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So it’s been interesting to read comments on social media about the March for Our Lives. Let’s clear some things up.
I consider myself a moderate. I am registered as a Republican (gasp!) and I tend to be conservative fiscally, but more liberal socially (for example, gay marriage is A-okay with me) so take things as you will….
Oh, by the way, I also was a brief member of the NRA in high school, shot guns in my school basement as a member of JROTC, took a hunter safety class, and was nicknamed “Annie Oakley” by one of the JROTC instructors.
I also greatly enjoy those old-timey shooting galleries and watching Westerns.
1) It was my first march, and from what I saw, physically being there, is that, yes, there were actually a LOT of people. And this is coming from someone who started out at the front and then stopped on the steps of the courthouse and physically observed the entire march as it went by. I was actually surprised by the huge number. I could be wrong, but I actually physically witnessed this, so I’m not going by “fake news” (which by the way, is nowhere near a new thing - check out the Hearst papers. Or basically any paper from the Old West. Pretty much every paper was tabloid journalism. “Honest” news is pretty much a damn new development in history.
2) No, it wasn’t “an angry mob”, it was actually a very peaceful, friendly march. In fact, we only encountered one super angry person missing several teeth who told us we were all gonna die, so…..and of COURSE there were a few extremists, but generally, the people I encountered were friendly and open-minded.
3) I think it is unfair and unwarranted, not to mention severely ignorant of history to call the young people “ignorant” and “undisciplined brats” for taking a stand for something they believe in. Did you people not grow up in the 50s, 60s, or 70s? Was change not made in the large part? I’m confused on this point. Did you grow up in Pleasantville (not the real one people, yes I know there is real one, the MOVIE one)? Talk about revisionist history!
4) And lastly, and perhaps most importantly, a lot of people think this is about giving up all guns and your rights. For the large part, it’s really about creating a more responsible culture around weapons, not barging into homes and melting them all down. The group I worked with actually teaches courses on how to properly secure weapons and keep them out of the hands of one’s children. And as for rights, I don’t quite understand this one either….we can’t own slaves anymore. We have to wear seatbelts in cars and a hospital won’t even let us LEAVE with our own baby if they don’t have a car seat….and this just a small fraction of “infringements”…. is it just that this is one more “infringement” you don’t want? And yes, I know, there IS admittedly a large group of people who are far left - but it would be ignorant to consider that the WHOLE story, just as I personally don’t see all Republicans or other conservatives in a totally black and white “yee-haw guns” sort of way. It’s not that simple and simply not true.
5) Okay. I lied. There is actually one more thing. I can’t help but laugh at the irony of people being infuriated over a post-colonial right while simultaneously being angry with “an angry mob of ignorant people trying to change things.” Isn’t that pretty much the history of our American people? An endless cycle since our very founding of people being infuriated by “an angry mob of ignorant people trying change things” and that said “ignorant mob” changing things and repeat and repeat over the decades? Is that not the very fabric and pattern of our country? Is it not the most fundamental American right of them all? Are guns fun? Hell yeah they are! Do we physically, morally NEED to own AR-15s or the right to own an entire arsenal? Hell no, we don’t!
Heather Walker Rowan is the mother of two young children. After ten years of living and working in cities across the USA, she is happy to be settled in her hometown of Reno once again. When she isn’t hardcore momming (with the occasional break to hide in the closet and watch Netflix) and pretending she is a decent photographer, she travels around the globe with her husband documenting heart disease in mummies (true story!).
