On the eve of the big “March For Our Lives,” I have been watching a moving and disturbing video that I would call “required viewing" for anyone who has followed both the shooting, and its aftermath. The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, as well as students from many other parts of the country, have impressed me with their eloquence and their bravery, as they cope with the very-real circumstances of mass-murders within their own halls of learning.
In this video, Douglas High School students describe how they have witnessed friends, teachers, and coaches dies in front of them -- and, in some cases, how they themselves were shot and/or injured by shrapnel. As someone in my fifties, it is hard for me to fathom how much a part of their reality the “School Shooting” phenomena has become. But — shockingly -- Columbine was nearly 20 years ago, and this regularly-repeated atrocity is woven into the fabric of their school years as much as track and field, or band practice, were woven into mine. I am trying to imagine what a child who has grown up in this zeitgeist must feel like on a daily basis, as they weigh and grapple with the very disparate experiences they have at school: education and learning — and fearing for their lives. It is no longer possible for them, or us, to say “Well, that won’t happen here. Not in my school.” Because as we have all witnessed, it can — and does — happen anywhere . . . and, sadly, everywhere.
We, as a country and as a culture, have done our young people an enormous dis-service by normalizing this abomination, and by normalizing the pipeline of influence-peddling that flows from the NRA to our halls of government. Both sides of the aisle are complicit in the ongoing silencing of children’s voices and children's lives, in exchange for an over-the-top and irrational interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. An unstable and psychologically damaged teenager like Nikolas Cruz should never have had such free and unfettered access to assault weapons. The survivors of the Douglas High School massacre know that better than anyone, and they need to be heard, respected, and supported. “The Parkland Diaries" is a reminder of how precious their lives are, and how important it is that we support their efforts for change. I look forward to seeing these amazing young people, these survivors, grow into adulthood. They give me hope for the future of this country.
#NeverAgain
(Update: Thanks for the heads-up. When I posted this last night the video was available. Must have been some copyright issue, even though the full 40 minute story was uploaded on the youtube site. My previous link was deleted/made unavailable by youtube. New link shows a shortened version of the original, but retains original content. Google “The Parkland Diaries” for the longer, complete version.)