Politics

/

ArcaMax

Editorial: Texas camp tragedy brings out best and worst of us

Boston Herald, Boston Herald on

Published in Op Eds

Tragedies bring out the best in people — at least that’s the assumption of a decent society. For some, however, the misfortune of others prompts them to unleash the most vile and abhorrent of screeds.

When torrential rains in central Texas caused the surging Guadalupe River to flood Friday morning, the swift, deadly waters washed away much of Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp. According to reports Monday, at least 91 were killed, including 27 girls and counselors at the camp.

Jenna Bush Hager, 43, talked about the devastation on “Today.”

“My mom was a counselor there, but also so many of my friends were raised at this camp,” said Bush Hager.

“Texas camps are institutions, as you just heard, where many family members, generations — this camp was 100 years old — so grandmothers, mothers, kids, have all gone there.”

The phrase “a parent’s worst nightmare” has been used, but the horror, grief and fear among those still waiting for their daughters to be found or who have learned their children are dead is beyond words.

Prayers for those killed and missing and words of empathy have poured in.

Then there are those who exploit the pain of others for their own agendas. They lack a conscience, but they have social media accounts.

Houston pediatrician Dr. Christina B. Propst posted this under her old Facebook username, Chris Tina, according to Mediaite: “May all visitors, children, non-MAGA voters and pets be safe and dry,” Probst wrote. The post went viral after a screenshot was shared by Libs of TikTok.

“Kerr County MAGA voted to gut FEMA. They deny climate change. May they get what they voted for. Bless their hearts.”

 

There was well-deserved backlash, lots of it. Propst deleted the post, but she couldn’t delete the consequences. Blue Fish Pediatrics, her employer, announced that “the individual is no longer employed” there.

“As we previously mentioned in our original statement, we strongly condemn the comments that were made in that post. That post does not reflect the values, standards, or mission of Blue Fish Pediatrics,” the company said.

Propst wasn’t the only one scraping moral bottom. As searchers worked tirelessly, a former Houston mayoral appointee raged that Camp Mystic was “white-only.’’

“I know I’m going to get canceled for this, but Camp Mystic is a white-only girls’ Christian camp. They don’t even have a token Asian. They don’t have a token Black person. It’s an all-white, white-only conservative Christian camp,” Sade Perkins said in a video on her private TikTok account.

She was appointed to the city’s Food Insecurity Board by former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner in 2023, the New York Post reported. That term was up in January — and Houston Mayor John Whitmire said Sunday that he has no plans to reappoint her, particularly after her “deeply inappropriate comments.”

Part of social media’s appeal is the chance it offers for anyone, famous, infamous and unknown, to voice their views on current events, whether they have followers in the millions or dozens. All too often it’s a megaphone for the morally bankrupt.

It’s also, as Propst and Perkins are to discover, forever. Nothing really goes away on the internet, especially scandals. Their reprehensible posts and videos will always be there, thanks to screenshots, and searchable by, say, potential future employers, neighbors and friends.

We have no sympathy for them.


©2025 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at bostonherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus

 

Related Channels

The ACLU

ACLU

By The ACLU
Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman

By Amy Goodman
Armstrong Williams

Armstrong Williams

By Armstrong Williams
Austin Bay

Austin Bay

By Austin Bay
Ben Shapiro

Ben Shapiro

By Ben Shapiro
Betsy McCaughey

Betsy McCaughey

By Betsy McCaughey
Bill Press

Bill Press

By Bill Press
Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

By Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Cal Thomas

Cal Thomas

By Cal Thomas
Christine Flowers

Christine Flowers

By Christine Flowers
Clarence Page

Clarence Page

By Clarence Page
Danny Tyree

Danny Tyree

By Danny Tyree
David Harsanyi

David Harsanyi

By David Harsanyi
Debra Saunders

Debra Saunders

By Debra Saunders
Dennis Prager

Dennis Prager

By Dennis Prager
Dick Polman

Dick Polman

By Dick Polman
Erick Erickson

Erick Erickson

By Erick Erickson
Froma Harrop

Froma Harrop

By Froma Harrop
Jacob Sullum

Jacob Sullum

By Jacob Sullum
Jamie Stiehm

Jamie Stiehm

By Jamie Stiehm
Jeff Robbins

Jeff Robbins

By Jeff Robbins
Jessica Johnson

Jessica Johnson

By Jessica Johnson
Jim Hightower

Jim Hightower

By Jim Hightower
Joe Conason

Joe Conason

By Joe Conason
Joe Guzzardi

Joe Guzzardi

By Joe Guzzardi
John Micek

John Micek

By John Micek
John Stossel

John Stossel

By John Stossel
Josh Hammer

Josh Hammer

By Josh Hammer
Judge Andrew P. Napolitano

Judge Andrew Napolitano

By Judge Andrew P. Napolitano
Laura Hollis

Laura Hollis

By Laura Hollis
Marc Munroe Dion

Marc Munroe Dion

By Marc Munroe Dion
Michael Barone

Michael Barone

By Michael Barone
Mona Charen

Mona Charen

By Mona Charen
Rachel Marsden

Rachel Marsden

By Rachel Marsden
Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry

By Rich Lowry
Robert B. Reich

Robert B. Reich

By Robert B. Reich
Ruben Navarrett Jr.

Ruben Navarrett Jr

By Ruben Navarrett Jr.
Ruth Marcus

Ruth Marcus

By Ruth Marcus
S.E. Cupp

S.E. Cupp

By S.E. Cupp
Salena Zito

Salena Zito

By Salena Zito
Star Parker

Star Parker

By Star Parker
Stephen Moore

Stephen Moore

By Stephen Moore
Susan Estrich

Susan Estrich

By Susan Estrich
Ted Rall

Ted Rall

By Ted Rall
Terence P. Jeffrey

Terence P. Jeffrey

By Terence P. Jeffrey
Tim Graham

Tim Graham

By Tim Graham
Tom Purcell

Tom Purcell

By Tom Purcell
Veronique de Rugy

Veronique de Rugy

By Veronique de Rugy
Victor Joecks

Victor Joecks

By Victor Joecks
Wayne Allyn Root

Wayne Allyn Root

By Wayne Allyn Root

Comics

Tim Campbell Gary Varvel Jeff Koterba Bart van Leeuwen Ed Gamble Margolis and Cox