Know Your Memes

There are a lot of memes flying around lately since gun control is back in the news. But some of them are not factual. I'm obviously not going to cover every single one, but just remember, being on a meme doesn't make it true. 

​We'll start with an easy one:

I'm not sure why anyone thinks this is real, but it is getting passed along widely, along with a few others from this account. 

Maxine Waters' Twitter handle is @RepMaxineWaters. This is a parody account. She is a favorite to parody, and several of these accounts exist. 

​Now to a new one:

This is being shared around again, but the shooting took place in 2014. Now, CNN says the officer confronted the kid and he killed himself, but people who were actually in the school are saying he killed himself before the officer reached him, although the shouts from the officer may have prompted him to kill himself. 

​Also, he shot a girl in the head. She didn't die on the scene, but she did die eight days later. So I don't consider that as being the shooter was the only one dead.  

We have enough facts and statistics - and enough stupid claims about guns by media and politicians - to use in defense of our rights. We don't need to make stuff up or fabricate the truth. I have been guilty of not double checking claims before sharing, we all do it, some of them are just too good. But we really need to get in the habit of double checking, and correct people when they post wrong information. It may fall on deaf ears and they may not take it down. I wish they would, because it makes our argument weaker, not stronger. If someone calls you out, take it down and apologize. I did it recently, trust me, you only feel embarrassed for a short while! 

​But we need to stop spreading this stuff around as truth. We have enough real stats and facts, use them.