Thousands of students from schools across the nation walked out of class today in protest for more strict gun regulations. From the Bay Area to Florida, the students’ voices were loud and clear that gun violence in schools must stop and the laws must be reformed. The children walked out for 17 minutes in honor of the 17 innocent people who was shot and killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school last month by Nikolas Cruz. There were marches, student speakers and supporters alike who came out to express anger, sorrow and hope for change. The tragedy at MSD high follows past mass shootings like Columbine high, Sandy Hook and Oikos University and so the question is how many of our children will have to be sacrificed before at least one politician take a stand and the stroke of a pen to declare ENOUGH!!!?
I wish we could go back to revolvers and greenbacks, maybe there wouldn’t be this much death and debt. I have nothing to say against the citizen who has the right to defend his/her family and livelihood, however the easy access that is made to those who have no business with any form of a gun needs to be addressed… and like YEARS ago!
Young and older people alike with mental health crisis’ they are dealing with need treatment, not riffles. The word is that the prosecution in Cruz’s case is seeking the death penalty for the 17 lives he just snatched off the face of the earth. Another version of the cycle of the hate that hate produced and if he is to be put to death how will that deter murderous rage and mental illness..? The non-reality version of the world is the only reality some children and young adults have, then add less, broken or no parental guidance and all the horrors of life man inflicts upon his own wrapping us up in the tentacles of capitalism all there is are the “Shoot em up” video games and the insanity of television programming.
All the messages of morality, sanity, love and looking out for the helpless has been lost and all those kids who took to the streets showed remarkable courage by taking the stand to be the change the world needs and the future must be protected.
Questions that should be in the conversation regarding our future is what’s a person just being a “bad” person? What is a person with “mental illness”? What is a person who’s “easily influenced”? and what is the person who’s just “pissed off”? What is the “diagnosis” and why does everything has to have a “diagnosis” today?
This system is not working for the people at all and it will continue to fail so long as we have a “system”.. A Classist, Racist, and Selective society who brags of great weaponry and wealth but Miss Amerikkka’s children can’t even learn properly and safely at school. There was even talk of some disciplinary action towards the students, like the walkouts being marked as unexcused absences just punishing the kids for what they believed in instead of the schools interacting with the students and broadening their minds to ensure that the movement blossoms.
The desperate need for gun control goes around in full circle because those that are supposed to uphold the law can’t even control their guns so where’s the examples to be set? We are living in a military country with schools that unsafe and folks that are unstable and a tweet-king-krazed president so as we say to the brave, young warriors coming up in this gun oppression: The Struggle Continues.
QUEENNANDI PNN
Image: Students from Oakland Technical High School stand up against gun violence on March 14, 2018, one month after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, killed 17. (Samantha Shanahan/KQED)