Now Is The Time

Another mass shooting at another school in the U.S.  I expect the same round of actions and discussions:  A pile of flowers and candles will start to appear at the school; local leaders and parents (especially parents who lost their children) will speak; most will speak about the children that they loved; some will speak out against the lack of gun laws or the lack of enforcement of the gun laws; a few politicians will get press coverage for proposing some change (even a little change) to our laws relating to access to certain types of guns, background checks, etc; others, including the National Rifle Association, will say it is disrespectful and too soon to talk about changes to the law and enforcement while people are mourning; a bill will eventually appear in Congress; that bill will sit and then die; another shooting will happen and the cycle will start again.

Although candle-lit vigils, piles of flowers and speeches may express grief and get a lot of coverage, that's exactly what the NRA wants to happen.  They don't want protests, discussion in legislatures, etc. because they know over time that they can manage the situation to make changes go away.  To the contrary, they can exploit the situation to put more fear into the NRA followers that stronger gun laws may come into being, get those followers to give more money to the NRA and then the NRA and their followers will put more pressure on the legislatures to defend the status quo.  They have even become good at exploiting such events by arguing that every teacher should carry a gun and that students should be able to carry guns.

A few things could happen to change this cycle.  First, someone or some credible organization could start to explain to the followers of the NRA that the NRA is lying to them; the NRA does not care about them and the 2nd Amendment, except to the extent that those followers empower the NRA act on behalf of the gun industry (not gun owners) to sell more guns.  That is, the followers of the NRA are being lied to and being duped by the NRA, not being supported by the NRA.  Second, call out legislators and others who call these events "tragedies" or, as Florida Governor Rick Scott said yesterday, that the shooter was "pure evil".  This type of language is intentionally describing these events in unknowable, unstoppable and even religious tones.  But, these events are not tragedies, they are direct results of ignorance, politics and culture that lead to these outcomes.  The shooter is not "evil", he is almost always mentally ill and yet has had access to powerful weapons.  Finally, and I think this is the most important thing that can be done, do not conduct vigils and speeches of rememberance.  Instead, do protests and don't stop until changes are made.  Imagine the press coverage and the pressure on legislatures if all the surviving children at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School refused to go back to school until actual changes were made; if they had sit-ins, speeches and protests on the school grounds for as long as it takes; if the parents and children in those protests refused to allow NRA apologists like Governor Scott and Senator Marco Rubio from participating or attending and to shout back whenever they or others make the well-tested excuses for the NRA and the lack of action.

One thing is clear, as it should be clear immediately after every other such event, Now Is The Time!  Now Is The Time to stop accepting the NRA's lies. Now Is The Time to reject the fatalist language of our legislatures that these events are unstoppable.  Now Is The Time to stop playing into the hands of the NRA by having vigils and speeches.  Now Is The Time to have massive and long-standing protests after each event.  Students, parents and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Now Is The Time to change the entire direction of these issues.  Go on strike. Student and teachers should not go back in the school, but go to the school and yell like hell until you are heard and changes are made.  Now Is The Time.