ICYMI - A Former School Shooter is a TikTok Star. Should He Even Be Allowed Online?
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3.9 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 25 October 2023
⏱️ 46 minutes
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Summary
On today’s episode, Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim dive into the saga of Jon Romano. At the age of 16, Romano walked into his high school with a shotgun in an attempt, he says, to commit law-enforcement-assisted suicide. Though no one was killed in the ensuing violence, a teacher was shot and injured. Romano pled guilty to attempted murder and reckless endangerment. He served 17 years in prison and was released in 2020. Since his release, he’s been a public advocate for mental health reform and gun control. Since 2022, TikTok has been a part of that advocacy work for Romano, a choice that landed Romano in the headlines once again after many decried his public platform of more than 275,000 followers.
Romano’s presence on TikTok and his large public profile raise thorny questions around the possibility of redemption and life online for those who commit violent acts. To help answer those questions, Hampton and Lim are joined by Dr. Teiahsha Bankhead, the executive director of Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth and an expert in restorative and racial justice.
This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, I'm Rachel Hampton, and I'm Candice Slim, and you're listening to I See Why Am I. |
| 0:18.1 | In case you missed it. |
| 0:19.4 | Sleets podcasts about internet culture. |
| 0:21.6 | And long time listeners of this show know that here is usually around where we do some |
| 0:28.4 | cute little banter to, you know, get the girls going, get y'all primed for some nonsense. |
| 0:34.1 | But today we are doing something a little different. |
| 0:45.9 | And that's because today's episode is a bit more serious than Pesto recipes and Bobby |
| 0:51.3 | Altoff. |
| 0:52.7 | Before we really dive in, just want to give a heads up that today we'll be discussing |
| 0:56.8 | school shootings and suicide, so if that's not necessarily your jam, we will see you on |
| 1:02.0 | Saturday. |
| 1:03.0 | A few weeks ago, I was scrolling the website, formerly known as Twitter, when I saw a tweet |
| 1:08.6 | from former I See Why Am I Guess Francesca Ramsey that really, let's say, peaked my interest. |
| 1:16.9 | It read, the fact that it confessed school shooter is out of prison and has now built |
| 1:22.3 | an enormous audience on tiktok is just, and yes, he is. |
| 1:29.7 | She was quote, tweeting, culture writer, Hannah Fyfer, who said, school shooter tiktok |
| 1:34.6 | influencer, Lord, I have seen it all. |
| 1:38.4 | And when Francesca says, yes, he is. |
| 1:41.6 | She's referring to the fact that the confessed school shooter, John Romano, is white. |
| 1:46.5 | Yeah, she later goes on to say, please don't mistake my disgust for surprise, which |
| 1:51.9 | is fair. |
| 1:52.9 | When you consider who could actually amass a quarter of a million followers on tiktok |
... |
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