Once you get past the people arguing that the people of Texas deserve a natural disaster because they voted for Trump, you find politicians squabbling about the Sandy relief bill and how they won’t be vindictive and petty when it’s their turn to bail out Houston.
But once you get past those people, you come upon some wonderful examples of human beings helping each other in a time of crisis. We almost slipped and called them heroes, but now that we’ve read Slate’s super-hot take on Hurricane Harvey, we know better than to overuse a word like “hero” just because people are stepping up in the face of a natural disaster.
Somebody had to come up with a contrary take, and it’s no surprise that it was Slate. But Katy Waldman’s piece, provocatively entitled, “Houston Doesn’t Showcase ‘America at Its Best,'” isn’t a slam on Houston, which Waldman likens to a “junior varsity team elevated by circumstance.”
https://twitter.com/Slate/status/902694855918444544
No, what she’s trying to say is … well … you figure it out.
Disaster scientists have repeatedly punctured the myth, perpetuated by Hollywood and the media, that cataclysm awakens our worst selves. Rather, disruptive events loosen our mores just enough to permit new kinds of compassion ….
…
[Their] findings put a frame around the cooperative society that has lately emerged in Houston: It is a beautiful anomaly, a liquid note of silver momentarily liberated from its sheath of rust.
That — and not the photos of rescuers pulling people from flooded homes and cars — is what we needed to hear.
Gee, thanks. The hot take we all needed right now.
— Samantha Swindler (@editorswindler) August 30, 2017
Dumbfounded. What are you doing here? Was this sophomoric, copy and paste philosophical hack job worth the backlash? Reexamine your life
— Seth C. Payne (@SethCPayne) August 30, 2017
Seriously, what is wrong with you people? https://t.co/iBFmUzlOYz
— Phineas Fahrquar (@irishspy) August 30, 2017
Typical slate with an obnoxious headline for click bait https://t.co/V5lXxasBw5
— AroundGuy (@AroundGuy1095) August 30, 2017
Spend the first half of the piece diminishing the good deeds and spend rest acting like you didn't. #gpuar https://t.co/G39AekCU9q
— Big Enos Burdette (@therealbaber) August 30, 2017
People are going out of their way to help other people yet you write an article which trivializes this, without any reasonable purpose.
— Jew on Shabbat (@TMIJOS) August 30, 2017
I'll tell you what is "contingent America", Slate and its readers. https://t.co/Elj3OotC9C
— Heather Champion (@winningatmylife) August 30, 2017
What is it with you, @Slate? Do you feel it's a journalistic duty to exude negativity like a foul odor?
Sometimes, good arises from crises.— pipermcq (@pipermcq) August 30, 2017
https://twitter.com/Daytripper20/status/902712881959063552
https://twitter.com/JayAdamsSocial/status/902702448443318273
#ShutUpKaty should be the RT hashtag for this.
— Joan of Argghh! (@JoanOfArgghh) August 30, 2017
To the author, "America at its Best" was when she CONSIDERED letting a Starbucks patron use her iPhone charger.
— PhilRichMadeitRain (@PhilRich0911) August 30, 2017
My friends/neighbors have pitched in, my husband took his boat out to rescue ppl, so you're full of crap. -signed, a Houstonian
— Bossy Brat (@JGalt09) August 30, 2017
Thank you @slate for always guaranteeing to show us your worst
— stan (@kerlickTexas) August 30, 2017
I think you guys actually have the corner on the "Americans at their worst" market.
— Caleb Culver (@Calebculver) August 30, 2017
Slate, meet CNN. You two have a nice chat.
President Trump praises Texas as a special place, saying: "This is really my honor." But isn't this actually your duty, Mr. President?
— Jeff Zeleny (@jeffzeleny) August 29, 2017
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Related:
‘Speak for yourselves’! Why on earth is Slate asking this question about Trump? https://t.co/8LBXzx1oNK
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) July 10, 2017
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