March 14, 2018, They Walked Out
On March 14, one month after a 19-year-old shot 17 people at a public high school, students at schools throughout the country walked out of school at 10 AM in protest to government inaction on banning military-type assault weapons.
In Washington DC, this protest was organized, emphasizing that 7000 children have died in gun violence since the 2012 school shooting at Sandy Hook, CT. There are lots of photos of lots of protests from all over the country. Reportedly, a million students participated. Here are some pictures. And some more.
In Massachusetts, a snowstorm had passed through the day and night before. Many schools were closed and many homes were without power. Students who could travel safely gathered at the State House, and also at Smith and Wesson in Springfield. Some schools walked out on Thursday.
Small Victories (a site a recommend!) summarized it here:
A million students across the country—from American Indian teens on the Pine Ridge Reservation to thousands of students in Chicago alone—walked out of class this Wednesday to protest gun violence.
Hundreds rallied outside the White House and were joined by members of Congress. Indivisible GA-04 took the opportunity to register hundreds of high school students to vote. And we’re especially awed by the students who walked out alone, like this second-grader.
And speaking of the younger kids, elementary school students sang “Put a Little Love in Your Heart,” prepared press packets, and formed peace signs on the playground.
What can a million of teenagers do to change our country?
- Inspire adults to act. Maine Republican State Representative Leslie Gibson thought it was acceptable to name-call Parkland shooting survivor Emma Gonzales. The grown man used what he thought was acceptable insult (bald lesbian) toward a child. It so enraged another Republican, that she took at papers to run against. http://www.sunjournal.com/beleaguered-gibson-abandons-state-house-race-seeks-peace-and-quiet/ He has since withdrawn his candidacy.
- Vote. Many of these young people will be voting within the next three years.
Videos: See protests in action:
Nerd fun, with guns:
The New York Times has a statistics blog (It’s great fun.) This month, they took on the association of guns and mass murder. Chances are, you’ve seen the graph before; but have you really seen it
The distracting tempest in a teapot:
There was a story that was no story. To understand why this story became news, understand what the past month has looked like to conservative people who support gun rights, and MAGA. The fear is that there is a well-money group of people who are running the media and distorting the news to suit their purposes. That well-moneyed group has poisoned the minds of young children against guns. They are training the children to speak out and disrupt the society. The teachers and school administrations are all for it.
Here’s a summary: There was a protest at a school. For safety, the administration decided that the protesters would walk out, and those who chose not to walk out were to assemble in another area, so they could be supervised. A child refused to leave his classroom because he didn’t want to choose sides in the controversy. He was suspended. A picture of his suspension notice went viral, with tweets like this: (link)
There are rallies called across the country for March 24, 2018. Washington, D.C. link. Boston link.