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A teachable moment - compassion vs combativeness

Keyser_Soze

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This might not belong in "General Politics", but I am dropping it here as the situation arose out of a political difference on Twitter. I think we'd all be better off if we looked at what bind us together, rather that what political differences we might have.

So I follow Patton Oswalt on Twitter and earlier he posted this:

Aw, man. This dude just attacked me on Twitter and I joked back but then I looked at his timeline and he’s in a LOT of trouble health-wise. I’d be pissed off too. He’s been dealt some ****ty cards — let’s deal him some good ones. Click and donate — just like I’m about to.

This is what Patton found in the man's timeline:

Help after Sepsis, Diabetic Ketoacidosis and Coma.

With a link to a GoFundMe campaign for the man who had a diabetic episode and ended up in the hospital for quite a bit and had accumulated some big bills. He was seeking to raise $5,000 and at the time of Patton's tweet, he was at $600 after 10 days.

After 5 hours, Patton's mostly liberal followers had donated $15,000 to the man's cause. And the number keeps rising. I made a modest donation to help the man. I believe that Patton donated $2,000.

The man was genuinely moved by the outpouring of support by people that he had been trashing on Twitter. His final post shows that the money is giving him some breathing room and he is going to splurge on a steak. :)

I want to thank everyone who came to my aid with generous outpourings- and also to @pattonoswalt without whom I would not be the recipient of so much love and support. I'm not a man who ever cries but I had to wait to send this. And to quote Stuart on Big Bang "meat tonight"!
 
People are free to solicit whatever aid they want, and others are free to accord it as they see fit. I have no problem with either.

I don't, however, cotton to the idea that because A was dealt a crappy hand, A thus has some sort of imprimatur to be a jackass toward B. Mind you, I haven't a problem with B being of that mind, but I damn sure am not.
 
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