Comments by "girl from the bronx by way of el barrio" (@girlfromthebronxbywayofelb7288) on "WFAA" channel.

But he clearly needed counseling from a young age. And hurting animals is a huge red flag for future violent behavior. Law enforcement looks for that trait routinely. Information needs to be shared up the line more routinely. Imagine if the school guidance counselor had gotten him some help. So many lives could have been saved.
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If Abbott is concerned about mental health, why did he slash Texas mental health funding? Remember, Uvalde had one psychiatrist, one.
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Yes, not spotting the animal abuse is the problem. That is a known red flag, and the school counselor should have addressed that. They could have gotten him into treatment. Even if he didn't fully cooperate with the emotional support it would have started the process of identifying him as a person in need of support. Then, when he tries to buy an assault weapon... See?? That's why background checks are necessary. Share the info, maintain an organized national database, spot people who need help before it's too late. Or..wow, I wish I had said something sooner.
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Immeasurable respect for the Uvalde warriors who honor the lives of the angels. Uvalde, never forget, never give up. Comprehensive federal gun safety legislation now.
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Their super supportive friendship is amazing. As a nation, let's be supportive of them as well, by supporting gun safety legislation. Training, permits, gun safes, age limits, mental health assessment for each purchase, red flags, comprehensive background checks with enough time to fully vet the purchaser not a 15 minute chat, waiting periods, magazine limits. Screen private sales and gun shows. Contact your representative ASAP. 🗽💚💜💛💙🗽
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What kind of training did the school guidance counselors have that they didn't respond to that huge red flag? Well, this is a small Texas school, so they are probably underfunded? A tragic missed opportunity. National standards on education in USA are overdue. State by state school systems allow too many gaps, not just in academic performance but in support services too.
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@michellem7300 I obviously don't know this family, but just to see his grandfather, he looked like a guy who was just trying to hang on, a bit overwhelmed. Of course now he is being chased down the street by press, so... Maybe taking care of a troubled adolescent was a bit too much for them? Puberty and adolescence is tough on all parents, much less grandparents. Plus some older people have a phobia about mental health therapy. Really wish they had some caregiver support. Gosh, even if the school had gotten him into sport with a tough coach? I like to live with hope, and imagine that things could have been different here.
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@jlv3x The guidance counselors at the school should have addressed that. They had all the training required to spot that as an anomaly. Does Texas allow untrained counselors in their schools?
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⚖️🗽💙🌊🐬💙🌊⚖️🗽
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So you were lucky enough to have trained counselors in your school, even though it was a huge hassle. Hopefully things worked out positively afterwards. Be well! Thanks for the feedback.
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Why didnt the school guidance counselor address that? That's what that person is trained to do.
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 @paulpunnamootil7783 Hmm ... If you were really a teacher, you probably would have proofread your comment. Just saying ...
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Yes, I absolutely question that you ever were a teacher. Most teachers would not publish their words on any platform without proofreading for grammar and punctuation. If you were a teacher, and you distributed teacher made materials that were filled with errors, please know that your students had less respect for you when they discussed your teaching style with their friends. Lack of proofreading shows lack of care, and greatly diminishes the strength of your argument. I suppose I should be glad that at least you are no longer in service.
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So important to keep this story in the news cycle. Stay strong Uvalde. You are all awesome warriors protected by 21 angels. Abrazos.
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Honor the angels with action, with gun safety legislation.
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@Meyersci Public school services need to be more standardized across the nation. The state by state thing is just not working, in terms of academic outcomes and support services. Maybe as a nation, we should stop funding our public schools with bake sales. A public elementary school in a very poor neighborhood had a social worker shared with another school in the district plus a school nurse. That principal also wrote grants constantly, and funded extra science instruction and a chess teacher for the kids that way. Another middle school had a school nurse shared by 3 schools in the same building plus a school counselor who did student records and high school applications. A high school that pulled students from across the city (not an elite magnet high school) had an on site medical clinic inside the school plus social workers for counseling. Also an office with several guidance counselors who tracked grades and class programs and college application prep. However, they did have a psychology background so that they could spot a student in distress. If it is true that there are schools with no school counselors, how are they doing class articulations to move student cohorts from elementary to middle school to high school to college? If even poor schools are doing better, why?
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@fernandoortiz8875 I don't know if his grandparents were familiar with these psychological concepts. But the guidance counselors would have had to know, because they cannot get their certification without university training and additional specialized workshops in child abuse and a plethora of other topics. How did they drop the ball? Does Texas not require certification for their school staff?
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@fernandoortiz8875 One of the big problems with the USA public school system is that each state has a slightly different system, and sometimes even school boards within the same state can be different. There really should be more national standards so that children across the nation are not missing out on necessary services. It's part of the reason that some states have very different academic results than other states. In general, teachers are certified by their state. That means that a teacher who teaches biology actually knows something about biology. They have to present transcripts for sufficient university credits in biology,( or Math or English, etc) also a written exam in biology plus an additional exam in teaching skills and educational concepts, sometimes an interview exam as well. To be a counselor, you would obtain a similar certification, demonstrating college credits in educational psychology, adolescent psychology, and so forth. Therefore, any trained counselor should be able to react if they know of a troubled student in their school. Of course, students and teachers who know that student would have to share unusual impressions they have had about that student. If everyone is keeping secrets or if teachers are not referring students, then info is falling through the cracks. The counselor should know from their college coursework that violence against animals is not a normal thing. They should be able to speak to the student, speak to their principal, interact with the family, get counseling or at least an evaluation from personnel at the school or in the district or outside within the community's healthcare resources.Some counselors process a lot of paperwork to track student grades and move their records from elementary school to middle school to high school to college. But beyond the paperwork, even those counselors were trained by their colleges to know a bit more about adolescent psychology than the average bear. I would hate to think that Texas doesn't have those resources for their students. If they don't, that alone explains why troubled people are harming the community instead of being identified as needing help.
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@aflorine2 I think you are missing the point. It's not about semantics and job titles. A teacher should be able to identify concerning behavior in her students. If she misses it, she should have enough rapport with her class that someone will talk to her confidentially and say, "Miss, I'm worried about Joey." That is not a secret that she keeps to herself. That student is referred to other more senior school personnel, usually the counselor. Assistant principals and principals are other sources. They do not provide diagnosis and the direct therapy, (although some schools do have in house medical clinics) but they should use resources in the district or the community to connect that student and his family to treatment. Or maybe Texas schools don't do any of that for their students? Maybe that's how "low tax" states do education? Hope not...
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@johnbox271 vote Abbott out.
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The second amendment has outlived its usefulness to the nation if it cannot protect innocent children.
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SALT is the State and Local Tax deduction that used to be automatic until the trump tax bill made it disappear. It's a way to punish "blue" states or any state that uses a higher state tax system to provide more services for their residents. This is especially important for public education and Medicaid payments. I believe TANF payments and guidelines are also impacted. State tax rates are a big part of why some states have very low academic performance and other states have students who perform much better. Returning to SALT is the right thing to do for taxpayers and for state residents.
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You are shopping in the wrong store. In my store, three types of bread were on sale, eggs on sale if you bought them in 18 count carton, instead of a dozen, and even chocolate chip cookies. Yummy! The president is not responsible for teaching you how to shop.
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💙🌊⚖️🗽⚖️💙🌊
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Prosecutor vs felon. Hmm.....
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An amazing president with the super power of getting legislation across the finish line, even with razor thin margins. Infrastructure, veterans healthcare, chips manufacturing in the USA, gun safety, beginnings of green energy, pharmacy price controls, and a few more bills, but he has signed so much it's hard to memorize it all! Getting things done, I'm for it. GOP representatives taking credit for funding coming into their district from bills they voted against. Silly shameless fools. Thank you President Biden. And I know you are not finished! I would bet money that you have some index cards in your pocket with ideas for the SCOTUS reform bill, for banning the AR 15 and mandating gun safes, for affordable housing, etc. Go Joe! Go Kamala go! Go Tim go! 💙🌊🗽💙🌊
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@A. Brown I have a feeling this entire family was in distress and needed some caregiver support. I continue to be amazed that schools did not connect anyone to services in the district or the community. Does Texas not provide any services to their population? What is going on? How dare they.
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@DFS944 All the more reason he should have been spotted by the schools, especially because teachers, much less school counselors and principals, are mandated reporters on abuse. Lots of people looked the other way here. Lives could have been saved.
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Now are we ready to make sure that our lawmakers pass gun safety laws? Needs to be federal, because let's face it, Abbott will never fix this. Comprehensive federal gun safety legislation: training, permits, gun safes, age limits, mental health assessment for each purchase, red flags, comprehensive background checks with enough time to fully vet the purchaser not a 15 minute chat, waiting periods, magazine limits. Texas has no permits, open carry, over the objections of Texas law enforcement. What did Abbott think would happen? These are things that most responsible gun owners already do; now we need to make sure that irresponsible governors like Abbott mandate these things so that his sloppy gun laws don't allow guns to leak out of his state and get driven across state lines straight into the hands of criminals sabotaging gun safety states. To do nothing is evil.
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@travistphoenix8634 So many flaws I don't know where to begin. School counselors are essential, so better certification is needed plus additional in-service classes required to improve that. Also, sufficient funding for public schools so that funding cuts don't impact guidance depts. Then every counselor has a triple work load and they are buried in paper with no time to talk to students much less follow up with parents and connect healthcare treatment for the student. Also, Texas is 50th in states on mental healthcare so ... What?? Btw Abbott is up for re election now. Vote Abbott out.
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@toasty_mcdanish It might be more about changing the "authorities". Police Dept is for crime. They don't have a great track record with mental illness response, not too surprising because that's not their training. (BTW they need more training, not months in academy, more like a two year associate degree). We are overdue for a mental health team that people can dial like 911. Pick a number, maybe 211. Maybe more people would report worrisome signs instead of waiting for a crisis that looks like a crime. Also, a trained mental health team could follow up to see if the problem resolved instead of just saying, no crime here, and walking away. Mental health specialists could spot calls from "Karen" who complains too much about everyone instead of arresting a young person who looks suspiciously brown. I thought we were talking about this after George Floyd. What happened?
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Yes, it is evil to continue to do nothing. Start by reversing Abbott's horrible "gun policy". In June 2021, Abbott declared Texas a gun sanctuary state. Then no permits, open carry, over the objections of Texas law enforcement. Start by reversing that, because honestly what did that weasel think would happen?? How can Texas police respond to a "man with a gun" call? So by definition they can't even begin to respond until after the shooting starts. No opportunity for crime prevention. Disgusting. Vote Abbott out, please. Step up and do the nation a favor, especially because Texas guns don't stay in Texas. Remember that. This level of irresponsibility threatens neighboring states too.
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Or if we vote harder, get back the House majority, get 60 senators and then do it with just Democrats. The GOP will never get this done. Democrats have proposed bills, and GOP just votes no. Except the small bill that Murphy and Cornyn did after Uvalde. But that bill is not comprehensive. Now they're walking around with AR 15 lapel pins. Disgusting and disrespectful. And here we have another shooting with an assault weapon. 5:32 Get to work, Congress. Get to work, voters. Vote out anyone who will not support gun safety.
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Thank you Joe! 💙🌊💙🌊 Let's bring in this win! Make your voting plans now! 💙 Up and down the ballot!
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This is not just something that "happened". Abbott declared Texas a gun sanctuary state late 2021. Uvalde happened about 6 months after that. No permits, open carry, over the objections of Texas law enforcement. What did he think was going to happen? If Texas police get a call for "man with a gun", how can they even respond to that if everyone in Texas is walking around with guns? Bad gun policy got us here, better gun laws can get us back. This is common sense. The second amendment has outlived its usefulness to the nation if it cannot protect innocent people. Enough. Comprehensive federal gun safety legislation is needed, because Abbott will never fix this.
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@machsimillian14 If you are a teenager, or don't pay attention to even recent history, maybe that's how it feels, but the only one who wants you to think this is normal is the gun vendor. Can't you feel the gun industry picking your pocket? Gun sales increase after every mass shooting, so the gun industry loves this carnage. Because fear sells guns. We don't have to live this way. This also makes us look like complete fools to our allies and our enemies around the world.
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Bad gun policy: 2004, the sunset of the crime bill/assault weapons ban; 2005 Bush signs PLCAA shielding gun manufacturers from liability for the damages caused by their grotesquely dangerous products; 2008 the Heller opinion written by Justice Scalia. Bad gun policy got us into this mess. This is not an essential part of USA culture, just a perfect storm of several bad policies packed into a few years, and then we're off to the races. Then several irresponsible governors like Abbott and DeSantis start softening gun laws for photo ops. Bad gun laws got us here, comprehensive federal gun safety legislation can make things better. We don't have to live this way. Start by repealing PLCAA to restore liability to gun manufacturers, and their own lawyers will insist on gun safety protocols at point of sale to demonstrate due diligence in court proceedings.
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@audamoser9358 So COVID mismanagement was not a struggle for you? Denial much? Or maybe watching your neighbors lose their grandparents and friends to a horrible disease, lonely horrific deaths without family, without funerals, maybe that was okay for you? No proms, no graduations, that was fun for you? I just can't anymore..... Living in your own separate bubble is only fun for you. The rest of the nation is moving forward. Go Kamala go! Go Tim go! Thank you, President Biden, for exercising your super power for getting legislation across the finish line! Awesome job well done. 🗽⚖️💙🌊⚖️🗽
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Yes, absolutely, and there are too many state by state disparities in healthcare. Medicaid coverage in NYC and NYS is totally different than Texas probably. NYC does cover mental health care. I was hoping that at least students in Texas are able to access services through the schools, but maybe not? What's going on with Texas?? Time for a new governor?!
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@scottytoohotty7617 Bullying is a learned behavior and therefore it can be unlearned, especially beginning with young kids. We used to talk about teasing, and that trivialized and normalized the behavior too much. We can be better than this.
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@alextanguay5886 yes, exactly. I vote for the troubled bully without the assault weapon. Still troubled, but really different outcome for the community. Then maybe more time for him to get the help he needs.
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@saffmichael4369 Not sure if all of that is true. If cbt or talk therapy is not enough, meds are probably available. But any of those interactions, whether they cure the problem or not, means that he is now known to school, mental health and/or police authorities. That puts a name in a national database that should be checked before a gun purchase. That's what the background checks are about, so that vendors know before, instead of the tv interview after it's too late. Pass background check legislation already. The bill is sitting in the Senate right now.
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@pugdad1248 I'm sure police departments vary widely from state to state. The connection between violence to animals and violence towards people is well known by most trained police officers. Many police departments also have community affairs officers who have more flexibility to work with the neighborhood and school safety officers. The potential for interacting with a troubled kid before a tragedy is possible. But of course the information has to be shared. I didn't get the sense that the high school acquaintance had talked to adults at the school or at the local police.
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Check the Congressional Record. Documented record of passing an amazing amount of legislation, comparable to FDR and LBJ. You're welcome. GOP House with Speaker Johnson, one of the least productive legislative bodies ever. Getting things done, Democrats do that! I'm for it. 💙🌊🐬💙🌊
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How strange that my comprehensive response was removed. Check the Congressional Record for the long list of legislation passed under President Biden's watch. ⚖️💙🌊💙🌊⚖️ I guess someone thinks that the Congressional Record is a dangerous thing?
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President Biden's accomplishments are clearly indicated in the Congressional Record.
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Honor the angels with action. Contact your representative ASAP to support gun safety legislation. No new sales of AR 15, a gun that was tested by the military and never should have been "adapted" for civilian use. Recent reporting in The Atlantic states that the AR 15 is popular because it is the male Barbie doll. It has lots of accessories, like Barbie has her dream house and pink convertible. This is the disgusting thing we are sacrificing children to? Enough. No new sales of AR 15, mandated gun safes to keep old AR 15 away from children, thieves, and the public.
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