Same old response to tragedy falls short

when asked what would become of the current crop of content creators who count on TikTok for their income, Warner did not seem overly concerned. They’ll find another platform, Warner said, and possibly do even better. But while this might in fact be true, it fails to take into consideration the fates of those who can’t imagine sharing hairstyling tips, fashion advice, political advice, marital advice, lip-synch demonstrations, life observations, tasteless jokes, recipe tips, parenting advice, product recommendations, I-hate-myjob rants, fitness programs, travel diaries and videos of pets doing funny things in any other social media realm.

Sen. Warner, what about them? Don’t they deserve a say?

As a public service, and as a show of support for all those professional TikTokers who may very well soon be out of a job, I’d like to offer a few suggestions on how they might put their skills to good use once time runs out for TikTok.

1. Serve as the new Roundabout Ambassador for VDOT: No, this position does not technically exist…yet. But with as much influence as TikTok creators seem to wield, it’s a good chance they could help the Commonwealth sell citizens on the one idea almost all of them love to hate. An added bonus? What better place to show off your viral dance moves than the center island of a new traffic circle?

2. Arts in the Park: It’s tough to ignore the performative aspect of TikTok, even if you’re not a regular user. Those who compile the most views often do so by acting out scenes or participating in selfdirected skits (I once saw a woman engaged in a vicious pretend fight during

JIM RIDOLPHI Contributing Columnist

For the next few weeks, we will all be exposed to a ritual that has become a familiar routine. Following every school shooting in America, the same process begins and everyone will talk about how horrible the latest incident truly was, and how we as a nation must find solutions to better protect our students while they are in the classroom.

After years of this same coverage, routine statements from politicians are easily predictable by whichever side of the aisle they sit; and one might surmise that change is on the way. We hope that reasonable adults can enact common sense measures that reduce the number of guns in America and restrict the use of assault rifles. All of these measures will predictably be discounted by gun proponents and the same old arguments will fall on deaf ears.

We will see photos of the victims, hear their life stories and learn of the immense sadness suffered by their families.

Politicians aligned with a free access to firearms under a strictly interpreted Second Amendment will publicly express the ineffectiveness of gun control, and how, in this case, it would not have prevented a shooting.

Opponents to that gun lobby will cite the increasing number of mass shootings in America, many of them involving children in schools and some even committed by underage offenders. Calls for the banning of assault type weapons and enhanced background checks will again fall on deaf ears; and a nation will continue on a predictable path of gun violence.

And those of us listening to the arguments will be left with what seems like a binary decision — no

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Production Manager denine d’angelo ddangelo@mechlocal.com guns or guns. Many on both sides will argue with that position and call for measures that attempt to impede the growing trend of violence. editor@mechlocal.com

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And neither side will listen to the other. Few will realize that many gun opponents do not advocate for the elimination of guns and agree with common sense measures to restrict access to those who shouldn’t own guns. On the opposite side, gun proponents will argue that group is attempting to eliminate guns in the United States. Both extremes probably do not represent the true views of citizens who genuinely support gun control or defend the Second Amendment with no restraints.

Both groups realize there is a problem with guns in America, and with more than 400 million of them registered nationally, the problem is not going away.