This article does not represent the views of Her Campus FSU.
On Feb. 14, 2018, students and teachers lost their lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, when 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, armed with an AR-15, opened fire in their halls. Among these victims are a geography teacher, a football coach, an athletic director and 14 young men and women who had bright futures ahead of them. The news of the shooting spread almost instantly, with many students tweeting about their experiences both during and after the incident. And as always, the people of the Internet felt obligated to give their opinions. Responses ranged from condolences to the victims and their families and pleas for gun control to insensitive assertions that guns are not the problem. Tomi Lahren, Twitter’s least favorite conservative pundit, also weighed in (per usual), saying the problem isn’t with guns but with “another lunatic,” and criticizing “the Left” for “pushing their anti-gun agenda” in the wake of the horrific shooting. According to Lahren, the victims’ families hadn’t been given enough time to grieve before people began calling for government action.
Courtesy: Twitter
First of all, Tammy, you’re a hypocrite. In posting that Tweet, you’re pushing your own political pro-gun agenda, doing the exact thing you criticize “the Left” for doing. This tweet is not only incredibly insensitive but also just wrong on so many accounts. But obviously, I am not the one you need to be apologizing to.
As one would imagine, the survivors of the Parkland shooting did not tolerate Lahren’s crass remarks. One student described her own experience and reminded Lahren that she wasn’t there and has no idea what it’s like to live through such a horrific event.
Courtesy: Twitter
Other students, teachers and parents have targeted President Trump and Congress, condemning them for their continued lack of action in the face of yet another mass shooting. Stoneman Douglas senior David Hogg challenged lawmakers to get over their political differences in a speech, saying, “We are children; you are the adults. You need to take some action and play a role. Work together. Come over your politics and get something done.” As well as the surviving students, parents and families of the victims are pleading with officials to make a change. Lori Alhadeff, the mother of 14-year-old victim Alyssa Alhadeff, called on Trump to make a change to ensure the safety of children in schools around the country. You can watch her powerful speech here.
Whatever your views on gun control, I think we can all agree that something needs to change.