When tragedy strikes, people outside the devastation go all out to show support. When tragedy strikes, others reach out with kind arms to help. When tragedy strikes, the public should not disrespect the victims by posting insensitive comments on social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram.

On Feb. 14, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, suffered through a mass school shooting. The tragic event was responsible for the loss of 17 lives. In response to the shooting, many people have reached out to show their support for Parkland through various social media. However, the responses surrounding the mass shooting have not all been positive.

Right-wing political commentator Dinesh D’Souza tweeted “worst news since their parents told them to get summer jobs,” on Feb. 20, mocking the grieving community a mere three days after the event. His tweet brought out lots of people, replying in anger to his inconsiderate comment. Unfortunately, D’Souza has not been the only negative commenter on the issue. Another Twitter user @Larry_Beech tweeted “this David Hogg kid is either an attention whore or is somehow in on the whole thing.”

Community support in situations like the Parkland shooting is important. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are four common responses to a traumatic event: cognitive, emotional, physical and behavioral. These four responses all affect the brain and body in different ways. A cognitive response could be poor concentration, while an example of an emotional response might be depression. For a physical response an example would include poor sleep, and as for behavioral responses some examples may be irritability and withdrawal. While the four types of responses have neurological differences, they all contribute to a decrease a person’s quality of life. Students, faculty and other community members who were personally affected are at risk for these trauma responses. By showing Parkland overwhelming support it may help alleviate these responses and symptoms.

In contrast to the positive, negative comments may stress out someone coping with trauma. Disrespectful comments like D’Souza’s can anger and disturb people. Insensitive posts on social media could possibly be triggering to those connected to the shooting, which could make it more difficult for them to cope. The 17 victims of the shooting were real people that became victims of a terrible event. Each victim had people who cared for them, whether it was a teacher, friend or family member someone is out there right now forced to deal with the devastation of losing that person.  Using the real feelings of people affected by the shooting for your own comedic gestures is not okay and should not be tolerated.

The excuse of “trying to lighten a dark situation” does not apply to the Parkland shooting. Desensitizing the seriousness of the situation is unacceptable. The Parkland shooting was an event that took lives and will forever have an impact on its community, adding to the list of lives taken from school shootings in America. Any social media account, big in popularity or small, should be called out on their behavior when making ignorant comments on social media.