It’s an image that has become emblematic of the Parkland school massacre: two terrified moms outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, one of them a tall, weeping blonde with the black smudge of Ash Wednesday on her forehead, the other a petite redhead crying in despair on her shoulder.
But the bond in that widely seen photograph didn’t survive long. The two women soon found themselves at odds — like the nation itself — over gun control.
The redhead was Cathi Rush, who was desperately waiting on Feb. 14, 2018, to find out whether her 14-year-old son Brandon was OK. The blonde was Mechelle Boyle, whose three children did not attend the high school and were safe.
“This community has fractured into two factions now,” said [Rush] — those who are trying to turn schools into “fortresses” and those who want to crack down on guns.
“And they fight like you wouldn’t believe on Facebook,” Rush said. “It’s gross. It’s disgusting.”
And while Rush condemns those she feels oppose her, there’s this little gem from Boyle who discussed what became of her friendship with Rush:
“She was very upset at me because I was a little more pro-gun than her, and she wasn’t very happy about that,” Boyle said. “I definitely pushed for laws, and I definitely said we need stronger laws, but I guess for whatever reason we really didn’t stay friends on Facebook or anything.”
– Kelli Kennedi for sun-sentinel.com, Their anguish was a defining image of Parkland. Now they don’t talk to each other