Simple Answers to Dumb Questions

“Kids who eat tide pods have no business speaking up about gun violence. They need to grow up.”

Kids who eat tide pods are morons. And 99.9% of American kids already know that. They’re the butt of every teenage joke. Kids who speak up about gun violence are frustrated and empowered. Sit down and let them speak. Listening is an elementary skill.

“If a teacher stands between their students and a bullet, the students will still die. Better to be armed.”

Maybe. Maybe not. But the posthumous image of a teacher as a protective shield is more powerful and more loving than the surviving image of a teacher as a violent weapon. Arming teachers after a school shooting is like invading Iraq after September 11. Misdirected action. And catastrophically more violent in its aftermath.

Today, only a handful at the middle school level walked out of class, but it’s impressive to see kids rally together in peaceful protest, without teachers pushing or even encouraging them, over an issue that impacts their daily learning environment.