Competitive Caring

So it has come to this: caring is now a competition to see who cares the most about the 'right' issues.

I don't understand why people are so upset about a lion in Africa when they should be concerned about all the pre-born babies being killed in America.

People had never even heard of this lion until last week. They should be concerned about all the people in the U.S. being shot by police.

I care more than you do. I care about the 'right' things; you don't.

Yada yada yada.

The sentiments above, while not direct quotes, are illustrative of the many comments people have posted in response to the outrage over the killing of Cecil the lion.


Yes, I am among the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people around the world who are outraged about the torture and killing of Cecil so some nitwit dentist can hang Cecil's head on the wall. But to all those whining about the 'pre-born' children (pre-born, really?), my outrage is just as valid as is yours about your pet cause. To those angered by the death penalty or rampant poverty, immigration or anything else, my outrage is just as valid as is yours. Do people who insist on insulting and demeaning those whose focus isn't on their favorite cause really think these tactics are going to cause others to jump on their bandwagon?  Well guess what? By treating people in a demeaning, insulting and belittling manor, these people are showing how truly lacking in compassion they are.

How dare you insinuate that people who care about 4-footed animals don't care about 2-footed animals (people). (I happen to support not only several animal-related causes, but also the local food bank and the hospice where my father died. I have raised thousands of dollars for the fight against breast cancer. I walked 60 miles in three days to raise this money. So spare me your how can you self-righteousness.) How dare you mock and belittle me or insult my intelligence because my cause isn't your cause. How dare you assume a mantle of moral superiority.

This isn't a competition to see which side is the most compassionate or who cares the most about the 'right' things!

This article sums it up nicely: http://wordofawoman.com/2015/07/29/dammit-i-care-more-about-the-right-things-than-you-do/

How I choose to spend my money, which causes I support and about what I get outraged is my business, nobody else's. Do I go to the Facebook pages of advocates of other causes and castigate people because they don't care about the things I care about? No, I do not, and I never will. Your activism and outrage about the things you support are no more 'right' than are my outrage and activism about things I support. So get over yourselves. Stop wasting your time and energy belittling people who are able to care about more than one injustice --  something you presumably are unable to do.

There are enough 'right' causes to go around. There are plenty of things about which we should be outraged. Stop making compassion and caring into a competition, because you know what? This competition has no winners. Stop wasting your time and energy on belittling others and do something to help support whatever your favorite cause is. Attacking people from the anonymity of your computer does NOTHING to bolster your cause or make things better or effect change. So put away your cloak and your dismissive attitude toward those of us who do care about more than a single issue.