“…..FEMA itself has said
it can’t act alone, relying on local groups, volunteers, and mutual aid to
reach those in need. Our response as citizens cannot mirror the dysfunction
at the top. It cannot become, “I only
help those who voted like me.”
 
Allardice is the CEO of GiveDirectly
and former CEO of Change.org “No! They voted for this to happen,” a donor wrote in
response to our call to give cash relief to Texas flood survivors. Normally, my organization GiveDirectly
receives donations, not anger, when we respond to disasters. But this week,
after at least 120 people, many of them children, died in the Texas floods, we’ve been inundated with
messages implying that the victims had brought this on themselves by
helping elect Donald Trump and that the politics of the state should dictate
the response. “Future Trump voters. Oh well.” “Go ask Elon for help.”
“Are you Texans feeling that you voted for the right man?” A longtime donor
said our Texas response has “shattered” their image of our work. This has played out on social platforms as well,
prompting some liberal commentators to speak out against the dehumanization of Texas
communities. Political trolling online is nothing new, but its spillover into
blaming victims and survivors of disaster is a dangerous new low.
Our support for low-income families impacted by January’s L.A. wildfires received a positive
response. There were no bitter comments blaming liberal forest-management
policies. We simply offered aid, and people gave generously. The contrast with Texas is
disturbing. Yesterday we had to stop promoting our online ads as the comments below a photo of a
Kerr County flood survivor filled up with sentiments of “they deserved it”
and “thoughts and prayers — well, not really.”…………….READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
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