March for Our Lives Spokane Protest

I have my own opinions of March for Our Lives and of the movement but as this isn’t a personal blog I would like to stick to the subjects and to the movement itself. However, I will say I do think it is really unfair that this generation has to go through this. The current political climate is forcing them to grow up and deal with issues they shouldn’t yet have to deal with yet. After years of school shooting, teenagers now feel their voice might be the only ones to make a difference. And maybe they’re right.

As voter registration volunteers helped future voters get ready for the next wave of voting, and cheers from the crowd echoed along the river, a sense of revolt and uprising sank in as I walked towards the bridge that led to the clock tower. As I got closer I saw that THOUSANDS had filled the grassy area by the clock tower. Walking through the crowd, I heard people turn around and remark as they saw how much the crowd had grown.

As I walked, I spoke with a woman who was part of the march and wanted to support the movement as a past educator. She worried this generation is being left to fend for themselves as social media and technology engulfs them. Another woman I spoke with expressed her concern over corruption and how education system is essentially starving.

Children

I looked around me and saw so many families and concerned parents. Children marched along with their mothers and fathers. My first instinct was to ask why they brought their children. It affects them but do we really want to tell them what this is about? But the truth is, they already know. When they have to scurry into classroom corners during drills and keep quiet, they know. When police men showed up at their schools last September to brief school officials of a local shooting, they know. It’s their lives they are marching for and they know why they’re there.

Regardless of where you stand on the issue, my hope is that you realize how unfair it is for this generation to be dealing with this issue. As you scroll through the images and see these young people discussing the NRA, political corruption, and being fearful in their classrooms, I hope you see the weight of the issue on their faces.

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