In the hours following the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School, an image surfaced on social media of a visibly worried dad sitting in his truck holding up a picture of his missing daughter. The young woman, 18-year-old senior Meadow Pollack, had not been seen since the fire alarm was pulled around 2:20 pm at the high school. Her father, Andrew Pollack, was desperately searching for his daughter in hopes that, as opposed to the unthinkable, her phone had died and she was staying at a friend's house after the shooting.
The feedback on his post was astounding in the worst way possible. Suddenly, droves of people were commenting horrible things about Mr. Pollack and the fate of his daughter. The reason? In the viral image, Mr. Pollack is wearing a Trump 2020 re-election t-shirt. Yes, there were people online who were actually telling this man his daughter deserved to die because her father was a Trump supporter. I cannot imagine, under any circumstance, saying a child's death is justified because of what the family believes politically.
After the news broke that Meadow was among the 17 people killed inside the school that day, some of the verbal assaults continued but were soon overtaken by an outpouring of love and support for the family and friends of each victim. Pollack, who evidently leans conservative, was present at a roundtable with President Trump in the days following the shooting, where he began using his signature phrase, "Fix it!" Mr. Pollack, although shaken, was joined by his son Hunter and other members of Meadow's family while discussing why there needs to be more advanced school safety measures taken to protect children. He briefly discussed the implications of the September 11th attacks, and how no attack of that degree has ever occurred since because the government took the necessary steps up front to change legislation.
Mr. Pollack has never really disclosed how he feels about guns in general, but he has instead placed blame on numerous institutions that failed those who passed away that day. For instance, Mr. Pollack has frequently attacked Officer Scot Peterson, who infamously stood outside of the 1200 building for the entire duration of the shooting as opposed to going inside and trying to engage the perpetrator. Peterson's role in itself is still disputed, as he recently came out with an interview insisting that he was trying to set up a perimeter and didn't know where exactly the shooter was. Pollack has also attacked the FBI, which failed to take action on numerous warnings about the shooter. And finally, Pollack has gone after Sheriff Scott Israel of Broward County, who recently received a vote of no-confidence and is expected to be removed from office.
Mr. Pollack has also championed "Meadow's Movement," which includes a grassroots organization called "Americans for C.L.A.S.S." It involves an eight-point plan on how to secure and protect schools. Andrew was also present for the signing of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act by Governor Rick Scott on March 9th.
On a more personal note, Mr. Pollack hosted the Ride for Meadow, which is now a motorcycle ride that raises money for the building of a playground in Meadow's honor that both remembers and honors her beautiful and short life. Today, Mr. Pollack is focused on pushing his school safety efforts in all capacities around America. He is one of the most prominent conservative voices in the wake of the shooting, and his voice is equally as important and valuable. It will continue to be as such for many years to come.
