If you’ve been paying attention to the news lately chances are you’ve noticed this too:

It's almost as if some people in this country WANT a civil war. They see hate where none exists and assume the worst in every situation.

Take the mayor of Fort Lauderdale, for instance.

On Saturday evening, tragedy struck the Wilton Manor Stonewall Pride Parade, about 10 miles north of Fort Lauderdale. A white pickup truck plowed into the marching Gay Men’s Chorus, killing one member and critically injuring another.

Tragic. Horrifying. Chaotic.

Yet the Democratic credo to never let a crisis go to waste clearly was not lost on Mayor Dean Trantalis. Here’s what he told the Sun Sentinel shortly after the tragedy.

This was a terrorist attack against the LGBTQ community. He [the driver of the truck] came here to destroy people. This was clearly no accident.

Clearly.

And just like that the table was set for a backlash against conservative Floridians. Shoot, #DeathSantis was trending on Twitter for more than a day.

This is because thousands of idiots, eager to fan the flames of division, assumed that the accident had something to do with the anti-riot bill Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law in April. That law grants civil immunity to motorists who drive into mobs of protesters if they fear for their own safety if they stop.

Trouble is, the driver of the pickup was a member of the Gay Men’s Chorus who was driving because a health condition wouldn’t allow him to march.

Justin Knight, president of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus, put out the following statement to clear up the lies spread in the immediate aftermath of the accident

“Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the tragic accident that occurred when the Stonewall Pride Parade was just getting started. Our fellow Chorus members were those injured and the driver was a part of the Chorus family. To my knowledge, this was not an attack on the LGBTQ community.”

Too late. By the time of Knight’s soothing statement, the hate crime report was everywhere.

When will folks learn to take a deep breath and wait for the facts before leaping to conclusions that support a twisted narrative? 

Once the record was corrected you could sense the disappointment of those on social media who root for a bitterly divided America.

Thoughts and prayers for them.