These Florida kids are not fucking around.
The kids’ response to the shooting has been something truly incredible.
Normally, it’s always been very young children and it’s only their parents that can speak about it. The narrative gets controlled, the conspiracy theorists talk about how it’s all an act, so much bullshit.
But these are kids who are active on social media, incredibly close to voting age, and they’re demanding their voices are heard. Every single thing that downplays, dismisses or conspiracies the shooting has been subverted by their efforts, and they’re not letting adults who’ve never lived what they lived through control the narrative.
“It was a conspiracy!” “No, we have video evidence of it happening.” “Shouldn’t you be calling 911 instead of making videos?” “We called 911 so many times they told us to stop.” “But he was a troubled child!” “We were ALL troubled, that’s no excuse.” And it just goes on like this.
Honestly, I’m so proud of my fellow Floridians.
I said to my husband the other day that “This one feels different”, referring to this precisely.
The whole energy around it feels different. These kids are not having this bullshit, and while they should not have to stand their ground and fight this battle, goddamn it they are going to. If the adults won’t, then goddamn it these kids will draw a fucking line and say ‘no, no more, this is bullshit’.
I don’t know what it means, or how it will play out long term. But there’s a sense around this whole tragedy that this one is different, and I hope, maybe, that means some actual change will come.
Good kids. Good work. This is the kind of mindset that Gen Z is going to need to have. With enough of these kinds of kids, kids who not only refuse to be bullied and unjustly controlled by the state but who understand how to utilise their resources to protect themselves, the future has a chance.
If we want to drag ourselves out of the bullshit of the next decade or so, we need to be a generation who doesn’t dismiss the younger one. We need to rally behind and support them. They watched and learned from the best of us, the organisers and protestors and artists among us who would take no shit in a world that called us useless and entitled, and they’re going to be better at it, in greater numbers, with better resources and a determined, proactive mindset. Gen Z is doing amazing and we need to be there and help them keep being amazing. Without them, we weren’t good enough. We weren’t organised enough, and there weren’t enough of us. So now the kids have to get involved.
And if we’re lucky, the world is not going to be prepared for what’s hitting it.
apotheoseity
