{"id":25795,"date":"2024-12-20T10:57:43","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T15:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=25795"},"modified":"2025-09-03T22:17:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T02:17:16","slug":"jd-vance-tells-nyt-reader-to-stop-being-a-weirdo-after-complaining-about-neighbors-prayers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2024\/12\/jd-vance-tells-nyt-reader-to-stop-being-a-weirdo-after-complaining-about-neighbors-prayers","title":{"rendered":"JD Vance Tells NYT Reader to \u201cstop being a weirdo\u201d After Complaining About Neighbor\u2019s Prayers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"J.D.<\/a>
Left: The White House | Right: Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A New York Times <\/em>reader with a complaint about their octogenarian neighbor\u2019s prayers found themself rebuked by Vice President-elect JD Vance. The anonymous reader sent a question to The New York Times, <\/em>noting that their 85-year-old neighbor was a \u201csweet friend and caring person.\u201d The problem, however, was that while this neighbor was \u201cvery religious,\u201d the reader described themself as \u201cnot at all.\u201d \u201cShe prays for me and says it in person, texts and emails for even the most minor of situations,\u201d the reader continued. \u201cI\u2019ve told her my view of religion and that she doesn\u2019t need to pray for me. She said she has to, otherwise she\u2019s not following the Bible. I\u2019m trying to ignore this, but it\u2019s really bothering me that she can\u2019t respect my wishes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The question caught the eye of Vance, who shared it on his X account<\/a>. \u201cWhat should you do?\u201d he asked. \u201cAccept it as a sweet gesture and stop being a weirdo.\u201d He also told the reader to \u201cconsider that the woman praying for her neighbors has it more figured out than the person whining to the paper.\u201d Others agreed with Vance\u2019s take, with one user writing<\/a>, \u201cPraying for someone is literally the most powerful thing one person can do for another. If you don\u2019t like this you have problems and prayer is even more appropriate.\u201d Another commended the praying neighbor. \u201cThe act of praying for one\u2019s neighbors reflects selflessness and a deep connection to community,\u201d wrote the user<\/a>. \u201cPerhaps she does have it more figured out, offering us an example of love in action. We should all be inspired by such acts of compassion and strive to emulate them.\u201d The responses where similar to the backlash that Mother Jones <\/em>editor-in-chief Clara Jeffery<\/a> received when she criticized a flight attendant for wishing her a \u201cblessed\u201d night.<\/p>\n

The New York Times\u2019 <\/em>Kwame Anthony Appiah, who responded<\/a> to the reader, responded with his own thoughts. \u201cIf you don\u2019t think these prayers will do you any good, you presumably also don\u2019t think they\u2019ll do you any harm. By contrast, she thinks that you\u2019ll be worse off without them and that praying for you is her duty,\u201d wrote Appiah. He stated the reader couldn\u2019t really ask their praying neighbor to stop praying but might be able to ask her to stop informing them of her prayers. Yet Appiah suggested the better approach would be to just accept the neighbor. \u201cStill, instead of requiring that your octogenarian neighbor change her ways, I wonder whether you might change yours \u2014 and learn to accept this woman for who she is, hearing her prayers as a sincere expression of her loving feelings toward you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A New York Times reader with a complaint about their octogenarian neighbor\u2019s prayers found themself rebuked by Vice President-elect JD Vance. The anonymous reader sent a question to The New York Times, noting that their 85-year-old neighbor was a \u201csweet friend and caring person.\u201d The problem, however, was that while this neighbor was \u201cvery religious,\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":462,"featured_media":28805,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nJD Vance Tells NYT Reader to \u201cstop being a weirdo\u201d After Complaining About Neighbor\u2019s Prayers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vice President-elect JD Vance rebukes New York Times reader over complaint about neighbor's prayers.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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