What The Hell America!

A grown woman used a racist slur against a 5-year-old, defended it on camera, and now has raised nearly three-quarters of a million dollars on GiveSendGo. This is the most grotesque example I’ve seen recently of what some people call “vice signaling”—the conservative movement’s twisted mirror image of virtue signaling, where people donate money specifically to show support for reprehensible behavior.

On her GiveSendGo page, which initially sought a modest $20,000 before rapidly increasing to a goal of $1 million, Hendrix claims she’s in a “dire situation” because her personal information has been leaked online. “I fear that we must relocate,” she wrote, claiming she and her family have received threats.

But here’s the thing: There’s no evidence that her address has actually been “leaked,” as she claims. And even if it had been—which to be clear, I’m not advocating for—the appropriate response would be filing a police report, not raising nearly a million dollars. A new apartment’s security deposit and first month’s rent isn’t a $700,000 expense, last I checked.