Fake ‘School Shooting’ Sympathy Cards Displayed In Store Spark Indignation
Video screenshot via Change The Ref
Alongside greeting cards for friendship, gratitude, and graduations at a store stood a section for “School Shooting.” The outrageous display was staged for a campaign by nonprofit Change The Ref.
While the video first made its rounds in 2018, it has regained relevance in the wake of recent attacks, including the deadly shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The US has suffered 119 school shootings since 2018.
The clip captures real reactions by shoppers, who are visibly shaken by the array of “Sympathy Cards” dedicated to loved ones of school shooting victims.
Written in block letters are words like “Sympathy” and “I’m Sorry,” with the small print or messages inside reading, “I’m sorry your kid got shot at school today,” “Sorry for your terrifying loss,” “Sympathy on the shooting of your classmates,” “I’m sorry your kid was gunned down in gym class,” or “Condolences on the shooting of your teacher.”
All this leads up to the warning: “Mass Sympathy Cards. Coming Soon. If we do nothing.”
@changetheref Mass sympathy cards. Coming soon. If we do nothing. #ChangeTheRef
♬ original sound - Change The Ref
“Sadly, these are appropriate already,” one person comments on Twitter. “This made me cry. I’m sorry the world is so cruel,” shares a TikTok user.
“Art can change lives. Guns change lives too,” remarks one Twitter user. “One of these things is not like the other.”
Change The Ref, the gun safety organization behind the campaign, was founded by Manuel and Patricia Oliver after their son Joaquin and 16 other schoolmates at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were killed by a gunman on Valentine’s Day in 2018,. The nonprofit uses urban art and creative confrontation to educate youths on “the disastrous effects of the mass shooting pandemic” and ultimately drive change for a more peaceful future.
The organization’s reupload of the video has amassed over 1.3 million views on TikTok.
The group adds that activists who wish to recreate the stunt are free to do so.
[via The National and New York Post, video and screenshots via Change The Ref]
