When you wake up and your Twitter feed is full or prayer hands emojis, broken heart emojis and the RIP hashtag is trending, you know something absolutely tragic has happened. Last weekend, is was beyond tragic. But sharing your love and prayers, the country stars are saying, isn’t going to make a damn bit of difference.
As the news came flooding in on Sunday (Aug. 4) about the mass shooting that claimed nine lives outside a bar in Dayton, Ohio on Saturday night, right after America had learned about a mass shooting that claimed 20 lives at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas on Saturday morning.
Two shootings, 29 deaths, and multiple severe injuries. It’s too much, and the world’s become too numb.
So some of the top female country artists used their platforms — on the stage and on social media — to urge everyone to take real action so that we can move in a more peaceful direction. Instead of posting standard-issue thoughts & prayers tweets. Their words were so powerful, in fact, that if you combine them all it would make for a very motivating speech. (Actual tweets from below.)
“If I see one more politician use their ’thoughts & prayers’ tweet template they have backburnered for every mass shooting, I’m gonna be sick. We need common sense reform, not 280 meaningless characters. I love you, Texas & Ohio. No one deserves this.
Went to bed feeling sick for El Paso and woke up feeling sick for Dayton. To every person affected personally by these two acts of hate, I am just so, so sorry. But sorry isn’t good enough. We have to do better. Now.
I can’t even believe that we’re having to process the (expletive) that’s happening in the last twenty-four hours, much less everything that’s happened in the last two-hundred and (expletive) fifteen days in America. I don’t know what the answer is but obviously something has to be (expletive) done. Thank you to everyone still brave enough to come out to festivals like this to see us play. We all need music & each other more than ever right now but how many of us will have to die before SOMEBODY (expletive) DOES SOMETHING. Heart broken for El Paso & Dayton.”
If I see one more politician use their “thoughts & prayers” tweet template they have backburnered for every mass shooting, I’m gonna be sick. We need common sense reform, not 280 meaningless characters. I love you, Texas & Ohio. No one deserves this.
— MAREN MORRIS (@MarenMorris) August 4, 2019
Went to bed feeling sick for El Paso and woke up feeling sick for Dayton. To every person affected personally by these two acts of hate, I am just so, so sorry. But sorry isn’t good enough. We have to do better. Now.
— Kelsea Ballerini (@KelseaBallerini) August 4, 2019
Thank you to everyone still brave enough to come out to festivals like this to see us play. We all need music & each other more than ever right now but how many of us will have to die before SOMEBODY FUCKING DOES SOMETHING. Heart broken for El Paso & Dayton. https://t.co/7U1nzDMBcq
— K A C E Y M U S G R A V E S (@KaceyMusgraves) August 5, 2019
