Stop making our pain your gain

I have discovered a practice that has quickly ascended to become my personal vexation. In last week’s paper, my column followed the terroristic attack in Brussels; a catastrophic affair in which numerous people were wounded, terrorized, and ripped away from their families. Many people rushed to their aid, however, a specific group of people instead fled to social media or media outlets to use this tragedy as an opportunity to push their political agenda (I’m looking at you presidential candidates).

While a great deal of tragedies become the bearer of a cause and act as a catalyst for change, to so quickly disregard the lives and welfare of those affected for the sake of a campaign rally is absolutely despicable. These public figures leech off sorrow and desperation in hopes that it may initiate a mass movement in their favor.

This sort of behavior has not only been displayed by our current running candidates, but also by other political figures in the past. In recent years, the increase in school shootings and other displays of violence have all been met with similar reactions, a political barrage attempting to paint the event as a martyr to their cause.

This sort of behavior being derived from those who are supposed to lead our country is atrocious. Our first concern, whether the tragedy in question is of foreign or local origin, should be met with attempts to remedy trauma and help those who are displaced or affected; the matter should be left to politicize over once those who need help have been addressed and taken care of.