Maybe Prayer Isn't Bullshit
Plus: Beware of distorted data, inside the mind of Curtis Sliwa, a thong-related clarification, and more...
The "thoughts and prayers" breaking point: Yesterday morning, as schoolchildren in Minneapolis were attending Mass to usher in the new school year, a gunman shot through the stained glass windows, killing 2 (an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old) and injuring 17—mostly children.
The shooter was 23-year-old Robin Westman, a transgender former student at the school who filed for a name change in 2017 (from "Robert" to "Robin"). Westman's mother had been a longtime employee at the school before her retirement back in 2021, and Westman appears to have been very familiar with the Annunciation Catholic Church, which serves pre-K through eighth grade, drawing the church layout from memory in preparation for the shooting.
"You cannot put into words the gravity, tragedy or absolute pain of the situation," said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, an advocate for stricter gun laws, in the immediate aftermath. "Don't just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying."
Striking a similar note, former President Joe Biden flack Jen Psaki took to X to proclaim that "Prayer is not freaking enough. Prayers does not end school shootings. Prayers do not make parents feel safe sending their kids to school. Prayer does not bring these kids back. Enough with the thoughts and prayers."
"These children were probably praying when they were shot to death at catholic school," wrote Rep. Maxwell Frost (D–Fla.) on X. "Don't give us your fucking thoughts and prayers." Well then.
But prayer is not fake to roughly half the population. It's not just a nice thing you're obligated to say in the wake of a tragedy. The devoutly religious portion of the country—somewhere between 32 and 45 percent (if weekly church attendance and self-identification of religion as "very important" are proxies)—experiences prayer as a conversation with God. We petition Him, calling out for help; we grapple with evils and horrors and worries; we align ourselves closer to His will. Prayer is not just a wish list or a "to do" list we present to God; it's where we reveal our despair, where we seek guidance, clarity, and revelation. It's where we hope to become more Christlike. For devoutly Catholic parents grieving children, prayer might be the only thing that can provide comfort right now. That's how I'd feel, anyway.
"Prayer is not an escape from reality," posted Franciscan University on X. "It is the very place we meet Christ, who Himself was unjustly slain."
It would behoove Democrats, from Jacob Frey to Jen Psaki, to understand that American Christians and Catholics are not lying about the things we believe: Many Christians believe in demons and Satanic forces. Catholics really do believe in transubstantiation. We literally believe that Jesus was the son of God, who died on the cross for our sins—and, to borrow C.S. Lewis' argument, that he could not have simply been a "great moral teacher" (as he was making claims about his own nature that were either true or disturbingly fraudulent). He was either a lunatic, a liar, or the Lord; we believe that last one, and that He will come again. These are not fringe beliefs. These are core.
If these things sound crazy to you, that's fine. They clearly sound crazy to a bunch of Democrats who—I guess?—thought we were lying.
Psaki saying that "prayer is not freaking enough" sounds to Christians like she's saying God is not enough; like it's last call for his mercy and grace, like we'll be cut off soon, like it's finite. That betrays a fundamental misunderstanding, or maybe it's a deliberate put-down.
If what they mean to say is "Conservatives/Christians should not only do thoughts and prayers but also pursue our favored gun control measures," that's at least more honest. But perhaps the thoughts-and-prayers conservatives hit on something important: Policy levers can't necessarily be pulled to prevent true evil. Westman had legally purchased these weapons and had no prior criminal record. Last month's shooter in Midtown Manhattan had legally purchased his gun as well. And the policy change that some conservatives might want—way higher scrutiny applied before prescribing intense drugs to people looking to transition genders—may in fact be different than the policy changes Democrats have in mind. Be careful what you wish for.
Democrats would be wise to consider more deeply who exactly they're trying to appeal to, and who they think lives in America. We're still, despite declining religiosity, a pretty religious country. Most people have pretty traditional views about gender, believing—increasingly from 2017 to 2022—that it is the same as one's natal one, not something that can be different from the plumbing with which one was born. Four in 10 adults live in a household that has a gun; about one-third of the population owns a gun (though the partisan split is wild: 45 percent of Republicans own a gun but only 20 percent of Democrats, per Pew Research Center). What do they gain from denigrating the value of prayer? And do they actually believe that incidents like these will lead to more scrutiny on gun purchasing as opposed to gender transitioning? Democrats seem confident that things will simply go their way, but the politics of this are complicated.
Scott humbly submits that "F your prayers" might not resonate with many Americans https://t.co/gCRd3Xevs2
— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) August 28, 2025
Be on guard for distortions: School shootings are horrific; lying about how frequently they happen is pretty nasty too. If you dig into how some of these organizations categorize "school shootings," it's mighty unrecognizable from how any normal person would define that term.
Don't misread this graph. It shows when "a bullet hits school property for any reason," plus some times when a gun is brandished but not fired. 799 of the incidents (102 of the last 300) were in parking lots. 565 (60 of the last 300) were in evenings, nights, or nonschool days. https://t.co/wv7G98Lw0O
— Jesse Walker (@notjessewalker) August 28, 2025
Scenes from New York: "While his signature issue will probably always be public safety, there's a larger worldview lurking behind the crime talk: an instinctive localism that can't always be contained by those familiar political boxes of left and right or libertarian and statist," writes Reason's Jesse Walker in a great profile of mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa. "Mix that with his offbeat history and his talk-radio style, and you've got the most interesting character in the race."
The Reason Roundup Newsletter by Liz Wolfe Liz and Reason help you make sense of the day's news every morning.
QUICK HITS
- Shifting from prayer to booty real fast, just so everyone is served by this newsletter: Following Tuesday's edition, several of you pointed out that it's really unpatriotic to wear an American flag thong, not an American flag bikini top, for obvious hygiene reasons. I am in full agreement, but was trying to refrain from talking about bumhole so early in the morning. I regret the error and will never mince words again. Thank you for keeping me honest!
My favorite thing about Reason commenters is that I wrote in this a.m.'s Roundup about how THE FLAG IS SO GREAT that I've always been conflicted abt American flag bikinis/whether flag belongs on boobs and all the commenters were like AKSHUALLY ISN'T THE THONG THE REAL PROBLEM?
— Liz Wolfe (@LizWolfeReason) August 26, 2025
- "The Mexican government plans to increase tariffs on China as part of its 2026 budget proposal next month, protecting the nation's businesses from cheap imports and satisfying a longstanding demand of US President Donald Trump," reports Bloomberg. "The tariff hikes, expected for imports including cars, textiles and plastics, aim to shelter domestic manufacturers from subsidized Chinese competition, according to three people briefed on the matter."
- "China has 3 new chip fabs coming online in the next 12-24 months designed specifically to triple production of AI chips," writes journalist Saagar Enjeti on X. "Meanwhile people here are bitching about a 10% stake in Intel. Wake up people!"
- No! Bad idea:
https://t.co/rhAYV6BoKK pic.twitter.com/AxVQhOgXCg
— Charles Fain Lehman (@CharlesFLehman) August 27, 2025