What Made You Cry Today?

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by Orema

I'm all for banning some guns and taking away some—couldn't happen soon enough for me.

And, I really like this commercial. It underlines what we find important (i.e., colorful school supplies) and what we choose to ignore (the gun violence our children face in school). Shame on us.

Hoping the ad agency or creative team that put this together wins some awards.

Excellent points, Orema!

Originally Posted by MrSunshine

There are definitely guns (which I’ve stated long ago in other threads) that belong no where. I believe this to be true even as an Army Vet.
I personally found no importance in the school supplies but wondered only at first what was going on with that. (Basing this off of the fact Gemme gave a trigger warning)
I found myself thinking about the mother who received the text from the young girl at the end of the video. Imagining how it would have felt after finding out why she received it.
Thank you both for responding I appreciate it.

I put the trigger warning out there because some of our members have experienced gun violence in one way or another directly or have had family or friends experience it. Although the ad centers on school shootings, I thought that sometimes any connection to the traumatic event could be hurtful to someone.

I think the point of the ad comes in the final line of text at the end. School shootings are preventable. There have been several cases in which a concerned school employee or a parent have spoken to authorities about unsettling posts or comments made by someone and police have been able to stop school shootings before they happen.

Also, I think it shows what kids face when this situation comes up and maybe even ways to help them survive it. I can't say for sure that I'd think to make a tourniquet out of a sock. I'd probably waste time looking for a belt or rope.

You raised a good point, too, about how the mother would feel knowing the reason she is getting that potentially final text from her daughter.

We're so callused and jaded that it takes something incredibly shocking and in your face to catch our attention. The ad succeeds in doing what it set out to do; to wake us up and start a dialogue. I learned about it off of the Today show. The real work comes in figuring out how to fix the problem.