The Parkland shooting has sparked some major debates over gun laws and rights, but it’s also brought out the ugly side of some people.
Some people are working really hard to prove that the Parkland survivors are wrong in wanting more gun control, but their views are being blurred by the way they handle themselves and speak.
The shooting survivors are teenagers, and they are simply trying to understand these laws and improve their learning environments.
They have been through enough; do they really need a bunch of adults yelling at them and calling them names?
Fox News host Laura Ingraham recently took things too far during an argument with survivor David Hogg. Being the mature adult that she is, she took her comments to social media. She tweeted:
“David Hogg Rejected by Four Colleges to Which He Applied and whines about it. (Dinged by UCLA with a 4.1 GPA…totally predictable given acceptance rates.)”
Her tweet didn’t help her at all.
People saw the grown woman making fun of a teenage shooting survivor and called her out on it.
Hogg could have argued back and even defended himself, but he didn’t. He did something that would be far more effective as far as Ingraham’s career was concerned. Instead of urging his supporters to argue with her, he asked them to contact her advertisers. Hogg has been surprisingly mature on social media. On his Twitter, he has a post pinned that says:
“Can we please not debate this as Democrats and Republicans but discuss this as Americans? In the comments, if you see someone you disagree with do not attack each other talk to one another, this applies to me too. WE MUST WORK TOGETHER TO SAVE OUR FUTURE.”
It didn’t take long for Ingraham to realize her mistake and issue an apology.
Of course, she tried to cover up her actions by posting that she had first interviewed Hogg after the shooting. She even invited him back for more discussion. She said:
“Any student should be proud of a 4.2 GPA —incl. @DavidHogg111. On reflection, in the spirit of Holy Week, I apologize for any upset or hurt my tweet caused him or any of the brave victims of Parkland. For the record, I believe my show was the first to feature David immediately after that horrific shooting and even noted how ‘poised’ he was given the tragedy. As always, he’s welcome to return to the show anytime for a productive discussion.”
It’s not likely Hogg will be taking her up on that offer.
Why would he? It was clearly an attempt to save herself in front of her advertisers. Hogg saw right through it and posted a reply, sharing a post from Fred Guttenberg and saying:
“I 100% agree an apology in an effort just to save your advertisers is not enough. I will only accept your apology only if you denounce the way your network has treated my friends and I in this fight. It’s time to love thy neighbor, not mudsling at children.”
The Parkland survivors know how to use social media to their advantage.
By standing up to the people who are talking negatively about them, they are only getting their point across better. Little can be accomplished by victim shaming and mudslinging. It’s time to move forward together, and that means putting differences aside and working to find a solution.
How many advertisers Ingraham lost as a result of her post is unknown, but she likely lost a lot of respect and support. Hogg, on the other hand, has proven that he can handle debates and disagreements in a mature way.
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Can we please not debate this as Democrats and Republicans but discuss this as Americans? In the comments if you see someone you dissagree with do not attack each other talk to one another, this applies to me too. WE MUST WORK TOGETHER TO SAVE OUR FUTURE.
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) March 12, 2018
