In a post made recently by Colion Noir, host of NRA TV, he states:
“You want to save innocent lives? Take the millions of dollars going to this carnival, of a march and hire armed guards in schools and all over the country. But then these kids would have to shrink from the spotlight and go back to doing their homework.”
First and foremost, looking at this man allowing himself to be used as a puppet in order to further the agenda of an organization who historically cares nothing about human lives is repulsing. The National Rifle Association (N.R.A), who covets themselves as “America’s longest standing Civil Rights Organization,” has a sole agenda of political power that results in coveting major profits over humanity.
How do you, in good conscious, trivialize the March for Our Lives movement, by calling it a “carnival,”? What about this movement constitutes a masquerade? How can anyone with half a heart be so callous and sarcastic when responding to our country’s youth taking a political stand in demanding that our government takes logical steps in ending gun violence in their schools and our country? How can any political science major and attorney in this social climate, where we are witnessing time after time, corporations put profits over progress, degrade such a crusade?
I cannot begin to understand the trauma one feels in the aftermath of witnessing a complete stranger, armed with a semi-automatic weapon, walk into what is supposed to be a safe environment and completely, without provocation, obliterate the innocence of everyone within bullets range. I can only have compassion and empathy for the hundreds of lives that are taken and those that will be affected for the rest of their lives.
I wonder if Colion Noir would be “singing and dancing,” for the N.R.A. if he or one of his close friends or family members were a part of the epidemic mass shootings happening all over our country. Seventeen people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkdale Florida alone. These school shootings are a tragedy and they are a direct reflection of our society, and as a former educator, it warms my heart to see our young people taking a stand, exercising their “Civil Rights,” and engaging in the political process of our great nation. Something Colion Noir would probably appreciate if it were not for the deep pockets of the N.R.A.
The March For Our Live was created and inspired by students. It is being led by students all over the country who are tired of risking their lives waiting for adults to pass meaningful, comprehensive gun control legislation that will put a stop to these senseless mass shootings.
Here what these beautiful, courageous, students are demanding:
· Pass a law banning the sale of assault weapons like the ones used in Las Vegas, Orlando, Sutherland Springs, Sandy Hook, and most recently Parkdale.
· Close the loophole regarding the background check law allowing people who shouldn’t be allowed to purchase firearms slip through the cracks and buy guns online or at gun shows.
· Deny the sale of high-capacity magazines.
I think those demands are justifiable and reasonable in a civil society governed by compassionate leaders whose number one goal should be creating an educational environment where our students feel safe and supported. As adults, it should our number one goal and responsibility to inspire our youth. We should be focused on giving them tools and teaching them the skills necessary to becoming productive members of our society so that they will move our society forward.
Mr. Noir seems to think a solution to this mass shooting epidemic is taking our collective resources and arming more people in the school systems all across the country. His simplistic ideology is truly convenient; especially when it creates gun contracts with school districts and more profits to the N.R.A. He further assumes if his “brilliant,” idea was to take effect, kids would, “shrink from the spotlight and go back to doing their homework.”
Such an infantile dogma regarding the March For Our Lives movement is irresponsible and reprehensible. He may have rattled off a catchy soundbite for the N.R.A.’s supportive base, and for that, they put him at the back of a picture (as noted on the N.R.A.’s website) but assuming students are focusing on publicity and not their education clearly shows he is grossly misinformed. Maybe next time, instead of allowing others to write his rants, he should exercise his own set of common sense.
Students exerting their civil rights and becoming proprietors of their own destiny are about, “doing their homework.” Taking part in this march is a significant part of their real-world experiences in learning and education. They are tackling societal issues that are important and meaningful, which can spark further investigation and discovery into how our society truly operates.
The value of authenticity when students are engaged in strategies that use real-world experiences are critical. Not only is it more meaningful to them, but becoming more engaged in the legislative process benefits everyone; because they are appropriating an awareness of the choices they make in society, and how those choices affect society as a whole. Choices, that hopefully in the near future, will not involve “selling out,” to large corporates with huge pockets and less than honorable scruples.
Let’s honor, support and continue to inspire our students. The survival of our society and its democratic process, most definitely, depends on it!