Thoughts And Prayers The phrase “thoughts and prayers” is often used by officials and celebrities in the United States as a condolence after a tragic event, such as a deadly natural disaster or mass shooting. The phrase has received criticism for its repeated usage in the context of gun violence...
What Is Pity? Pity is a sympathetic sorrow evoked by the suffering of others, and is used in a comparable sense to compassion, condolence or empathy – the word deriving from the Latin pietās (etymon also of piety). Two different kinds of pity can be distinguished, “benevolent pity” and “contemptuous pity” (see Kimball), where, through...