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My reaction to Melania's jacket went viral. It shows just how many people really do care.

I spent $13.98 to buy the domain name IReallyDoCare.com.

It was a spur-of-the-moment decision in response to first lady Melania Trump's decision to wear a jacket with the message "I Really Don't Care. Do U?" printed across the back on her way to visit immigrant children detained at the border. Using that moment to buy a domain name doesn't seem like the most obvious of paths, but the end result of that choice has been incredible.

[rebelmouse-image 19398004 dam="1" original_size="750x500" caption="Melania Trump wearing a jacket that says "I Really Don't Care. Do U?" Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images." expand=1]Melania Trump wearing a jacket that says "I Really Don't Care. Do U?" Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.

Like millions of Americans, I've been pretty torn up over some of the images coming out of the immigration detention facilities.

Children are screaming, having been ripped from their families. The audio published by ProPublica made me sick to my stomach. I wanted to do something, but what?

"What can I do?" is always one of the first questions I ask when some humanitarian tragedy strikes or is inflicted upon others. Whether it's children being detained at the border, people in Puerto Rico struggling without power, or the citizens of Flint waiting on clean drinking water — I want to help, but often don't immediately know how to do it.

I think a lot of people are like that. Trying to figure out how to make a positive impact can be tricky, having to go through and vet a number of sites before actually taking action. Trying to cut down on that extra work is, in my opinion, one of the most important things activists and people with large platforms can do, and I'm not alone in that thinking.

Last week, while doing that same research to figure out where to send my money, I came across an ActBlue page started by Amanda Litman, who co-founded the organization Run for Something. The page offered a simple way to donate to 14 groups doing work helping families that have been separated. It was great, and I shared it to my Twitter page a number of times.

On June 21, just hours before the first lady's jacket became a hot topic, Litman tweeted a request to her followers.

"Don't let the news mess with your head — the folks working on the border still need your help," she wrote. "Fundraising has slowed down a bit, but I'd like to hit $3 million raised by end of day tomorrow. We're at $2.65m right now. Will you chip in?"

Then came the photos of the now-infamous jacket and my decision to buy the IReallyDoCare.com domain name. Having just seen Litman's call for donations through her page, I directed my domain to simply work as a redirect to her existing site. I tweeted out a hastily made image containing the link in hopes that it'd drive a few thousand additional dollars in donations to the cause. What I got, instead, was an incredibly viral tweet.

Within hours, tens of thousands of people had retweeted my post, and money poured into Litman's fundraiser. As of this writing, the total is up to $2.88 million, meaning that somewhere around $230,000 came in after my post went viral.

My initial reaction to the message on Melania's jacket was to retreat into a shell of cynicism and apathy.

It was the end of the workday, and I was idly messing around with Photoshop, creating jokey variations of the jacket. I made one that read "Let Them Eat Cake," another that said "Michelle Obama's Speech," and of course, "Be Best." There was something sort of cathartic in making those, if only to give myself a little laugh at the end of another bizarre, surreal day in Trump's America. I wasn't outraged or even upset by her jacket. I just found myself feeling apathetic. That's when I bought the domain name.

[rebelmouse-image 19476330 dam="1" original_size="1440x1269" caption="Here's a GIF I made morphing the original Zara jacket into an "I Really Do Care" jacket. GIF by Parker Molloy, image by Zara." expand=1]Here's a GIF I made morphing the original Zara jacket into an "I Really Do Care" jacket. GIF by Parker Molloy, image by Zara.

Not caring is one of the worst things that can happen to us. Apathy allows us to ignore the world's problems instead of using our combined forces to fix them.

I didn't want to feel apathetic; I didn't want to become the human embodiment of that jacket. That's why I made a simple, declarative statement: I really do care, and I'm sure others do as well.

Throwing a few dollars toward buying a short, easy to remember, and topical domain name was a way to show I care (in addition to making donations through the page itself). The website was a quick way for others and myself to channel the creeping feelings of cynicism and apathy into positive action, and it seems to have worked.

"I Really Do Care" works as not only a slogan but as a promise to ourselves and to others.

It's a direct rebuke of the most dangerous thing any of us will face during the Trump administration: apathy. We need to embrace empathy, to care about something beyond ourselves. Vulnerable populations — such as undocumented immigrants, but also people of color, women, LGBTQ people, and more — are going to rely heavily on the rest of us to help weather this storm.

"I really do care" is a way to let them know that we're all in this together and that we'll have each other's backs as we weather this storm.

Want to wear your values? PSA Supply Co., a commerce site launched by our parent company, GOOD Worldwide Inc., has followed Parker's lead by turning her re-design of Melania Trump's jacket into an "I Really Do Care" T-shirt that you can purchase. 100% of the profit will go directly toward United We Dream, the largest youth-led immigrant network in the United States.

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Regardless of feelings on immigration, the abuse of children is unacceptable.

A shocking new report reveals even more about the toll immigration takes on children. We can do better.

According to a May 2018 ACLU report, hundreds of children suffered abuse at the hands of U.S. border authorities. The crimes alleged range from verbal threats to physical abuse to being denied urgent medical care.

This isn't political. The crimes in the report happened between 2009 and 2014, when President Barack Obama was still office. They reveal systemic abuse and how the most vulnerable people can be overlooked amid the noise of a larger political debate.

Photo by John Moore/Getty Images.

The Customs and Border Protection agency has challenged the ACLU report, saying they've reformed their policies while simultaneously denying the bulk of allegations contained in the 30,000 page ACLU document. However, if even one of the allegations is true, it exposes a tragic tale and a problem that must be fixed.

Most of the immigrants in the reports of abuse were already fleeing unstable and threatening conditions, seeking asylum in a country they thought would protect them. "These are allegations that span across multiple years, multiple states, involving children from different backgrounds," said ACLU attorney Mitra Ebadolahi. "The consistency to them, to us, indicates that there’s truth there."

This has nothing to do with the debate over immigration. It's about basic humanity.

Everybody is entitled to basic human rights, and unfortunately, children and other vulnerable populations are often the most at risk. The details in the ACLU report aren't concepts. They are stories about real people facing violence and abuse during a time of incredible vulnerability.

That's why it's no coincidence that in Ebadolahi's summary of the report, she opens with the story of Jahveel Ocampo, a 15-year-old mother who was seized at the border with her 2-year-old child, where she was allegedly slapped and threatened with sexual assault if she didn't agree to sign a paper allowing for her deportation.

Photo by John Moore/Getty Images.

"If the abuses were this bad under Obama when the Border Patrol described itself as constrained, imagine how it must be now under Trump," Ebadolahi writes. After all, the Department of Homeland Security also this May released a shocking report admitting the government has "lost" 1,475 of the more than 7,000 minors taken into custody by border officials.

There are people in government working to make things better. On May 23, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California) and other congressional leaders held a rally in Washington, D.C., to support immigration and refugee policies that protect women and children.

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images.

"This is about our children, and families, and whether we’re going to be a compassionate government or a cruel government," Harris said. "And I think we’re better than this."

It's important to support groups like the ACLU that hold powerful people and institutions accountable.

These stories are heartbreaking and unacceptable, but there are real ways to hold our government accountable and demand change.

Groups like the ACLU are more important than ever on issues like immigration, free speech, and digital privacy. They are tireless advocates for individuals without the financial or political power to make their voices heard.

The ACLU has received record amounts of funding since Trump's election and this report is just the latest example of how they're working to protect the most vulnerable members of society, giving voice to those who are often voiceless.

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Houston's mayor sent a blunt message of support to undocumented immigrants fleeing Harvey.

With President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown looming and Hurricane Harvey's devastating effects still unaccounted for, many undocumented Houstonians were left to wonder if it was safe to leave their homes and seek help during the storm.

But Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who is also a lawyer, is standing up for his city's undocumented residents.

At a press conference on Aug. 28, 2017, he offered an unambiguous show of support.

"If you need help and someone comes and they require help, and then for some reason, then somebody tries to deport them, I will represent them myself, OK?" Turner said.

The mayor, who is a member of the State Bar of Texas, stood by his controversial decision not to issue an evacuation order for the city. He urged residents to seek help regardless of their immigration status. "I and others will be the first ones to stand up with you," he said.

An estimated 575,000 undocumented immigrants live in the Houston metropolitan area.

During 2008's Hurricane Ike, the last major hurricane to hit Texas, federal officials de-emphasized immigration enforcement in their communication to the public.

Airmen assess the damage after Ike. Photo by Paul Flipse/US Air Force via Getty Images.

"We're not going to be bogging people down with checks or doing things to delay the rapid movement of people out of the zone of danger," Michael Chertoff, Homeland Security secretary at the time, said.

In sharp contrast, the Texas Tribune reported on Aug. 24 that U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) checkpoints would remain open during Harvey, prompting fears that undocumented residents of the city could be apprehended while trying to evacuate.

The following day, the agency clarified that the checkpoints would "close as state highways close" but that those outside the hurricane's range would remain open during the storm. In a joint statement, CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced they would be suspending enforcement operations at evacuation sites, shelters, and food banks.

As rumors swirl about immigration enforcement, at least Houston's city government is working to calm anxious residents enough to request the services they need.

"We want you to call," Turner said in the press conference. "There is absolutely no reason why anyone should not call."

A mayor shouldn't have to stand up and offer legal services just so his city's residents can get help in a life-threatening crisis. But it's good to see he's willing to do whatever it takes to bring people to safety.

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