The Sad Truth about the Students and the March for Lives

When it comes to politics, I try to keep my opinions to myself. I really do. I try to ignore the liberal bias from the mainstream media and the Hollywood icons who insist on sharing their views. I keep up with current events and I read a lot on social media, but I make an honest effort to limit my responses. I try to avoid the overtly political posts with the exception of an occasional Like when the post is really clever or humorous. I really do try, but the latest round of protests have pushed me over the edge.

I spent 35 years in the field of education. I’ve had MANY encounters with high school students and raised two children of my own, so understand that when I talk about these kids, I know of what I speak. I know what teenagers are like. Sadly, when I watch the news, what I see are young people who are being manipulated and used by forces beyond their years, and it makes me angry to see how blatantly this abuse is being promoted.

Let me back up a moment and say that school safety should be a priority and the discussion should be ongoing. There should be no question that the safety of our kids must be addressed, frequently. School shootings must to be prevented. The problem is that gun control, or gun laws, or the Second Amendment, and school safety are all separate issues. We have got to stop acting as if they are the same thing.

The sad truth about the big protests from last weekend is that parading a bunch of kids around spouting left wing talking points about guns does absolutely nothing to make our schools any safer. David Hogg screaming profanities and disrespecting adults doesn’t make his school safer. Emma Gonzalez admitting that the shooter was bullied and ostracized, but justifying it because he was weird or different, doesn’t make her school safer. Both of these students have become media darlings by demanding new gun laws. Sadly, by continuing to focus solely on the gun debate, we are pushing aside other factors that have a much greater impact on keeping our kids safe.

As a school administrator, I attended many workshops and seminars on school safety. I’ve walked the halls of multiple school campuses evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the plans and procedures in place. I’ve spent countless hours writing and rewriting campus safety plans. I’ve spent time with teachers, parents, and students discussing ways to make our schools safe and prevent the kind of tragedies that have occurred in other places. Several factors are mentioned frequently. Mental health support, local law enforcement support, access to the campus/facilities, and detailed action plans in case of emergencies are always discussed. The second amendment has never come up.

School safety is a complicated issue with numerous elements. To ignore all of this and pretend that gun legislation will cure all our issues is ridiculous. I feel for the students who have been exposed to violence at their schools in recent years. Their emotions are real and powerful, but their misguided attempts to seek a simplistic answer have made them pawns in a much larger game than they can imagine. While celebrities and political action committees pour millions into “spontaneous” marches, innocent kids are being passed around as props, and that offends me. I’m sorry, but if roughly ninety percent of your protestors are adults, I find it hard to believe your “march” is student organized or led. So, let’s be real. The sad truth is that our students are being manipulated and used. And that’s just not right.