I am sickened by people, diminishing one tragedy by comparing it with another tragedy just to make a point in their facebook news feed. Planned Parenthood shooting. Syrian refugees. Paris attacks. Young black men shot by police. Police officers killed in the line of duty. Guess what. Each one is a tragedy. Sit with the tragedy. Grieve the loss. Pour out your prayers for the victims, the perpetrators, their families, and friends. Be filled with grief, love, compassion, and anger, for the loss. Be moved to action. But do not be so callous as to diminish the loss by comparing it with another. The shooter in Minneapolis offers no insight into the refugee crisis. The Paris attacks do not diminish the Black Lives Matter movement. Yes, these are real comparisons being spewed by people more concerned with making a point in an argument than they are concerned with the very real and present tragedy at hand. At best, comparing these tragedies offers weak anecdotal evidence that does not advance any argument. At worst, it is utilizing one person’s grief and tragedy for another’s arrogant self-centered need to be right.

The only commonality among these tragedies is senseless and avoidable violence. Grieve. Pray. Love. Embrace. Get angry even. But do not manipulate the news of a life-shattering tragedy to gain a momentary upper hand in your petty facebook spat. That’s appalling.