How the &%*$ Will Anything Change?

I have been to more marches, protests, vigils, and rallies in the last 7 years than all the rest of my years combined.  I have marched to keep kids out of cages and with their parents.  I have marched for Pride.  I have held vigils for a murdered neighbor and a Supreme Court Justice that the world loved.  I have marched against the lying, cheating, egotistical former president that lost in 2020 and still won’t admit it.  I attended a vigil after white supremacists spewed their hatred in Charlottesville.  I have marched for Women’s rights.  I have rallied for Black Lives.  I have protested on the steps of the Supreme Court when said ex-president was trying to fill the court with people who believed in the same archaic, anti-equality things that he does.  I celebrated on the steps of the same high court when they announced what we all already knew – that gay marriage is equal to any other marriage.  And I am sure that I have attended other rallies, protests, and marches that I forgot to list here.

One rally and march that I remember very well was the March for Our Lives in Washington DC in 2018.  It happened shortly after the Parkland murders in Florida.  It was led by two survivors of those shootings, David Hogg and Emma (now X) Gonzales.  They were fired up, mad, and eloquent.  They made the perfect spokespeople for the cause – they had seen the murders of their friends and classmates firsthand, and their passion to convince the American people and more importantly, the American GOVERNMENT, that more strict gun control was needed was palpable.

Of course, since that March in 2018, America has witnessed many, many more mass shootings.  Innocent people have been murdered in grocery stores.  In movie theatres.  In places of worship.  In offices.  In schools.  And the one thing all of those murders have in common is GUNS.  Often, high-powered guns, purchased legally, and used solely for the purpose of killing people.

I guess there is one more thing in common with all of those senseless murders – the “thoughts and prayers” that gun lovers offer each time a mass shooting takes place. 

But David Hogg and X Gonzales know that thoughts and prayers are worthless in these instances.  As are more security guards.  As are “more doors”.  As are armed teachers.

So, they organized another March for Our Lives that took place on June 11, 2022.  They called on people to gather, to listen, to vote, and to fight for change.

My partner David and I attended the March for Our Lives 2022 in Washington DC.  As we were preparing to go, David commented that he put his medical insurance card in his pocket.  That fact put me on edge, but I realized it was the wise thing to do, as this group of peaceful protestors could very likely become a target of a gun toting shooter or group of shooters.  So, I grabbed my insurance card and ID and off we went.

This rally did not have the impact on me as the 2018 one did.  It ended up that this one was only a rally, even though “March” was in the title, we didn’t in fact march.  Instead, we gathered by the Washington Monument to listen to speakers and commune with like-minded people.

But the speakers did not inspire me the way they did in 2018.  They preached and yelled and called for action, but some of their words rang hollow.  One talked of UNITY – and how “…all Americans want the same thing – an end to gun violence”.  I don’t think I can agree to that at this point.  There have been SO MANY shootings, and nothing changes.  I think some people are NOT rooting for an end to gun violence.  I think some Americans are perfectly fine with it and consider it “a fact of life”. 

One speaker, the father of a child slain in the Parkland shootings, announced that he had a new idea, a new call to action.  He explained it briefly – I believe he called it “avoid”.  The concept was that all students should avoid school.  Avoid it until our government ACTS and implements stronger gun regulations.  Avoid it until it is a safe place to be.  But after his brief explanation of “avoid”, he asked us all to put our hands over our hearts and repeat the pledge he led, thereby asking the entire crowd to agree and to not go back to school – elementary through college age – until gun control is improved.

Maybe it is wrong of me, but I couldn’t agree with the pledge.  Education is not something to be taken for granted – children, particularly girls and women – in many countries are not afforded the opportunity of an education.  And I just don’t know that I agree that millions of people skipping school would push our Congress into acting.  Those lawmakers have seen coverage of children being murdered in such close range with high-powered weapons that they were DECAPITATED, and they still have not pushed forward legislation, how would skipping school get the desired result?

One of the speakers asked for SILENCE to give time to remember those who have lost their lives to gun violence.  SILENCE is the thing I remember most from the 2018 March, the most powerful part.  X Gonzales was speaking at that rally and asked the very large crowd to BE SILENT.  To be still and silent for 6 minutes and 20 seconds.  6 minutes and 20 seconds, the amount of time it took the shooter to murder Parkland students.  I remember the deadly silence.  The tears.  The faint sound of counter protestors blocks away.  It seemed that the silence went on forever.

But the request for silence at the 2022 rally did not go as planned.  As we stood in silence, many with eyes closed and heads bowed, someone screamed.  It sounded like the noise was coming from near the stage.  I could hear the screams, but not see what was happening. 

But a surge went through the thousands gathered on the mall, and a message began to be hollered – RUN!  LEAVE!  GET OUT OF HERE!!!

People turned toward the back of the crowd and started to flee.  I looked at David.  I was so afraid.  I said, “Let’s hold hands so we do not get separated!” and we turned to leave quickly.  The mud puddle we had so gingerly tip-toed around on our way in would not impede our fast exit from danger as we rushed through it.

We had only gone a few quick steps when someone got on the microphone on stage and very loudly and calmly told us all to STAY.  That we were not in danger.  That we needn’t fear.

But there it was. 

We DID need our insurance cards.  We always will.

Because in a heartbeat, situations can change.  A shooting can begin.  And a crowd like that, why we were like sitting ducks. 

I took some deep breaths and we sat down.  I cried.  It was such a perfect example of WHY WE WERE THERE, why guns MUST BE BETTER CONTROLLED in this country.  We all knew.  We all panicked.  Because it could have easily not just been a gun lover rushing the stage shouting (which it turned out to be…), it could have been a gun lover rushing the stage, turning toward the crowd of people with our eyes closed and heads bowed, and spraying us with bullets. 

We stayed, others left.  Some cried.  Parents held children, many of whom just the day before had been on lock-down when a man with a gun approached the school.

X Gonzales finally got up to speak.  They have been mostly silent since the 2018 March.  They have not been on social media much, have not done big speaking engagements.  But they explained that now, now, they are ANGRY AS HELL and have to speak out again.  Their speech was peppered with many “four letter words”, and those words sounded like poetry to my ears.  Their unapologetic rage, amplified by huge speakers and image shown on large screens, was what I needed. 

So, keep your thoughts and prayers.

I will take X’s expletives.  They match my feelings and beliefs on this issue much better. 

And at this point, they seem to be the only hope our country has to force change.

 

(Article on the man rushing the stage - NY Post article )