We get a BARRAGE of news in our feeds and email inboxes every day, so here at For Every Mom we’re curating the top news stories relative to moms and breaking them down for ya! Here goes, your top stories for Wednesday, December 13, 2017.
1. Keaton Jones’ Inspiring Bullying Video Turns Controversial
Many of us, including myself, were moved to tears late last week by 11-year-old Keaton Jones’ Facebook video imploring bullies to STOP harming others. The boy sobbed and I was truly touched. Keaton has experienced bullying at school, including name-calling and getting food and beverages dumped all over him. His video lit up Facebook and Twitter, and celebrities soon began responding. Captain America and the Hulk invited him to be their guests at the next Avengers movie premiere…literally dozens of celebs made similar offers.
And then of course, the press went digging and found some photos of the Confederate flag on his mom’s Facebook, and many went WILD. They also took some of the timing of her Facebook statuses and guessed what they “really meant” or what they were “really referring to” which I don’t think is fair. BUT ANYWAY — Personally, I am not a fan of the Confederate flag and I am SUPER not a fan of racism, but Keaton is a child and this is not HIS doing. Most celebs stood by him, others pulled their support. I hope he comes out ok from all this brouhaha, and I hope we all learn a lesson that what we post on the Internet can affect us AND our family members FOR YEARS. Post responsibly!
2. Sandy Hook Parents Release Blistering PSA About School Shootings
Tomorrow is the 5th anniversary of the Sandy Hook, Connecticut school shooting, where 20 first graders and 6 educators were gunned down. (I cannot believe it’s been five years. Wow. I remember in the days after I was so, so afraid every time I sent my kids out the door to school.) Sandy Hook Promise, a non-profit advocacy group made up of parents who lost their kids that day, has released a chilling PSA video about school shootings. Called “Tomorrow’s News,” it features a news reporter at the scene of a school shooting that will happen tomorrow. She starts out by saying, “I’m here at the scene of tomorrow’s shooting were a 15-year-old will kill four students and two teachers.” Its purpose is to make us all aware of the WARNING SIGNS of a shooter so we can stop these events BEFORE they happen. I recommend you ALL give it a watch; it’s short and powerful.
