And the Children Shall Lead (FL Shooting)

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LadyTevar
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And the Children Shall Lead (FL Shooting)

Post by LadyTevar »

The students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have decided #NeverAgain when it comes to school shooting, and if the Adults won't do something, they will.

Link:
BBC News: "Never Again"
In Florida aftermath, US students say 'Never Again'

The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were well practised on how to respond in an active shooter situation - the school has lockdown drills, security systems and restricted entrances. But a sole gunman on Valentine's Day was still able to kill 17.

From the school's survivors, and other students across the US, movements have sprung up in its aftermath rejecting what has been dubbed the "new normal" for their generation. Thousands of teenagers, including many still too young to vote, have become grassroots activists. Social media has become a tool for their ideas and campaigns to spread.

Their calls for gun control are not different to those in the aftermath of other tragedies - but the maturity and voracity of the students publically voicing their demands has led many on social media to say this time feels different.

"In Newtown the students were so young they couldn't stand up, but trust me - we are going to be the change," Parkland survivor Alex Wind told the BBC.

As Wednesday's atrocity took place, he was forced to huddle in darkness with 60 other students for over an hour and a half as shots rang out throughout their school.

Alex and four of his friends founded the Never Again campaign in the immediate aftermath. Now over a dozen of them are tirelessly campaigning and making the rounds on US cable news networks to share their message that the school's survivors will not back down.

"It is absolutely insane that a 19-year-old cannot purchase alcohol but can walk in and buy an AR-15 - a weapon of war, by all means a weapon of mass destruction," he said.

They have announced the March for Our Lives to take place on 24 March, in conjunction with the Everytown for Gun Safety, calling for the prioritisation of children's lives in the gun control debate.

Student Cameron Kasky, also 17, said the group's aim is to "create a new normal where there's a badge of shame" on politicians accepting donations from gun lobbyists.

"My message for the people in office is: You're either with us or against us. We are losing our lives while the adults are playing around," he told CNN.

The group are encouraging other students around the country to join with them and protest - a movement that is already happening online.

-----------------------------------------

Lane Murdock, who is 15 and lives in Connecticut, was one of the students who saw events in Florida and felt mobilised to try and make a difference.

"When I saw the news the most saddening thing was that it felt normal," she told the BBC.

"I'm from Connecticut where Sandy Hook happened - I've been surrounded by this reality all of my life."

She, like other US students, has grown up learning lockdown drills since she was in elementary school. She remembers her first at seven years old.

"We all hide in the safest corner, huddle together with our knees up against our chest while our teacher turns off the lights, closes the blinds and locks the door."

She had the idea to launch an online petition for a national student walk out on the anniversary of the Columbine attack. After a "whirlwind" few days, Lane's campaign has garnered tens of thousands of followers and signatures.

The teenager, who says she has ambitions of being a journalist, is now liaising with national advocacy groups to make sure any strike action is cohesive and effective.

Her mother, Bari, says that she is "beyond proud" of her daughter.

"If anything is going to change, it is up to our youth. We're failing our children - I hope it takes off," she said.

---------------------------------------------------

Another student hundreds of miles away from Wednesday's attack, Violet Massie-Vereker, had her own simple and provocative idea to draw attention to the reform debate.

Following on from the success of the #MeToo campaign, she proposed a twist exposing the reality for student and parents' concerns with #MeNext?

She stood with a sign outside her high school in Pelham in New York alongside several other students and local parents.

"A number of people have told me it's frightening and powerful, and really sends a message," the 16-year-old told the BBC.

At her high school, the shooting was followed by a special assembly, where the principal gave an address to students where they went over their lockdown procedures.

"She told us, I wish I could assure you that nothing could happen here, but I can't," Violet said.

"It's a drop in the bucket within the debate, but I sincerely believe this is the beginning of the end. Students should harness their fears to help promote a change."

--------------------------------------------

In West Michigan, teenagers from Kalamazoo Central High School started their own petition titled "Students Fighting Guns Since Adults Won't". It has almost 50,000 signatures.

Julia Kemple-Johnson, 17, said the idea came from a discussion between friends a day after the Parkland shooting. She said they felt like they were having a discussion about gun violence every other week.

"I can't remember a time when I didn't know about mass shootings," she told the BBC.

"Our teacher told us that Columbine was a wake-up call at the time, but we were born after that and we are just so used to it, so desensitised."

They are trying to work with groups from Colorado and connect with survivors in Florida. Their aim is to contact their local state representatives asking for the introduction of mandatory waiting periods for background checks, and a review of semi-automatic weapons.

In Maine, students from Mount Desert Island High School held their own silent protest to the attack.

The networks are growing hourly, and the groups' teenage organisers are trying to intersect to create cohesive action.

Tweets by survivors from Wednesday's Florida attack are now being met with hundreds of shares and messages of support from their national peers.

Whether meaningful change is enacted from the emotional response remains to be seen, but thousands of students without the power to vote are doing their very best to make their voices heard.
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Nitram, slightly high on cough syrup: Do you know you're beautiful?
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.

"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet
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Re: And the Children Shall Lead (FL Shooting)

Post by LadyTevar »

Second Article.

Link:
BBC News: "Students to March On Washington"
Florida school shooting: Students to march on Washington

Young survivors of Wednesday's school shooting in Florida have announced a national march on Washington to demand political action on gun control.

Student organisers told US media that they were determined to make Wednesday's shooting a turning point in the national gun debate.

The attack, which left 17 students and staff members dead, was the deadliest US school shooting since 2012.

Yesterday protestors chanted "shame on you" to US lawmakers and the president.

Mr Trump said last year he would "never" infringe on the right to keep arms - a long-running and contested debate within the US.

In his first public comments on the gun control issue since the attack, Mr Trump blamed the Democrats for not passing legislation when they controlled Congress during the early years of Barack Obama's administration.

He also rebuked the FBI for missing signals before Wednesday's school shooting, after the organisation admitted it had failed to act on a tip-off about the suspected shooter Nikolas Cruz.

What are the students' plans?

Speaking on US television networks on Sunday morning, student survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas announced their March for Our Lives campaign.

They are planning to march on Washington on 24 March to demand that children and their families "become a priority" to US lawmakers. They want other protests to happen simultaneously in other cities on the same day.

"We are losing our lives while the adults are playing around," Cameron Kasky, a survivor from the school said.

It is one of many student-led protests amassing support on social media in the wake of Wednesday's attack.

On Saturday students and their parents - as well as politicians - took part in an emotionally-charged rally in Fort Lauderdale, close to Parkland.

Arguably the most memorable moment came when high school student Emma Gonzalez took to the podium and attacked the US president and other politicians for accepting political donations from the National Rifle Association (NRA), a powerful gun rights lobby group.

"If the president wants to come up to me and tell me to my face that it was a terrible tragedy and... how nothing is going to be done about it, I'm going to happily ask him how much money he received from the National Rifle Association," said Ms Gonzalez.

"It doesn't matter because I already know. Thirty million dollars," the 18-year-old said, referring to donations during Mr Trump's presidential campaign.

"To every politician who is taking donations from the NRA - shame on you!" said Ms Gonzalez, who took cover on the floor of her secondary school's auditorium during the attack.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the NRA spent $11.4m (£8.1m) supporting Mr Trump in the 2016 campaign, and $19.7m opposing Hillary Clinton.

What is Mr Trump's stance on gun control?
The president's views on gun control have shifted over time. In recent years, he has pledged to fiercely defend the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, which protects people's right to keep and bear arms.

Last year, he told an NRA convention he would "never, ever infringe" on that right.

In a tweet late on Saturday, the Republican president accused the Democrats of not acting on gun legislation "when they had both the House & Senate during the Obama Administration.

"Because they didn't want to, and now they just talk!" he wrote, referring to criticism from Democrats following Wednesday's shooting.

Mr Trump - who on Friday met survivors of the attack - has also blamed the shooter's mental health and the FBI's failings.

The US news network CNN has invited Florida lawmakers and the president to attend a town hall event with survivors of the attack on Wednesday.

Saturday's rally coincided with a gun show in Florida. Hundreds of people attended the event at the Dade County fairgrounds, despite calls to cancel it.

What do we know about the suspect?
Mr Cruz, 19, is a former student at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

He was reportedly investigated by local police and the Department of Children and Family Services in 2016 after posting evidence of self-harm on the Snapchat app, according to the latest US media reports.

Child services said he had planned to buy a gun, but authorities determined he was already receiving adequate support, the reports say.

The reports come after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) admitted it did not properly follow up on a tip-off about Mr Cruz last month.

The 5 January tip was not the only information the FBI received. In September, a Mississippi man reported to the law enforcement agency a disturbing comment left on a YouTube video under Mr Cruz's name.

Florida Governor Rick Scott called for FBI director Christopher Wray to resign over the failures to act.

In a late tweet on Saturday, the President rebuked the organisation for their handling of tip-offs.

"Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable. They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign."
Image
Nitram, slightly high on cough syrup: Do you know you're beautiful?
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.

"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet
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Re: And the Children Shall Lead (FL Shooting)

Post by The Romulan Republic »

Positive change happens when young people mobilize. We see this again and again.
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver

"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.

I SUPPORT A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE.
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Re: And the Children Shall Lead (FL Shooting)

Post by TheFeniX »

Even as an avid supporter of gun rights: good on them. Democrats will promise everything and fold instantly and Republicans have made it very clear they have no interest in protecting the lives of school-children. They blame blame blame blame, say "we should do x instead of gun control" (which honestly there ARE some better ways to combat this problem, but that isn't the point of my post), then do (AT BEST) absolutely nothing to help the situation and (at worst) actively make it worse by making it (for just an example) harder for U.S. Citizens with emotional health problems to get help.

Good God though you still can't get anything useful out of Trump's mouth. I mean, I'm not surprised, but it makes for more chuckles:
"In his first public comments on the gun control issue since the attack, Mr Trump blamed the Democrats for not passing legislation when they controlled Congress during the early years of Barack Obama's administration."

He's basically saying: "You suck for not passing legislation against an obstructionist GOP, which we then would have immediately torn down and laughed about while rubbing your faces in it the second we got control back." I honestly bet he's angry at the idea that there's no Obama-era gun control he can try to wipe his ass with. Like, it's terrible for him there isn't MORE DNC stuff to burn in the backyard of the white-house.

That really is his whole Shtick: fuck the Democrats. Once again, not a surprise and really not worth stating, but the man is a self-professed master of holding a grudge. And him feeling like Democrats have wronged him means he will continue to react with "they bring a knife, you bring a gun" level of school-yard bully horseshit.
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Re: And the Children Shall Lead (FL Shooting)

Post by The Romulan Republic »

Not just fuck the Democrats, but fuck Obama personally. Trump seems to have a personal obsession with spiting Obama (even beyond that of most Republicans) that honestly comes off as a combination of racism and penis envy.
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver

"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.

I SUPPORT A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE.
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TheFeniX
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Re: And the Children Shall Lead (FL Shooting)

Post by TheFeniX »

I'm not going to argue Trump isn't a racist (I mean, I could, but I don't think anyone came into this thread for laughs), but I don't know if that's the case here based on experience. I think he's willing to deal with any race, gender, or creed amicably if they are willing to service his ego at all times. He's done this for most of his public life. But Obama called Trump unfit for President and backed HRC. Even before that, Trump had his spats with Obama on social media.

Nah, this (to me at least, I don't expect anyone else to buy my bullshit) smacks near totally of "Obama wounded me, I must have blood. And when there's no blood left, I will have MORE blood."

I still stand by my assumption that if Trump was born a middle-class Texan, he'd be that guy at the party who you innocently bump into, causing him to spill his beer, you say "I'm sorry," and he tries to push things into a fist-fight because it's obvious to him you did that on purpose and he has to defend his honor. In cases where you actually wronged him, he jumps immediately into violence.

Another tidbit: Trump has a history of throwing money and lawyers at people that "wrong" him. That's the "Daddy's Money" rich-kid shtick. He can't do that right now. So that's probably focusing his rage and efforts at people he CAN affect.
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Re: And the Children Shall Lead (FL Shooting)

Post by The Romulan Republic »

I think you're probably right, but the race thing probably magnifies it a lot. Because a lot of middle-class Texans would probably be a lot angrier if a black man bumped into them than a white man. As in, back in the old days, at least, they'd get into a fist fight with the white man- but they'd get a bunch of their friends together and go lynch the black man.

The offence is magnified, in their minds, because how dare a black man (though they'd probably use a word beginning with N) slight them? Don't they know their place?
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver

"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.

I SUPPORT A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE.
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