Why were commenters unhappy with First Lady Jill Biden's social
media response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde,
Texas? And what did they ask for instead? Keep watching to find out.
In December 2012, then-President Barack Obama made an emotional statement in the aftermath of
the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in which a gunman killed 26 people:
20 children between the ages of 6 and 7, and six adult staff members. Obama said:
"As a country, we have been through this too many times. Whether it's an elementary
school in Newtown, or a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin,
or a movie theater in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago — these
neighborhoods are our neighborhoods, and these children are our children."
"And we're going to have to come together and take meaningful action
to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics."
Almost a decade later, President Joe Biden similarly addressed the nation after a
gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Nineteen children and two adults
were killed in the massacre. According to CNN, that makes it the second-deadliest elementary
school shooting in United States history after Sandy Hook. Visibly emotional, Biden said,
"To lose a child is like having a piece of your soul ripped away ... there's a
hollowness in your chest, you feel like you're being sucked into it, never able to get out."
Biden has personally lost numerous family members throughout his life. His first wife, Neilia,
and their baby, Naomi, died in a car crash in 1972. His son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015.
He went on to urge action on gun law reform.
"As a nation, we have to ask when in God's name we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done."
"I am sick and tired of it. We have to act."
He specifically pointed to the assault weapons ban that was in effect from 1994 until 2004, saying:
"We know common sense gun laws can't and won't prevent every tragedy. But we know
they work and have a positive impact. When we passed the assault weapons ban — mass
shootings went down. When the law expired — mass shootings tripled."
Standing by the president's side during his speech was First Lady Jill Biden,
who had some remarks of her own on social media.
Jill Biden has often talked about what it means to be first lady,
calling it a job that's "24 hours a day." Not only did she stand by her husband's side in the
Roosevelt Room of the White House while he gave remarks in the aftermath of the Uvalde shooting,
but she also took to Twitter to express her thoughts on the horrific tragedy. She wrote:
"Lord, enough. Little children and their teacher. Stunned. Angry. Heartbroken."
She also reposted her message on Instagram.
Before she became first lady, Jill, who has a doctorate in education,
worked as a teacher for over 30 years, according to the White House.
In addition to performing her duties as first lady, she is also an English and writing
professor at Northern Virginia Community College, where she has taught since 2009.
This makes her the first presidential spouse to have a career outside being first lady.
The response to Jill Biden's Twitter and Instagram posts about the Uvalde shooting
included a surprising amount of negative feedback,
with many social media users demanding more than just words regarding changes to gun laws.
One user commented…
"THEN LETS DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT"
…receiving hundreds of likes. Other comments echoed that one,
asking for concrete action and using words like "begging" and
"please." Clearly, many people want change, and they're vocal about it.
Other comments pointed out what they viewed as hypocrisy. One user wrote,
"More like 'Legislators, enough.' Time for action, not words."
Another commented,
"Unfortunately, I don't think the Lord has anything to do with this. This is pure evil."
Even more people found fault with the fact that Biden described herself
as "stunned" in the aftermath of the shooting. One user commented,
"Shouldn't be stunned. We haven't done anything to stop it."
Another wrote,
"Are we stunned or [are] we numb, I'm not stunned, this happens daily in our country."