It gives me hope.

We want the young kids to do what we tried, and couldn't do. We stand by in amazement and we're reminded of our own idealistic, passionate youth, when we threw down the gauntlet and proclaimed that EVERYONE OVER 30 COULD NOT BE TRUSTED. Now, those of our older generation who demanded an end to the Vietnam War and an end to international meddling for corporate gain (the AID controversies of the late 60s and early 70s), now find that our own contemporaries are running corporate board rooms and Wall Street offices, repeating the same oligarchic themes as were prevalent fifty years ago and determining that the only good policy is one that's profitable for some billionaire or a transnational corporation. The cycle repeats itself as the corporate roles that express greed, violence, and cruelty are filled by people who once were our fellow students in high school and college many decades ago.

We of the older generations must not sit by in amazement at what high school students have accomplished so far in their short burst of activism. We need to stand by their side, shoulder to shoulder, and be as active as they are. We need to support one another and sustain the drive for a safe society, free of the fear of gun violence, for all of us, regardless of color, religious belief, or economic status.

I’m 55 yo. My generation has lost its way. The greatest generation was followed by the F’ed up looney generation of science deniers and religious zealots who take comfort in their bibles and guns waiting for the government to break down their doors and take their precious guns away. I blame Fox, Murdoch, Hannity and Limbaugh. They are all immoral purveyors of hate and misinformation who have caused a what someone abtly called “the new cold civil war”. Murdoch, Ailes, Fox are the real enemies of the state.

But generation X, Y and M here in greater bay area California nearly puke at the next headline that contains the word "Trump". We were educated by the intellectuals of the 60's revolution- tail end of the boomers.
And there's another aspect: this one is speaking far louder than the hateful words of RW media, at last:
Migrant workers are here on contract, by the thousands. They miss their families. Some won't shut off Fox, spout nonsense at their work and get their contracts cut and sent home to sit on their couches and let
Fox, Limbaugh and Hannity make them angrier. Solves nothing. Stokes fear. Sells guns.
Yet a few of them I've witnessed the change. They're here. They hear. Sometimes they choose to listen. They come to realize going home where their "patriotic anti-socialist" bastard leaders have cut, cut, cut everything until even the WalMart they first lost their jobs to... is now closed.
One must be sly at this, to get them to put on the "THEY LIVE" sunglasses and see Hannity as he really is. There is seldom conversation at our work lunch table that doesn't include how utterly nonsensical, nut job crazy our political leadership is now. Sheepishly watching Fox in their company paid apartment, sometimes, it starts to soak in. Some have learned some new terms to them: corporatocracy, military industrial complex, the "oily-garchy", better survivability of the non-profit incentive. Some have even moved their families here. Some start to realize there is such a thing as "FACTS", and it influences their lives.
I realize there is a silent minority in the "red zones". I was there 3 years ago. They know who not to disturb when convinced by the illusion of denial.
The RWNJ's are trying so hard to stoke the crazy at this point, hoping one of us on "the left" gets driven to irrational acts, confirming their bias and martyrdom. Yes it worries me. Yes it embarrasses the hell out of our international image.
But Dog, now I've heard the conversion numerous times: "I made a terrible mistake. I can't get behind this crap." Keep the faith in reality. GOTV. The science based message has not gotten lost, just obscured, obfuscated, rehashed, branded "anti-patriotic" and still is the solution. I'm watching die-hard "christians" working aside Muslims and realizing they're not the monsters their mesmerizers had convinced them of.
A few of them finally figured out that buying the new SMART cars and hybrids they traded their monster truck in for was a sharp move.
Rachel says it almost daily, and we must maintain the mantra: "This is not normal".

In MO Xers make up the majority of the RW. The governor is in his 40s and the GOP delegation in the state GA is dominated by them. The younger crowd seems to lean more toward Dems.

last or were co-opted later...

There was always a dichotomy—activists and young repugs. It still exists.

Let's do what we can to help these high schoolers.

Activism seems to have missed college students.

for these kids it's school shootings. When something is personal like that people tend to become passionate; it's just human nature. I hope they can maintain that passion and that we old, passive, jaded and defeated folks will remember what it was like back in the '60s, and get fired up again.

The student survivors from Marjory Stoneman Douglas have really given me a sense of hope for our country.

and his speaking ability reminds me of Jon Ossoff, who almost won Georgia 6.

He is pissed and wont stop till he and his friends see a ban on assault weapons. The twisted "arm everybody" argument doesn't fly with them. I like how they immediately planed a march, I will be there and i hope it approaches the numbers the woman's marches have drawn. One issue though and as a white liberal male i may not have a valid opinion on. I wonder why these kids are heard when BLM has been saying essentially the same thing. Or a part of the same thing. If that makes sense. Seems a combination could work.

I have little doubt that the hoplosexuals and gun-profiteers would resort to putting a hit on someone who stood in the way of their agenda.

His responses are straightforward and methodically formulated. I admire his courage and determination.

already. These students will reach people by using social media and speaking on television. He's suggesting that college students avoid Florida for spring break. What if that catches on? Florida depends on tourists.

They don't want to lose that.

And he isn’t havin’ it.

from your cold, dead hands!"

I love these kids. They are America.

gives me hope for the future

So many crazies out they'll just do anything to drive their screwed up conspiracy agenda

We stand by you, David!

Are we seeing the origin story of the next Bobby Kennedy?

Determined and tenacious and more intelligent than most of his opponents.

We also saw that in a young Senator from Illinois.

Hope!

and Fred Smith? It was after Reid asked them about the number of businesses that are dropping their affiliation with the NRA. Hogg said that FedEx still hadn't dropped it's NRA affiliation and the Fred Smith, the founder, was one of the biggest supporters of and donors to the NRA. They are ready, willing and able to put consumer pressure on FedEx.

I am going to tweet them once again.

That I would cancel my ebay account ... I will not support a company that helps fund a terrorist organization

Got at least one guy’s attention ...

Give it a go

Let’s get them off the streets and out of our driveway

Smart, articulate and sensitive.

I posted this yesterday. Fits well.


https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210281427



The NRA Just Became The Enemy of a Generation of Younger Americans


I did not think there were any silver linings in this tragedy --but if the younger generation will help in the demise of the bloody NRA, then something good may come of this horrible time.



The NRA Just Became The Enemy of a Generation of Younger Americans


https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/2/23/1744133/-The-NRA-Just-Became-The-Enemy-of-a-Generation-of-Younger-Americans
Friday Feb 23, 2018 · 6:45 AM CST

The big loser in CNN’s Wednesday night Town Hall to address the horrific shooting last week in Parkland, Florida was the NRA — by far. The NRA not only potentially lost a generation of young people as members but from the sound of the audience at the Town Hall last night, it’s fair to say that many view the NRA as the enemy. And they should.

The NRA and the politicians they’ve bankrolled value easy access to guns over their lives. And the audience Wednesday night filled with younger people — many of whom just last week were dodging bullets from an AR-15, a weapon the NRA fought to legalize after it was banned from 1994 to 2004 as part of the federal assault weapons ban — got that.

These high school students may be teenagers, but they know the deal. They fully understand the power of the NRA and how politicians are beholden to campaign donations. And that led us to one of the most compelling moments I’ve ever seen on this issue.

.................................
And last night Kasky stood up again for others in his generation who truly fear that a gunman will descend upon their school with weapon of war and slaughter them. He had a chance to ask Florida Senator Marco Rubio a question, a man who boasts an “A-plus” rating from the NRA and who has received over $3 million in donations from the organization............................


?1519389832

NRA's Dana Loesch battles AR-15 shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez at CNN Town Hall

... money

cigarette smoking was good for you. Enough voices were finally raised to finally overwhelm the industry giants who had been desperately defending their turf in the sale of cigarette products.

The NRA is now facing their moment, as they so well should. Being so defensive in the face of overwhelming evidence that there are too many guns out there, and too many people that should not have access to guns, period.

The NRA hasn't done 1 thing to address this ongoing, decades-long issue. Not 1 thing, other than threaten our lawmakers and those citizens that spoke out against guns.

with giving NRA reps any credibility at all. They are not constitutional scholars. THEY ARE GUN MANUFACTURING LOBBY - period, end of story.

one Right Winger was spouting off about these kids, his picture showed him to be about 74. My reply was your going to beat them to the cemetery if some nut doesn't kill them.

His old man is ex-FBI and probably taking precautions.

As well as the other young activists. Seriously - I am worried for their safety, and the school is a target, too.

High school kids harmless if their protesting the NRA or whatever other public good activity gets them expelled for a bit or arrested... zero black marks against their admission to the school of their choice.

Preach!

as I said...

And I mean that in the best way possible.

are different interpretations of the 2nd amendment besides what NRA wants us to thinks it means.

Important to challenge the notion that NRA "owns" the second amendment. They are a gun manufacturing lobby, and that's about it.

any kind of authority on the subject.

I am a 100% supporter of our 2nd Amendment rights and completely agree with you.

I do not believe the authors intended high fire rate military type weapons to be covered under it.

The NRA is the propaganda arm of the gun manufactures and the military industrial complex.
The NRA could give a fuck less about America or the 2nd Amendment.

They're not scared of the kid in the least bit either
Their using him and all this to gin up scare tactics that sell more weapons, suck more contributions out of thier low IQ base and spread hate.

The NRA are a bunch of ghouls.

He is going to run the country in some capacity, along with Emma, Cameron, and all the rest, some whose names we don't know.

He is smart, articulate and passionate.
Hope he has a long career in journalism.

If it’s not their world already, it will be soon. They never agreed to live in this insanity. They deserve to live in a world they feel safe in.

I'm troubled that BLM didn’t get lots of support. However, other school shootings, the Sutherland Springs one and the Las Vegas shootings didn't trigger this effect either.

I think there are factors that made this take off in a way that BLM couldn't. The sheer number of kids who experienced the attack at once, because of the fire alarm getting them out of their classrooms and then it being a semi-automatic weapon.This group of students being minors but at the young adult stage of life in their ability to speak and organize. The clear case for them being innocent. The video and texts during the attack were one critical factor, because seeing it made it viscerally connect as we could imagine it being our kids, teachers, friends, us.

Somehow they knew that if they could just channel their fear and righteous anger to bring something good out of all the horror and tragedy, that it would help them and all the others dealing with shock, grief, and PTSD or other symptoms of trauma.

The kids’ response has been exceptional. Stoneman Douglas clearly has a large number of kids who have speech and especially debate experience, have had to frame issues for maximum acceptance. They've done a lot to keep the message focused on saving other kids' lives, which evokes a protective response in everyone who has been a mom, dad, or grandparent. They've mostly refrained from attacking those in a position of power like Trump.

It's a delight to watch the entrenched evil power of the NRA start to cave in the face of such a clear emotionally and morally righteous argument. It has caught the hearts and imagination of most of the country, galvanizing a fresh look at a previously intractable situation.

gives us hope for the future.

He said you shouldn't be able to own an AR-15 if you're mentally ill. I'm not mentally ill. Should I be able to own one?

To a large extent, his statement that I quoted above aligns with what the NRA says.

... would you vote for him if he were a candidate for office?

As in his statement?

I would vote for someone like him who has his views. I call that incremental steps in the right direction.

I said "based on his stated position," and you're avoiding that part of the question.

I will consider favorably any candidate who proposes taking weapons away from the mentally ill. However, I am FOR making the sale of or the ownership of weapons of war illegal for civilians. I am ambivalent about the ownership of these weapons for retired military. In the case of retired military, I would support highly regulated ammunition and licenses that must be continually renewed.

David Hogg's position is far closer to mine than Marco Rubio's, so I would support David's position, even if it doesn't match mine exactly.

... and say that "Nobody wants to take your guns," are they lying?

"Slippery slope" is a fallacy only when it is posited without evidence. You provided the evidence yourself, with the admission that these are "incremental steps." Your ultimate trajectory is toward more and more gun control. Can you deny that?

Does this writer's characterization of Trumpist bigotry as a "slippery slope" invalidate his argument? I hope your answer is "no."

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/12/10/the_slippery_slope_of_trumpism_128988.html

@davidhogg111

There was a picture of David Hogg. O.M.G. Just amazing. No wonder the right wing nut jobs just can't believe this is a real student. How did this happen?! they say... How did he make it through our no child left behind juggernaut?