Obama's Time 100 profile of Parkland students angers those who blame him for gun violence
Time magazine has released its Time 100: The Most Influential People of 2018, and while the annual list often includes controversial figures, the piece on the Parkland Florida shooting particularly struck a chord.
The magazine featured five of the most notable students from the shooting that killed 17 people in February. David Hogg, Emma González, Cameron Kasky, Jaclyn Corin, and Alex Wind helped organize the March for Our Lives movement, which is focused on changing America’s gun laws. CBS News reported that more than 200,000 people attended the march last month in Washington, D.C., with more than 800 other marches taking place across the nation that same day.
There’s little question as to why Time included the students in its Time 100 issue, given their impact on the gun control debate, but many had a problem with the author of the article about the organizers. Former President Barack Obama praised the teenagers, saying, “Our kids now show us what we’ve told them America is all about, even if we haven’t always believed it ourselves: that our future isn’t written for us, but by us.”
Obama also criticized the Republican Congress and the NRA’s bias on the issue, saying that “progress will be slow and frustrating.”
Many right-leaning Twitter users attacked Obama’s words, blaming his administration for the gun violence in America.
maybe these students should ask Obama why he DID NOTHING FOR 8 YEARS TO MAKE SCHOOLS SAFER…QUIT BLAMING TRUMP
— Vintage Enterprise Memorabilia (@VEMVintage) April 19, 2018
oh please, perhaps asking the past administration why nothing was done for years to secure their safety. And for all students.
— Christine (@ChristineStergi) April 19, 2018
So does that mean you regret expanding gun laws to allow gun owners to take weapons on Amtrak and into National Parks. You had two years of control of Congress and nothing to show for it on gun control.
— NoleMan (@NoleMan22) April 19, 2018
By talking a lot, saying a lot of things that are not true and doing nothing to actually achieve our claimed goal, we can get Obama, greatest gun salesman ever, to write a blurb for us.
— Nickarama (@Nickarama1) April 19, 2018
The left-leaning commenters had their own culprit: President Trump.
What’s sad is they are going to learn if they haven’t already that half of America is so uneducated and ignorant that they believe the GOP, FOX, and Trump no matter how crazy and obvious the lies are and that will prevent America from ever being great.
— jim Kelley (@jimKelley13) April 19, 2018
If I’m correct, after all the marches and the tireless promotion of @davidhogg111 I can still go and purchase an AR15 and the bump stock to convert it…Welcome to our world #BLM #PoliceMuderers
— ? Los ?he (@cherok1212) April 19, 2018
Funny that Trump’s rallies are gun free zones
— Throw Them Out (@JHunter65284456) April 19, 2018
The Obama administration’s 2014 guidance on public school discipline and race was bad law and bad policy, it applied disparate impact theory to schools discipline policies. Since then most studies have shown actually made the schools more dangerous. Broward was touted as model.
— Matthew Newgarden (@newgar) April 19, 2018
Demanding real answers? Pretty disgusting, to me, for Obama to write this. His policies are what caused this tragedy. https://t.co/SKAb0HxR2r https://t.co/YGOzy7ovbj
— K J Gillenwater (@kjgillenwater) April 19, 2018
Others seemed fatigued by the Parkland students and the gun control debate in general.
You mean these "crisis actors", they are no more a victim than I am an astronaut. Push your liberal agenda off on someone else. The REAL AMERICAN population says PISS OFF!! We will defend our #2A with flags flying and fire burning through our patriotic fucking veins!! #DTOM #3%
— Tyler (@RepealELD) April 19, 2018
Useful idiots pic.twitter.com/bB7CH4P9B7
— jongalt (@jgalt16) April 19, 2018
Why do you spend your attention on these 5 individuals? Have they fooled you? This is not, nor ever has been, about them. This is about the victims and the victims families. Shameful, the attention goes to those striving to benefit from deaths of people.
— Not the real guy (@youngfung5) April 19, 2018
In other words…..Parkland students will be perfect mouthpieces for my liberal agenda.
— Brenda Riggs (@Riggs337928) April 19, 2018
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