A few days ago comic book fan and Clerks director Kevin Smith suffered a massive heart attack. He took to social media to talk about the ordeal in a tweet below.
After the first show this evening, I had a massive heart attack. The Doctor who saved my life told me I had 100% blockage of my LAD artery (aka “the Widow-Maker”). If I hadn’t canceled show 2 to go to the hospital, I would’ve died tonight. But for now, I’m still above ground! pic.twitter.com/M5gSnW9E5h
— KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) February 26, 2018
Shortly afterward Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt did what any normal and non-insane person would do. He sent his well wishes and told Kevin he was going to pray for him and asked his fans to do the same.
Kevin we don’t know each other too good but I have loved you since Clerks and I’m praying my ass off for you cause I believe in the healing power of prayer. Can you please pray with me people!? 🙏♥️ https://t.co/syB7BiQaoY
— Chris Pratt (@prattprattpratt) February 26, 2018
But of course, it didn’t take long for trolls on Twitter to hijack this kind gesture. Of course, the vast majority of the negative folks pointed out it was not prayer, but medical professionals who saved Kevin Smith’s life. Though I do not see anything in Chris’s original tweet that could be construed in claiming they didn’t.
That's cool and everything but Doctors and nurses save lives not prayer.
— Retro Bigfoot (@RetroBigfoot) February 26, 2018
Some even went as far as to attack the actor for simply having faith in Christ.
Great now I won't enjoy your films as much knowing you're a Jesus nut
— Ewan Wilson (@scotstralian) February 26, 2018
It seems to some that just offering up a prayer for someone you care about will have you labeled a “Jesus Nut.” Other users went even further claiming it was God’s will for Kevin to have a heart attack. Some just mocked Chris Pratt for having faith to begin with. But thankfully it seems those within the Marvel Cinematic Universe family stick together. Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn had some words for the haters.
https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/968136822927671298
https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/968136824878059520
https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/968136827214348290
https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/968136834856337408
https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/968136838572515328
https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/968136845006524417
James passionately defended Chris Pratt. He explained ther ewas nothing wrong with offering prayers for those you care about. However, he did call out people who use tragedies to offer prayers without taking any sort of action to bring about change. Despite his seemingly common sense message, that didn’t stop people from targeting him with their hate and completely missing the point he was making.
If I have a medical emergency in a room full of doctors I sure as hell wouldnt want them all to say "you are in our thoughts"
— FOXXY 🪰🪰 (@paperfoxx) February 26, 2018
Except that sending thoughts & prayers causes inaction & is the same as saying I will talk to myself about you. There is also the study done by a religious group (that was hoping prayers were real) that found that when people know they are being prayed for, they recovered worse.
— The Creator Unknown (@TMMackz) February 27, 2018
Then later on Kevin had his own take on this. During a Facebook Live event, he spoke at length about Chris’s prayers and the reactions of the trolls.
“Poor Chris Pratt, one of my favorite actors on the planet, f—ing put up a nice tweet, where he’s just like, ‘Hey man, I don’t know you that much but I love “Clerks” and I’m praying for you,’ and and apparently people were like, ‘F— your prayers’ and attacked him and s—,”
“And number one, thanks to Chris Pratt, how sweet was that,”… “Number two, please don’t fight over stuff like that. It’s a waste of time. Whether you’re religious or not, someone saying ‘I’ll pray for you,’ it’s good intentions.”
There you have it. We live in a world that offering up your prayers is now something worthy of attack from those who care more about attacking a God they feel doesn’t exist. Thankfully, Kevin is healing up and I will pray that he will make a speedy recovery.
What do you think? Should the reaction of these pseudo-intellectuals on Twitter surprise you?