Today is "National Walkout Day" at high schools around the country. The event is exactly what you probably think it is: a protest against gun laws in the United States organized in the form of a student walkout. At high schools all over the country teenagers will be leaving class for approximately 17 minutes around 10am (because there were 17 victims in Parkland, Florida).
It goes without saying that this political demonstration is nothing more than an attempt by folks in the Democrat Party (and groups who support the Democrat party) to inject their Leftist opinions into the minds of Americans who are too young to vote. The DNC doesn't actually care about dead kids. If they did, they wouldn't support groups like Planned Parenthood. But in the DNC's defense, they're a political party. They're supposed to have an agenda. They're trying to get people elected while simultaneously raising money for their causes. This is what they do. Fine. We can accept that.
What's particularly confusing about this demonstration is the willingness of a so-called non-partisan news outlet to encourage teens to participate in the event. More specifically, CNN.
After news broke about the plans for teens to demonstrate around the country today, CNN published an article that answers legal and moral questions about the demonstration.
Unlike a lot of other articles on CNN's website, this piece is written specifically for the teenage demographic. It has lots of colorful graphics and a simple layout to help younger readers navigate the information on the page.
If you're a high school student and you're considering participating in the event, CNN consulted a director from the American Civil Liberties Union and a legal analyst to help you understand your rights as you walk out your classroom door today. And all their legal advice is pretty much the same: don't worry - you probably won't get into trouble for participating.
Questions like, "Can my school punish me for taking part?" and "Can I be arrested?" are met with encouraging answers reassuring the student-readers participating in this demonstration that they'll be fine.
"Your school can" punish you for walking out of class, CNN writes, "but many won't as long as the students aren't being disruptive."
Oh.
CNN isn't even beating around the bush here - they're telling teens they'll be fine (from a disciplinary perspective) if they choose to walk out of class today.
The article also reassures students to look the other way if their teacher tries to inject anti-gun propaganda into their day's lessons.
When asking the question, "Can a teacher force me to write a letter or essay as a condition for participating?" CNN writes, "Some districts are telling students they have to write a letter or essay on the topic of, say, gun reform or civil disobedience in order to participate. That's OK. Schools can assign work to students... and students don't have a constitutional right to not do work."
Ah, got it. Thanks, CNN!
But what if you're a straight A student and you don't want to harm your grades for missing something important that might happen during the absent class time?
CNN writes, "Several colleges -- from Yale to Tulane to UCLA -- have already come out and told prospective students that unexcused absences or other consequences resulting from the walkout won't affect their admission into the schools."
Interesting! We were worried it might hurt our GPA if we tried to disarm America and make every citizen more vulnerable to criminals and tyrannical oppression. But fortunately our A+ in social studies will remain unchanged. Phew!
The article even tells students they can further decrease their risk of getting into trouble for participating if they get their parents’ permission before walking out of class. And as if that wasn't partisan enough, the article tells students they can legally leave campus during the walkout if they so choose. The risk of increased safety concerns for leaving campus during school time should be obvious, but CNN doesn't seem to care.
CNN is a privately managed corporate business. They're free to take any political position or perspective they choose. This is America, after all, and CNN has First Amendment rights just like anyone else. But can we please stop pretending CNN is a non-partisan news outlet? It’s offensive and marginalizing to informational sources that are actually non-partisan.
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