The Simpsons, the GOP, and the Parkland “Media Actors”
Hey everyone! What a whirlwind of news these past three weeks. With the tragedy in Parkland, Florida and the discussion on guns following it, my head hurts from the news overload. I wonder if many of you feel the same. I am stuck between this need to constantly listen to the news and hear the horrible and the sometimes 1% of good things going on in the country. Yet, another part of me worries, that if I log off or opt out of this news, who am I to complain of the horrors that come next?
Before I dive deep into my thoughts concerning the tragedy that happened on Feb. 14th, I want to take this moment to ask if any of you heard the ridiculous statement that Senator Ted Cruz said about the GOP being the party of Homer, Marge, Bart, and Maggie Simpson, but not Lisa Simpson. First thought: What the hell? WHO COMPARES THE SIMPSONS TO A POLITICAL PARTY TO PROVE A POINT? Second thought: He is stupid. All he did was prove that the GOP is the inferior party, because Lisa is the smartest person on the show. That is made clear. Also, Homer and Bart make the dumbest decisions and Marge is definitely not a Republican. Okay, rant over, back to my main point.
Today's post is about the shooting that happened at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. I don't talk about politics much on my website, but trust me I have many opinions. There was a town hall that happened on Feb. 21st where the students/survivors of Parkland confronted members of the GOP and required them to answer questions. If you watch the news, especially when Republicans are asked questions, you realize they never really answer questions. To see students who are one year away from voting call them out is bliss.
On the other hand, it is torture to see them do that. My heart aches for them, because they saw their classmates die in front of their eyes. They hid in closets to save their lives. That tragedy propels them to speak. To respond to gun supporters on twitter, and to write their own stories. This is different from the media trajectory other mass shootings take. When Sandy Hook happened in 2012, the country was horrified, but the victims were young children and slain teachers who couldn't control the narrative. It was easy for the Grand Old Party (GOP) to preach the rights of the second amendment and forget that young children were killed. Or that in just the first two months of 2018 there have been 18 mass shootings. The high level of violence due to guns in singular to the United States. No one needs to own a AR-15 gun. The level of damage an AR-15 gun does to the human body is insane. Please read this article where a Florida radiologist speaks about the wounds she saw that fatal Wednesday. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/what-i-saw-treating-the-victims-from-parkland-should-change-the-debate-on-guns/553937/
No where else on this planet are mass shootings the norm as it is here.
But, the GOP is tied to the National Rifles Association, which equals money and like Cameron Kasky said at the Parkland Town hall, "I wish I got to talk to the NRA lady and ask her how she looks in the mirror when she has kids, but maybe she avoids those these days." Cameron is just one of the many survivors who, while mourning the loss of friends and the trauma of the shooting, is speaking on gun violence. While the GOP keeps saying this isn't the time to focus on guns, the victims themselves are blowing that opinion out the water and using their voices. They are controlling the narrative and it is powerful.
Of course, gun supporters and republicans, are saying that the children are media actors paid by the DNC to support the crackdown on guns. These students are not media actors at all. The reason why they are so good in front of the camera is simple to figure out. Social media. They are 14, 15, 16, and 17 year olds who grew up in front of the camera. I was a freshman in high-school when I discovered Facebook, a junior when Instagram was founded, and a senior when Snapchat was just launched. That means the Parkland students were at the time of Instagram's founding, 6 years old at the youngest and 9 years old at the oldest. They quite literally grew up in front of the camera.
They know the power of audiences and of cultivating a narrative. They are not media actors. They are not being paid by the DNC. They are victims who have attended funerals almost everyday since the shooting, and know how important it is to speak out. They see the President of the United States tweeting about Russia, and using their pain as a tool. They are smart, they are hurt, they are in mourning, and they are my heroes.
Here is to hoping that they save us from the greed and inhumanity that seems to be at the crux of the GOP these days.
