I couldn’t bear to watch the news last night. My family lives in the north OKC suburbs (which didn’t get hit) but we have friends in the south OKC suburbs who did, and it’s overwhelming to think that this sort of tragedy can strike so thoroughly, suddenly, and randomly. The human cost of the May 20th tornado has yet to be calculated, but it is bound to be staggering.
Relief efforts have been pouring in from around the country. Locals who didn’t get hit are taking in their friends and relatives who lost their homes. This is the only proper response to tragedy, pulling together as human beings, regardless of creed or affiliation. As Paul Loebe so aptly put it:
The Oklahoma Atheists are hurting…and so are the Christians, the Muslims, the Wiccans, the Deists, and well… all the humans!
As with any tragedy, a certain kind of opportunist will see this event as a chance to evangelize for their god(s), or favorite political issue, or even as a chance to leverage the evidential argument from evil while the pain is still fresh. When they do this, I will try to be merciful and humane, and I will most likely fail. If you aren’t helping, you aren’t helping.
For more tips on how to help, please visit Odd Oklahoma.
