The collapse of the Champlain South Towers Condominium in Surfside, Florida has been a shocking tragedy, but it's also illustrated the excellent advice by the late Fred Rogers, to "look for the helpers" whenever the news is sad or scary. 

City, county, state, and federal officials have been in constant communication since the building partially collapsed early last Thursday morning, and it has been a rare spot of bipartisan cooperation in this politically divisive era. There have been a few squabbles here and there, and the occasional mean tweet from outsiders, but any ugliness has been far outshone by the good.

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett (nonpartisan), Miami-Dade County Mayor Danielle Levine Cava (D), State Sen. Jason Pizzo (D), State Sen. Lauren Book (D), Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), Florida Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried (D), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D), Sen. Marco Rubio (R), along with FEMA officials, other representatives of the Biden administration, local police and fire department officials, and international search and rescue teams have been a visible presence in the beachfront community. These officials have held press conferences multiple times a day, in English and Spanish to best reach the diverse South Florida population, and worked closely with area charities and religious groups to support traumatized families praying for a miracle that their loved ones still survive.

"We don't have a resources problem," Burkett has said repeatedly over the past few days, "we have a luck problem," with rescue efforts hindered by fire, weather, and the instability of the collapsed concrete structure. The nearly-complete absence of partisan bickering and blame-storming has been a blessing, and we commend the teamwork of these officials to put their fellow humans first.

Being a corporate PR flack can be tough work, especially during these times of social media trends spreading at the speed of light. You can do everything you can to stay on top of developments within your company, but then suddenly you're a trending topic on Twitter, need to react...and then just make it all so much worse.

After the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, many companies pledged to abstain from donating to members of Congress who objected to the certification of the election. While the vast majority of those businesses have stuck by their word, the Los Angeles Times found that some companies had resumed political contributions despite their earlier commitment.

Then, in a report published Sunday, Axios found that Toyota had donated more than any other company to to Republican election objectors. Its $55,000 in donations was nearly double the amounts compared to the two companies behind them in terms of these donations (Cubic Corp. and Applied Research Associates Inc.).

That article alone was enough to get Toyota's name trending on Twitter, and much of the reaction was harshly critical, including people who tagged the company's account and vowed to not buy another Toyota vehicle.

And then they made it worse. 

"Based on our thorough review, we decided against giving to some members who, through their statements and actions, undermine the legitimacy of our elections and institutions," a Toyota spokesperson said in a statement. However, they continued, "[w]e do not believe it is appropriate to judge members of Congress solely based on their votes on the electoral certification." 

Well, it's not at the level of the 1990s Ford Explorers with Firestone Tires, but we wouldn't want to be in Toyota's communications department today.