Whenever there’s a mass shooting in America, the same routine follows. Republican politicians send thoughts and prayers; Democratic politicians say thoughts and prayers aren’t enough and demand “comprehensive gun reform;” liberals get angry; conservatives get defensive. It always happens on Twitter and always blows over in about a week.
But when seventeen teenagers were killed by an AR-15-wielding gunman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, last month, something was different. It wasn’t because Americans decided this shooting was one too many to bear, or because this time gun control advocates argued more cleverly. It was because of the survivors.
The teenage survivors of the Parkland shooting have become the agents of change America needed. Young enough to generate sympathy but old enough to speak up and organize, they launched a #NEVERAGAIN campaign that has remained in the national spotlight and given real gun reform its best chance since the Federal Assault Weapons Ban expired in 2004.
Students — those in Parkland and the legions they’ve inspired on social media — are the reason the gun control debate hasn’t gone away a month after the Parkland shooting, the reason NRA-bought politicians are finally subject to the scruity they deserve, the reason crowds have been mobilized to demonstrate across the country, and the reason state-level reforms have been passed. Students seem to be finally awakening America’s conscience. Students are the reason this mass shooting hasn’t been like all the others.
It follows that McClatchy’s walkout on Wednesday, part of a nationwide series of walkouts called for by #NEVERAGAIN, should have been the students’ moment. But it wasn’t. Administration took ownership over the demonstration by encouraging participation in a robo-call, and dismissing students over the intercom when the clock struck 10. Seriously? It’s not even a “walk out” if protesters are told when they’re allowed to go! What was supposed to be a profound, student-led act of defiance was corrupted into a pep rally without cheerleaders.
Then there were the speeches, the majority of which were given by adults. It’s not even like they needed to step in to deliver a sentiment the kids were incapable of expressing — Maya Steinhart’s speech was more eloquent than even the Attorney General’s. But they did need to step in to be in front of the TV cameras, racking up woke points with kids stacked up under the podium like stage props and the surrounding crowd of “protesters” playing the part of studio audience. The adults managed to make a demonstration based in genuine passions feel staged.
The adults involved in the Walkout all meant well. McClatchy’s administration did better than many of its counterparts in not penalizing students for walking out, and I’m not accusing any politician or administrator of faking support for gun control as a publicity stunt — surely they are all truly on the right side of this issue. But that’s precisely why their involvement was so meaningless. Of course the leaders of a progressive California high school want gun control; of course a Democratic politician who is already on record as supporting gun control supports gun control. And they supported gun control long before #NEVERAGAIN. So why did they need to be so central to this thing? They could have supported us from the sidelines without leaving any doubt as to where they stand.
If anything, all we students learn from the takeover of the Walkout is that our ideas only count when they are regurgitated by grown-up mouths. What a terrible lesson to teach young people at this moment in time.
Our generation has been left with many screwups to unscrew, and we’ll only succeed if we overcome the cynicism we’re tempted to feel in the Trump era. Adults, especially educators, should be looking to build our political efficacy.
A student-led Walkout could have done just that. It wouldn’t have caused legislative change, but it would have been empowering. Students who don’t usually attend marches or protests could have tasted the exhilaration of raising your voice and flexing your muscle, of being part of a movement. What better motivation to follow the news and vote in the midterms?
But the McClatchy Walkout did not engage us. It patted us on the head and us left to nibble our Sprouts cookies while politics happens at the grown-up table.
It didn’t feel right, and it didn’t help the cause.