The Students from Parkland Are Amazing, and They Are Taking It To Trump and the GOP

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | February 19, 2018 |

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | February 19, 2018 |

According to The Washington Post, over the weekend Donald Trump was telling his pals at Mar-a-Lago that he was “monitoring the media appearances by some of the surviving students” out in Parkland, Florida. That might explain why Trump was in such a terrible mood this weekend:

17 of my classmates are gone. That’s 17 futures, 17 children, and 17 friends stolen. But you’re right, it always has to be about you. How silly of me to forget. #neveragain https://t.co/i6Hldlo0Aq

— Aly Sheehy (@Aly_Sheehy) February 18, 2018

STOP BLAMING EVERYBODY ELSE BUT YOURSELF. STOP TWEETING. GET OFF YOUR PHONE. ANSWER THE PUBLICS’ QUESTIONS REGARDING GUN CONTROL INSTEAD OF WALKING OUT OF THE ROOM LIKE THE COWARD YOU ARE https://t.co/Zg2Qua0vqJ

— Liz Stout (@lizardstout) February 18, 2018

There IS collusion, you clown. Get your head out of your ass & do something about what happened AT MY SCHOOL. This is the REAL NEWS. You came to Florida & didn’t talk to me, my students or my coworkers. You had a photo op & played golf. YOU are a disgrace to MY country. https://t.co/INB9sN3A52

— Sarah Lerner, CJE (@mrs_lerner) February 18, 2018

It’s very sad that thousands of voices won’t be heard bc this egocentric maniac is too caught up on himself instead of the change for the people. What’s not acceptable is you continuously trying to put the blame on someone else other than you. We want action not your words. https://t.co/GgSinporaI

— giuliana. #neveragain (@giu0807) February 18, 2018

Oh my god. 17 OF MY CLASSMATES AND FRIENDS ARE GONE AND YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO MAKE THIS ABOUT RUSSIA???!! HAVE A DAMN HEART. You can keep all of your fake and meaningless “thoughts and prayers”. https://t.co/al9DWBM2AW

— Morgan Williams (@morganw_44) February 18, 2018

.@realDonaldTrump @marcorubio @FLGovScott
We don’t need your thoughts & prayers. We need action. We need reform. The survivors of a massacre demand this. Classmates demand this. The community demands this. I refuse to let my friends die in vain.I refuse to let this happen again

— kyra (@longlivekcx) February 18, 2018

17 innocent people were brutally murdered at my school, a place where they should have felt safe. Their lives were gone in an instant. You are the President of the United States and you have the audacity to put this on Russia as an excuse. I guess I should expect that from you. https://t.co/phOg97PJoD

— taylor // #NEVERAGAIN (@tayloryon_) February 18, 2018

"They say that tougher gun laws do not decrease gun violence. We call BS!" Florida high school shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez calls on President Trump and lawmakers to tighten gun restrictions in impassioned speech at an anti-gun rally in Fort Lauderdale https://t.co/DgnqrrVs9x

— CNN (@CNN) February 17, 2018

And the interesting thing about Parkland is that the country has not yet moved on from the latest mass shooting. These kids are fierce, they are angry, they are motivated, and the media loves them.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student David Hogg to politicians who receive NRA donations: “If you can’t get elected without taking money from child murderers, why are you running?” (via CNN) pic.twitter.com/qcdlcpcEfV

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 19, 2018

They’re mobilizing, too. They’re planning a national demonstration, March for Our Lives, for March 24th, asking for lawmakers to tell the NRA to go screw and come up with some legislative solutions.

It’s clear, too, that these kids are getting under the skin of Republicans, who are turning on the kids who just lost their classmates:

It’s quite interesting that the children survivors haven’t even buried their friends, grieve, get over shock but have had the time to plan for a march, come up with a creative hashtag, get their story to all media outlets all in such a short amount time….. #MarchForOurLives

— Kambree Kawahine Koa (@KamVTV) February 18, 2018

Democrats have planned this all. This is what they have done for decades. They think we are stupid in how they operate but actually them using children as pawns will BACKFIRE in Nov like it did in 2016. Game over.

— Kambree Kawahine Koa (@KamVTV) February 18, 2018

The students didn’t take kindly to that tweet, either.

Many of us have been attending funerals everyday since Friday. Having to see our friends in caskets is the reason why we are speaking up and making time for activism. So until you go through what we are going through, you have no right to criticize us. https://t.co/L0bgL8Qrtt

— kyra (@longlivekcx) February 19, 2018

Having to go see my classmate’s dead body laying in a casket only made me angrier that this even happened. Yes I’m grieving, we all are, but we know that we need to speak up and get our stories out so we can see a change in our country. https://t.co/6HUcYC0QA6

— Morgan Williams (@morganw_44) February 19, 2018

Finally, I leave you with this Op-Ed in the NYTimes from 15-year-old Christine Yared, a freshman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which reads, in part:

We can’t let innocent people’s deaths be in vain. We need to work together beyond political parties to make sure this never happens again. We need tougher gun laws.

If a person is not old enough to be able to rent a car or buy a beer, then he should not be able to legally purchase a weapon of mass destruction. This could have been prevented. If the killer had been properly treated for his mental illness, maybe this would not have happened. If there were proper background checks, then those who should not have guns would not have them.

We need to vote for those who are for stricter laws and kick out those who won’t take action. We need to expose the truth about gun violence and the corruption around guns. Please.

If you have any heart, or care about anyone or anything, you need to be an advocate for change. Don’t let any more children suffer like we have. Don’t continue this cycle. This may not seem relevant to you. But next time it could be your family, your friends, your neighbors. Next time, it could be you.