Happening now:
We're seeing the first in a nationwide wave of student walkouts to protest gun violence. Here's video from Parkland, Florida, where exactly one month ago a gunman killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.#NationalWalkoutDay. pic.twitter.com/iUGFJheWjF
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) March 14, 2018
I’m so damn proud of them. They’ve already made a difference, and they’re not done. Know any kids who are participating?
LAO
This thread (which Cheryl retweeted), has me in tears:
Davebo
It’s amazing. And a lot of these kids will be able to vote in 2020.
Ceci n est pas mon nym
Just drove past the local high school and saw the kids rallying along the street, with teachers. Add that to the Lamb win (mostly symbolic but still) and the morning is full of Yay!
LAO
For you Hamiltonian fans:
Butch
Glad to see someone isn’t accepting the learned helplessness that seems to characterize so many of those with the power to actually do something.
LAO
And Luke Skywalker:
Elizabelle
Go kids! We have your backs!
Elizabelle
I think it was no accident that Trump is nowhere near the White House during this long-planned protest. Cowards gotta coward.
Kay
Senator Patty Murray
Verified account
I’m glad. Patty Murray is effective but I think she compromises to a fault. I don’t think Democrats should accept how Republicans are trying to get away with ignoring guns. It’s simply not fair to put the entire burden of this on people who DO NOT bring weapons into schools. It’s ludicrous. They’re going to regulate the hell out of every public school student in order to protect gun nuts from ANY regulation. That’s not fair.
The wrong people are shouldering this burden and public schools are absolutely overwhelmed with duties as it is. Trump’s effort to dump this on schools should be called out. Public schools are not where we put every problem that no one else feels like solving. Sacrificing their quality of life to “harden” their schools is another cowardly dodge by adults.
Flanders' Other Neighbor
Mine. 8th grade.
Jager
Pacific Collegiate in Santa Cruz, organized by the kid’s with the staff’s blessing. My oldest daughter runs the counseling department at PCS. Proud of the kids. (and her)
Elizabelle
Think it was kind of odd to see CNN cut away from the high schoolers’/students’ walkout to promote their program on the Kennedys.
Lana del Rey (?) singing: “will you still love me when I’m no longer young and beautiful?”
They stayed young. Due to guns.
Everett
My 7th grader and most of her school are walking out here in Denver.
rikyrah
Peanut’s school is participating too. I’m sort of heartened by it – they’re an elementary school.
rikyrah
@Kay:
tell the truth, KAY,
The Moar You Know
Every school in my district save one (the school with the Republican asshole kids, and even there quite a few will be walking). The district is huge, 5 large high schools and 6 junior highs, north of 15,000 kids in total. Most of them are walking out.
San Diego area. Used to be Republican country, all the way until the mid-2000s. Not any more.
Elizabelle
Someone should make a video of these kids speaking about gun safety and facts, and interpose it with Trump dancing around the issue.
Plus the fact that he dipped on standing up to the NRA.
The high schoolers interviewed are poised, informed, and committed, to something bigger than themselves. Unlike what is sitting in the Oval Office.
Major Major Major Major
@Butch: it’s because you have to learn learned helplessness. Nobody told them they “can’t beat the NRA”; it’s amazing what you can do when you don’t know what you can’t.
Nicole
The local station, NY1, is covering it live. I love these kids so much.
Elizabelle
@rikyrah: I love that Peanut is walking out. Go Peanut!!
schrodingers_cat
@Elizabelle: This is the exact replay of what he did on DACA. He is never going to stand up to the hardliners in his party.
Yarrow
A lot of school districts in the south are on spring break this week. If people wonder why students in southern schools are not walking out, it could be that they’re not at school at all.
So proud of the kids leading this movement. Amazing to see.
LAO
@Nicole: Damn I miss NY1 (and especially Pat Kiernan and Roger Clark) but dumping TIme Warner still feels pretty good.
schrodingers_cat
@Kay: Have you noticed that the media’s constant refrain demanding bipartisanship during the Obama years has gone completely silent now that Rs are in power.
I have not seen an op-ed exhorting T to have dinner with Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer.
Betty Cracker
@Kay: Framing it as a fairness issue is the way to go, IMO. Kids are very fairness-focused; maybe that’s why they were finally the ones to stand up and call BS. I think most parents can at least see the fairness angle; why in the hell should my child have to attend school in an armed fortress and learn to hide in a fucking closet? So we can accommodate this tiny minority who think it’s a good idea to sell people guns that can fire hundreds of rounds per minute? That’s nuts!
Bookeater (formerly JosieJ)
I don’t know any students, but I was marginally impacted by the protest when my cab got stopped at a protest roadblock! These particular students were from LaGuardia HS in Manhattan, but I understand that students throughout NYC (and suburbs) participated. Seemed like this particular school, at least, turned out in force.
Under the circumstances, I couldn’t be annoyed at the delay!
Major Major Major Major
@schrodingers_cat: I’m sure there’s exactly one David Brooks or Thomas Friedman about that from last February.
dmsilev
@schrodingers_cat: That’s being too kind to him. Not standing up to the hardliners suggests that he disagrees with them but doesn’t have the guts to say so. I say that on DACA and on guns and on many other things, he agrees with the hardliners but doesn’t have the guts to say so directly because he knows that the great majority of people don’t agree.
Marcopolo
What I appreciate is the kids default position appears to be “get assault style weapons just out & out banned.” That’s where I am now. If a gun range wants to keep one around for folks to shoot off for shits & grins fine but there is no rational reason for joe or jane q public to have one.
Patricia Kayden
@LAO: Just reading that tweet brings me to tears. Heartbreaking.
Major Major Major Major
@Marcopolo: I disagree, we need to dispense with the notion that “shits and grins” is a legitimate reason for even a gun shop to own one.
schrodingers_cat
@dmsilev: You are right, of course. He is not standing up to them because he doesn’t want to. The moderate stance was just preening for the camera in both cases.
speedbumped
Our kiddo’s school is on board and actually recruited parents to help organize the students during the walkout. I appreciate their position (and I bear in mind that it’s a K-8 elementary/middle school, not a high school, so the kids are young).
But I don’t like that they sent home permission slips for the walkout like it’s any other school activity, with the implication that a student who doesn’t return a signed permission slip won’t be able to participate.
I’m not a fan. It’s a protest, not a field trip. The schools have an obligation not only to support the students’ demands for a safe learning environment, but also to teach them how to exercise their first amendment rights freely and with purpose. Coming on the heels of black history month, and in the middle of women’s history month, I’m disappointed that the here-and-now application of the lessons of civil disobedience is “make sure you have permission first.”
Patricia Kayden
@rikyrah: Go Peanut!!
LAO
@Patricia Kayden: Apparently, in a surprise move — all of the elementary school children, dropped to the ground and continued their protest:
I am absolutely in tears and really think ALL of these children are wonderful.
Geeno
My son’s high school is doing a walkout today.
QQQWQ1QQ
@Kay: Every Democrat running against a stooge of gun-humpers should repeatedly say, “My opponent is paid by the NRA to believe that a psychopath’s right to buy and carry an assault weapon is more precious than your child’s right to live.”
Wag
My 12 year old twins are participating today with the blessing and encouragement of their middle school principal and teachers. My wife and I are very proud of them.
NMgal
I know one teenager participating here. Schools on spring break in our rural area, so kids don’t have to walk out to show solidarity. 10 a.m. Mountain Time gathering in the town’s central plaza; local Episcopal and Presbyterian churches helping the yoots with organizing:
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@LAO: it is both impressive and horrifying that pre-teen children would think of conducting a die-in.
Tokyokie
@Kay: Every Democrat running against a stooge of gun-humpers should repeatedly say, “My opponent is paid by the NRA to believe that a psychopath’s right to buy and carry an assault weapon is more precious than your child’s right to live.” (Sorry, the original post was sent to moderation because I was cleaning my keyboard and accidentally changed my handle to gibberish.)
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
Many of the towns in my state (Connecticut) are participating, teachers as well as students.
Meanwhile in California yesterday: http://www.wfsb.com/story/37720272/teacher-accidentally-fires-gun-in-classroom-student-injured
Irony alert! ” A teacher accidentally fired a pistol inside a California classroom while lecturing about public safety”
The Moar You Know
@speedbumped: Supremes have ruled over and over again that schoolkids do not have full 1st Amendment rights during the school day. The permission slips are appropriate, and frankly needed to insure that the kids are accounted for – the teachers and district are legally responsible for them and their welfare.
Barbara
@Tokyokie: Simplify: “Sorry, my opponent care mores about getting money from the NRA than he cares about the safety of your children.” I think the emerging theme needs to be something like, “The NRA hates children.” I don’t care if that comes across as brutal or unfair. It is no less brutal or unfair than the reality of gun violence.
The Moar You Know
@EmbraceYourInnerCrone: More horrifying, one of the students caught some shrapnel in the neck and the school let him walk around all day, leaving the parents to deal with it.
JPL
Cobb County GA put in place penalties if the students walked out, so parents protested in front of one of the high schools. Atlanta schools had planned protests with some speakers.
Elizabelle
@Barbara: I’d leave that implied. The NRA is good with children that might grow up to be gun humpers.
I think Tokyokie’s take is just right.
Gun safety is going to be an exceptionally good organizing issue for the midterms. It IS our lives.
Chyron HR
@Major Major Major Major:
They haven’t actually beaten the NRA yet, though.
Tokyokie
@Barbara: The only folks who would consider that unfair are the NRA stooges, and frankly, I don’t give a shit if folks who favor psychopaths over children think it’s fair or not.
ET
I am proud of them as well.
Heads up NRA and God of the Gun Americans, THESE ARE FUTURE VOTERS (if they don’t vote already)- they might not shut up and might not be intimidated or dispirited by you.
Ms. D. Ranged in AZ
My daughter, who is 14, was supposed to walk out today. She only knew of a dozen kids in her grade who planned to do it but she had been trying to get more to join them. I can’t wait to check in with her this afternoon to see how it went. I’m very proud of her and all the students across the nation who are standing up.
aimai
We just had a “walk in” at BU School of Social Work and had an open roundtable about gun violence and schools. We will be walking in the March 24th rally as social workers as well.
Jeffro
Major round of applause to the central office and building admins here in my kids’ NoVA school division – they were proactive in their messaging to parents and students, respected students’ rights, and went right on about the day. True professionals.
speedbumped
@The Moar You Know:
Interesting. I was reading an article about this topic earlier this week, and IANAL or anything, so I may have misunderstood, but what I thought I was reading was that Tinker v Des Moines established that punishment for protesting was unconstitutional, and therefore implying that participating in a protest without prior authorization (“protest” here being defined as a non-disruptive walkout) would be met with consequences beyond an unexcused absence was also not okay. But I’m no law scholar, so I’m relying on the best sources I can find and have the patience to read.
Either way, this school is pretty plugged in with parents via email and facebook, and I just wish there had been a better mechanism to make these students feel more empowered and give them a real life lesson in staging a protest than “ask mom and dad if it’s okay.” Even if the school was covering its bases with parents behind the scenes, I think it’s okay to illustrate for the kids how to stand up for the right thing even when the people in charge don’t agree (even though in this case all the concerned parties did).
ET
CNN has a huge THEY’VE HAD ENOUGH on their web page and are reporting that Nickelodeon went dark for 17 minutes this morning.
waspuppet
@Davebo: It’s almost as if purposely, systematically, wiping your shoes on everyone under 60 is a bad political strategy.
randy khan
@Chyron HR:
In Florida, they got a Republican-controlled legislature to pass legislation that was signed by a Republican governor over the objections of the NRA. That ain’t nothing.
randy khan
Pennsylvania Avenue here in D.C. was blocked by people marching. I wasn’t close enough to be able to tell for sure, but they looked young enough to be part of the walk out.
Geeno
@randy khan: If we had been able to do as much after each of the mass shootings in the past twenty years, it wouldn’t be so bad off now.
mike in dc
Rand Paul massively dissembling about the Parkland shooter right now.
Gin & Tonic
@speedbumped: I’m a regular attendee at School Board meetings here, and I can tell you that administration is very aware of Tinker and what they can and cannot do to students, and what will result in ACLU action. That said, last week they were actively looking for ways to allow the students to exercise their rights.
Betty Cracker
@randy khan: Exactly, and they aren’t done. Like someone mentioned above, I’m glad the students are zeroing in on an assault weapons ban. There are ballot initiatives taking shape here in FL to bypass statehouse wingnuts and pass a ban as a constitutional amendment. They won’t do their jobs, so we have to do it for them.
James E. Powell
I’m a teacher in Los Angeles. Our school is holding an officially sanctioned “walkout” – 17 minutes of silence, student speeches. My students’ awareness of and connection with the specific issues of gun control are not strong. They see it more as something they are being asked to participate in rather than something they would think of and do on their own. [The last two sentences are a paraphrase of sentiments expressed to me over the last week or so in regard to the March 24th event.]
Mandalay
Not a big deal in the scheme of things right now, but this is a beautiful story:
How’s that swamp drainin’ thingie working out for ya Mr. President?
MCA1
My daughter (7th grade) is walking out. Sounded like pretty much the entire school was planning to. Administration took the hands off route – not openly endorsing, but made it clear there wouldn’t be any negative consequence to anyone participating.
Save us from ourselves, Children!
Roger Moore
@Barbara:
I think the original about the NRA caring more about gun sales than children’s lives is a better take. And it’s not just children. The NRA cares more about protecting guns than about protecting humans.
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Marcopolo: I agree. But then I step back and think what a low bar! After all, assault style weapons were banned for 10 years by a law signed by Reagan. So we’d just be back to that. And yet it startling to demand it.
Major Major Major Major
@Chyron HR: there’s already a law in Florida raising the gun buying age, passed and signed by republicans.
Sister Golden Bear
A friend of mine knew her daughter picked the right college after getting a email from the college a few weeks assuring students that any disciplinary action by her school for participating in protests would not affect her admission.
My friend’s daughter is part of the walkout today, although she probably would’ve done so regardless.
Major Major Major Major
@speedbumped: I heard on the NPR radios Monday that students couldn’t be punished for the contents of a protest, just for the absence.
Brachiator
Don’t know any kids marching, but Dios bless ’em.
Some voice on the radio interviewing local school officials, warning that kids would be truant and liable for arrest if they left school. We shall see what happens.
We were so close, there was no room
We bled inside each others wounds
We all had caught the same disease
And we all sang the songs of peace
So raise the candles high cause if you
Don’t we could stay black against the night
Oh raise them higher again and if you
Do we could stay dry against the rain …
Lay down lay down, let it all down
Let your white birds smile up at the
Ones who stand and frown
Lay down lay down, let it all down
Let your white birds smile up at the
Ones who stand and frown
Nicole
@LAO: We returned because FIOS was costing us too much. Spectrum offered a pretty good deal.
Back at my old job I had to do a few promotional things appearing on NY1. Everyone was really nice there. Roger in particular was great fun.
mai naem mobile
@schrodingers_cat: The fucker didn’t even have Bill Nelson at the WH when they had the gun/scool safety meeting. He had Rubio over but not Nelson
.
different-church-lady
@Butch: That’s not learned helplessness — that’s funded helplessness.
MCA1
@Tokyokie: I endorse this as heartily as humanly possible. They need to be publicly shamed at every opportunity. NOW is the time to change the conversation, shoot for the moon, and ensure that gun humpers are appropriately mocked and looked down upon as weaklings and losers in the future. Strike while the iron’s hot. Don’t let them hide. Taking a single penny from the NRA needs to be made f’ing poisonous. Democrats should proclaim loudly in every speech how much money their opponent has received in NRA contributions and then rhetorically ask what they’ve given the NRA in return. More people need to start single issue voting from this side of the aisle on guns, but they won’t if their politicians don’t point the way.
Democrats should point and laugh when any “more guns” arguments are made. Out loud. And then ask why every Republican response to our gun violence crisis just happens to benefit the industry the NRA lobbies for. Every argument pro-gun people make is ridiculous and/or intellectually dishonest. Stop treating them with any respect.
Murmeltier
@Geeno: Yup, They are doing their walkout in the gym, with planned activities being composing letters to our elected representatives, and signing a banner. We encouraged him to participate.
dww44
@different-church-lady: Too sadly true. Money out of politics, or at the very least, constrained and controlled, how does that work?
Elizabelle
@different-church-lady: Funded helplessness. True.
Elizabelle
@MCA1: Agree!
schrodingers_cat
@mai naem mobile: Did Treason Times chastise him for it?
Mandalay
@randy khan:
You’re right, but the devil is in the details. Firstly, plenty of Democrats opposed that legislation because it allowed teachers to carry guns. Secondly, Gov. Scott wants to become Sen. Scott, and if he had done nothing he’d stand no chance of getting elected to the Senate. And finally, it did nothing to ban assault weapons, or high capacity magazines.
So if you are a glass half full person you can say that important steps are finally being taken. But you also have to wonder WTF will it take for politicians in Florida to finally ban assault weapons?
Bostonian
@ET: holy carp! Turning off the teevee is as serious as it gets in America.
My son was looking forward to walking out -and the district made it clear they would not be punished- but it’s a snow day in Boston.
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
My old high school wasn’t doing a walkout, according to the local news. They were doing a “legacy event”, showing a video that was student-made as an overview of the shooting in Florida. Then they were to practice an emergency lockdown in memory of all shook shooting victims, while 17 chimes sounded.
Finally there was be a clap-out for the safety services. The whole thing was to last a half hour.
Major Major Major Major
OT: KQED now playing interviews of pro-trump Latinos from his visit yesterday. They like his brash machismo.
kindness
Go Kids! Funny how they are showing Americans their souls.
On another issue though, I’ve been trying to read about this, the Connor Lamb election, the UK/Russian assassination attempts over at the WaPo today and the comments section is completely over-run by what I think are Russian trolls. God I hope we figure out a way to identify where a poster is posting from.
? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?
@Major Major Major Major:
I’ve heard that they are usually pretty conservative (first generation anyway) and vote Democratic when they do because the GOP is so racist.
Major Major Major Major
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: some can be socially conservative, deeply religious, and/or have a connection to military service. Many don’t prioritize immigration. In California though they vote overwhelmingly democratic.
satby
Big turnouts for the walkouts in South Bend, and it’s below freezing here too. And this John Rogers tweet bears repeating:
schrodingers_cat
@Major Major Major Major: Media gives R voters disproportionate coverage, be they WWC, pro T Latinos, or the cretinous Hindus for T group.
*South Asians/Indians voted for HRC around 80% but the 20% T voters got most of the coverage.
schrodingers_cat
@? ?? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ? ?: Naturalized Americans too vote overwhelmingly D, they are aware that they may next on the R hate list.
Cheryl Rofer
Continuing our earlier discussion of the British actions against Russia for the nerve agent attack.
Major Major Major Major
@schrodingers_cat: yup.
Hildebrand
My daughter and all of her friends attended their school’s walkout. I listen to her and am filled with hope. Her generation’s version of what makes a good society fills me with a profound sense that things can be turned around.
She reminded me this morning that one of her earliest memories of a major event was sitting next to me on election night in 2008, and asking why I was crying. We talked about what it meant, what it might mean, what was possible. From that point on she was engaged with news and politics. She was six when he was elected, and now she talks about him as what is ‘best about what the US can be – open, curious, inclusive, trying to do the right thing even when its hard.’ She knew that he made mistakes sometimes, but it meant the world to her that he always tried to do the right thing, that he never looked down at people, that he was always thoughtful and careful.
When I took her to school today, she said, ‘I cannot wait to be able to vote.’ She turns 18 in 2020.
Mike S.
@EmbraceYourInnerCrone:
Correction to be accurate
John PM
My son’s high school is holding a walkout. I haven’t heard how it went. There were estimates that up to 1,000 students would be participating.
Central Planning
My 11th grade daughter wasn’t sure if she wanted to walk out.
First, she was scared by the school message of “If you all walk out, a shooter will know exactly when to attack” to which I replied, the shooter knows when school is out, so they could just as easily kill just as many people then.
Then, she said “This sounds stupid, but I don’t want to miss my class” to which I replied, there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing stupid about not wanting to miss a class that is directly related to your post-graduation career choice. And, I told her she has to own it – be proud of the classes she’s taking, because she wanted to take them. Similar to a “guilty pleasure” watching something on Netflix. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to watch something you like even if other people don’t like it.
I wrote the note/called the school excusing her if she decided to do it. She did the walkout, haven’t heard how it went yet except “SWAT was here”
My other kids in HS, 9th grade, did it too. Nothing really to report either.
We left it up to the kids if they wanted to do the walkout or not. Supposedly there were 4 faith-based community leaders that were going to speak, and then they were going to read biographies of all 17 victims at Parkland. Supposedly a debate between a couple of seniors about gun control was going to happen too. More to report later…
Calouste
@Cheryl Rofer: I thought that the announcement that no Royals or cabinet members would attend the World Cup made it clear that a boycott would be one of the next steps. Which would be a pretty hard sell in England, but if unrelated people die in a Russian assassination, it would be possible. And they could get other countries to go along.
Duane
Republicans can watch today’s student protests and know they’ve alienated another voting group. Keep up the good work morons. May the NRA be the death of your hate cult.
Wyrm1
I teach at a high school in Washington DC. We had about 600 students in the atrium (they chose to do the walkout in the building for various reasons). I have never seen 600 students silent for ANYTHING in my life, and they had a 7 minute moment of silence to reflect on gun violence.
It was beautiful, and scary, and heartwarming all at the same time. It is devastating to remember that these students have no representatives or senators of their own, and so their votes mean nothing unless they move out of DC.
Mandalay
@EmbraceYourInnerCrone:
Another disturbing aspect of that story is that seems like nothing happened over the incident until a parent reported it to the police:
Steve in the ATL
@JPL:
Cobb went blue last election for the first time since the Dixiecrats went home to the gop. There’s a lag but the old white patriarchy will be replaced there. Accelerated by the Braves stadium scam. Tick tock, per yarrow.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
@The Moar You Know – Yes, I wondered, did no one notice he was bleeding? Or did they just not care/not want to contact the parents? If my kid came home and said a teacher shot a gun in class and my kid was bleeding I think I would have the principal, the local school board and a lawyer on speed dial. I thought if your kid was injured in school the school was legally required to notify you?
@Mike S. – Very true, I was quoting from the article so I didn’t want to change the text, but you’re right.
Brachiator
@Major Major Major Major:
Yep.
We have a TV in the break room. Maybe there will be something about local observances of the walkout here in Southern California.
Also, I think Trump is leaving town around the same time.
PaulWartenberg
My nephews are in high school, as are a few of my cousins (both mom’s and dad’s sides). Here’s hoping they are safe and standing with their fellow students.
Steve in the ATL
@Central Planning:
Where the hell do you live?!
bookdragon
Both of mine – jr high and high school – are joining in.
btw, I am so, so happy we elected a Dem school board for the first time this last Nov. They put out a wonderful statement supporting students using their voices to advocate for change as active citizens.
Kelly
@MCA1:
This on the entire Republican agenda.
Cacti
My own kids aren’t quite of age to participate.
But to the kids who are, I salute your courage, determination, and refusal to be bullied into silence by adults who “know better”.
japa21
@Steve in the ATL: Drove by our local HS just as kids were starting to come out. All entrances to the grounds were blocked off and there were security folks all around. Not SWAT, though. They were making sure that the kids were safe.
Dave
My 17 y.o. is participating. School warned unexcused students would be expelled so she had excuse in hand this morning. It’s a shame that educators and administration are warning punishment rather than standing beside the students working for safer schools and adequate gun laws.
Boussinesque
I tutor high school students here in Silicon Valley, and I’m pretty sure all of my clients are participating in their schools’ version of the event, which makes me very happy.
Duane
@japa21: Got to have police protection to hopefully stop some gun nut from shooting children. Nice country. Polite society and all.
Shana
I drove past my daughters’ old elementary school this morning and there were about 6 students outside facing the main road with signs. I gave them a beep beep, waved, and wrote an email to the principal saying I was encouraged by the demonstration and hoped there wouldn’t be any repercussions, that it was important that the kids feel they can and should be active about issues in their community. Even if they were 4th or 5th graders which seemed to be the case here.
Brachiator
At Hamilton High, in West Los Angeles, kids are walking out and will go to an assembly at the concert hall. Staying on campus. Around 2,000 students.
satby
Wow, not just Nickelodeon but all the Viacom channels.
Mnemosyne
@James E. Powell:
Is your school majority white or majority non-white? I’ve heard that minority kids in schools where the neighborhoods have a lot of gun violence are feeling alienated from the whole #MarchForOurLives thing because they’ve been struggling with it for years but it’s only getting attention now that it affected middle-class kids at a “good” school.
I think there’s a certain amount of learned helplessness as well — those kids have been for so long that their neighborhoods are “bad” and there’s no solution that they’re skeptical that this can help them.
Steve in the ATL
@satby: wow. That is freaking awesome!
Steve in the ATL
Any news on what private schools are doing?
Kelly
Guardian reporter with a press packet from 11 year old organizers.
https://twitter.com/loisbeckett/status/973893259234893825
holaitsmonica
@Hildebrand:
This made me get all teary eyed.
jackmac
At West Aurora High School in Aurora, Ill. more than 2,000 gathered in the stadium for a peaceful, 17-minute observance that included some students holding photos/profiles of Florida victims. School administrators fully cooperated and helped facilitate but insisted that it was the students’ event. One town over, police blockaded all entrances to a high school and prevented media and community from observing except from afar. Another district threatened students with disciplinary action if they walked out. Wednesday was a teaching moment on many levels.
Mnemosyne
I didn’t realize that Nikolas Cruz is being arraigned today. Not sure if that’s why today is the day for the walkout or if it’s just a weird coincidence.
Mnemosyne
I just checked the Twitter account for my CA niece and nephew’s high school:
Davis X. Machina
They look like a rifle company at the Somme. Which I guess they are, in a way.
Gravenstone
@Central Planning:
I’m sorry, but I would be literally in the face of both the school principal and superintendent at the start of business the day after hearing something like that bullshit rationalization. Seriously, their answer to kids trying to take control of the issue is to reinforce the sense of fear and helplessness? Fuckem!
Mnemosyne
@Gravenstone:
Also, think how weird that message is. If we let you protest gun violence, gun nuts will kill you! Um, isn’t that proof that we need gun control because the gun nuts are obviously dangerous people who need to have their weapons taken away?
Central Planning
@Steve in the ATL: I live in the same ‘burb as mistermix. I don’t think it was SWAT (her friend’s words), I think it was just the local sheriff. They were blocking off the road entrances to the school during the protest – those closing were announced earlier in the week so it wasn’t really a surprise. The grainy pic I saw only looked like sheriff cars.
Steve in the ATL
@Davis X. Machina:
Zut alors, que c’est froid!
Steve in the ATL
@Central Planning: ok that’s better!
Dave in Indy
I am in DC for vacation – happened upon the march as it went towards the Capitol. It surprised me how emotional it made me. Nearly weeping with joy at this type of engagement
Feathers
@LAO: @Kelly: @LAO: @Davis X. Machina: That’s my old elementary school!!! My sister’s kids went there two. The building across the street there is the fire house. Not surprised about the press packet. I went to a “book signing” my niece’s class held. They had written books, gone through a mock version of the publishing process and were now holding their book signing. We asked questions and got signed books. I collected a whole bunch of shark books which my co-workers got a kick out of.
Weird thing to note. Sean Spicer lives just a few blocks away, but his kids go to a cross town parochial school (aka not the parish he lives in).
DanF
Kids are on spring break in our town, but me and my 15 and 11 year old daughters are in D.C. and caught the protest on the Mall in front of The Capitol. Truly inspiring to be amginat so many earnest and bright kids!
Chris
My wife is 4th grade teacher. She sent me pictures of their walkout.
You can’t unsee the image of the word SAFE drawn in school markers on a hand made sign by a 4th grade kid.
Oh my God.
TaMara (HFG)
@Chris: If you want to share photos with me, I was going to do a bit of a wrap up later tonight. whats4dinnersolutions @ live dot com