Opinion: A Changed Man?
posted by Suryah Ethridge | October 10, 2023 | In Arts and Culture, OpinionIf you have ever been on TikTok, you may have heard of a user rising quickly to fame. With over 200,000 followers, he has gained a lot of attention in a short amount of time. His name is Jon Romano and his TikTok TikTok handle is @jonseekingpeace. This may sound like a lighthearted TikToker who rose to fame quickly, but this is not the case at all.
In 2004, Romano was 16 years old and he attended Columbia High School in East Greenbush, New York. One day, Romano decided to bring his shotgun to school, and he ended up injuring several students and one teacher. Jon romano was later arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He only served 17 years and is now out of prison. He is a self-proclaimed advocate for the prevention of school shootings.
Here’s the thing, many TikTok users do not believe that this man is an advocate for anything. He changed his story and said that he had no intentions on injuring anyone the day of the shooting, but in interviews he said that he was fantasizing about “harming others” for over a year.
So, why is he changing his story? Many people believe that he is trying to make it seem like he made an honest mistake. But how do you accidentally bring a weapon to school? How do you accidentally plan on harming others? There’s a lot of details that aren’t adding up.
Many TikTok users believe Romano is trying to gain public sympathy by claiming to be a changed man. If he was so changed, why isn’t he going to therapy, and why isn’t he using his platform to apologize to his victims and the families of the victims?
As previously stated, Romano is upsetting a plethora of users. Many people believe that he is being tone deaf, and that he is taunting people. Fellow TikTok users have made videos showing that Romano is following them on the app. He is following people who have been affected by school shootings. These people are parents, educators, and even victims. Following people who have lost loved ones and who have been personally affected is very inappropriate.
Romano should really find other ways to rehabilitate himself. There are ways to do things and the way he is going about it is very insensitive. Users like myself believe that he should not have a platform and that Romano should not be acting like a saint.
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