TRAVESTY OF YET ANOTHER MASS SHOOTING
The travesty of yet another mass shooting, this time at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, has riveted the attention of the nation, not just by the extent of the carnage – 17 lives lost – but also by the unexpected and unstoppable response of that school’s youthful survivors.
END THE GUN VIOLENCE
Politicians all the way up to Trump have been put on notice and called out to end the gun violence that is rampant in America, and symptomatic of a sick society that allows for the slaughter of innocents in order to preserve and increase the profitability of arms manufacturers. The kowtowing of politicians to the dictates of the National Rifle Association and its money-hungry lobbyists is the litmus test that the indignant youth are utilizing to measure if our leaders are for us or against us.
VIOLENCE AND MILITARIZATION THAT IS SANCTIONED BY ACTION AND INACTION
Unhampered by the dead weight of the past, which unfortunately still confuses and paralyzes us into inaction, many of whom are of more advanced years, the youth of today are pointing the way forward. They refuse to accept the “dark vision” of perpetual violence and militarization that is sanctioned by the action and inaction of those in power in government. They rebel against the bleak and hopeless future which many in their generation face, and that drives some to extreme measures. They see through the divisions, hate, and victim blaming of working people that those in power use to cover up the theft of their future, which rightfully belongs to all America’s young people.
PHOTO: SHANTEL MITCHELL BREEN
YOUTH ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE WALKING OUT OF SCHOOLS
Spontaneously, youth across the country are walking out of schools in protest and to demand solutions. They are crossing previously erected barriers of race and class and merging with inner-city youth from Black Lives Matter and DACA students who have been left in legal limbo. They are joining forces with teachers across the country and interfacing with others fighting to survive.
Edna Lizbeth Chavez from South Central, L.A. spoke about why more guns in schools is not the answer.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/edna-chavez-march-for-our-lives-speech_us_5ab68795e4b0decad04a66d5
STRUGGLE FOR A POSITIVE VISION OF THE WORLD
As International May Day approaches, we should celebrate the rebirth of the struggle for a positive vision of the world that can be. The modern means of production make possible an abundance that can be shared for the good of all, and the youth are at the forefront of this fight.
No more “disposable” people, whether youth in body bags, deportees, or people kicked to the curb and homelessness. We must stand by our youth and support them and defend them. They are the future of humanity and we should be proud.
