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CNN Townhall with Parkland Students, Rubio, NRA and others

Wakeforest22890 said:
I do enjoy being proven correct, but generally not at the expense of people being killed by guns.

My biggest crusade in the gun debate arena is addressing the idiocy that is people claiming that by increasing the number of guns around we can decrease the number of gun deaths. That's beyond stupid.
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CHICAGO !!!!
 
[h=1]I Tried to Befriend Nikolas Cruz. He Still Killed My Friends.[/h]By Isabelle Robinson


March 27, 2018

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/03/...ng-florida.html#click=https://t.co/kWI27QGvgw

PARKLAND, Fla. — My first interaction with Nikolas Cruz happened when I was in seventh grade. I was eating lunch with my friends, most likely discussing One Direction or Ed Sheeran, when I felt a sudden pain in my lower back. The force of the blow knocked the wind out of my 90-pound body; tears stung my eyes. I turned around and saw him, smirking. I had never seen this boy before, but I would never forget his face. His eyes were lit up with a sick, twisted joy as he watched me cry.

The apple that he had thrown at my back rolled slowly along the tiled floor. A cafeteria aide rushed over to ask me if I was O.K. I don’t remember if Mr. Cruz was confronted over his actions, but in my 12-year-old naïveté, I trusted that the adults around me would take care of the situation.


Five years later, hiding in a dark closet inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, I would discover just how wrong I was.




...

A year after I was assaulted by Mr. Cruz, I was assigned to tutor him through my school’s peer counseling program. Being a peer counselor was the first real responsibility I had ever had, my first glimpse of adulthood, and I took it very seriously.

Despite my discomfort, I sat down with him, alone. I was forced to endure his cursing me out and ogling my chest until the hourlong session ended. When I was done, I felt a surge of pride for having organized his binder and helped him with his homework.


Looking back, I am horrified. I now understand that I was left, unassisted, with a student who had a known history of rage and brutality.

...


But students should not be expected to cure the ills of our genuinely troubled classmates, or even our friends, because we first and foremost go to school to learn. The implication that Mr. Cruz’s mental health problems could have been solved if only he had been loved more by his fellow students is both a gross misunderstanding of how these diseases work and a dangerous suggestion that puts children on the front line.


It is not the obligation of children to befriend classmates who have demonstrated aggressive, unpredictable or violent tendencies. It is the responsibility of the school administration and guidance department to seek out those students and get them the help that they need, even if it is extremely specialized attention that cannot be provided at the same institution.


No amount of kindness or compassion alone would have changed the person that Nikolas Cruz is and was, or the horrendous actions he perpetrated. That is a weak excuse for the failures of our school system, our government and our gun laws.


My little sister is now the age that I was when I was left alone with Mr. Cruz, anxious and defenseless. The thought of her being put in the same situation that I was fills me with rage. I hope that she will never know the fear that I have become so accustomed to in the past month: The slightest unexpected sound makes my throat constrict and my neck hairs curl. I beg her to trust her gut whenever she feels unsafe. And I demand that the adults in her life protect her.
 
Apparently David Hogg made an offhand comment in an interview the other day that requiring students to wear clear plastic backpacks infringes on their first amendment rights. This has of course been seized upon by the gundamentalists who think it is just the height of hypocrisy and they are reveling in this little gotcha like a kid with a new toy. I know this because it popped up in my facebook feed ... one of those friends who likes to pretend he is above the fray by pointing out political hypocrisy "on both sides" but somehow never remembers to post about it unless the alleged hypocrisy is committed by a Democrat.
 
Deacon923 said:
Apparently David Hogg made an offhand comment in an interview the other day that requiring students to wear clear plastic backpacks infringes on their first amendment rights. This has of course been seized upon by the gundamentalists who think it is just the height of hypocrisy and they are reveling in this little gotcha like a kid with a new toy. I know this because it popped up in my facebook feed ... one of those friends who likes to pretend he is above the fray by pointing out political hypocrisy "on both sides" but somehow never remembers to post about it unless the alleged hypocrisy is committed by a Democrat.
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David Hogg has been attacked the most because he is everywhere, but he's also the one who has said his family owns guns and that he supports the 2nd amendment.

Just wanted to point out that this is even dumber than you think at first glance.
 
Deacon923 said:
Apparently David Hogg made an offhand comment in an interview the other day that requiring students to wear clear plastic backpacks infringes on their first amendment rights. This has of course been seized upon by the gundamentalists who think it is just the height of hypocrisy and they are reveling in this little gotcha like a kid with a new toy. I know this because it popped up in my facebook feed ... one of those friends who likes to pretend he is above the fray by pointing out political hypocrisy "on both sides" but somehow never remembers to post about it unless the alleged hypocrisy is committed by a Democrat.
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Hmmmm....does that friend's name start with a W, end with an R, and have:

rango_animated_finalists.jpg


in the middle?
 
 
avalon said:
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People often denigrate and dismiss teenagers and high school kids, but it really is amazing what kids can do if they're motivated, determined, and have a clear goal. The NRA may regret taking them on, and I don't get the sense that this movement is just going to fade away as quickly or quietly as have so many others after school shootings. Good for them. The odds are still against them, of course, but it's clear from the angry and disdainful responses of the NRA and allied politicians, Fox News and other right-wing media sites, and gun nuts on facebook and other social media, that they're worried for the first time in a long while...these kids have definitely made a mark already.
 
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Deacon923 said:
Apparently David Hogg made an offhand comment in an interview the other day that requiring students to wear clear plastic backpacks infringes on their first amendment rights. This has of course been seized upon by the gundamentalists who think it is just the height of hypocrisy and they are reveling in this little gotcha like a kid with a new toy. I know this because it popped up in my facebook feed ... one of those friends who likes to pretend he is above the fray by pointing out political hypocrisy "on both sides" but somehow never remembers to post about it unless the alleged hypocrisy is committed by a Democrat.
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Headline from conservative site: Hogg can't get into college
 
Highland Deac said:
People often denigrate and dismiss teenagers and high school kids, but it really is amazing what kids can do if they're motivated, determined, and have a clear goal. The NRA may regret taking them on, and I don't get the sense that this movement is just going to fade away as quickly or quietly as have so many others after school shootings. Good for them. The odds are still against them, of course, but it's clear from the angry and disdainful responses of the NRA and allied politicians, Fox News and other right-wing media sites, and gun nuts on facebook and other social media, that they're worried for the first time in a long while...these kids have definitely made a mark already.
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Yep these kids are doing a great job so far. Certainly helps to be a young person full of energy and with lots of free time on their hands. Not being snarky, but its good none of these kids has to work a lot of hours to help support a household or take time to care for a sick family member or both as so many poor kids have to do and therefore don;t have the time or resources to be an activist, so I applaud these well-off kids for taking up the cause.
 
WakeandBake said:
Yep these kids are doing a great job so far. Certainly helps to be a young person full of energy and with lots of free time on their hands. Not being snarky, but its good none of these kids has to work a lot of hours to help support a household or take time to care for a sick family member or both as so many poor kids have to do and therefore don;t have the time or resources to be an activist, so I applaud these well-off kids for taking up the cause.
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I get your point, but better to have them taking up the cause than nobody, which has been pretty much the case thus far for even wealthier politicians. If super wealthy adults in positions of power won't do anything about the NRA and gun control, then it falls to the well-off kids by default. But, yeah, it would be nice if kids from less-affluent families and social backgrounds had the time and money to participate as well.
 
The March was full of kids from less affluent families participating. All the regional marches were led by local kids.
 
I will say, these kids have done a pretty decent job at sharing the spotlight with people from other areas, ethnicity, and income levels. They are very aware of their privilege and the different response of media and others to gun violence in an affluent, predominantly white neighborhood versus other others that are primarily POC.

One thing I would like to be pushed more is an understanding the Alton Sterling, Stephon Clark, etc. is gun violence as well. Gun violence and white supremacy are linked in our country.
 
IamThunderbolt said:
I will say, these kids have done a pretty decent job at sharing the spotlight with people from other areas, ethnicity, and income levels. They are very aware of their privilege and the different response of media and others to gun violence in an affluent, predominantly white neighborhood versus other others that are primarily POC.

One thing I would like to be pushed more is an understanding the Alton Sterling, Stephon Clark, etc. is gun violence as well. Gun violence and white supremacy are linked in our country.
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to some guns are symbols of freedom, and that's a real stumbling block in dealing with the problem of guns
 
sailordeac said:
to some guns are symbols of freedom, and that's a real stumbling block in dealing with the problem of guns
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Yep. Also American individualism is an issue. I've had some disturbing conversations with friends who are gun owners and their friends where they say something to the effect of "It doesn't have anything to do with me if somebody gets shot. That's their responsibility. They should carry a gun like I do if they want to prevent gun violence."

Of course, that ignores the fact that pretty much every law on the books is a mutual shared sacrifice because some people are bad actors. I can't legally drive 90 mph on the highway because we can't trust many drivers to do it safely.
 
PhDeac said:
The March was full of kids from less affluent families participating. All the regional marches were led by local kids.
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yep, and again Im not disparaging anyone with my comments. But it takes thousands of hours of activism to see this thing through to its desired end. Im proud of the less affluent kids marching and doing what they can, but it is fortunate for all that the kids organizing at the top have the time resources to keep it going.
 
I agree. But it’s important to keep in mind a thousand hours ago, these kids were crying on their parents’ shoulders after seeing their friends get killed only hours before.

This movement is in its infancy.
 
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