KLAVAN: My Thoughts And Prayers

It was, I think, comedian Anthony Jeselnik who inspired the openly hostile reaction against thoughts and prayers. His 2015 Netflix special was entitled Thoughts and Prayers and featured the comic in his trademark persona as a dark-natured, cynical guy who breaks taboos and slays sacred cows with vicious sarcasm.

“This is who I’m making fun of when I make a joke on Twitter the day of a tragedy,” Jeselnik says in his routine. “The people who see something horrible happen in the world and they run to the Internet. And they run to their social media … And they all write down the exact same thing: ‘My thoughts and prayers …’ Do you know what that’s worth … ? Less than nothing … All you are doing is saying, ‘Don’t forget about me today.’”