My Daughter Died At Parkland. Now I Want The Media To Stop Exploiting The Tragedy
My daughter, Meadow, was murdered in the Parkland School shooting and I am appalled that the Washington Post would publish a series of articles and photos from various mass shootings in America to push a radical, dangerous agenda. For the sake of intellectual honesty, they should demonize the liberal policies that are creating these monsters and allowing these tragedies to continue.
Heavy on emotion but short on facts, the Washington Post fails to mention some of the most basic details about the crimes they featured.
Every mass killing has been carried out by a deranged and dangerous criminal. Local authorities were warned in advance that these troubled individuals were threatening violence, which is a punishable offense, yet they were never charged with a crime, put behind bars, or given meaningful treatment.
The Parkland killer had multiple incidents at school involving dangerous, threatening behavior. In fact, local law enforcement reportedly responded to the shooter’s house over forty times. However, despite violent behavior such as severely beating his mother, lenient, leftist policies let another criminal go free. Later, that same criminal massacred innocent students, and educators at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, including my daughter.
To keep our schools—and communities—safe, we must remove these dangerous, threatening people before they inflict harm on themselves or others. It’s common sense, yet the Washington Post continues to blame inanimate objects for the criminal behavior of evil human beings.
The Washington Post also forgot to mention that nearly every shooting detailed in their series occurred in a “Gun Free Zone,” where law-abiding citizens were disarmed and criminals—who by definition break the law—were free to carry out their terror plot with limited resistance.
The Nashville killer’s manifesto made a note to check the parking lot for security before entering the building. The murderer’s original target was a shopping mall, but the killer decided not to attack there because of the abundance of armed shoppers. It’s abundantly clear that these evil people aren’t looking for a fair fight. They want total destruction and no opposition along the way. That’s why schools—“Gun Free Zones”—continue to be their choice location for a massacre.
According to recent data, guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens saves up to two million times annually. Thus, the tragedies in Parkland and Uvalde have reminded us that you are your own first responder. The only way to stop a deranged madman is with deadly force. That’s why we must secure the schools and train teachers and staff who are willing and capable to protect students and faculty.
Self-defense shouldn’t be taboo in the United States. It’s a concept that’s top of mind in the Middle East. Recently, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to distribute 10,000 semi-automatic rifles to communities near the Gaza border saying, “we will turn the world upside down so that towns are protected.”
When democracy and safety are on the line, an armed citizenry is the last line of defense. As our friends in Israel know all too well, access to a firearm can be a matter of life and death, freedom, or tyranny.
The Washington Post’s brazen attempt to vilify firearms, advocate for disarming law-abiding citizens, and glorify crime scenes incentivizes criminal behavior, and real solutions to violence will not come to fruition by rehashing tragedy and filling our news feed with political rhetoric and gut-wrenching photos.
It’s time to step back from the partisanship, assess the facts, and unite around the simple truth that dangerous, threatening people are killing our friends, neighbors, and kids. To ensure a safer, stronger future, we need these obvious threats – not guns – removed from our respective communities immediately. Furthermore, we must harden our schools and encourage law-abiding citizens to be armed and disciplined. These solutions, not salacious stories and photos, will ensure our children and generations to come are safe from both violence and tyranny.
Andrew Pollack is a Long Island native who relocated to South Florida. His life was forever changed when his beautiful 18-year-old daughter was murdered in the massacre at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas on February 14, 2018. Since that time, he has been advocating for a national change in mindset when it comes to school security. His plea to #fixit was heard initially around the world at a Whitehouse Town Hall and since that time in the news, on radio and in print. He has been working towards this goal with county, state, and federal officials. In Florida he was instrumental in getting a monumental safety bill passed that is now being implemented in the state. He authored a book together with Max Eden, “Why Meadow Died, The people and policies that created the Parkland shooter and endanger America’s students.”
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