Arne Duncan, former Secretary of Education under President Obama, had a rather unusual response to the school shootings this week.
This is brilliant, and tragically necessary.
What if no children went to school until gun laws changed to keep them safe?
My family is all in if we can do this at scale.
Parents, will you please join us? https://t.co/Yo4wsFuJI5— Arne Duncan (@arneduncan) May 18, 2018
That's right. He thinks all of us parents should pull our children out of school to get Congress to actually write some sensible gun reform.
They haven't paid attention to all these "Red for Ed" protests all over the coutnry, but sure, this will catch their notice.
And while the intent is well and good, Duncan's tweet, like much of his actions in office, just smack of privilege. How can most Americans--who are struggling no matter how much the Trump administration touts the tax cuts--afford to pull their kids out of school, perhaps indefinitely, given that Congress only has about 28 days left before they break for the summer recess? Who pays their childcare? Or who comps them for the time loss from work?
Look, I'm a big believer that my child should be able to go to school without the fear of being mown down by an angry guy with an AK-47, but I think that it's incumbent upon us to come up with serious solutions and discussions.