My Thoughts And Prayers Are With You
Whenever you hear “my thoughts and prayers are with you”, it’s never sincere.
Whenever you hear “my thoughts and prayers are with you“, it’s never sincere.
The person saying this doesn’t actually care about you or your family; they’re just trying to sound empathetic at a time when many people would rather keep their distance. They’re not going to donate money or volunteer their time, because that would require actual effort and the possibility of being seen in public with some smelly person who got cancer from eating too much poison while working at a factory in Indiana.
But even worse than their lack of action is the insult they imply by saying “thoughts and prayers”. It tells survivors that they should be grateful for any attention whatsoever—that living through something terrible isn’t enough reason for others to help out, but having been victimized apparently does entitle one to receive all sorts of support for free (because really, what could be more important than sending someone else’s prayers?). The phrase also implies that our struggles can be resolved by magic: if only we had enough faith? Maybe our loved ones could have been saved after all!
Thoughts and prayers are simply an insult and they are not helpful in any way.
Thoughts and prayers are simply an insult.
They are not sincere. They are not helpful in any way. They are an insult, to be quite honest with you.
When someone says “thoughts and prayers,” what they’re really saying is: “you’re fucked, sorry.” Or maybe even, “good luck.”
The words thoughts and prayers are just a way of saying “you’re fucked, sorry.”
Some people say that the words “thoughts and prayers” are hollow, empty words. They say that they don’t actually mean anything and that it’s just something you say when you really have nothing else to offer. However, this is not the case for me.
For me, there is no better way to show love and support than by offering thoughts and prayers for someone who needs them most. To help explain why:
When somebody says my thoughts and prayers, they might as well say “good luck”.
When somebody says my thoughts and prayers, they might as well say “good luck.”
To me, the phrase is a way of saying “I don’t know what to say.” And I get it: in those moments when tragedy strikes and we are left speechless, it can feel like there isn’t much we can do except offer words of encouragement or comfort—and sometimes even those words are hard to find. But that doesn’t mean saying nothing at all is your only option; there are things you can do if you really want to be helpful without sounding hollow or insincere.
The next time someone tells you their thoughts and prayers are with you (or with anyone), try asking them specifically what they’re doing to help out (whether that’s donating money or volunteering time). You might be surprised at how willing someone is to share their efforts—and perhaps even inspired by their example!
They don’t really care.
- They don’t care about you, or your situation.
- They don’t care about the victims, or their families.
- They don’t care about their friends, or community.