Rick Santorum says students should learn CPR, and not ask for gun laws.

Before I begin, I try to avoid getting political in my posts because it can turn into quite a mess. However, when I see stories like the one I'm about to talk about, I can't keep quiet.

Former PA Senator Rick Santorum stated on Sunday that the students who marched bravely for gun control should learn CPR instead. He also said that these kids need to find their own way to prevent school shootings.
"How about kids instead of looking to someone else to solve their problem, do something about maybe taking CPR classes or trying to deal with situations that when there is a violent shooter that you can actually respond to that."

He continued by saying that kids should handle bullying in their own communities and they should approach the shooters themselves.

These comments came a day after hundreds of thousands of students across the US and around the world rallied for officials to push for tougher gun control laws. The rallies were led by students from Marjory Douglas High School in Parkland Florida, where 17 people were killed last month.
The rallies had some special guest speakers, including Martin Luther King Jr's 9-year-old granddaughter. Her speech was followed by criticism by adults old enough to be her father and grandfather. Some of the comments threatened her overall physical safety.

The students from Parkland who led the rallies were also met with widespread criticism from adults. Adults 3 to 4 times their ages laughed at these students, calling them horrible names, and also threatening their safety.

My Two Cents

This is what I want to talk about today: mocking and threatening these kids for having an opinion. These kids are scared, and they are turning to adults for help. They want to go to school without worrying about whether they will be going home in one piece at the end of the day. As we all know, it isn't very often teenagers ask us adults for help. Teens are in the "know-it-all, I can handle it myself" frame of mind. We have all been there. I remember it well. These children and teens are desperate to live in a world where they don't have to be afraid of being shot or stabbed.
Seeing comments from people my age and older, criticizing these kids and even physically threatening them, shows a bigger problem in this world. What if it was your child who was tragically gunned down while in school? Are you going to be the same schmuck who mocks and threatens these students? Or are you going to be fighting for more gun laws? As for my stance on gun laws, I'm keeping it private. Like I said, I don't like to get political in my posts. I would like to see a resolution to the problem, no matter what it is.

To the adults who are mocking and threatening these children, how do you sleep at night? Does it give you some sick pleasure to throw salt into their open wounds? All they want is to feel safe. None of these students feel safe. They are living in fear, and when adults like you belittle them, they lose faith in the older generations. They still need us. We need to listen to them. We need to hug them. We need to fight FOR them, not against them. Put your politics aside and think about things from these kids' perspectives. As a mother (to be), I would fight tooth and nail to make sure my kid is safe always. I would fight and vote on their behalf because my child's well-being means more to me than my own.

I think all my fellow adults could benefit from a little: "If you cannot say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

As for Rick Santorum, I only agreed with one thing he said: Kids could do something in their communities to help stop bullying. There's "Be a Star" that many celebrities back. The program teaches kids how to end bullying and embrace anyone, regardless of who they are and where they come from.
When it comes to everything else he said, he is obviously one of the adults who isn't paying attention to the bigger picture. Telling kids to approach an active shooter is extremely dangerous and disgusting. I'm sure he would be singing a different tune if one of his kids had been among the victims in the Parkland shooting. He would be fighting alongside the students, pushing for a solution. Instead, these millionaire officials are sitting comfortable in their mansions and watching from the sidelines.
We elect officials to push/sign laws on behalf of us. Is he telling us that all of our efforts at the polls are for nothing?

Mr. Santorum, these kids are our future, and they are begging the adults in the US for help. As parents, we vote to ensure a safe country for our children to grow up in. By you saying what you said, you have no faith in the future of our country. As for me, I think these kids are extremely brave for standing up for what they believe in. They just want a solution so they don't have to worry about being gunned down in schools. I remember 20ish years ago when Columbine happened. I was in high school at the time and, even though the tragedy took place thousands of miles from where I lived, myself and everyone else were afraid. That was the first time any of us had been afraid to go to school. That was just one incident. These days, school shootings are happening everyday. I cannot imagine the horror these kids go through, going into school everyday and looking over their shoulder at their fellow students. It's not a healthy place to be for these children who aren't fully cognitively developed. Like I said, we need to fight for these students. We need a resolution, and THEY need a resolution.

source:
www.wfsb.com/story/37804734/rick-santorum-students-should-learn-cpr-not-seek-gun-laws

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