For anyone who thinks today’s national student walkout is a mere act of spectacle, or just an opportunity to get out of school, it is not; it is a heartfelt and concerted effort to bring attention to what they deem is the crying need for sensible gun safety measures.
And consider this: I was prepping to interview for my podcast the winners of the award in honor of my father — a group of public high students in Ocala, Florida who made a stirring video (here’s the link to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvz0aCqLEUQ ) when I got this message from their teacher:
“Chris, Don’t know if you got my text but we are still on code red lockdown. The lights are out and the kids are on the floor. There was a shooting in the school across town. I am not sure if we’ll even be able to get out of school at all today. Please confirm that you got this – I’m just not sure if we’ll be able to do that podcast today. Scary stuff.”
Scary stuff indeed. The school shooting was just a few miles down the road from these students’ school, and at least one person was injured.
So whether you agree or disagree with their approach or even their ends, I hope you hold them in great admiration and esteem for putting it all on the line, and understand how chillingly real their concerns for safety are.