Waffle House hero and Emma González just took a photo together that is breaking the internet

With the deluge of horrendous news pouring over us each day, it’s refreshing to go on social media and see something that makes you smile from ear to ear.

For many of us, the tweet sent today by James Shaw Jr., the hero who single-handedly disarmed the shooter in a Nashville Waffle House, filled that role.

Shaw’s actions in the Waffle House shooting proved that the NRA talking point of “the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun” is a lie. He wrested the AR-15 assault rifle from the gunman with his bare hands while the shooter stopped to reload, suffering burns from the overheated rifle barrel.

The heroic Shaw got the chance to meet one of his own heroes today, another nemesis of the NRA, Parkland shooting survivor and gun-regulation activist Emma González and immediately commemorated the meeting in a Twitter post that went viral.

I met one of my heros today@Emma4Change pic.twitter.com/EQZYERiRGE

— James Shaw Jr. (@JamesShawJr9) May 12, 2018

González had previously expressed her profound admiration for the brave Waffle House patron in a Twitter post that was a response to Kanye West’s tweet naming her as his own hero.

my hero James Shaw Jr. pic.twitter.com/BRnuYEURdv

— Emma González (@Emma4Change) April 29, 2018

It’s no wonder that Shaw’s latest tweet exploded on the internet.

It’s not often that two heroes with complementary agendas get to meet and, with so many people looking up to these two as societal exemplars, their own mutual admiration fills the soul with optimism and hope for the future.