by Brielle Wyka
Gen Z has already forged a reputation for being politically active and aware. Who can blame us? We’ve had to endure quite a lot of injustice and terror in the few short decades we’ve been alive. Most recently, we witnessed yet another school shooting, lost 17 more friends, teachers, and loved ones, and have had another talk about America’s gun problem. But what’s different now is that this time, we’re making sure we’re heard. This time, we’re making sure people are talking to us instead of about us.
Our people in Parkland, Florida are no exception. The survivors and allies from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSDHS) are amongst the strongest of our generation. Their world has been shaken up and torn apart by gun violence.
Yet, amidst their mourning, they are fighting. In true Gen Z fashion, they’re using social media to tell their stories and rally for gun reform.
The high schoolers of MSDHS started a political dialogue on gun control by documenting their first-hand accounts of the traumatic shooting on Snapchat and Twitter, utilizing media to voice their concerns. Currently, they continue to fight for action on gun violence through their socials.
After the shooting, many MSDHS students took to Twitter, shared their opinions, shut down trolls, and demanded that their story be told truthfully and justly. Understandably, they are hurt and grieving, but that has not stopped them from fighting back. MSDHS students are here to make sure people know that they’re not backing down.
The fact that you think the first thing we did was go to Snapchat is ridiculous. 911 operators don’t need 4,500 calls for the same thing. At least one kid in each room called 911 and the rest talked to their parents https://t.co/cgC6tiLiV8
— Connor// #NEVERAGAIN (@CDietrich1007) February 15, 2018
I’m sorry Tomi, but were you in the building when this happened? Was this your school, your community, your friends? Were you croutched on the floor in a corner as shots rang out right outside your door, praying that he wouldn’t come into your room? Did you hear the screams? https://t.co/g6PU11ZzPG
— taylor // #NEVERAGAIN (@tayloryon_) February 16, 2018
I was hiding in a closet for 2 hours. It was about guns. You weren’t there, you don’t know how it felt. Guns give these disgusting people the ability to kill other human beings. This IS about guns and this is about all the people who had their life abruptly ended because of guns. https://t.co/XnzhvuN1zd
— carly (@car_nove) February 15, 2018
Sorry is something you say when you accidentally bump into someone, or hurt someone. But for you to PLAN a shooting and take 17 lives THEN walk to subway and get some food and a drink… you’re not sorry. And nobody is sorry for you. I hope you get what you deserve. https://t.co/KdLI5Bq21N
— nat nat (@nathessing) February 16, 2018
“Nikolas Cruz is a murder to brutally killed 17 innocent people” – there fixed it for you. https://t.co/LS9K8tPlFh
— sarah // #NEVERAGAIN (@sarahchad_) February 16, 2018
How blind and insensitive can you be https://t.co/EJn2AvXTS9
— allie (@allie_avena) February 15, 2018
Shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez just called out Trump on national television!!! She is on a mission. pic.twitter.com/dOZ1H8xzZ2
— yerson cancelado (@ycancela) February 17, 2018
why was a student able to terrorize my school mr president https://t.co/rwDRYz3ayx
— nikki (@nikta04) February 14, 2018
@realDonaldTrump you wanna come here and make a difference? Speak to us and ask us how we feel and take into consideration what we say. Empty speeches mean nothing if u don’t take action.
— Connor// #NEVERAGAIN (@CDietrich1007) February 16, 2018
They aren’t putting up with anything that isn’t the truth, and they’re not afraid to call anyone out, including President Donald Trump. The students of MSDHS aren’t using the attention they are receiving to rehash their sob-stories. In the wake of yet another deadly school shooting, these students are calling for justice, action, and legislation.
For Gen Z-ers, gun violence has been a prominent issue our entire lives. We were born during the Columbine shootings of 1999. We grew up learning that nowhere is safe – not the movies, not church, not concerts, and ESPECIALLY not school. We’re sick of it, and if anyone proves that it’s our peers in Florida who are calling for change.
Honest to god, how many more children have to be gunned down in American schools before you take action? I want to to put yourself in the position of those parents and children imagine getting the call that you’d never see your child or father again because they were killed
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) February 17, 2018
Parkland student: “We are not to be bought by the NRA. … We are the ones who deserve to be kept safe because we were literally shot at” https://t.co/5yk1EL23q4
— CNN (@CNN) February 16, 2018
Future voters at South Broward High School have left classes to protest for better gun control. pic.twitter.com/AgpKRsrNwI
— Sebastian Murdock (@SebastianMurdoc) February 16, 2018
We shouldn’t have to go on TV for our voices To be heard. all of us that made it out alive is a survivor of gun violence. We can tell you from experience this is not to be taken lightly. You weren’t there, sitting in a dark classroom not knowing what’s happening. LISTEN https://t.co/oANvxCRuz0
— Connor// #NEVERAGAIN (@CDietrich1007) February 16, 2018
While at school trying to make the world a better place? @POTUS @SpeakerRyan @VP HOW MANY MORE CHILDREN will have to die before you take action and put aside politics for the lives of millions of children? I’m looking forward to midterms because at this point that’s the only way
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) February 17, 2018
The youth of Parkland refuse to tolerate the reluctance toward gun-control legislation that has influenced American politics. They know firsthand how it feels to be unsafe at school, and now that they have the country’s attention, they’re not going to stop talking about the gun violence problem until it’s fixed.
Cameron Kasky, a survivor of the Parkland shooting, writes that he is demanding Americans take action and vote those in the back pockets of gun lobbyists out of office once and for all https://t.co/TPnglQzKEV via @CNNOpinion pic.twitter.com/020OZRMqeL
— CNN (@CNN) February 17, 2018
Usually, young people tend to follow the path of those that came before, but Gen Z is unique in that we are trailblazers. Most of us can’t vote yet, don’t have jobs, and a lot of us can’t even drive yet. Despite all this, we’re taking notes. We’re studying the political climate and we’re strategizing to see where we can take it.
When we hold the power, we will be prepared to enact the change we weren’t able to see as kids. And in case the students in Parkland didn’t make it clear – boy, do we have plans.
Meanwhile, this tragedy seems to mark a shift in political focus. Through their widespread vocalization of the issues on Twitter and other socials, these Gen Z-ers are being recognized as prominent political voices by public figures. Bill Maher quoted one of the student’s tweets on his show Real Time with Bill Maher and pointedly said, “I feel like something is different about this time, and maybe it’s because the children are speaking out.”
“I feel like something is different about this time, and maybe it’s because the children are speaking out.” – @BillMaher on the Parkland school shooting pic.twitter.com/7fmSoZulGo
— Real Time (@RealTimers) February 17, 2018
Gen Z is paying attention so we know how to fix what we don’t like. Gen Z is not going to stand by silently as tragedy after tragedy happens to us. We know what happens when you don’t fight hard enough – the fallout of the 2016 election, the increase in school shootings, and the lack of action from our representatives aren’t a wake-up call for us; instead, they are our call to action.
