If you’ve payed any attention to the news in the last couple weeks I’m sure you’ve heard about what happened in Manchester on May 22nd. If you don’t know, at an Ariana Grande concert in the Manchester arena a bomb went off at around 10:30 p.m… a bomb that killed 22 people, the youngest being only 8 years-old, and injured another 150 innocent concert goers.
After the news broke people immediately turned to social media to voice their grief. People posted pictures on Instagram, and shared articles on Facebook, all in support of the victims and their families. Most of the things people wrote were extremely touching and meaningful, but not all. My cousin was the first one to point it out to me; she direct messaged a funny comment someone had made on twitter about someone else’s tweet. The original tweet was as follows: “God is speaking to her for being promiscuous and promoting homosexuals. When HE speaks you must listen, friends! #ArianaGrande”. When I saw this, I was appalled. I couldn’t believe someone would actually think this about what happened in Manchester, let alone tweet it publicly for everyone to see, including the victims families. As I sat and read through the replies to this tweet, I was disgusted. People were actually agreeing with what had been said. It baffles me that someone could take something so devastating as a terrorist attack on children and blame someone like Ariana Grande for it. The only people to blame are the those that committed the attack. That’s all, end of story.
Buzzfeed UK shared an article this week from three years ago about an alleged comment Grande made about wishing her fans would “all fucking die”. Seriously Buzzfeed? How class-less can you get? In no way was Ariana responsible for this horrible event. It pains me to think that someone as sweet and kind-hearted as she seems could be blamed for such a thing. I know Grande was deeply effected by what happened, she suspended the rest of he tour, and has made very few public appearances since. She also released a very touching statement about the bombing on May 26th and has publicly said that she will be returning to Manchester for a benefit concert for the victims and victims families. It’s something that she will carry with her for the remainder of her life.
I’m Catholic, but I do not believe in a God that would punish innocent citizens just to prove a point. God is not vengeful, he is forgiving. God is not dictatorial, he is empathetic. God does not judge, he loves all. I applaud Ariana for being one of the few artists in the media nowadays that whole-heartedly stands up for what she believes in. I commend her for not compromising her morals in order to achieve greater success and stardom. And to all the people out there hating on Ariana Grande for whatever reason, reevaluate yourself. Grande is nothing more than a genuinely kind 23-year-old with an amazing voice. I feel horrible about what she must being going through since the attack in Manchester.
