This article originally appeared on 01.31.20
As the nation helplessly watches our highest halls of government toss justice to the wind, a 2nd grader has given us someplace to channel our frustrations. In a hilarious video rant, a youngster named Taylor shared a story that has folks ready to go to the mat for her and her beloved, pink, perfect attendance pencil.
Instagrammer @tabgeezy shared a video of her daughter telling the story of how she put her perfect attendance pencil—the pink one that she had legitimately earned—in the classroom box of pencils to be sharpened. But when she went to retrieve it from the sharpened pencils box, all she found were plain yellow pencils. That’s because Lizzie—who, by the way, had not earned a perfect attendance pencil because she had gone to CANADA—was using it. And not only that, but Canada Lizzie then lost Taylor’s pencil in her desk, and her teacher was no help.
You have to hear Taylor tell it to understand why this travesty of justice has gone viral.
If you think this pencil battle is of no consequence whatsoever, think again. People on Twitter got hold of the video, and folks are rallying behind Taylor as if that pink pencil is our democracy and Taylor and Lizzie are the House and Senate.
If somebody ever takes my childu2019s perfect attendance pencil which SHE earned cuz she didnu2019t even go to Canada, the entire school getting shut down.— riley wuz here (@riley wuz here)
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IS THERE NO JUSTICE IN THE WORLD— Charlotte Clymer ud83cudff3ufe0fu200du26a7ufe0fud83cuddfaud83cudde6 (@Charlotte Clymer ud83cudff3ufe0fu200du26a7ufe0fud83cuddfaud83cudde6)
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“Lizzie” was trending on Twitter as people called out the little girl who went to CANADA and then dared to take Taylor’s perfect attendance pencil.
Me and the crew showing up to school the next day looking for Lizzie and getting to ride out for Tayloru2019s Perfect Attendance Pencil https://twitter.com/_FemGod/status/1223105472393121793u00a0u2026pic.twitter.com/3Hw7ASVmpX— Matthew A. Cherry (@Matthew A. Cherry)
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All I am saying is that if Lizzy wanted a pink Perfect Attendance pencil then she shouldn’t have gone to CANADA.nn#JusticeForThePencil— Gail Simone ud83dudc99ud83dudc9b (@Gail Simone ud83dudc99ud83dudc9b)
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There were some shout-outs to Taylor’s classmate who understood what that pencil meant to her.
shout out to reece who was the only one who understood the gravity of the situation. don’t let me see lizzie in the streets! https://twitter.com/_FemGod/status/1223105472393121793u00a0u2026— in charge of the girls (@in charge of the girls)
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But Taylor’s teacher certainly wasn’t getting any love.
Me writing an email to my babyu2019s teacher saying that messy ass Lizzie better come up with a perfect attendance pencil or sheu2019s going to be going back to Canadapic.twitter.com/ZbcjpwBvUr— u2728La Bruja Buenau2728 (@u2728La Bruja Buenau2728)
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Twitter’s collective reaction even started getting its own GIFs.
All of Twitter getting ready to go ask Lizzie, who was in Canada, about a certain pink perfect attendance pencilpic.twitter.com/xwIBRzYFF5— Lana Del Gay (@Lana Del Gay)
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Twitter uniting to get her perfect attendance pencil back from Lizzie because she went to Canada and DID NOT earn it:pic.twitter.com/4U9qFgB6Jm— Sarah Guy (@Sarah Guy)
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People had so. many. feelings. about baby girl getting back her pencil, about the way her mom and teacher dismissed it as “just a pencil,” and about poor little Lizzie who probably still doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about.
Why do we care so much? Adorableness aside, we’re all a little burned out on politics and the methodical dismantling of our country’s checks and balances, so maybe getting charged up over an adorable little girl’s pencil injustice somehow feels cathartic.
John Delaney dropped out of the race… Meh!nnThereu2019s a Presidential impeachment… Yawn. nnSomeone stole a little girlu2019s perfect attendance pencil. nnMe:pic.twitter.com/aXBot4y58G— AL (@AL)
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Hope you get your pencil back soon, Taylor. We all need a little glimmer of hope that justice can, indeed, prevail.