The Left has an uncanny ability to twist words and language to fit into their distorted worldview. It's necessary, of course, to have a stranglehold on the language. How else could they convince a segment of the population that some men can, in fact, get pregnant?
But few words have been tortured more than 'empathy.' The textbook definition of empathy is 'the ability to understand, share, and experience the feelings, emotions, and perspectives of another person.'
Close behind 'empathy,' the Left's twisting of the idea of 'rights' is appalling and revealing. Rights, as understood best in America's founding documents, are things endowed to us by our Creator — things that cannot be taken away or limited by the government, like the right to free speech or the right to keep and bear arms.
Instead of that definition, however, the Left has adopted a new definition of rights. The things they either like or want to control are rights, such as education, healthcare, or housing. Things they dislike — free speech and guns, for example — are somehow not rights. Therefore, the concept of 'human rights' is just an amalgamation of Leftists wishes and political desires, and not actual rights.
Using both of these definitions is how actor John C. Reilly, who I happen to like as an actor, was able to ask how the 'right wing' doesn't care about human rights or empathy.
John C. Reilly: “Why aren’t people on the right wing concerned about human rights? They’re human too. Elon Musk says don’t be fooled by the empathy trap. Empathy is not a trap, empathy is a superpower. It’s what makes human beings exceptional, our ability to look outside ourself” pic.twitter.com/QS23Uzk0wS
— Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) June 22, 2026
Having the ability to empathize with another human being does not mean you have to eschew all semblance of common sense and self-preservation.
Yet that's what Leftists demand. We see it repeatedly in the U.K., where the 'crime' of 'racism' is considered a bigger offense than being stabbed, as the maddening and completely avoidable death of Henry Nowak proved not too long ago. On top of that, we've seen the Left's dismissive and condescending reaction to the Rape Gang Inquiry Report that was released last week. Those girls, mostly white and lower-class Brits, were systematically and violently abused by Muslim gangs that coordinated a massive human trafficking ring to rape, abuse, and harm these girls. Instead of protecting them, the government — including social workers, police officers, and healthcare workers — ignored the atrocities.
Why? To be 'empathetic' to the Muslim migrants, of course. They somehow have the 'right' to infect the British nation with their backward, sexually violent culture. Because reasons.
We cannot put criminals in jail, no matter how violent or mentally ill they are, because that's not 'empathetic,' either. Meanwhile, their victims? They apparently have neither human rights nor are deserving of our empathy, it seems. Funny how that works. I think of the numerous victims of illegal immigrants, including Laken Riley. Or women like Iryna Zarutska, who did nothing wrong when she took a train home and was stabbed in the neck by a monster who should have been behind bars.
If not for 'empathy' and 'human rights,' of course.
Empathy is an admirable human trait. It's what makes communities come together after natural disasters or other tragedies. But it is not, and was never meant to be, a suicide pact.
Guys like Reilly and other Leftists are able to demand empathy from others because they are insulated from the damaging impacts of their policies. It's not their daughters being raped by Pakistanis in the U.K.; their sister isn't being stabbed in the neck on public transport. Their streets aren't lined with strung-out homeless meth-heads who may or may not burn the entire city down. It's easy to be empathetic when life is good for you.
