With the chilling 'conversation' and Q & As with weasels like Trump, Rubio and Florida Governor Scott offering nothing in the way of change, it's going to be a hard road. But the outspoken kids of these town halls may have finally found a breaking point.
Dozens of corporations have dumped the NRA. Protests and walkouts may have an effect.
They know the truth, the politicians under their thumb, and they lie about it. They also lie about their lies. So enough with them.
But these kids have forced the conversation forward, not satisfied to hold candles for B-roll footage. They openly accuse the likes of Rubio, and get accused of being paid to speak out.
No, just adept at telling it like it is, as this Splinter article, "Of Course Teens are Better at Grilling Politicians than Reporters, "points out.
"Perhaps the biggest reason why teenagers managed to ask tougher questions of Marco Rubio than professional journalists usually do is that the teens cared about the issue they were questioning him about. The most elite Washington journalists, like most elected officials, are insulated from the actual, real-world effects of most public policy decisions"
But who wouldn't speak out for free at this point? Or, to paraphrase what one teen said, "Anyone who saw my performance in Fiddler on the Roof wouldn't pay me."
Yes, they are actors. They are in the theatre club. They are not Black Ops, idiots.
Ironically, or appropriately, some of the Florida teen speakers are in a production of the show, about German students who endure adult negligence.
Schulman writes, "Like Melchior, Kasky and his classmates have vowed to remake a world that failed them—a role that no teen-ager should have to play, especially in the wake of tragedy and trauma. We don’t find out what happens to Melchior in the next scene, but I’d like to think that he goes back to school and gives his Latin teacher the same look that Kasky gave Rubio on Wednesday night—one that says that the world no longer belongs to the grownups, because the kids have seen through the B.S. and know that their lives are on the line."
So, yes, these kids are studying acting, and doing quite well, since all the posturing on the other side is a bad case of play-acting. But it's all so far beyond logic, debating the rightwingers.
The Washington Post offers a feature on the Racist History of 'Crisis actor' accusations.
And guess what? The 2nd Amendment is also racist, a tool to maintain slavery.
Those same pro-assault-rifle people who think shooting victims are actors refuse to believe –amid multiple indictments– that Russian interference and swarms of bots and online trolls swayed the election.
Actual recorded money in the millions from the NRA is in their pockets. And now, even the NRA is accused of being a money launderer for Russia.
The First 'Lady' or the 14-year-old Parkland survivor who was cyberbullied by her husband's asshole son? (Also on CNN.)
It makes me wonder how many of these Republicans were also in Speech Team in high school. Because sometimes, you have to argue a position that you believe is wrong. And they've been wrong for years.
Kids are learning this from online articles, not in their textbooks. And they're fighting back.
The kids in Florida, who've met with the Pulse survivors (see my BAR article about them), are uniting and walking out of schools. So are underpaid teachers, who are now expected to spend their weekends at a shooting range.
My teachers were nice, smart people. Guns were never even considered in school. Occasionally, some teens would get their picture in the newspaper if they hunted a deer. That's it.
More often, kids like me got in the paper for being in plays, like the Florida kids, some who were also on the Speech Team, as I was (Dramatic Interp, though). Having debated gun control in their class earlier last year, these teens were more informed than their bloated Republican elders.
Usually, in my school years, the debate kids met in the library, mulling over flash cards of quotable statistics. The library was a sanctuary, and I've been honored decades later to have my books in many libraries.
Having a presence for new readers opens minds and expands perspectives, something GOPs don't want.
So, once again, a school library controversy over censorship, while of course less a crisis than gun rampages, exemplifies the utter cluelessness of rightwing politicos.
The dismantling has begun, but it's got multiple tentacles. In another irony, the pension fund for Florida teachers –the ones expected to arm themselves after while police and armed guards hide outside– includes half a million invested in shares of an AR-15 manufacturer.
A school library used to be a sanctuary, but since the Columbine shooting, it's become a slaughterhouse. That's okay with gun nuts, who blame the victims. So long as there aren't any gay books on the shelves.
"I hear you," Hair Furor's crib notes read.
No, you don't, you ass. you and your brood tweet-attack teenagers.
It's a meme cliché, but when your kids act like leaders, and your leaders act like kids, you know a revolution's coming.
Already, even South Carolina is considering a ban on assault rifles. Delaware's governor just called for a ban as well. Change can happen.
You can join Democrat Tom Steyer in his efforts to spend $1 million to register high schoolers to vote, and bring back strong gun control, as 67% of Americans support.
So join a march. Follow Emma, who's gained more followers than the NRA, in a week.
Read a book. #BoycottNRA.
Read the list of NRA money-grubbers.
Scorn your politicos, and send gay books to Iowa schools.
Amen
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