When Emma Gonzalez of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School delivered her “We Call BS” speech, she pointedly shone a light on the irony that the youth of our nation are the ones standing for the protection of America’s children.
Teenagers have listened to their elders brag about having survived the hazards of childhood, free of bike helmets and seat belts, while they spent their elementary school years practicing shooting drills by lining up against the walls like sitting ducks.
They listened to the stories of the good old days when children played outside, people didn’t have to lock their doors, parents had chicken pox parties to deliberately infect their children with a life-threatening disease and smoking was promoted as an asthma remedy.
There’s a common misconception that today’s youth are lazy and entitled brats who have systematically destroyed the car industry, the housing market and romance because they refuse to get married, buy a house and have children they cannot afford because they refuse to put up with sexual harassment and inequality in the workplace.
According to many people in the generation that ate what was put in front of them without complaining and didn’t waste time watching TV or playing video games, kids today are “delicate, little crybaby snowflakes” who dress like hookers and need trigger warnings and peanut-free cafeteria tables so they can eat their gluten-free pizza in a safe space. Kids today are supposedly fragile, unlike the generation who never saw an assault rifle until they were drafted and who, now, complain about the participation trophies they insisted upon for their children.
The older generation has always complained about the younger generation, but did they ever think about why these teenagers are “flawed”? Maybe it’s just that teenagers disdain hypocrisy, and they’ve been calling BS on their elders since the dawn of time.
The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have called BS, and students all over the United States are following their lead. The youth of America have decided that enough is enough. They no longer want to live in a country where easy access to murder weapons is a fundamental right, but cancer patients are forced to start a GoFundMe in order to pay for their life-saving treatment. Never before has the generation entrusted to protect the next generation shown such blatant disregard for the safety and well-being of their charges.
The mass shooting at Columbine happened almost 20 years ago, on April 20, 1999. Those “kids” are now in their mid-30s. In the past 20 years, we have determined — after extensive research in multiple locations — that thoughts and prayers don’t stop bullets and that people who don’t have guns don’t shoot anyone.
Comments made by so-called adults on social media regarding the walk-out protests have shown the best and worst in humanity, with comments ranging from “Any student that walks out should be expelled and any teacher that does the same should be fired immediately!!” to “… Protests are a part of our history as our acts of remembrance. This is not a liberal agenda, but a human agenda and our children and teachers have a right to spend their days in a safe environment …”
So for those “wise” elders who are defending their Second Amendment rights and precious assault weapons while trying to discourage First Amendment rights and others’ will to stop the violence — the hypocrisy is loud and clear. And quite frankly, this generation is done with the archaic BS.