Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

8th Graders In Pennsylvania Received Bullet Proof Backpack Inserts for Graduation, and David Hogg Just Responded

8th Graders In Pennsylvania Received Bullet Proof Backpack Inserts for Graduation, and David Hogg Just Responded
Parkland shooting survivors Emma Gonzalez, David Hogg and Cameron Kaskey hold a press conference for the March for Our Lives movement on Monday, June 4, 2018 at the Pines Trails Park in Parkland, Fla. They announced a 20-state tour dubbed "The March For Our Lives: Road to Change," where they plan to meet with young voters and campaign to end gun violence. (Ellis Rua/Miami Herald/TNS/Getty Images)

A powerful pledge.

As reported Tuesday, all 8th grade students at St. Cornelius School in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, received bulletproof inserts for their backpacks as a graduation gift. The gifts came from the inventor of the product.

While it might be said that the gift is simply a reflection of the times we live in, should it be? Is this our new normal?


At least one voice says no. Parkland school shooting survivor David Hogg responded to the story on Twitter, stating:

To my fellow young people, will will not let this be our kids’ graduation present."

Hogg and his fellow students began a campaign to end gun violence after the Valentine's Day shooting at their school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, took the lives of 17 people.

After organizing a school walk-out one month after the shooting and marches around the globe March 24, 2018, the next step for the group includes registering young voters. To that end, Hogg and other leaders of the March for Our Lives organization plan to tour the United States holding voter registration events.

A prominent theme in the groups work, "The Young People Will Win" shows up throughout their tweets and other social media presence. The slogan features prominently on Hogg's Twitter profile.

Twitter profile of David Hogg (Twitter)

The group and slogan address the fact that little substantive happens after school shootings. Deciding enough was enough, the students took on the National Rifle Association and the gun industry.

Their desire is to move beyond thoughts and prayers for victims of mass shootings to real changes in how the United States attempts to curb gun violence. Their website, named for their March 2018 march, provides ways for people to take action and a link for registering to vote.

However Hogg and the rest of the student activists borne from the tragedy at their school are not without their critics. Conservative media personalities make it a habit to attack the students, just as they attacked, and continue to attack, the parents of the children murdered at the Sandy Hook elementary school in 2012.

Hogg and Emma Gonzalez are two of the more outspoken leaders and the biggest targets both online and in real life.

On a day that Hogg was in Washington D.C. receiving an award, someone called in a fake hostage situation at his family's home in Florida as a sometimes deadly prank known as swatting. Armed SWAT teams are usually deployed to active hostage situations.

As usual, Hogg's tweet about the normalizing of bulletproof accessories for school children drew online rage from some of his 821,000 Twitter followers. A percentage of those follow simply for opportunities to troll the young man who recently graduated from high school and just turned 18 in April.

However the trolls are in the minority on this thread as most people were shocked about supplying children with bulletproof school supplies.

More from News

Screenshot of Stephen Colbert
CBS

Stephen Colbert Makes Somber Plea To Americans In Wake Of Charlie Kirk's Death

Late-night host Stephen Colbert had a somber message for Americans as he addressed the assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk, stressing that "political violence only leads to more political violence."

Kirk died after an unidentified gunman shot him in the neck as he—ironically enough—mocked victims of gun violence at an event in Utah Valley State University. Kirk's murder has galvanized the far-right, with President Donald Trump and his surrogates claiming without evidence that rhetoric from Democrats is responsible for Kirk's death.

Keep ReadingShow less
a woman sunbathing on rocks.
a person sitting on a towel on a beach
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

People Share The Weirdest Flexes They Heard Someone Say With A Straight Face

It is never attractive to gloat.

Even so, some people can't help but brag, or "flex" as it is sometimes known, about certain accomplishments or attributes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @thedowntheredoc's TikTok video
@thedowntheredoc/TikTok

TikToker Hilariously Calls Out Target After Champion Pants Feature Awkwardly-Placed Front Pleat

Sometimes you can just tell when something was designed *for* women, but was not actually designed *by* women.

Take, for instance, the new pleated pants available at Target from the Champion clothing line. While there's nothing wrong with pleated pants and they certainly have a suitable spot in the workplace, the latest rendition of Champion pleated pants are, shall we say, NSFW.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @kaicutch's Instagram video
@kaicutch/Instagram

Woman Flips Her Car After Belting Out Ironic Britney Spears Lyric In Wild Viral Video

Whether we want to admit it or not, we've all had our fair share of carpool karaoke and maybe even imagined our car as our own personal recording studio.

But TikToker and Instagrammer Kaitlynn McCutcheon may have gotten too into her performance of Britney Spears' classic, "Hit Me Baby, One More Time," when the road and her car both said, "Bet."

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from ​@lynnshazeen's TikTok video
@lynnshazeen/TikTok

Woman Goes Viral After Revealing How Her Obsession With Matcha Landed Her In The Hospital

Let's be honest: Too much of anything isn't good for us. It's all about the balance!

But the media and social media trends have taught us that certain things are really good for us, encouraging us to be like the "very mindful and very demure" girls and take care of ourselves. One such example is drinking more matcha, especially if you really like coffee or think you have a caffeine addiction.

Keep ReadingShow less