending the Western campaign to convert people of other religions in exchange for charity.
— Andy West (@AndyWestTV) April 21, 2019
Zealotry? Perish the thought, especially when it’s being called out by someone trying to convince the Twitter ether that the Christians who were killed kind of had it coming.
I witnessed young Buddhist children who’d watched their parents drown in the tsunami being asked: “Are you hungry? Do you have somewhere safe to sleep? Will you love Jesus Christ?”
Now you tell me that I, as a journalist, should be blind to Christian cult leaders in Sri Lanka?— Andy West (@AndyWestTV) April 21, 2019
Other Twitter users weren’t terribly impressed with this line of thinking.
“Good lord man have some decency,” one user wrote.
“I hate it when stupid people think they have interesting or informed opinions,” Quillette editor and journalist Andy Ngo wrote. “Over 200 people were killed & hundreds others injured in suicide bombings that ripped limb from limb and this is one of your first thoughts? What the hell is wrong with you?”
I hate it when stupid people think they have interesting or informed opinions. Over 200 people were killed & hundreds others injured in suicide bombings that ripped limb from limb and this is one of your first thoughts? What the hell is wrong with you?
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) April 21, 2019
The criticism didn’t seem to faze him, however.
I’m pleased to have so many angry right wing American Christian zealots commenting here but the least they could do is gimme a follow and a retweet. https://t.co/hzpCZPlxHR
— Andy West (@AndyWestTV) April 21, 2019
And, apparently, this was the message he went to bed on:
Good night all. Understanding the reason horrible things happen is the key to preventing horrible things from happening again.
— Andy West (@AndyWestTV) April 21, 2019
And what better place to learn the reason horrible things happen than a guy who thought of belittling Christian missionaries on a day over 300 Christians died.
Again, this guy is partially famous because he’s supposed to be likable. Just saying.
I’m not sure what this man experienced during the Asian tsunami. I know enough from this odious thread that I would question the veracity of his observations, but whatever — let’s believe him, every word. Let’s assume that he witnessed Christians, in the aftermath of one of the worst tragedies of this century, doing something absolutely horrible.
How does this make it acceptable for him to apply this limited sample to all Christians and say the whole isn’t deserving of prayers (which don’t work anyway)?
How is this not hatred?
Pray not just for the victims of the Sri Lanka attacks, Christian and non-Christian.
Pray, too, for Andy West. From looking at his Twitter feed, God knows he needs it.
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