General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJust gonna leave this here.
The Education of X González After the Parkland shooting, I became an activist, a celebrity, a survivor and the pressure almost killed me.
The strangest part of being a survivor was how badly strangers wanted to touch me, like I was a living relic. Theyd shake my hand, or hug me, or lean on me to cry. They also wanted to tell me about the tragedies that touched them. So many voices saying how their loved ones had been gruesomely shot and killed. Im an empathetic person, and I had no idea how to guard myself, how to turn away and toward myself. So I listened and I hugged these strangers back. Only months earlier, none of these people knew who I was. I was just a high-school kid in Parkland.
Before the shooting February 14, 2018, perpetrated by a 19-year-old white supremacist at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School my plan was to get the fuck out of Florida, the farther the better. Now, I write this from my pink childhood bedroom, having moved back home after graduating from college last year. I spend my days trying to get my future on the rails, finding new music, making zines, sewing, smoking weed, cooking, cleaning, figuring out what I want to do for work. Im trying to be a good roommate to my parents. We watch movies together every night, making up for lost time.
Its been almost five years since my classmates and I marched for the first time, and its hard not to feel like things are pretty much the same. Gun violence happens every day in this country. In November, the trial that was supposed to bring closure to our community brought only disappointment after the shooter was spared the death penalty. I see my March for Our Lives compatriots at protests once or twice throughout the year. Im still trying to figure out what type of activism I want to engage in, since I dont want to be passive for the rest of my life but I cannot exist in the way that I used to. I dont know how Im alive after all that.
https://www.thecut.com/article/x-gonzalez-parkland-shooting-activist-essay.html
old as dirt
(1,972 posts)The strangest part of being a survivor was how badly strangers wanted to touch me, like I was a living relic. Theyd shake my hand, or hug me, or lean on me to cry. They also wanted to tell me about the tragedies that touched them. So many voices saying how their loved ones had been gruesomely shot and killed. Im an empathetic person, and I had no idea how to guard myself, how to turn away and toward myself. So I listened and I hugged these strangers back. Only months earlier, none of these people knew who I was. I was just a high-school kid in Parkland.
Why do children have to do the job of adults?
txwhitedove
(3,928 posts)calimary
(81,220 posts)Lots of good ideas, strategic thinking and planning, invigorating protests, and new friends to meet and share in the activism. The kinds of things that help renew your faith.
AndyS
(14,559 posts)I'm already invested with and in Moms Demand Action as well as March for Our Lives at the local level. Everytown for gun safety, The Trace and Sandy Hook Promise are also on my national contribution list.
Positive contributions and encouragement like yours are welcome.
It's the downers that get to me. The 'It will never happen' and the 'get used to it' comments give me real heartburn. If someone can't be positive and supportive let me paraphrase every mother who said something like,"If you can't say something nice, STFU."
panader0
(25,816 posts)ShazzieB
(16,382 posts)I'm sure that includes Hogg.
The full quote is as follows: "I see my March for Our Lives compatriots at protests once or twice throughout the year. Im still trying to figure out what type of activism I want to engage in, since I dont want to be passive for the rest of my life but I cannot exist in the way that I used to. I dont know how Im alive after all that."
It sounds to me like she is not in need of suggestions so much as space to figure out what she feels comfortable doing and where she fits into the fight for sensible gun control.
Duppers
(28,120 posts)niyad
(113,278 posts)FakeNoose
(32,634 posts)In Pittsburgh we marched for the kids in Parkland, and we demanded gun control laws. Despite how gun crazy Pennsylvania still is, there are lots of us who think guns - especially assault rifles, but all guns - should be controlled and out of the hands of non-military residents.
It's astounding that here we are, 5 years later, and nothing has been done. They've taken rifles out of some of the Walmarts, that's about it.
hibbing
(10,098 posts)I can't even come close to imagining what they have been through. I hope they find a path to a fulfilling life.
Peace