School shootings are a disturbing reality that far too many American children face while getting their education.
Instead of creating laws that make it more difficult for perpetrators to access guns, the onus has been placed upon students to learn how to protect themselves in the case of a mass shooting.
From lock down drills to bullet-proof backpacks, those in charge seem to favor funding emergency survival tactics rather than preventative measures.
In the wake of the Sandy Hook Massacre, a non-profit organization emerged with a goal of preventing similar tragedies.
Sandy Hook Promise, based out of Newton, Connecticut, works to raise money for the families of victims killed in school shootings.
They are also dedicated to educating people on the ways in which massacres like Sandy Hook can be prevented.
On Wednesday, SHP released a short PSA video that has since gone viral.
The PSA is in the theme of back-to-school, and portrays just how absurd it is to expect children to be responsible for protecting themselves if and when an armed intruder enters their school.
The video begins like any other back-to-school commercial.
A number of students show off school supplies and explain how useful they are for the upcoming year.
As an unidentified shooter enters the school, the students begin to explain how their back-to-school supplies are useful in ensuring their survival.
Viewing the PSA is a deeply uncomfortable experience.
One student uses her sweater to secure a gym door; another uses his skateboard to break through a lunchroom window; a girl defends herself with scissors.
The message is clear: these scenes don’t make logical sense.
However, the most terrifying part is that they are not just overly-dramatic imagined scenes of what ‘might’ happen in these scenarios.
Real children are being forced to protect themselves from armed intruders by any means necessary. Real children are dying. These are PG depictions of an oh too R rated reality.
SHP released an online statement shortly after the PSA’s release.
“We cannot accept school shootings as the new normal in our country,” it reads, “Our goal with this PSA is to wake up parents to the horrible reality that our children endure.”
The statement was written by Sandy Hook co-founder and managing director Nicole Hockley, whose young son Dylan was killed in the Sandy Hook Massacre.
“Gone are the days of viewing back-to-school as just a carefree time, when school violence has become so prevalent.”
“However, if we come together to know the signs, this doesn’t have to be the case,” the statement continues, “I hope that parents across the country will join me to make the promise to stop this epidemic.”
The video has since been viewed over 1.5 Million times on Youtube alone.
“SHP and BBDO New York have produced the new PSA video that starts off as a cheery and often-familiar back-to-school ad but slowly unfolds to highlight students using everyday back-to-school items to survive a shooting,” the PSA description reads, “Shedding light on the gruesome reality that students face.”
h/t: Yahoo Lifestyle
