Another tragic school shooting in Texas this weekend called for an uproar on social media with the anti-gun lot. We would like to say that we are very saddened by the news and for the families and friends of the young men and women so wrongfully murdered that day. Cue in the Parkland Brat Pack They have returned: (caution, language NSFW):

Yes, Emma González said “Serve your f#cking country”. On Military Appreciation weekend no less.

"Go serve your fucking country"………….is this how someone who wants to be taken seriously as an activist talks? I don't think so.

— Phillip Dabadisbich (@alstonboy4315) May 20, 2018

@Emma4Change About your comment of ""Serve your fucking country", I already did, 22 years worth. I do not have an AR-15, but if I decide to go get one, I have already earned that right. Rather than running your mouth playing activist, why don't YOU go serve your country?

— JonW57 (@Acrscout57) May 19, 2018

Dear Emma4Change ,
I did serve my "fucking" country, for over 20 years. You're welcome. 1A gives you the right to call it a "fucking" country. 2A gives me the right to "play with my guns"Enjoy spewing your words, and I'll enjoy having a way to protect my family.
That is all

— WeResistedIn2016 (@usaisover) May 18, 2018

Emma’s idea: “go out and join the Army if you want to play with guns”. David Hogg’s next big brainchild? Orange graduation caps! Get out the spray paint and spray your cap orange, graduates!

I will be spray painting my cap for graduation orange to show my support of common sense gun laws, feel free me to join if you want. #OrangeCaps

— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) May 18, 2018

We suppose a spray-painted cap (despite the major environmental damage our young snowflakes will inflict with multiple cans of spray paint) is a step up from the Hitleresque armbands suggested by the same smug little sourpuss last month.

But….but!! He's painting a graduation cap orange!! That's totally going to make a difference!!

Of the sale of orange paint. Maybe.

😆😆😆

— Princess Snarky McSmirker🍷👸🍷👸 (@KristineAz) May 19, 2018

“Hmmm, I haven’t done anything too attention worthy lately…. ah ha! I got it, I’ll spray paint my graduation cap orange! That’ll help me get another few minutes of fame!” https://t.co/voLtUvzrOb

— Sophia (@Snorwich0747) May 19, 2018

Because telling grown people who are old enough to make their own decisions to serve our (expletive deleted) country and painting graduation caps orange is doing a hell of a lot to prevent kids like Dimitrios Pagourtzis from opening fire on their classmates. Note: Pargourtzis did not have an AR-15 but did have a shotgun and a .38 revolver hidden under his coat. On his Facebook page:

“Born to Kill” appeared on a T-shirt, along with images of the trench coat and an explanation of its decorations.
“Hammer and Sickle=Rebellion,” he wrote. “Rising Sun=Kamikaze Tactics. Iron Cross=Bravery. Baphomet=Evil.”

The warning signs were there. They may have even been a cry for help but all went ignored. My question here is where were the parents of this “otherwise good kid”, this “smart, quiet, sweet boy“, as his own parents described him? From the Facebook account to claims of a parent that he repetitively made advances at her daughter (who later stood up to him and embarrassed him), why and how did they miss all of this?

This is why we are in the predicament that we are in today. It’s not the AR-15, the NRA, guns or the laws surrounding who gets to possess them. It’s the complete lack of social interaction between parents and their kids and parents and other parents.

As a parent of a preteen who will be entering junior high next year, I am all up in my son’s business which he hates but hey, too bad, so sad. I will be that way until perhaps well after his 18th birthday. In my efforts to have meaningful conversations with him, I have learned that not all parents share the same concerns I have about our kids and the world we live in today. These kids have social media accounts and text messages that go unsupervised. They are able to stay up until all hours of their evenings (on school nights) on their phones. I know who my son’s friends are and I know (or at least make an effort to know) their parents. Some of us have a communication network going between us that we’ve had since Kindergarten. We have an open and honest dialog with our son about navigating the awkward relationships of adolescence and have run into some situations already in 6th grade. While he appears to be a leader and not a follower and a good kid with good intentions (albeit a little ADHD), sometimes he gets off track and does something unacceptable and that is where we, as parents, have to draw a line between open communication, discipline and accountability. It is a constant balancing act and requires vigilance yet I’ve seen so many parents who are completely absent when it comes to really knowing their children and shaping their character. “He’s gets good grades”, they say but he talks about how much better than his classmates he is. “He’s a respectful kid from a good church family” yet he beats up a kid on the school playground after hours and brags about it. “He’s a sweet kid” but he’s socially awkward and does not know how to talk to a girl so he goes with whatever he’s allowed to watch (or his dad watches) on the Internet. “He’s a loner” and would prefer to sit in front of the X-box or a computer and get as many “kills” as he can on his video game of choice by himself. “He has his own ideas and is his own person” but he doesn’t respect his elders and others who may hold on to a different value or belief system (and now wants to preach to other adults).

Many parents have their heads in the freaking sand when it comes to their kids. They like the see the good and some simply cannot fathom that there is anything alarming about their cherubs. Or they like to think that it will all work out and sit and take a back seat on this thing called parenting. They leave it to counselors, the state, the schools. Nobody ever wants to think that their child will be the one who shoots up a school. Nobody. But the facade of “nothing being wrong” and perfection is getting us nowhere, folks. Sometimes we have to address the elephant in the room and sometimes, that elephant is our own child. We, as parents have to give them the mental fortitude and the proper tools they need to charter the rough seas of becoming adults. If we don’t, they will find their own means and get their hands on the wrong conflict resolution tools or, paint their graduation caps or, tell their “old-ass” parents to “learn how to use a cell phone” and “serve their f-en country”. Whatever the case, unless we step up, we’re screwed.